Source: thecentersquare.com 9/28/23 (The Center Square) – Earlier this year, a decision to house convicted sex offenders in cities such as Enumclaw without notifying the community drew outrage from local residents. Now, the State Sex Offender Policy Board is considering recommendations to the Legislature that could include making it illegal to notify communities when a sex offender moves into the area on the grounds that such policies undermine public safety. Created in 2008, the Sex Offender Policy Board is composed of 13 members appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee. Its role…
Read MoreTag: Residency Restrictions (SORR)
FL: City voted to prevent any sex offender prospectively from living in the City of Crestview
Source: Florida Action Committee 9/17 23 City voted to prevent any sex offender prospectively from living in the City of Crestview. This was done via a 1500 feet ordinance. The comment from city council member Ryan Bullard is one of the most ignorant and shocking comments we’ve ever heard in a public meeting. Watch the video
Read MorePA: Efficacy of sex offender residency rules questioned in Pa. House hearing
Source: pennlive.com 9/12/23 A bill that would restrict where certain sex offenders could live in Pennsylvania got a skeptical reception at a House hearing on Tuesday, with discussion centering around whether such measures actually increase public safety. The House Judiciary Committee held an informational session Tuesday on House Bill 77, which would require that anyone who has been adjudicated as a “sexually violent predator” under Pennsylvania’s sex crimes law could not live within 2,500 feet of a school or child care center. Although judges can impose residency restrictions on a…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Where Should They Live?
Officials in Placer County, California, are up in arms and complaining mightily that a 66-year-old registrant who has been designated a Sexually Violent Predator is about to be released in that county. Never mind that he was convicted more than 30 years ago and has completed many years of treatment. Never mind that experts have determined he no longer poses a current risk. Instead of relying upon these facts, Placer County officials and other government representatives are crying “not in my back yard”, otherwise known as NIMBY. And they appear…
Read MoreUPDATED 8/21/23: Corrections to the Paris, Wisconsin 6,500 Feet Residency Restriction by the 7th Circuit
UPDATED Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 8/21/23 Attorneys with the Paris case (6500-foot residence restriction) have contacted us [Florida Action Committee] to correct misstatements that were made in our most recent post. They let us know there is much to be optimistic about in the court’s decision as they are putting some brakes on municipal ordinances that have spiraled out of control in Wisconsin – something they have never done before. We should not be reading this decision as countenancing 6500-foot zones more generally. Attorney Adele Nicholas will be continuing to fight these…
Read MoreCA: School District Warned Regarding Support for Residency Restrictions
The Lakeside Union School District (LUSD), located in San Diego county, was warned in a letter sent yesterday of the dangers it would face if it chooses to support residency restrictions. Local parents and other residents of Lakeside, California, recently demanded that LUSD support residency restrictions due to their concerns about registrants who live near local schools. “Once again, the public is reacting out of fear and ignoring the facts regarding registrants,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “Their fear is based upon the mistaken belief that all registrants pose…
Read MoreCA: Sex offenders near Lakeside [near San Diego] schools upset parents, board members
Source: cbs8.com 8/9/23 LAKESIDE, Calif. — Lakeside residents gathered at Riverview Elementary School Wednesday to express their outrage over the amount of convicted sex offenders near the schools. Both parents and school board members said they want to be more informed about sex offenders in the area and also more blanket restrictions surrounding them living near schools, parks and bus stops. There used to be state restrictions that prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools and parks where children gathered. Jessica’s Law was overturned in 2015…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender camp growing in Florida woods; public apparently not warned
Source: fox8.com 7/28/23 CLEARWATER, Florida (WFLA) — A Florida camp powered by solar panels and a generator is home to about a dozen sex offenders who claim they were sent there by probation officers, but there is no indication the public was alerted. Land records indicate the tents that sit under a structure made from branches are on land owned by the Florida Department of Transportation. A state spokesperson said they were “not aware of this.” Several sources, including a defense attorney, told Nexstar’s WFLA that anyone on probation is…
Read MoreAK: Mat-Su bans sex offenders from living near childcare centers, schools, parks
Source: alaskawatchman.com 7/20/23 In an effort to protect children from sex crimes, the Mat-Su Borough Assembly approved a new ordinance that prohibits sex offenders from taking up permanent residence within 1,000 feet of any school, daycare facility or public park. Approved at the assembly’s July 18 meeting, the ordinance does not apply to sex offenders who live in a restricted zone prior to the new law. Sex offenders may not, however, purchase or lease a new permanent residence within the restricted areas. Introduced by Assemblyman Ron Bernier, the law is…
Read MoreAction Alert for MA: Call/Write to stop H 1342 from ban of registrants from state-subsidized public housing
