Pennsylvania’s “Sex Offender” Registry is headed for what some are calling a life-or-death battle in the PA Supreme Court. The registry, in existence for nearly a quarter of a century, enacted as part of Megan’s Law, a law giving the public a false sense of security by allowing them access to know who and where “sex offenders” lived in their communities, is about to be challenged. A challenge that we can only hope will either begin putting the registry to death or at the very least, let it be picked…
Read MoreTag: Vigilantism
‘The Dr Phil Show’ uncovers new form of vigilantism by ‘pedophile hunters’ who ‘honeytrap’ child molesters and publicly shame them
[meaww.com – 12/11/19] Wednesday’s episode of ‘The Dr. Phil Show’ featured a unique phenomenon. Vigilante “pedophile-hunters” are a thing. Dr. Phil described it as a “controversial form of vigilantism that law enforcement is just not in favor of.” What these hunters, who are regular citizens, do is they bait potential child molesters to arrive at a certain location. They then catch them on camera and post their details online. One of these so-called pedophile-hunters is a man called Tony. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Tony founded the “Team Loyalty…
Read MoreNY: Church pulls plug on sex offender’s wedding
[poststar.com – 10/22/19] …when word got out on social media in recent days that ______ was planning to get married days after his sentencing, and the invitation that was posted on Facebook talked of the “fairytale” relationship, the you-know-what hit the proverbial fan. The wedding was to be held Saturday at South Granville Congregational Church. Pastor Rick Backus said that he was aware _____ had been accused of child sexual abuse after the wedding was booked, but in light of the fact he hadn’t been convicted the wedding was going…
Read MoreLA: Teen beat up a stranger he recognized as a sex offender, now faces hate crime count, NOPD says
A 17-year-old boy who realized he was at the same convenience store as a man whose picture had appeared on a mailed sex-offender notice followed the man away from the shop and beat him up, New Orleans police said this week. Now, besides facing a count of misdemeanor battery, Tyrin Calloway stands accused of a hate crime, apparently on the theory that he targeted his alleged victim, a stranger, for being a registered sex offender, according to Criminal District Court records. Full Article
Read More[Updated 7/9/19] Facebook updates standards to allow death threats against alleged sexual offenders
[Updated by ACSOL 7/9/19] Earlier today it was reported by the Washington Examiner newspaper that Facebook had revised its posting policies to allow individuals to post threats of harm to anyone who the media had identified as committing a sex offense. In record time, Facebook has reversed those policies and now states that it will not allow such threats to be posted. Below is link to the newest revised policies. Facebook did not explain why it made this remarkably quick change, but regardless we can be grateful that the change…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Today is A Day to Remember
Today is Memorial Day. A day to remember those who paid the “ultimate price” as members of the U.S. Armed Forces. As a U. S. Navy veteran, I salute those who died in combat. As a leader of this movement, however, I cry for those who died not in combat, but at the hands of vigilantes. For the fights they fought were both unfair and unnecessary. The fights were unfair because, unlike soldiers, the registrants who were killed were not armed. That is because as registrants, they could not possess…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Vigilantism Against Registrants: What More Proof Do They Need?
I hate writing blog pieces like this, they’re depressing, scary and hit too close to home. But pieces like this are important for all of us to read. Pieces like this serve as “slap in the face, wake you up” reminders of what we’re all fighting for and why we need to seriously amp up the fight. Looking back at statistics, vigilante crimes against registrants have been occurring for over a decade if not longer. Murdered registrants don’t receive a lot of press and their deaths aren’t counted among those…
Read MoreRI: Concrete thrown at Rhode Island sex offender’s home
Police say someone threw a piece of concrete through the window of a registered sex offender’s home in Providence, Rhode Island. The vandalism occurred at the home of Richard Gardner at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Gardner was convicted of multiple child rapes in the 1980s and 1990s in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Residents protested Gardner for weeks after he moved into the neighborhood last year following his release from prison. Full Article Also see RI: City Officials Stoke Mob Mentality in Front of Sex Offender’s Home RI: Judge dismisses charge against sex…
Read MoreWA: Sex offender records request raises safety, First Amendment questions
Attorneys fighting a request to release the names of all level 1 sex offenders in Cowlitz County are making a novel — and perhaps long-shot — legal argument to the state Court of Appeals. Judges should take into account the motives of Kelso resident Curtis Hart, a sex offender vigilante who filed a state public records request for the list of offenders’ names months ago, a motion to the Washington Court of Appeals argues. Full Article
Read MoreIreland: Gunman shoots at wrong house in Dublin ‘after thinking sex offender lived there’
[thejournal.ie – 10/14/18] AN INNOCENT FAMILY was lucky to escape injury after a number of shots were fired into their house in Dublin by a shooter who gardaí believe was targeting a convicted sex offender, TheJournal.ie has learned. The case of mistaken identity happened on Tuesday night in Crumlin. Around four shots were fired through the front door of the house at approximately 10pm. There were four people in the house at the time. Nobody sustained any injuries. Gardaí believe the gunman got the wrong home. The family who live…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: How Many Dead Registrants is Enough?
