[douglascountyherald.com – 2/20/20] State Representative Hannah Kelly, R-Mountain Grove, wants to ban some registered sex offenders from going within 500 feet of any Missouri Conservation Department nature or education center. The Missouri House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Committee is considering Kelly’s bill, which could charge violators with a felony. The measure would apply to sex offenders who have committed certain sex crimes against children. “We have an ultimate responsibility to ensure that when the prosecutor goes after that individual for perpetrating evil crimes against a child, that we have…
Read MoreTag: Presence Restrictions
NY: Cuomo plans to ban sex offenders from MTA transit system
[pix11.com – 1/7/20] Repeat and high-risk sex offenders would be banned from the MTA tranist system under a new law proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The NYPD announced support for the ban when Cuomo suggested it in March of 2019. The ban would apply to offenders for three years and blocks them from the subway, bus and rail systems. “MTA riders deserve to feel safe, and we have an obligation to ensure they will not be targeted by sex offenders,” Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday. “Enough is enough. If we want…
Read MorePA: Sex offender removed from the hospital during the birth of his child
Many of the stories we bring you on a daily basis here at WPXI are clear cut. They’re right or wrong. But this one had us here in the newsroom debating and even questioning ourselves. It’s one of those rare instances where you see both sides. Ken Moore is a registered sex offender but never thought that would keep him from seeing the birth of his third child. Full Article
Read MoreKY: ‘It will also prevent this from happening again.’ Neighbors, including local prosecutor, sought park to displace sex offender
In a neighborhood of broad lawns and trees, residents wanted one of their neighbors to leave – and they seized on an unusual way to try and get the city’s help to force him out. The drama involved a local prosecutor, a sex offender, and a tiny sliver of land along Dixie Highway with a handful of benches and a doggy bag dispenser. In the spring, a registered sex offender moved in next door to Kyle Burns, who also happened to be an assistant Commonwealth attorney for Campbell County. Burns had an…
Read MoreNC: Sheriff warns sex offenders to stay away from the fair
Men and women on the sex offender registry know they’re supposed to avoid areas where children are, but the local sheriff wants to be sure that’s top of mind now that the Cleveland County Fair has opened. Full Article
Read MoreIL: Explosive 3-hour meeting has many talking about possible health and housing center
[newschannel20.com – 8/21/19] SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — An explosive meeting took place Wednesday evening over whether Springfield should allow a vacant building to become a health and housing center. … While the proposed center is more than just a homeless shelter, some asked how will the place know if they have a sex offender coming to use their facilities, especially because of the proximity to the Lincoln Magnet School. “There is no way to know that the mental health individuals that they’re serving are sex offenders. There’s no way to…
Read MoreWI: Rhinelander Common Council approves new sex offenders ordinance
[starjournalnow.com – 8/13/19] The Rhinelander Common Council met Monday and held the final public hearing for the new sex offender ordinance. No concerns or questions regarding the ordinance were brought forth at the public hearing, and the council approved the new ordinance unanimously. The sex offender ordinance limits registered sex offender housing and activity areas within proximity to places where children are present such as schools, playgrounds and parks. It also limits holiday events in which sex offenders can participate such as disallowing handing out candy to trick-or-treaters or dressing…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Law Enforcement Denies Registrants Full Access to AA Meetings
You’re a registrant on parole with an alcohol/substance abuse problem. You want to help yourself by attending AA, NA or some other supportive type group meetings. Your PO thinks it’s a fine idea, however, you may be prevented from fully participating in the AA program and it’s not AA who’s preventing it, it may be your PO. It’s not only in real estate where “location” is everything. Due to the endless boundary lines or buffer zones that registrants must navigate, wanting to attend an AA meeting can become a logistical…
Read MoreCA: Ordinance barring car-sleeping on L.A. residential streets quietly expires
[dailynews.com – 7/18/19] LOS ANGELES – A city ordinance barring people from sleeping in vehicles parked on residential Los Angeles streets quietly expired at the end of June, and LAPD officers have been instructed to no longer issue citations for the offense. … “This is very dangerous because the objective of this is to keep all kinds of vehicles off and away from schools and parks, where kids play, and off residents’ front curbs,” said Ryavec, who is also a community officer with the Venice Neighborhood Council. “That evaporated on…
Read MoreFL: Do Central Florida theme parks screen for sex offenders?
