In rural Clanton, Alabama, a pastor named Ricky Martin has operated a camp on his property to help convicted sex offenders reform themselves. Martin’s program has since 2010 provided a refuge for over 50 men as they try to assimilate back into society. Not anymore, though. C.J. Robinson, the chief deputy district attorney of Chilton County, thought the group was icky or dangerous or something, so he went out of his way to put an end it. Full Article
Read MoreTag: Residency Restrictions
AL: Alabama shuts down church’s sex offender housing
CLANTON, Ala. (AP) — Believing it was his calling to reach out to people Jesus called “the least of these,” Pastor Ricky Martin built a little church and opened a camp out back for some of society’s most unwanted people: Sex offenders. With the help of some former inmates convicted of rape, sodomy, child sexual abuse and other crimes, Martin raised a gray-block chapel in a rural patch of central Alabama in 2010, and parked old campers and recreational vehicles behind it to house the men. More than 50 convicted…
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 MoreAL: New law forces Chilton. Co. sex offenders to leave pastor’s backyard
Since 2010, 53 sex offenders released from prison have moved in to trailers in Ricky Martin’s backyard. The property is located at 40 County Road 374 in Chilton County. Of those 53 convicted offenders, 32 are convicted rapists and 21 have been convicted of molestation. 43 committed crimes against children. Martin pastors Triumph Church, also on his property. Neighbors tell WIAT 42 they do not feel safe in their homes. Full Article
Read MoreMO: Springfield sued over order to close group home
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri nonprofit has filed a lawsuit contending that the city of Springfield violated federal and city laws when it ordered the closure of a group home for recovering alcoholics, drug addicts and sex offenders. Recovery Chapel and its executive director, Farris Robertson, said in the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday against the city and its Board of Adjustment that the city’s refusal to allow the group home violates the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as local zoning codes. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Controversial sex offender proposal tabled by Common Council
MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Common Council’s Steering and Rules Committee on Thursday tabled a proposal to prevent sex offenders from living within a third of a mile from schools, parks and day cares. That may sound very thoughtful with regards to protecting children. But, speakers at the hearing Thursday offered another viewpoint. It’s pretty easy to go online and see if you’re living near a sex offender. But, police fear that could change. Convicted rapists could start to lie, set up a p.o. box someplace else, but truly be living in a home near…
Read MoreFL: Loopholes cast doubt on effectiveness of sex offender laws in Volusia cities
PORT ORANGE — Registered sex offender ____ ____ ____ lives 2,112 feet from Spruce Creek Elementary School. He and other offenders who have served their sentences have been the targets in recent months of politicians including the Port Orange City Council who have enacted new regulations in the name of safety. Port Orange expanded its requirement for sex offenders to live further than 2,500 feet from schools, day-care centers and playgrounds, while in March Gov. Rick Scott signed a package of bills tightening penalties and prison sentences for sex offenders and…
Read MoreNH: House committee passes bill prohibiting restrictions on where sex offenders can live
A House committee easily passed a bill, 18-1, prohibiting restrictions on where sex offenders can live yesterday, noting that judges have twice ruled residency restrictions unconstitutional. Still, lawmakers predicted a tough fight in the Senate, which has rejected similar bills before. Full Article
Read MoreTX: Anson landlord willing to fight city for sex offender tenant
The city of Anson is stirring over a controversy dealing with a landlord and his tenant who is a registered sex offender. On Saturday, the landlord said he was surprised when he got a citation stating that his tenant broke city law by living within 1,000 feet of a local middle school. Full Article
Read MoreCO: Reasonable residency rules for sex offenders in Commerce City
Commerce City’s solution to deciding where sex offenders can live is a model for how communities can reasonably handle residency requirements. Commerce City on Monday passed an amendment to its residency requirements, allowing registered sex offenders who aren’t sexually violent to seek exceptions to rules that ban them from living within 1,000 feet of a school, park, playground or day care center. Full Op-Ed Piece
Read MoreDo sex offender restrictions work?
JONESBORO, AR (KAIT) – When we talk about sex offenders emotion tends to take over. Call it a protective instinct. We don’t want them living near our children or where our children go to school or play. The thoughts are terrifying to any parent. But as we found out, those fears, don’t match the facts. “There is no data, according to my knowledge, that sex offender registry restrictions prevent sexual assault,” Sheri Flynn told Region 8 News. Full Article
Read MoreWhere are sex offenders? Jessica’s Law complicates monitoring
The number of homeless sex offenders has skyrocketed since Jessica’s Law went into effect, and after the recent arrest of two serial killer suspects some experts say the law to protect women and children is backfiring. Unable to live near schools and parks, some registered offenders end up living on the streets, making it difficult for them to find jobs and forcing them into areas where they end up congregating. Before the residency restrictions brought by Jessica’s Law eight years ago, 88 paroled sex offenders were registered as transient in California.…
Read MoreIs there a loophole in CA’s tracking of sex offenders?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —Certain sex offenders are supposed to be tracked and monitored, even after they’re released from prison. But according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, hundreds of them have registered as transient — and some are doing so to avoid detection and certain living restrictions. Full Article
Read MoreA Criminal Justice System in Crisis: Suspect Serial Killers Slip Through the Cracks in OC (Op-Ed)
In light of the recent arrests of two registered sex offenders in connection with four murders in Orange County, I’d like to share an article that I originally wrote a few months ago for OC Lawyer Magazine. The tragedy brings into focus the critical shortcomings of our state’s sex offender registry and the stress it puts on a criminal justice system already in crisis. As far as public policies goes, the laws regulating sex offenders are incredibly difficult to approach and reform, but we owe victims (and potential victims) a…
Read MoreSD: City defines where sex offender can be
The Hankinson City Council is trying to create a safe zone for children after a high-risk sex offender took up residence a few miles outside town. Last week, the council passed the first reading of an ordinance that prohibits a registered sexual predator from living within 800 feet of a school, childcare facility, child care institution, park, playground or other places where children regularly congregate. The ordinance also states it would be an offense for a sex offender to knowingly loiter on a public way within 400 feet of a…
Read MoreFL: Daytona Beach park to keep neighborhood safe from sex predators
DAYTONA BEACH — A nationally recognized child abuse survivor — and abuse prevention advocate — is hailing a Volusia County children’s park as a great tool to keep child sex predators away from neighborhoods. Lauren Book is walking from Key West to Tallahassee as part of her fifth-annual Walk In My Shoes campaign aimed at raising awareness about prevention and pushing for change in Florida law to protect children from abuse. Her bus stopped at the Bayberry Lakes neighborhood park, located in Daytona Beach. The park, which is the first of…
Read MoreNH: Sex offender housing restrictions do more harm than good (Editorial)
Of all the constituents that politicians want to help out, sex offenders probably rank at the very bottom of the list. But the New Hampshire Senate should summon the courage to do just that. By helping sex offenders, as strange as it sounds, the Senate will end up making life safer for everyone else. Full Opinion Piece
Read MorePOMONA ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
A sex offender ordinance adopted by the City of Pomona is the subject of a lawsuit filed today in federal district court on behalf of a sex offender (“registered citizen”). The ordinance includes restrictions regarding where more than 105,000 individuals can reside or be present. Specifically, the ordinance prohibits registered citizens from residing or being present within 300 feet of a wide range of public and private locations including schools, parks, bus stops, railroad station, arcades, health clubs, movie theaters, cyber cafes and museums. A registered citizen who violates the…
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