OH: Some say residency restrictions lack efficacy, fairness to sex offenders

Source: local12.com 2/16/24 A Local 12 investigation is prompting a city to take action against sex offenders violating restrictions about where they can live. The stories have revealed that there are hundreds of people on Hamilton County’s sex offender registry who are violating the law by living too close to schools and relatively little is being done to stop them.  Local 12 found that even in Norwood, which has passed tougher restrictions than the state provides and where violators are aggressively pursued by the city attorney, there were still five…

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OH: Want to Watch Porn in Ohio? New Bill Would Require Viewers to Show ID

Source: thedailybeast.com 1/16/24 A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Ohio have proposed a new bill that would require porn sites to verify the age of their users in the state in a bid to keep explicit online content out of the hands of minors. Senate Bill 212, as it’s known, mandates that would have would-be degenerates submit a photo of their state ID or provide their personal information to a third-party company before allowing them access to pornography. Companies that fail to comply could be slapped with stiff penalties. Asked…

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OH: Ohio prosecutors broke rules to win convictions and got away with it

Source: npr.org 12/14/23 Ernie Haynes never imagined that taking care of his three grandsons after his daughter’s drug overdose death would turn him into a felon at the hands of a longtime Ohio prosecutor known to sidestep the rules intended to protect a defendant’s rights in criminal trials. A week after his daughter died in December 2017, the court granted temporary custody of the children to their biological father, a man Haynes said also struggled with drug addiction. When Haynes refused to give up his grandchildren, Wood County authorities arrested…

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OH: LGBTQ+ advocates worried about vague language in Ohio’s new ‘grooming’ bill

Source: ohiocapitaljournal.com 12/4/23 A new bill in the Ohio House aiming to punish sexual grooming may have vague enough language that it harms LGBTQ+ youth, some advocates worry. Community is essential for many LGBTQ+ teens. Kaleidoscope Youth Center (KYC) aims to provide that by holding educational programming and discussion groups. “They’re looking for those mentorship-type relationships that all of us need,” said Erin Upchurch, KYC executive director. But now, Upchurch fears a new bill in the Ohio House may target her organization. “The whole idea of it being so vague —…

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OH: 2 police officers being investigated after telling a father his 11-year-old daughter could face child porn charges for sending images to a man online

Source: cnn.com 9/21/23 The police chief in Columbus, Ohio, is condemning an incident in which two officers told a father his 11-year-old daughter could face child porn charges for sending images to a man online. Chief Elaine Bryant said as soon as the department learned of the incident, captured on doorbell camera video, it “immediately reached out to the father to apologize, and to assure him that this matter was being fully investigated – both the actions of this officer, and more importantly, any crime committed against his child.” Bryant…

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OH: Sex Offender’s Out-of-State Registration Counts Toward Ohio Sex Offense Reporting Requirement

Source: courtnewsohio.gov 8/31/23 A man convicted under an Ohio sex offender reporting law completed his 10-year registration requirements while living in Kentucky and did not have to start the reporting period over when he moved to Ohio, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court rejected the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office contention that Michael Schilling’s Ohio sex offender reporting obligation paused while he was living and registering as a sex offender in Kentucky and then resumed when he moved back to Ohio in 2020.…

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OH: From ankle strap to wristband: Warren County pilots ‘smartwatch’ electronic monitoring devices

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Source: wcpo.com 8/23/23 LEBANON, Ohio — Warren County’s judicial system is among the first in the country to pilot a new device that encompasses all the functionality of an ankle monitor in the compatibility of a smartwatch device. The technology, called the VeriWatch, is relatively new but that didn’t give Mike Steele pause. Associate director of electronic monitoring for the Warren County Court of Common Pleas adult probation department, Steele said his team has partnered with Business Intelligence Inc. for roughly 15 years. Whenever they launch new technology, like this…

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OH: Ohio’s arson registry just turned 10 years old. Is it working?

Source: cantonrep.com 8/17/23 In 2013, Ohio lawmakers passed Section 2909.15 of the Ohio Revised code, creating the statewide arson registry. There are currently 1,377 individuals registered as arson offenders. Fire officials and investigators say the registry is a valuable tool. Other experts argue the database is ineffective and unconstitutional.  Shawndra Brown decided to set a car on fire following a domestic dispute. That was in 2013. As part of her sentence, the 35-year-old Columbus resident was required to register once a year, every year, as an arson offender — her…

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OH: Reagan Tokes law ruled constitutional by state Supreme Court

Source: 10tv.com 7/26/23 COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that a state law allowing prison officials to keep prisoners beyond their sentence if the prisoner violates the law while incarcerated is constitutional. In a 5-2 decision on Wednesday, the state’s highest court found that the Reagan Tokes law does not violate the constitutional rights of inmates.   The law was passed in 2019 and named after the 21-year-old Ohio State senior who was killed in February 2017. Tokes was kidnapped, raped and fatally shot by Brian Golsby,…

