Zachary, now 19, is in jail awaiting sentencing for five pictures his teenage girlfriend sent him of herself in her underwear. He faced a choice between a possible (though unlikely) maximum sentence of 350 years in prison, or lifetime on the sex offender registry as a “sexually violent offender”—even though he never met the girl in person. Here’s what happened. Full Article
Read MoreTag: Virginia
VA: Lawmakers say judges being too lenient on people possessing child porn
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Beginning July 1 last year, people convicted of possession of child porn were subject to more lenient punishments after sentencing guidelines for the charge were reduced. “We think that that decision is irresponsible; it affects public safety,” said Camille Cooper with the National Association to Protect Children. Cooper supports bills including SB 1278 that aim at making sentencing guidelines what they were prior to last year’s changes. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Lawmakers say judges being too lenient on people possessing child porn
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Beginning July 1 last year, people convicted of possession of child porn were subject to more lenient punishments after sentencing guidelines for the charge were reduced. “We think that that decision is irresponsible; it affects public safety,” said Camille Cooper with the National Association to Protect Children. Full Article
Read MoreThe Myth and the Propaganda of Halloween and Registered Sex Offenders
3 weeks from today is Halloween 2016 and in about 2 weeks I’ll post my annual Do’s and Don’ts list for RSO’s in Virginia on Halloween. Over the years of advocating for data-driven laws and reform here I’ve learned the worst time of year for Myth-Based and Hysteria-Driven articles, policies and laws is Halloween. Halloween can be more emotionally draining than the annual Virginia General Assembly in Richmond. Full Article on It’s Time to Reduce, Reconstruct, Reclassify, Rethink and Reform the Virginia Sex Offender Registry
Read MoreVA: They’ve been living in shacks by the water in Norfolk. Now they have to go — but where?
Officially, the prime spit of waterfront property off the Campostella Bridge – valued at $1.6 million – has been vacant for years. A plan to build 246 apartments there, approved by the city in 2011, fell through. But unbeknownst to the owners, the land has already been occupied. Gina Gallegos and her boyfriend, ____ ____, arrived 18 months ago and claimed a large clearing in the trees. Gino Linn Reid has lived next door, deeper into the woods, for four years. By most definitions, they’re homeless. But the homes they’ve…
Read MoreVA: Virginia pulls 132 confined sex offenders from list of eligible voters
RICHMOND — State officials abruptly removed 132 sex offenders from Virginia’s list of eligible voters last week, reacting to the latest problem emerging from Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s sweeping move to restore voting rights to felons who had served out their sentences. Full Article
Read MoreVA: High court rules against device gauging sexual arousal
The controversial plethysmograph, used in assessing treatment, measures arousal as an offender is shown sexually suggestive pictures. It is the subject of a Virginia Supreme Court decision. Full Article Related https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1063223/billips-v-com/
Read MoreVA: Workplaces affected by new sex offender law
It’s been practice for state police to include an offender’s workplace on the sex offender registry — but now it will become mandatory. So will including the name of any college an offender attends. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Senate Approves Eliminating Employer Names from Sex Offender Registry
The Virginia Senate passed a bill 22 to 17 that would remove a requirement that businesses who employ sex offenders have their name included in the sex offender registry. Democratic Senator Janet Howell of Northern Fairfax, the bill’s patron, says the current requirement serves as a barrier to hiring those who have served their time, and making it harder for them to get on with their lives. Full Article
Read MoreVA: VSP launches Sex Offender Supplemental Registry
Virginia State Police have launched a Sex Offender Supplemental Registry online for public access, granting information on cases taking place before the sex offender registry’s founding. Full Article More from Virginia
Read MoreVA: Cost of sex offender program shocks lawmakers
Lawmakers expressed shock Friday over the exponentially rising cost of a program to keep some sex offenders locked up after they complete their criminal sentences. The annual operating cost of Virginia’s Sexually Violent Predator Program is projected to hit $32 million next year – more than a tenfold increase in eight years. The General Assembly created the program in 1998 to keep sex offenders deemed likely to re-offend off the streets after they finish their criminal sentences. The process is known as civil commitment. Full Article Note: Article is from…
Read MoreVA: Sex offenders who have kids put schools in awkward spot
Bayside Middle School administrators banned the father of a student this past school year after learning he had pleaded guilty a decade earlier to having sex with a 14-year-old when he was 21. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Devoy – Has Virginia’s sex offender registry kept us safe?
Recently, Gov. Terry McAuliffe set up an independent commission to look at the 20 years since parole was abolished and determine whether it should be revived. “It’s time to review whether that makes sense,” he said during a radio appearance. “Is it keeping our citizens safe? Is it a reasonable, good, cost-effective way? Are we rehabilitating folks?” he asked. “Are sentences too long for nonviolent offenses? Are we keeping people in prison too long?” All great questions! Full Editorial
Read MoreVA: ACLU denounces governor’s signing of new sex offender registry bills
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia today condemned Governor McAuliffe’s action on two bills that will create a new sex offender registry, SB 1074 and HB 1353. The new law will require the Virginia State Police to create a supplemental sex offender registry that includes all persons convicted between July 1980 and July 1994 for a crime that would mandate sex offender registration if it occurred in 2015. The supplemental registry will contain a name, year of birth, date of the conviction, jurisdiction in which the conviction occurred,…
Read MoreVA: woman convicted for harassing sex offender
All she wanted to do, Delores Ann Harris told a jury Friday, was to protect herself and her granddaughter from a man who had been convicted 21 years ago of aggravated sexual battery, a man who has been on the state’s sex offender registry since 1997. But the convicted sex offender in the courtroom was the victim in the jury trial. And Harris, 61, was the defendant, charged with misusing information from the sex offender registry. Full Article
Read MoreVA: Sex offender registry – Bad idea (OpEd)
Virginia lawmakers introduce many bad ideas, but they also wisely dispense with a good proportion of them. One of those that has escaped the ax comes from state Sen. Ryan McDougle, and would establish a supplemental sex-offender registry. The supplemental registry, which would be published on the State Police website, would include the names of persons who committed various offenses between 1980 and 1994. Full OpEd Piece
Read MoreVA: Campbell – Sex offender bill would stir up angry mobs
HB1366 patroned by Del. Jeff Campbell, R-Marion, passed the House of Delegates recently, unanimously, with absolutely no discussion or debate and with very little notice by most Virginians. ***Article no longer online*** More at restoringintegritytovirginiaregistry
Read MoreVA: Should sex offenders be allowed to visit their own child at school?
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers will consider a measure Tuesday that will affect parents and their children. House Bill 1366 would change state guidelines pertaining to sex offenders on school property. The measure is aimed at limiting school access for parents who are sex offenders and want to visit their child’s school. Under current state law, registered sex offenders are allowed on school campuses if their children goes to the school and their visit is cleared with the school superintendent. However, a bill introduced by Delegate Jeff Campbell (R-Marion) would change…
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