[mlive.com – 12/16/20] The proposed amendments to SORA in House Bill 5679 are: Giving sex offenders no more than three days to register or report status changes in person with local law enforcement. Requiring offenders to report all email addresses, social media names or other forms of “internet identifiers.” That would not apply retroactively to offenders prior to July 1, 2011, but anyone required to register after that date must comply. Requiring all telephone numbers and vehicles used by the offender to be reported. Previously, they didn’t need to report…
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IL: Hundreds of Southern Illinoisans are required to register as sex offenders. But are we any safer?
[thesouthern.com – 11/27/20] SPRINGFIELD — Illinois’ sex offender registry, which now includes more than 32,000 people — most of them men, though some women, as well — has rapidly expanded since its first iteration in 1986. Then, it included four qualifying crimes. Today, there are more than 30 crimes that trigger mandatory registration, including some repeat misdemeanor offenses. In recent years, policy makers and advocates, both for offenders as well as victims, have been raising questions as to whether the registry, and the ever-increasing rules around it, really makes the…
Read MoreMI: Michigan poised to double down on failed sex offender registry
[freep.com – 2020-12-10] In early 2012, more than eight years ago, five people challenged Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) in court, arguing that the registry branded them as dangerous “sex offenders” without any individual review. One was a man — we’ll call him John — who met a woman at a club open only to those 18 and older. They slept together and only later did he learn that she was actually 15. They fell in love, eventually married, and now have three kids. But due to her age, John…
Read MoreSouth Africa: Cape Town GBV Protest: Call for Sex Offender List to be Made Public
[sapeople.com – 11/28/20] “I will not be next”, “We’re done being afraid” and “Femicide is the real pandemic” were some of the many banners on display on Saturday morning during a protest against gender based violence (GBV) outside Parliament in Cape Town. “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” chanted some of the protesters in unison as cars driving by hooted in support. Read the full article
Read MoreCanada: Baranyai: How should Ontario’s sex offender registry work?
[lfpress.com – 11/29/20] Ontario’s sex offender registry has some soul searching to do. Does it exist to punish offenders, or protect communities? And how can the framework for who goes on the list, which the Supreme Court has ruled discriminatory, support this core objective? The government has one year to amend Christopher’s Law, named for 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson, who in 1988 was tragically abducted, assaulted and murdered by a known pedophile. A coroner’s jury recommended creating an electronic registry of sex offenders to help police target their neighbourhood searches during…
Read MoreIN: WATCH NOW: Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey conducts sex offender checks
[kenoshanews.com – 11/20/20] Ride Shotgun with Lake County, Indiana sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey as he checks to ensure convicted Northwest Indiana sex offenders are complying with state sex-offender registry laws. This special episode of “Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops” was filmed recently in conjunction with a Midwest reporting project titled, “Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Sex Crimes.” The special report will span multiple newspapers throughout Lee Enterprises’ Midwest news agencies and will be taking a deep look at sex crimes, the offenders, their victims and the effectiveness of state…
Read MoreWI: Wisconsin’s sex offender registry born of twin tragedies
[kenoshanews.com – 11/28/20] On any given day, anyone in Wisconsin can look up the name, address, photo, age and other identifying information on sex offenders in their area who have been placed on the state’s sex offender registry. Established in 1997, the registry was created with the aim of making communities safer, said Sarah Wescott, corrections services supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. Wescott also manages the registry with other DOC staff. … The registry includes all sex offenders who live in the state, even those who were convicted…
Read MoreSex Offender Registries in Europe and Around the world
[ccresourcecenter.org – 11/24/20] We are pleased to publish new research by Stephen Schulhofer about the treatment of sex offense registration in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU. The research, presented here with an introduction by Alessandro Corda, comes from material prepared for inclusion in an upcoming draft of the Model Penal Code: Sexual Assault and Related Offenses (full citation and disclaimer below). Introduction: An Important Look at Foreign Policy and Practices Regarding Sex-Offense Collateral Consequences By Alessandro Corda, Lecturer in Law, Queen’s University Belfast School of Law…
Read MoreIL: A timeline of how Illinois registered sex offender database was created
[pantagraph.com – 11/25/20] When Terry Parke, a state representative from Pittsfield, the chief sponsor of the Habitual Child Sex Offender Registration Act, discusses his 1986 bill, he describes it as “one of the most important laws the Legislature would consider that year.” The law requires habitual child sex offenders to register with police within 30 days of release from prison and remain registered for 10 years. “We are having an epidemic in Illinois … of sex crimes against our children,” Parke said. But state Rep. Larry Hicks, a Democrat from…