Source: lowellsun.com 7/3/23 H 1342: – The Housing Committee held a hearing on legislation that would prohibit Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders from being placed in public housing in Massachusetts. The bill is similar to a 1998 federal law that bans some sex offenders from federally subsidized housing. “[The bill] is common-sense legislation that would extend the same protections that are currently in place for residents of federally-subsidized public housing to tenants living in state-subsidized public housing,” said sponsor Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading).” Read the full article…
Read MoreACSOL Nationwide Action Alert: Oppose a 1,500 foot Residency Restriction in a Florida County
Source: Florida Action Committee Let’s all support Florida registrants in Volusia County by opposing a terrible ordinance that would make it very difficult to find a place to live! All registrants in all states should email, call, or send letters through the U.S. Mail to the Volusia County Council members to let them know that you OPPOSE the expansion of the residency restriction requirement to 1,500 feet in the unincorporated areas of the county for people required to register as a predator. Click here to read the details
Read MoreCA: Nicki Minaj’s neighbors petition for her sex offender husband to leave posh Hidden Hills
Source: mercurynews.com 6/23/23 Nicki Minaj is facing a new line of resistance to her controversial marriage to childhood sweetheart Kenneth Petty, and it’s coming from her new neighbors in the posh city of Hidden Hills. Since December, they’ve been gathering signatures on a petition that demands that Petty leave the city because he’s a sex offender, TMZ reported. “Say no to sex offenders in Hidden Hills,” the Change.org petition reads. The petition notes that the rapper’s husband was convicted in 1995 of the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl, which…
Read MoreOR, WA: Housing restrictions are leaving more PNW sex offenders homeless
Source: crosscut.com 5/25/23 In his 15 years housing people coming out of prison, Mike Cross has had to turn many people away. Cross, director of Oregon City-based nonprofit Free on the Outside, which provides housing and recovery for formerly incarcerated individuals, knows what strings to pull to get people housed. While working in Hillsboro west of Portland, he successfully sheltered people of all criminal backgrounds. But those he turns away often have one thing in common: Their names are on Oregon’s Sex Offender Registry. “I got housing for guys that…
Read MoreAL: What to do if a registered sex offender moves into your neighborhood
Source: cbs42.com 5/10/23 SHELBY COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — What do you do if a registered sex offender moves into your neighborhood? That was a question posed to CBS42 by neighbors in Shelby County after they received a flyer in the mail from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, alerting them that a sex offender had recently moved into the Brook Highland area. “We’re gonna make sure the community knows who you are, we’re gonna make sure the community knows where you live,” Chief Deputy Clay Hammac with the Shelby County Sheriff’s…
Read MorePA: Hampton mom’s push to restrict where sex offenders live gets lawmakers’ support
Source: cbsnews.com 3/27/23 HAMPTON, Pa. (KDKA) – Violent sexual predators are living just steps away from playgrounds and elementary schools right here in our area. It’s a common yet false belief that sex offenders can’t come close, or live close, to our kids. “Anyone in Pennsylvania should be thinking about this issue, especially if they have children because there are a lot of schools and daycares in Pennsylvania, and this could be happening anywhere.” There’s actually nothing to stop sex offenders from coming too close for comfort. Currently, Pennsylvania is…
Read MoreRI: Many people in the leadership of Warwick, Rhode Island see no benefit from the residency restrictions
Source: warwickonline.com 3/23/23 Although the news might not sit well with some parents, the Warwick Police Department says that the elimination of residency restrictions for Level III sex offenders does not pose a danger to students at local schools. “I do not believe that the elimination of the 1,000’ law will add any more risk to the community,” said Chief Bradford Connor. A 300-foot restriction was introduced in 1996, which was expanded to a 1,000 foot radius in a law approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Gina…
Read MoreRI: Federal judge rules sex offender residency law is unconstitutional
Source: turnto10.com 3/17/23 A state law that makes it a crime for Level 3 sex offenders to live within 1,000 feet of a school was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge on Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island challenged the statue when it was first enacted in 2015, and it’s been subject to a preliminary injunction barring its enforcement since then. Currently in Rhode Island, state law says sex offenders are barred from living within 300 feet of a school. In the wake of Thursday’s ruling, it…
Read MorePA: Can you Ban Sex Offenders from Your Association? NO
Source: jdsupra.com 1/23/23 Lake Naomi Club, Inc. v. Rosado, ___ A.3d ____ (2022, Penn). Issue Can a private, planned community adopt a restrictive covenant that prohibits lifetime registered sex offenders from residing within that community? The Facts At Pocono Pines’ 2013 annual meeting, residents raised concerns about a sex offender who was living in Lake Naomi. Accordingly, on March 30, 2016, Pocono Pines (“Association”) amended its Declaration to provide that no registered Tier III sex offender “shall occupy or reside in any [l]ot, dwelling, or common area within the boundaries of”…
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