A lawsuit has been filed in Kern County Superior Court which challenges the residency and presence restrictions in that county. According to those restrictions, registrants — including those convicted as juveniles — are prohibited from living within 2,000 feet of schools, parks, day care centers and other locations where children regularly gather. In addition, registrants may not visit a day care center for any reason. According to the lawsuit, the impact of the residency restrictions is that it eliminates the possibility of a registrant living in about 97 percent of Kern County. The…
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WI: For now, sex offenders will not be allowed to move into the village of Hartland
Members of the Hartland Village Board have voted to begin work on an ordinance that will restrict where sex offenders can live. In the meantime, the village will not allow any new offenders to move into the village. … The moratorium states that sex offenders cannot move into Hartland until the village’s average amount of sex offenders living in the village is the same as the rest of the county. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Gov. Brown signs Wilk’s sex offender bill into law
Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1199 into law Monday evening, an attempt to correct the way Jessica’s Law led to a disproportionate number of sexual offenders being released to rural areas. The bill’s author, Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, said the bill addresses an unintended consequence, which created a burdensome and unfair situation in several parts of the 21st Senate District, which he represents, as well as rural communities throughout the state. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Educators, officials seek more housing limits on sex offenders
With classes across Long Island set to resume in the coming weeks, some Suffolk education leaders and elected officials are raising concerns that nearly two dozen of the highest-risk sex offenders are living close to schools. The officials are pushing for passage of legislation that would empower county officials to regulate where sex offenders live. Full Article
Read MoreHI: Dozens of sex predators registered as living in Oahu parks
Hawaii’s sex offender registry is meant to keep people safe by requiring convicted sex criminals to submit their address to an online database. On the site, the public can check to see if a sex offender lives nearby. But a Hawaii News Now investigation has revealed some alarming gaps in the system, including vague addresses and dozens of convicted sex predators living places where you hope children can be safest. Full Article
Read MoreNE: Sex offender residency restriction dropped by council
An ordinance that would have banned convicted/registered sex offenders from living within 500 feet of a school or child care facility in York was given a second public reading and then dropped for good. Full Article
Read MoreIs it an unconstitutional taking of property without just compensation to require sex offenders to move away from their home if a school, etc is established near their home after their initial occupation?
In Mann v. Georgia Department of Corrections,653 S.E.2d 740 (Ga. 2007), the Georgia Supreme Court held that a state statute prohibiting registered sex offenders from living or working within 1,000 feet of any facility where minors congregate, see Ga. Code Åò42-1-15, constituted a taking of property as applied to a sex offender who was forced to move after a child care center opened a facility within 1,000 feet of his home. … The Seventh Circuit just came to the opposite conclusion in an opinion written by Judge Diane S. Sykes.…
Read MoreCA: Maywood City Council Begins Repeal of Residency Restrictions
The Maywood City Council began a two-step process aimed at repealing its residency restrictions during a regularly scheduled meeting on July 11. The second step is expected to take place during the Council’s next meeting on July 25. As currently drafted, the Maywood residency restrictions prohibit individuals convicted of a sex offense from living in virtually all of the city. A lawsuit challenging the restrictions was filed in Norwalk Superior Court on March 15. The City of Maywood originally refused to repeal the ordinance, however, the city’s position changed after…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Three Courts Issue Three Harmful Decisions
In the span of just one week, three courts have issued decisions that significantly harm registrants. Those decisions affect registrants’ marriages, homes and overseas travel. It’s a lot to absorb in a short amount of time. It’s too much to fight at this time. But fight we must in the near future. In the first of those decisions, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals validated a provision of the Adam Walsh Act that makes it difficult, if not impossible, for an individual convicted of a sex offense to sponsor his…
Read MoreIL: 7th Circuit Upholds Illinois Residency Restrictions
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld residency restrictions adopted by the state of Illinois that prohibit anyone convicted of a sex offense involving a minor from living within 500 feet of a school, playground, child-care center, child day-care home and group day-care home. According to the decision, which was issued on July 11, the restrictions can even be applied to individuals who are no longer required to register as a sex offender. The circuit court rejected arguments in the case that the residency restrictions violated the ex post…
Read MoreCA: Pico Rivera Repeals Residency Restrictions
The City of Pico Rivera repealed its residency restrictions which prohibited registrants from living in most of that city, on either a temporary or a permanent basis, and the repeal of the city’s restrictions will become effective on July 12, 2018. The City’s repeal followed the filing of a lawsuit in federal district court on February 22, 2018. “The Pico Rivera lawsuit is number 30 of 31 lawsuits filed thus far challenging residency restrictions adopted by cities and counties,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci “The lawsuits have resulted in…
Read MoreCA: Maywood to Consider Repeal of Residency Restrictions
The City of Maywood is scheduled to consider repeal of its residency restrictions during a City Council meeting on July 11. If the City Council approves repeal of the restrictions on that date, a second vote will be required at its next meeting on July 25. “The current residency restrictions in the City of Maywood virtually banish all people required to register from living in that city,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “As a result, Maywood families have been torn apart.” ACSOL notified the City of Maywood in a…
Read MoreIN: Bill that prevents sex offenders from living near victims signed by governor
INDIANAPOLIS – A bill authored by State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, that prevents sex offenders from living near victims was ceremonially signed into law Monday by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Senate Enrolled Act 12 makes it unlawful for a sex offender to intentionally establish residence within one mile of their victim. Although this is current law for victims who are minors, SEA 12 extends the protection to all victims regardless of age. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Sex offender who sued West St. Paul to get $84K in settlement
A sex offender who sued West St. Paul over its 2016 ordinance that restricted where he could live will receive $84,000 as part of a settlement agreement approved by a federal judge Monday. Full Article
Read MoreCA: Superior Court Judges Limits Residency Restrictions to Parolees
A California Superior Court judge has ruled that residency restrictions may only be applied to registrants while they are on parole. This ruling, issued in Norwalk Superior Court yesterday, is consistent with a ruling made by a federal judge in late 2017. “These court decisions are important because they clarify that cities may not impose residency restrictions against registrants who are not on parole,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “In addition to limiting the application of residency restrictions to parolees, we are also claiming that the restrictions violate the…
Read MoreFL: Police Now Shuffling Tent City Sex Offenders Around Miami-Dade
[miaminewtimes.com – 5/24/18] In 2009, California artist Scott Gairdner made the “Sex Offender Shuffle,” a viral video parodying Miami-Dade’s treatment of sex offenders. With a catchy beat and ’80s-style cinematography, the four-minute spoof of the 1985 Chicago Bears’ “Super Bowl Shuffle” mocked the way sex offenders are shuffled from one location to another under the guise of public safety. Nine years later, the sex offender shuffle is playing out in real life in Miami-Dade. After being forced to leave a longtime encampment near Hialeah, a group of homeless sex offenders…
Read MoreMO: ‘Extremely complex’ sex offender residency restrictions are challenging to enforce
In an effort to keep Missouri children safe, lawmakers have enacted half a dozen laws over the past decade that restrict the rights of convicted sex offenders living among us. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Miami-Dade Will Close Sex Offender Camp by May 6, Threatens Jail Time for Stragglers
Since 2014, a colony of homeless sex offenders has been rapidly growing by the railroad tracks near Hialeah. Nobody wants them there, including the dozens who call the ramshackle camp home. Everyone, from the Homeless Trust to the ACLU to the county commission, agrees the encampment is a public health and safety hazard. But for years, the sex offenders have said that restrictive county laws mean they have nowhere else to legally live and that county officials have failed to solve the problem. Full Article
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