Read MoreCanada: Sex-offender provision unconstitutional in not criminally responsible cases: court
[ca.news.yahoo.com – 11/20/20] OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed that Ontario’s sex-offender registry regime violates the constitutional rights of people found not criminally responsible for their actions by reason of mental disorder. The decision came Friday in the case of an Ontario man who was found not criminally responsible in June 2002 for sexually assaulting his then-wife, and other charges, due to a manic episode. Read the full article
Read MoreFL: Disney World Vacation Leads to Fight Over Florida Sex Offender Law
[wjno.iheart.com – 11/10/20] TALLAHASSEE — A Pennsylvania man has filed a challenge to a Florida law that has kept him on a sexual-offender registry after a 10-day family vacation to Disney World in 2015. The man, identified in court documents as John Doe, reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office when he came to Florida because he was on a Pennsylvania registry at the time as a result of a child-pornography conviction in 2002. Doe was removed from the Pennsylvania registry in 2016 but has remained registered as a sex…
Read MoreOK: Sex-Offense Registry Sweeps Intended to Boost Support for Cops Unwittingly Spread COVID-19
[shadowproof.com – 11/2/20] The Oklahoma City Police Department pulled off a social media coup on July 7. “Meet the top 10 most wanted individuals being sought by our Sex Offender Registration Unit,” the department posted on its Facebook page. “It’s important we keep tabs on these guys (and gal), so help us find them.” The post engaged a huge number of readers, receiving 1,500 shares and nearly 500 comments. Told dangerous people were loose on city streets, readers responded. “[She] works at [a local store] I’m fucking sick!” posted one.…
Read MoreIL: Ex-teaching assistant gets probation for sexually abusing 14-year-old student
[news-gazette.com – 10/30/20] URBANA — A 24-year-old woman who admitted having sex with a teenage boy for whom she acted as a teaching assistant has been sentenced to four years of probation. Judge Roger Webber said Friday he did not believe Allyssa Gustafson, who had no prior criminal convictions, was a danger to the public. However, he said the requirement that she register as a sex offender for life — “the modern-day equivalent of the scarlet letter” — would serve to punish her. Read the full article
Read MorePA: Appellate Court finds registration violates right to reputation under Pennsylvania Constitution in as applied case
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 10/23/20] Before you get too excited, this is an as-applied case, meaning the decision only benefits the person challenging and not everyone on the Pennsylvania registry, but it’s a win nonetheless, and a win on a novel argument, so it’s good news. A Pennsylvania intermediate court found that SORNA violates an individual’s right to reputation under Article I, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution by creating an irrebuttable presumption that she poses a high risk of committing additional sexual offenses. The law says, “[s]exual offenders pose a high…
Read MoreLA Times Op-Ed: Polly Klaas was our sister. We don’t want unjust laws to be her legacy
[latimes.com – 10/18/20] To many people, the face of Polly Klaas is a reminder of a horrific moment in our nation’s history. For us — her sisters — Polly’s face represents a constellation of childhood memories that remain precious to us today. Those memories ended abruptly on Oct. 1, 1993, when a man followed Polly home from the park and took her from our bedroom. … To us, the trauma of Polly’s death was made all the more confusing and frightening by the media frenzy surrounding it. As children, we…
Read MoreMaxwell Monty: The List
When I was growing up and misbehaving, my grandmother used to say, “Watch it! You’re extremely close to being put on my ‘S&*T List.’” That warning was always enough to curtail my objectionable activity and to keep me from finding my name on my grandmother’s unenviable ledger. I was not exactly sure what would have happened had my name been inked in my grandmother’s register, but it was clear from her tone that shame, fear, and regret would have been part of the torment. Her cautioning emphasized that a list…
Read MoreNew Jersey Dem Under Fire for Lobbying Against Sex Offender Registry
[freebeacon.com – 9/22/20] New Jersey congressman Tom Malinowski (D.), who is locked in a close reelection battle, is under fire for his role lobbying against the creation of a sex offender registry. The fresh scrutiny comes in the wake of a Washington Free Beacon report last month detailing Malinowski’s role as the top lobbyist for Human Rights Watch when the organization opposed the 2006 Omnibus Crime Bill that enhanced the national sex offender registry originally created in 1994. After a television advertisement seized on his role lobbying against the bill, and his Republican opponent,…
Read MoreRestorative Action Alliance Officially Launches – Join us on Sept 23 for our first meeting
[restorativeactionalliance.org – 9/22/20] My name is Amber Vlangas, Executive Director for the Restorative Action Alliance (RAA). As both a survivor of sexual harm, and part of a family who has been severely impacted by both the criminal legal system and public registries, I am uniquely immersed in the challenges we all face. I am excited to announce that New York Action Alliance and other northeast regional groups from CT and NJ have combined their collective efforts to become the Restorative Action Alliance, made up of volunteer leaders from varied backgrounds and…
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