With Halloween only a few days away, Law Director Gregory Hicks made it clear there is not an increased likelihood of registered sex offenders accosting children during this holiday than any other time of the year. A nine-year study released in 2009 in the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers found there is no significant increase in the risk for non-familial child sexual abuse during this holiday period, Hicks said. The vast majority of child sexual abuse cases — more than 80 percent — are done by persons related…
Read MoreTag: Ohio
OH: Convicted rapist says his care hurt by his offender status
Sex offender who lives in Columbus nursing home talks about difficulties in getting housing. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Local Democrat slams GOP challenger for claiming he’s a ‘pedophile’
David Sparks, the Clayton Democrat running against State Rep. Jeff Rezabek, R-Clayton, says the Ohio Republican Party is putting him in personal danger with a new mailed campaign ad that Sparks says implies he is a pedophile. “I’m really upset that I’m being painted as a pedophile. It’s over the top. I’m afraid for my safety now,” said Sparks. “You know what society does to people they think are into kids. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Sex-Offender Registration Termination Not Available for Pre-2008 Offenses
The Ohio Supreme Court today ruled that a statutory procedure allowing sex offenders to terminate reporting requirements available to Adam Walsh Act (AWA) offenders who committed certain sexual offenses after the state’s 2008 implementation of the AWA is not available to Megan’s Law sex offenders who committed crimes prior to the 2008 implementation date. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Sex offender registered to vote at Brook Park elementary school
Registered sex offenders in Ohio are not allowed to reside within 1,000 feet of a school, but they are allowed to enter schools to vote, causing concerns for some elementary school parents in Brook Park. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Loophole in sex offender registry law aided online sexual predators
A loophole in Ohio’s sex offender registry law may have aided a Cleveland man and convicted sexual predator in soliciting a 14-year-old girl for sex on the internet. … Current Ohio law requires registered sex offenders to provide change of registered address, registered address verification, notice of intent to reside, and change of registered vehicle, email, Internet, and telephone information. “But we have found that there’s nothing in the law that requires it to be accurate,” Senator John Eklund, District 18, said of the internet information in particular. Eklund, a co-sponsor…
Read MoreOH: House Passes Legislation To Require Mandatory Prison Sentences For Sex Offenders
The Ohio House of Representatives has pushed forward legislation that will require a mandatory prison sentence for sex offenders. House Bill 405 establishes a mandatory prison sentence for soliciting a child under 13 years old to engage in sexual activity. The bill also stipulates that if an offender is more than 10 years older than a victim, who is 13 to 16-years-old, the offender will receive a mandatory prison sentence. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Sex-offender registry requires reboot in Ohio and the nation: editorial
Title 1 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 created an all-inclusive state-by-state registry of convicted sex offenders. Known as the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Title 1 also attempted the impossible: to protect the public, particularly children, from convicted sexual predators who had done their time and were now back on the street. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Supreme Court upholds sex offender registration laws, rejecting cruel and unusual punishment argument
COLUMBUS, Ohio — State laws requiring that certain sex offenders register with local authorities and verify their address every six months for 25 years do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The case involved a 21-year-old defendant, Travis Blankenship, who pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual conduct with a minor between 13 and 16 years old, a fourth-degree felony. He challenged the constitutionality of the sentence requirement that he register with the local sheriff and report every six months for the next 25 years. But…
Read MoreOH: Convicted sex offender seeks chance to take Ohio bar exam
The Ohio Supreme Court is debating whether a convicted sex offender who wants to be a lawyer should be allowed to take the state bar exam. The court scheduled a Tuesday hearing for the request by ____ ____, a former Army officer convicted in military court of sex-related offenses after his arrest in 1998 in an FBI sting operation in which he thought he was meeting a 15-year-old girl for sex. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Sex offender registries draw criticism from some unlikely sources
You might think that all advocates for rape victims would support the practice of forcing sex offenders to publicly register their addresses after their release from prison. But you would be mistaken. Growing numbers of victim advocates and criminal justice researchers are among those who have concluded that sex offender registries are too costly and provide little or no protection to the public. Full Article Also see: Sex offender says registry amounts to punishment for life Nearly three decades ago, ____ ____ was convicted of raping a 33-year-old woman. While…
Read MoreOH: Report – 1 in 5 Ohio inmates are current or former sex offenders
COLUMBUS (AP) —A legislative report says one in five current Ohio prison inmates is behind bars now for a sex offense or was in the past. The report released Wednesday says about 7,700 inmates are serving time for a sex offense, and an additional 2,415 inmates have a prior sex offense. The Department of Rehabilitation and Correction houses about 50,000 inmates. Full Article Report Profile of Sex Offenders in Ohio Prisons (2015)
Read MoreOH: Pedophiles should not be allowed to mix with minors on college campus (Column)
Every parent’s nightmare is a reality in the classrooms of Cuyahoga Community College. Literally, as I type this article, blossoming teenage girls and budding teenage boys are schoolmates with adult registered sex offenders who have failed to report Tri-C as their school. Many have stipulations that prohibit unsupervised contact with minors. Full Column Response: Should former sex offenders be allowed on college campuses?
Read MoreOH: Supreme Court – When Is a Sex Offender Not a Sex Offender?
Maybe Hollywood culture has impassioned us too much. We expect loud murmurings and banging from a gavel to restore order when we envision courtroom scenes. Largely, we expect drama, especially when it comes to sex crimes. The reality is that it is a subdued affair. At least it was this morning. There was a small and quiet crowd in the Supreme Court of Ohio this morning. Overall, it was a feeling of intrigue as the Court heard an important paradox of a question. When is a sex offender not a…
Read MoreOH: Ohioans can search sex offender phone, email info
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohioans can see whether phone numbers, email addresses or screen names belong to registered sex offenders under a new feature added to the state’s online database. Attorney General Mike DeWine announced the change Thursday in a news conference with the Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Public housing residents illegally allowed registered sex offenders to live with them
CLEVELAND, Ohio – More than two dozen men and women who illegally allowed registered sex offenders to live with them in federally subsidized housing have been charged with theft and tampering with records, the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office said Monday. Each of the 27 defendants were charged with theft and the grand jury indictments also include 89 counts of tampering with records. Full Article
Read MoreOH: New Sex Offender Requirements for Long Term Care Facilities
Nursing homes, residential care facilities and county homes (“Homes”) in Ohio will soon have additional requirements related to the admission of a registered sex offender. Full Article
Read MoreOH: Cleveland Mayor seeks gun offender registry, firearms rationing as part of new city ordinances
Mayor Frank Jackson announced Tuesday a plan to combat gun violence in Cleveland that would include a gun offender registry, rationing purchases and other controversial measures. He stated in a press conference that the multi-tiered approach was designed with consultation from the city’s attorneys in an effort to overhaul existing gun regulations in the Forest City. “We’re not going to just sit around and be helpless. We’re not going to take on the victim mentality that there’s nothing we can do. There is something we can do,” said Mayor Frank…
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