MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Sex offenders have moved back into a church-run home, just a few months after the City of Marysville forced them out. The home in the 15300 block of Smokey Boulevard is located in a light industrial area in Marysville. The city said that it was being used illegally as a residential facility for sex offenders and ex-cons. Full Article
Read MoreTag: Residency Restrictions
NY: Judge Rejects Sex Offenders’ Challenge to Residency Laws
The claims of nine convicted sex offenders that New York state, county and town sex offender registration requirements and residency restrictions are unconstitutional have been dismissed by a Brooklyn federal judge. But Eastern District Judge Pamela Chen (See Profile) also dismissed without prejudice their claim that state residency laws preempt more restrictive local laws. Full Article
Read MoreSexual Offender Residence Restrictions
ATSA supports evidence-based public policy and practice. Research consistently shows that residence restrictions do not reduce sexual reoffending or increas community safety. In fact, these laws often create more problems than they solve, including homelessness, transience, and clustering of disproportionate numbers of offenders in areas outside of restricted zones. Full Report (pdf)
Read MoreFL: Inside the tiny town built for sex offenders
Some wear GPS devices that are constantly monitored by police. Others have fled their homes; repudiated by the local community for being a registered sex offender. And all of them – from those charged with possessing child pornography to ones caught having sex with a minor and molestation – are there to ‘repent their sins’. Welcome to Miracle Village, a tiny church town spanning about 20 acres on the edge of Everglades in south Florida, which was established in 2009 as a spiritual safe haven for sex offenders and their families. With…
Read MoreAdelanto to amend sex offender code
ADELANTO — The City Council has voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance that would amend the city’s code to comply with recent court rulings regarding the presence of registered sex offenders at public parks. “Recent decisions have been issued by the Court of Appeals which call into question the validity of city ordinances that prohibit sex offenders from entering city parks,” a city staff report reads. Full Article
Read MoreAL: Alabama pastor sues over closure of sex offender camp
BIRMINGHAM – An Alabama pastor who let convicted sex offenders live in a camp behind his rural church filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming a state law that forced him to shut down the operation violated his religious rights. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the complaint on behalf of Ricky Martin, pastor of Triumph Church in rural Chilton County south of Clanton. Full Article
Read MoreMO: No place for sex offenders to go
Ol’ Chaplain Farris Robertson is at it again — housing multiple registered sex offenders in a residential Springfield neighborhood despite a city order to vacate. Attorneys with the city of Springfield, busy defending the city’s position in federal court, have decided to leave the residents of 1809 E. Crestview St. alone, for now. City officials are hopeful a court hearing, expected in early September, will put an end to the discussion and finally force the residents to disband. The city says, among other complaints, that far too many of the…
Read MoreSex Offenders Housing Restrictions Are Pointless (Opinion)
On Thursday, Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times reported that “Dozens of sex offenders who have satisfied their sentences in New York State are being held in prison beyond their release dates because of a new interpretation of a state law that governs where they can live.” In short, since 2005, sex offenders in the state can’t live within 1,000 feet of a school, and a February ruling from the state’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision extended that restriction to homeless shelters. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreTX: Sounding Off – East Dallas readers weigh in on boundaries for sex offenders
The Dallas City Council has expressed interest in prohibiting sex offenders from living near schools, parks and other kid-friendly areas. The idea, which is being pushed by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and is backed by the Dallas Police Department, would create a buffer zone, though specifics have not been determined. There are more than 3,300 registered sex offenders living in Dallas. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Research won’t support Dallas proposal that amounts to housing ban for sex offenders
In saner times, what Josh Gravens did would be called “playing doctor” or “adolescent curiosity.” General embarrassment and a stern talking-to would have followed. And that would have been the end of it. But in this age of hysteria, the childhood misdeed will never end for Josh. And now the city of Dallas considers making it worse by declaring a great majority of the city off limits for him to live. By extension, that would mean his wife and five children, too. Full Opinion Piece From the same author: Kids are…
Read MoreWI: De Pere, Allouez take different paths on sex offenders
One issue, but two outcomes. Elected leaders in two Green Bay area communities Tuesday night took distinctively different positions on where convicted sex offenders can live. Major restrictions are now official in Allouez, but just to the south in De Pere leaders turned down a proposed rule on the same issue. While leaders in both communities have different views on the issue, they agree the state should set a common standard. Full Article Related http://www.wbay.com/story/26207456/2014/08/05/update-communities-differ-on-sex-offender-ordinances http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2014/08/06/de-pere-rejects-sex-offender-residency-ordinance/13660239/ http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/local/2014/08/05/allouez-moves-block-sex-offenders/13652389/
Read MoreWI: Sex offender law passes after CBS 58 Investigation
MILWAUKEE — Thanks to a CBS 58 Bottom Line Investigation Milwaukee now has a new sex offender ordinance. CBS 58’s Investigative Reporter Sarah Barwacz brought the issue to lawmakers back in May after finding child predators living next to schools, daycare centers, and parks. It was legal for child predators to live next to schools and parks because there was no law against it. Some council members we spoke with felt Milwaukee had become overrun with offenders. After several months of working with lawmakers Tuesday we got a law passed. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Lewisville Loses Appeal on Sex Offender Ordinance
In a ruling released Tuesday, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a district court ruling from last year that had dismissed a lawsuit against the City of Lewisville over the constitutionality of a city ordinance restricting where registered sex offenders can live. Full Article
Read MoreChanges to sex offender ordinance worries parents
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors deferred action on a proposal to repeal a Riverside County ordinance restricting where convicted sex offenders can reside and loiter, directing county staff instead to modify the law so that some of its provisions can be preserved. Full Article
Read MoreLompoc council to consider changes to sex offender ordinance [UPDATED with more media and video]
Lompoc’s City Council members tonight will consider easing loitering restrictions in the city’s sex offender ordinance to conform to state law, and temporarily suspending enforcement of residency limitations for registered offenders. Full Article City Council Hearing Video (click on #9) Update 7/16: Lompoc Council OKs settlement with registered sex offender (Lompoc Record) Update 7/17: To Settle Lawsuit, Lompoc Council Agrees to Ease Restrictions for Sex Offenders (Noozhawk)
Read MoreRiverside County moves to keep some sex offender limits
RIVERSIDE – Riverside County supervisors indicated Tuesday they would continue to limit where convicted sex offenders can live while repealing an ordinance saying offenders cannot go near schools and other places children gather. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Letters on sex offenders go out to Van Hollen, Wall
As expected, letters were sent out Friday to Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Corrections Secretary Edward Wall in connection with the city’s effort to force the state to do something about the disproportionate number of sex offenders who are being placed in the city. In his letter to Wall, Murphy noted that Grave Roberts, who runs the state’s sex offender program, stated that residency restrictions “inadvertently have negative effects on public safety.” “As such, we believe it prudent and an agency obligation for you to send an unequivocal statement to…
Read MoreAL: ACLU – Law banning sex offender camp might violate Alabama’s constitution
CLANTON, Alabama — A new law used to shut down a church-affiliated camp for convicted sex offenders in rural Alabama violates a state constitutional amendment designed to protect religious liberty, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday. Randall Marshall, legal director of the ACLU’s Alabama office, said the law that went into effect this week is in apparent conflict with the Alabama Religious Freedom Amendment, passed in 1998 to make it tougher for government to infringe on religious rights. Full Article
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