[palmbeachpost.com – 10/10/18] MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO — The man whose body was found wrapped in plastic Monday afternoon by a Browns Nursery worker was identified as a 47-year-old Clay Twp. man. Steven T. Johnson died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head, but it’s too early to know how long he’d been dead, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. Johnson reportedly was identified through fingerprints. Johnson’s body was discovered off Arlington Road on nursery property, Sgt. M.D. Hutchison of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said. Read…
Read MoreTag: Ohio
OH: Springfield Township man claims Ohio’s sex offender parole law won’t allow visits with son
A Springfield Township man filed a federal lawsuit challenging Ohio’s sex offender parole law as unconstitutional because it forbids him from seeing his 14-year-old son. Full Article Related https://reason.com/blog/2018/07/30/sex-offender-status-prevents-dad-from-se
Read MoreOH: Ohio House bill offers 2nd chance to teenagers caught sexting
[wcpo.com – 7/14/18] CINCINNATI — The punishment for teenagers caught sharing sexually explicit images could be lessened in Ohio. A House bill would allow first-time offenders who are 18 or younger a chance to have their charges dismissed upon completion of a program that explains the impact of sexting. Through the program, teens would review relevant laws, examine how sharing explicit material affects personal relationships and learn about the longevity of content posted online. Such diversion programs already are in use in some counties, but the proposed legislation would require…
Read MoreOH: Ohio House updates ‘sexting’ law related to minors
[norwalkreflector.com – 6/27/18] COLUMBUS — State Reps. Brian Hill (R-Zanesville) and Jeff Rezabek (R-Clayton) today applauded the House for passing legislation they jointly sponsored that provides another option to Ohio’s courts when dealing with juveniles charged with possessing sexually explicit digital material, or engaging in “sexting” with a minor. It was one of several bills OK’d today by the Ohio House of Representatives. This bill takes into account the growing dilemma of juveniles who engage in “sexting” with other juveniles and the charges that may be filed by prosecutors by…
Read MoreOH: Child flashers will have to register as sex offenders
The Ohio House voted 80-0 for a bill that steps up penalties for people who masturbate in view of or expose themselves to children. These kiddie flashers would be required to register as tier 1 sex offenders for 15 years. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Reagan Tokes Act passes Ohio House
[10tv.com – 6/21/18] A bill named after murdered Ohio State student Reagan Tokes cleared a major legislative hurdle. The Ohio House version of the Reagan Tokes Act was passed 83-3 during a floor vote Wednesday afternoon. “This is huge day, certainly thrilled that this received such bi-partisan support,” Rep. Kristin Boggs, D – District 18 one of the primary sponsors of the bill. … House Bill 365 would dramatically change how violent felons are sentenced to prison and how they are watched once they are released. The legislation followed a…
Read MoreOH: Evading Justice: How some accused rapists in Cuyahoga County avoid the sex offender registry
The sex offender registry is an important tool that tracks those convicted of sexual assault to keep the public safe. A 5 On Your Side six-month-long investigation uncovered a loophole that allows many accused rapists to evade the registry. https://www.news5cleveland.com/longform/evading-justice-how-some-accused-rapists-in-cuyahoga-county-avoid-the-sex-offender-registry
Read MoreOH: Judge removes former Steubenville football player from sex offender list
[10tv.com 5/11/18] COLUMBUS, Ohio A judge on Friday ordered that an ex-Ohio high school football player convicted of rape be removed from the state’s sex offender registry for juveniles, as allowed by law. The ruling by Judge Thomas Lipps came in the case of Ma’Lik Richmond, a former Steubenville High School football player who in 2013 was convicted of raping a 16-year-old West Virginia girl at a party that followed a football scrimmage the previous year. Richmond served a one-year sentence and later rejoined the Steubenville football team. Now 21,…
Read MoreOH: Convicted ex-high school athlete wants off sex offender list
[fox19.com 4/16/18] By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A judge is deciding whether a man convicted as a juvenile of raping a 16-year-old girl should be removed from Ohio’s sex offender listings. Judge Thomas Lipps has scheduled a hearing Thursday in juvenile court in Steubenville in the case of former high school football player Ma’Lik Richmond. Richmond was convicted in 2013 of raping the West Virginia girl during a drunken party following a football scrimmage the previous year. Lipps ordered Richmond as a sex offender to register…