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OH: Tech makes registering sex offenders easier

Source: thecourier.com 2/19/23 FREMONT — All 88 county sheriffs have been provided with new cameras to improve the registration process of convicted sexual offenders, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Friday. “Ohio’s sex offender registration system plays a critical role in holding convicted offenders accountable, and, in the hands our county sheriffs, these tools ensure that photographs are clear and uniform across the state,” Yost said. “Our job is to support local law enforcement, and that’s exactly what we’re doing with this grant.” In 59 counties, sheriff’s offices that requested…

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OH: Ohio bans child sex offenders from working with kids

Source: news5cleveland.com 1/5/23 COLUMBUS, Ohio — A newly-signed law will stop convicted child sex offenders in Ohio from working or volunteering with kids. Convicted sex offenders in the state have always been able to work around children legally, much to the chagrin of parents like Rebecca Surendorff and others who realize nothing can be done. “This is, frankly, a crisis level, and we’re not giving it the thought and attention that it deserves,” Surendorff said. The law has not prevented it — until now. Read the full article  

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OH: Sex offender, homicide suspect killing in Columbus sees no charges for SWAT deputies

Source: nbc4i.com 12/16/22 COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The officers involved in the fatal shooting of a double homicide suspect in northeast Columbus will not be indicted, the county prosecutor said Thursday. A grand jury voted against prosecuting two Franklin County Sheriff’s Office SWAT deputies, according to the office of Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Gary Tyack. The pair were attempting on June 7 to serve an arrest warrant on 20-year-old Pozz Striblin. At around 7 p.m. that evening, the two SWAT deputies went to a Sunoco gas station at Stelzer and…

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OH: Surprise survey finds compliance among registered sexual offenders

Source: dispatch.com 12/13/22 Several law-enforcement agencies Dec. 2 conducted unannounced checks of 40 registered sex offenders in Delaware County, finding that a high percentage were in compliance with their residential registration. During the survey, only one was found not in compliance with Ohio’s rules for registered sex offenders. Read the full article  

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OH: Lawmakers consider changing penalties for sex offenders

Source: journal-news.com 11/16/22 A bill to modify the state’s law on people charged civilly, but not criminally, with child sexual abuse had its first hearing Tuesday in the House Criminal Justice Committee. House Bill 689 would double the statute of limitations, from two years to four, for prosecuting a mandatory reporter who failed to report child abuse, said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati. That is the longest period for any misdemeanor offense, he said. For cases in which the statute of limitations for prosecuting sex offenders has…

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OH: Woman quits haunted house job in Columbia Station over registered sex offender co-workers

Source: news5cleveland.com 10/3/22 COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio — A registered sex offender may have been scaring your children for fun at a Northeast Ohio haunted house. It’s a tip received by News 5 Investigators, and in less than 24 hours, we learned two felons were fired. Kim Neubauer says she worked at the Spooky Ranch in Columbia Station for one day this season before quitting. “I did not want to go back this year but I thought I’d try it. I want to go have some fun and make some money. I wish…

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OH: Man charged with raping child found dead with alleged victim’s relative, troopers say

Source: fox19.com 9/14/22 ASHTABULA COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) – A child rape suspect was found dead along with a family member of the alleged victim Sunday morning. The deaths are still being investigated, but Ohio State Highway Patrol said they believe it was a murder-suicide. Troopers found the bodies of 34-year-old Wesley Thomas and his 31-year-old girlfriend at the New Lyme Wildlife Area in Ashtabula County around 8:20 a.m. Sunday. Officials said the bodies were found with gunshot wounds on the ground near a vehicle, and a gun was found…

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OH: Ohio to Pay $17.5M to Convicted Child Sex Offender After Prison Guards Boasted About Paralyzing Him

Source: toofab.com 11/4/21 “It feels good to know that I played a small part in paralyzing a cho, LMAO.” A convicted child sex offender in Ohio is to receive $17.5 million in compensation after prison guards left him paralyzed — and boasted about it afterwards. 21-year-old Seth Fletcher was left in a wheelchair and unable to move from the chest down after he was tackled and dropped multiple times while handcuffed. The incident occurred Chillicothe Correctional Institution on around 6 PM on April 2, 2020, when during a strip search,…

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OH: Ohio mayor tells ENTIRE school board to resign or ‘face child pornography charges’ after teachers gave children writing prompt to ‘write a sex scene you wouldn’t show your mom’

Source: dailymail.co.uk 9/16/21 A mayor in Ohio has threatened the city’s entire school board with criminal charges unless they resign over highly sexual writing prompts that teachers gave to underage students. Hudson Mayor Craig Schubert delivered the harsh ultimate during a school board meeting on Monday, garnering loud applause from outraged parents who also spoke out on the issue. At issue are the highly inappropriate writing prompts distributed to students in the Liberal Arts II writing class at Hudson High School, including ‘Write a sex scene you wouldn’t show your mom’,…

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