[wesh.com – 4/25/19] Could sex offenders be sitting next to your child on a ride, or standing in line behind them at Walt Disney World or Universal Orlando? In February, a registered sex offender was arrested after Orange County deputies said he exposed himself to a child at Aquatica. The accused, 52-year-old Gerald Youmans, was convicted in 2004 of exposing himself to a child in Palm Beach. He was designated a sexual predator, but according to an arrest affidavit, he held an annual pass to the theme park. The incident…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Living in the Gray Zone
A local “sex offender treatment group” recently had a guest speaker from the sheriff’s office. He was there to speak about the do’s and don’ts of the registry. My first thought was “shouldn’t everyone in group have been informed of the do’s and don’ts when they were first put on the registry? Isn’t that when registrants should be provided with all the information they will need to be informed registrants? Instead, they wait till the registrants are all assembled in a treatment group that the registrants are paying for to…
Read MoreCT: Town repeals sex offender restrictions amid lawsuit
[apnews.com – 3/24/19] WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) — Residents of a Connecticut town have repealed a local ordinance that banned registered sex offenders from local parks, schools, the town library and other public places amid a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law. The Windsor Locks law was approved 11 years ago amid concerns about threats to children’s safety by people listed on the state’s sex-offender registry. A federal lawsuit by an anonymous resident and an advocacy group alleges the ordinance violates sex offenders’ constitutional rights. Read more
Read MoreCT: Press Release from One Standard of Justice, Inc. re: Windsor Locks federal suit re: “Child Safety Zones”
[onestandardofjustice.org – 2/7/19] On March 27, 2018, Stamford attorney Audrey Felsen of Koffsky & Felsen filed suit in federal court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against the town of Windsor Locks. The suit, on behalf of plaintiffs One Standard of Justice, Inc. and a Windsor Locks resident identified as John Doe, challenges the constitutionality of Windsor Locks’ “Child Safety Zones” ordinance. “This suit is for declaratory and injunctive relief from an overly broad ordinance that clearly violates the first and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution,” said Felsen. “The…
Read MoreTN: Summertime and the Livin’ Ain’t Easy!
[womenagainstregistry.org – 6/6/18] Knoxville, Tennessee. The South. Home of plantation porches and sweet tea. Land of greenways, rivers, lakes, mountains, parks and bike trails. Summertime and there’s plenty of outdoor activities, fishing, hiking, biking, kayaking and swimming to name a few. Your city and county tax dollars are at work to help maintain all of these wonderful avenues of adventure and sport, but as a registrant, you are excluded from taking advantage of many of these activities. Your almighty tax dollars aren’t working for you at all. The city of…
Read MoreOK: The “Justice for Danyelle Act of 2018”: The Shady Tactics behind another Oklahoma Knee Jerk Law
[sosen.org – 5/31/18] Oklahoma’s “Justice for Danyelle Act of 2018,” an act that prohibits registrants from living within 2,000 feet of their victim’s home and loitering within 1,000 feet of the same, is a prime example of a knee jerk law. This law also demonstrated one of the deceptive tactics that Oklahoma lawmakers use in order to advance their own personal agenda using the public safety issue. To add insult to injury this law is going to be applied unconstitutionally to over 6,800 registrants in Oklahoma and the author of…
Read MoreFL: Central Florida YMCA to screen members for sex offenders
[floridaactioncommittee.org 5/11/18] ORLANDO, Fla. – The YMCA of Central Florida announced to its members that it will begin screening all members and guests to see if they’re registered sex offenders before being let inside their buildings. The announcement came in the form of a letter sent to members signed by Chief Operating Officer Daniel Ickes. Ickes sent an explanation to News 6. “At the YMCA of Central Florida, there is nothing more important to us than the safety and security of our members, staff and volunteers. For that reason, we…
Read MoreWI: Judge: Wisconsin sex offender can visit sick son at hospital
[washingtonpost.com 4/25/18] MILWAUKEE — A registered sex offender will be allowed to visit his severely ill 9-year-old son despite objections from Wisconsin Children’s Hospital, a Milwaukee County judge ruled Wednesday. The order from Judge William Pocan carries restrictions, however. Stuart Yates, 49, must give two-hour advance notice for his visits and he can only stay for six hours each time. Yates must also be with his son at all times. Yates was barred from the hospital on March 6 after hospital officials learned of his past. He was convicted of…
Read MoreME: Maine Towns Allowed To Ban Sex Offenders From Parks, Fields
[mainepublic.org 4/23/18] AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine towns will be able to ban sex offenders from any state or municipal park, athletic field or recreational facility serving children. A new law allows municipalities to prohibit sex offenders from coming within 750 feet of such property. Officials in Madawaska had argued that state law only allowed municipalities to ban such individuals who come near property leased to nonprofits. Republican Gov. Paul LePage signed Democratic Rep. Roland Martin’s bill into law on April 18, and it will take effect three months after lawmakers…
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