Read MoreOH: CSU QB isn’t on sex offender registry because conviction came as minor
[reformohio.blogspot.com] Central State University football player ______ was convicted in 2013 along with a Steubenville High School teammate of raping a 16-year-old girl who was incapacitated by alcohol. But because ____was a juvenile at the time, his conviction does not appear on the sex offender registry. If not for widespread publicity of the crime, ____‘s conviction would be unknown to many of his fellow students, and possibly to the school. Central State officials would not comment on their decision to allow ____ to enroll and play football, citing federal laws…
Read MoreOH: Sex offender says Ohio’s registry ‘destroys lives,’ should be abolished
[mydaytondailynews.com] CINCINNATI — Derek Logue is a member of one of the few groups it is socially acceptable for people to openly hate. He knows online comments on this story will likely refer to him in the most vulgar terms, and no one will come to his defense. But Logue said people like him are being unfairly discriminated against, and he thinks something should be done about it. Logue is one of 17,236 adult registered sex offenders in Ohio, a group whose criminal histories are accessible to anyone with an…
Read MoreOH: Ohio judges can dismiss sex charges against kids under 13, justices rule
[The Columbus Dispatch] Juvenile court rules empower judges to dismiss some sex charges against children under age 13 charged with molesting a child close to their age, the Ohio Supreme Court declared Wednesday. The court was divided on the Franklin County case, voting 4-3 to overturn a decision by the Franklin County Court of Appeals. The 2013 case involved a 12-year-old boy charged with three delinquency counts of gross sexual imposition for conduct with a boy who was nearly 10 years old. Read more
Read MoreOH: Lawmakers keep piling on those convicted of sex crimes
How much is too much? ____ ____ must be asking himself that very question. The on-again, off-again Youngstown State University football player is embroiled in a controversy of his own making. ____ served about 10 months in a juvenile detention facility after he and a high-school teammate were convicted in 2013 of raping a 16-year-old girl. In January, he joined the YSU football team as a nonscholarship walk-on. In August, ____ was informed by university officials that he would be required to sit-out a season. Full Editorial
Read MoreOH: House bill to require mandatory prison for child sex offenders
Law enforcement sees so many of those convicted of soliciting minors for sex on just probation, able to re-offend as soon as they’re released. Victims of child sex abuse say the lack of proper penalties for offenders can be just as traumatic as the original abuse. Lawmakers are looking to put mandatory sentences in place to make sure this doesn’t happen to children in the future. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Committee recommends eliminating residency restrictions for sex offenders
A proposed change to Ohio’s Criminal Code could eliminate residency restrictions for sex offenders. The Criminal Justice Recodification Committee has finished reviewing Ohio’s extensive criminal code after two years. However, not everyone agrees with some of its recommendations. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Petition started to romeve convicted sex-offender from Youngstown State football team
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A student at Youngstown State University wants a football player who was found delinquent of rape removed from the football team. And she’s started a petition to make her wishes known. Full Article Petition
Read MoreOH: Overhaul could drop thousands from sex offender registry
Two decades after Ohio began labeling sex offenders on a public database and setting restrictions on where they can live, a major overhaul to the law is being proposed that could drop thousands of lower-level offenders off the list Some critics are even calling for doing away with the registry entirely, saying it’s been an expensive effort with little benefit to the public. Full Article
Read MoreSex offenders’ prison treatment records should be open to public
____ and ____ are registered sex offenders accused of sex-related crimes just months after they were released from prison. If the latest allegations prove true, whatever steps the state took to rehabilitate them clearly did not stick. Ohio law prevents us from learning what many of those steps might have been. Full Article
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