Today a registrant in Orange County, California, is dead. He may have died at the hands of another or he may have taken his own life. This brings the total number of known dead registrants, killed by the hands of another or themselves, in California to 18 since 2005. How many dead registrants is enough? How many dead registrants will it take to persuade the public, elected officials and even the U.S. Supreme Court that registration is punishment….and not the same as being a member of Price Club. How dare…
Read MoreWA: Several more injunctions hit sex offender request
Curtis Hart is scheduled to receive the names of most of Cowlitz County’s 570 level 1 sex offenders Wednesday, but a few names likely will be withheld. One offender was granted a temporary injunction Sept. 11, and requests for injunctions to block the release of at least four other names were filed Monday on behalf of individual offenders. They are each represented by Vancouver attorney Elijah Marchbanks, and all are referred to as “John Does” in court documents. Full Article Also see: WA: Man plans to publish names of level…
Read MoreAZ: Conspiracy theories inspire vigilante justice in Tucson
[hcn.org – 9/12/18] How one man’s imagined discovery of a sex-trafficking camp in the Sonoran Desert gained life online — and in the real world. On May 31, a strange story aired on the nightly news in Tucson, Arizona. KOLD News 13 reporter Kevin Adger told viewers that a local veterans’ rights activist named Lewis Arthur had made a horrific discovery in the bushes beside a frontage road: a bunker used as a stopover by child sex traffickers. The reporter pointed out children’s clothes, an old toilet seat and a…
Read MoreWA: Man plans to publish names of level 1 sex offenders
Sex offender vigilante Curtis Hart has caused a furor among level 1 sex offenders by planning to publish many of their 570 names on the internet. Hart has requested that the sheriff’s office give him the names of all level 1 sex offenders in Cowlitz County, and under terms of a state Supreme Court ruling the agency must comply. The names, along with photos, addresses, and brief descriptions of the offenses could be released in less than two weeks. Full Article
Read MoreOK: Two dads pose as teenage girls online to lure ‘pedophiles.’ They caught one, Oklahoma cops say
[star-telegram.com – 5/31/18] Russell Goodwin and Jeremy Thomas think of themselves as the Pedophile Patrol. One local news station called them video vigilantes. The two Oklahoma City dads have gained a modest Facebook following for their page, where they post videos of themselves confronting men they say are pedophiles. They call themselves “Oklahoma Pedophile Prevention. They make their claims through similar tactics to those used by the show which ran on NBC from 2004 to 2007. They pose as teens and exchange either texts or social media messages with men…
Read MoreCA: Judge in Stanford rape case breaks silence amid sentencing controversy, recall effort
[cbsnews.com 5/8/18] SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — A California judge whose sentence for a former Stanford University swimmer in a sex assault case garnered national controversy broke his silence Tuesday ahead of next month’s recall vote. The effort to recall Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky is being closely watched for its national political implications. If it’s successful, Persky would be the first California judge recalled from office in 86 years after he sentenced then-sophomore Brock Turner to six months in jail in June 2016 for sexually assaulting a young…
Read MoreThe Forgotten Victims of National Crime Week
The week of April 8th to April 14th of 2018 has been declared “Nation Crime Victim’s Rights Week,” and while discussions about crime victims are commonplace, this recognized memorial week provides a greater platform for the victims’ rights group to promote their advocacy. There is, however, a narrative that has been neglected this week—the victimization of registered citizens and their loved ones by virtue of the public registry and the laws they inspire. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Three Opportunities in Thirty Days
We have three opportunities during the next 30 days to Show Up – Stand Up – Speak Up. Our first opportunity is in Sacramento on April 24 when the Senate Public Safety Committee will consider Senate Bill 1143. If passed, that bill would require registrants convicted of an offense involving a minor to disclose their status as a registrant to potential landlords as well as to home sellers if the property is within one-quarter mile of a school or a park. The penalty for not making such a disclosure is…
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