The Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill creating uniform restrictions on where violent sex offenders can live. Municipalities currently use local ordinances to create zones where sex offenders can’t live. The bill would create statewide regulations barring violent sex offenders from living with 1,500 feet of any school, day care, youth center, church or public park. Full Article Related http://www.startribune.com/wisconsin-lawmaker-seeks-to-change-state-s-sex-offender-law/326659501/ https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/proposals/ab290 http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/lazich/Pages/pa-show.aspx?id=The+State+Should+Leave+Local+Sex+Offender+Ordinances+Alone
Read MoreTag: Wisconsin
WI: Court upholds GPS tracking of sex offender convicted before law passed
Making a Wisconsin sex offender wear a GPS anklet for life, when he was convicted before that was the law, does not violate the constitutional prohibition against retroactive punishment, a federal appeals court has ruled. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Lawmaker seeks to close loophole for naked baby pictures
MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – Lots of families keep naked photos of their babies as keepsakes, but a Wisconsin lawmaker says some of those pictures are made for the wrong reasons. Assembly Republican John Jagler of Watertown is proposing a bill to ban nude baby photos for those intending to use them for sexual gratification. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Manitowoc sex offender ordinance approved
Convicted sex offenders from outside Manitowoc can no longer legally be placed within the city limits after the City Council approved an ordinance regulating such placements. The council Dec. 21 unanimously approved the ordinance, which prohibits any convicted sex offender from residing or being placed on supervised release within the city limits unless the offender lived in the city at the time of the offense or previously resided in the city for more than five years. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Public Defenders Office Questions Sex Offender Housing Bills
An attorney from the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office wants changes to a bill that would restrict housing options for released sex predators, saying it could put the state’s civil commitment law in constitutional jeopardy. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Legislator proposes child abuse registry
SAGINAW, MI (WNEM) –Tonight, children, many of them at-risk and abused, are putting the final touches on routines. They’re getting a special moment at their big dance in Saginaw. They’re Elijah’s Warriors, named in memory of 6-year-old Elijah Dillard. “Never, we never want to hear that story again, we never want to hear any child go near that story,” said Omarr Dillard. In 2014, Elijah was murdered in a brutal case of child abuse by his step father. … The bill would require convicted child abusers to register on the…
Read MoreWI: Teen sexting in Wisconsin is popular, criminal (Opinion)
In Wisconsin, if your teenager is “sexting” with other teens, he or she could end up being convicted of possession of child pornography (or numerous other sex crimes), sent to prison and placed on the sex offender registry. Sexting is sending sexually explicit digital photos or videos to another person via cell phone or the Internet. It is the latest “craze” among teens and it’s popular in Wisconsin. According to research from TeenSafe.com, over 70 percent of teens admit to sexting with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Sex offenders have 1st Amendment right to photograph children
A Wisconsin law prohibiting registered sex offenders from photographing children in public violates their right to free speech, the state Court of Appeals held Tuesday. The decision by the Wausau-based District 3 court reversed the conviction of a 44-year-old Green Bay man who had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the non-pornographic photos. It also found the law unconstitutional on its face, not salvageable by a narrowed interpretation or severing part of the statute. Because of a 2002 child sexual assault conviction, ____ ____ was on probation in…
Read MoreWI: Bill would crack down on homeless sex offenders
MADISON (WITI) — They are tough to track and they’re roaming the streets. The number of homeless sex offenders are on the rise, and there’s a new plan to fix the problem. Full Article
Read MoreWI: Expert Weighs In On Proposed Statewide Sex Offender Law
Some local ordinances have made it increasingly difficult for sex offenders to find housing. In response to restrictive buffer zones and housing bans, many sex offenders relocate to communities with fewer restrictions. Full Article and Radio Show
Read MoreWI: Man arrested on suspicion of burning house intended for sex offender
Dane County authorities arrested a town of Cottage Grove man they say set fire to a house Sunday night in a vigilante effort to keep a sex offender from moving in there. Russell A. Speigle, 50, was arrested on a tentative charge of arson for the fire, which destroyed a home at 4721 Gaston Circle in the town of Cottage Grove, Sheriff Dave Mahoney said Tuesday. Investigators are now trying to determine if Speigle was responsible for another fire that damaged the same house in December, Mahoney said. Full Article
Read MoreMN: Sex offender trial highlights differences between Minnesota, Wisconsin
ST. PAUL – The trial in the lawsuit against Minnesota’s program for treating its most dangerous sex offenders opened with contrasts: how two very similar states can have such dramatically different results in treating offenders. About 20 years ago, Minnesota and Wisconsin established programs to treat sex offenders who seemed likely to recommit crimes. But where Minnesota’s program has more than 700 offenders confined to its facilities in Moose Lake and St. Peter, Wisconsin’s Sand Ridge facility is home to 362 committed offenders, Deborah McCulloch, head of the Wisconsin program,…
Read MoreWI: Sheriff – Why sex offenders live in our communities
Throughout the years I have written articles pertaining to many topics that affect the overall safety of our communities. From theft and fraud prevention to animal bites and cold weather preparation, there is never a shortage of issues in which helpful information can be shared. This week I would like to cover some information regarding sex offenders and the guidelines that govern their re-integration into our communities. Full Article
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 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 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 MoreWhy single out sex offenders? Drug dealers, drunken drivers live among us
Letter to the Editor – This is in response to the uproar of a registered sex offender living in Allouez: I would rather know if a convicted drug dealer, wife beater or, for that matter, a person convicted of having DUIs lived next to me. They are not monitored such as a registered sex offender and therefore are not under as much scrutiny as the mentioned offender. Full Letter
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