SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sex-abuse victims will have more time to pursue criminal charges against offenders under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Also Tuesday, the governor vetoed a related bill that would have extended the amount of time victims have to file civil lawsuits and seek financial compensation Full Article
Read MoreMonth: September 2014
NY: Editorial – Monitoring sex offenders
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli fears municipalities across the state are not insistent enough that convicted sex offenders follow post-release laws about notifying police where they are living. In our specific region, this does not appear to be a valid complaint. Once convicted, most felons serve their time and generally are released with the understanding that they’ve paid for their crime. Not so with sex offenses, however. Full Article
Read MoreTreatment to be mandatory for young sex offenders
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Adolescents and teenagers convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious victim will face mandatory sexual-offender treatment in California. Gov. Jerry Brown’s office on Tuesday announced he had signed SB838. Full Article
Read MoreFL: Landlord Bucks Trend, Offers Housing to Sex Offenders
Laws that restrict where sex offenders can live when they are released from prison leave many homeless, but one south Florida apartment manager is providing housing opportunities by leasing apartments to offenders on liberal terms. “I just believe that everybody deserves a second chance,” said Pamela Eaton, the manager of Fairfield Apartments in south Fort Myers. She indicated her goal is to help sex offenders become independent and productive citizens, “because everybody makes mistakes.” She considers post-release housing one step in that direction. Full Article
Read MoreDo Residency Bans Drive Sex Offenders Underground?
Early last year, Los Angeles set aside a sliver of land in its Harbor Gateway neighborhood for the city’s newest and smallest park: two jungle gyms on a fifth of an acre. The project was more than just an effort to increase the city’s green space. City Council members made clear that one of the park’s principal reasons for existence was to force 33 people on the California sex offender registry who were living in a nearby apartment building to move out. State law bars those on its registry from living within…
Read MoreTX: Mom Upset Sex Offender Allowed Near Kids in Pee Wee Football League
SHEPHERD, TX (KTRK) — A San Jacinto County mother says she couldn’t believe it when she saw a man she considered an assistant coach on her five-year-old son’s pee-wee football team listed online as a sex offender. “I was shocked. I was very upset, very angry. There’s really not a word for it,” she says. “My son’s five years old, this man’s out here on the field with my son, and for no one to notify me of it before I sign my son up or before they sign the…
Read MoreAZ: Arizona’s Naked Photo Law Makes Free Speech a Felony
Which of the following could land you a felony conviction in Arizona? Showing images of naked prisoners tortured at Abu Ghraib; Linking to the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of “Napalm Girl,” showing an unclothed Vietnamese girl running from a napalm attack; Sharing a close-up photo of a woman’s breast with a breastfeeding support group; Waving a friend over to see a cute naked baby pic — like the one you see on this page. Unfortunately, the answer is all of the above. That’s because Arizona recently passed a law that…
Read MoreJustice Department Announces $17.6 Million in Awards to Support Sex Offender Registration, Intervention and Treatment
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $17 million in Fiscal Year 2014 grant assistance for states, territories, tribal governments and other entities to use to implement, enhance and maintain sex offender programming throughout the United States. “These awards provide a wide range of assistance to help states, communities, tribes, and even institutions of higher learning manage sex offenders,” said Dawn Doran, Acting Director of the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART). “They will give jurisdictions the tools…
Read MoreAnti-Junk Forensic Science bill is now law: Criminal Justice Public Policy Breakthrough in California
California Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law SB 1058 bill. The law permits habeas corpus petitioners (i.e. after a conviction) the ability to contest expert testimony that was presented against them at trial. In other words, experts who either repudiate their past testimony or used forensic “science” that is later deemed faulty by legitimate research are subject to later proceedings reversing a conviction. Personal liabilities of those experts are NOT affected by this amendment to the California Penal Code. Full Article
Read MoreCalifornia Enacts ‘Yes Means Yes’ Law, Defining Sexual Consent
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill into law that makes California the first in the nation to have a clear definition of when people agree to sex. The law goes further than the common “no means no” standard, which has been blamed for bringing ambiguity into investigations of sexual assault cases. The new law seeks both to improve how universities handle rape and sexual assault accusations and to clarify the standards, requiring an “affirmative consent” and stating that consent can’t be given if someone is asleep or incapacitated by…
Read MoreWhat I Want You To Know About Being The Sister Of A Convicted Sex Offender
I used to believe in monsters. Until my brother became one. Three years ago, I got a call that my brother had been arrested for molesting his step-daughter. Certain there had been a mistake, I was obviously dumbfounded. Until he confessed. Through slurred words, drunken ramblings and tears that, yes, he had, and on more than one occasion. The arrest was just the very first drop in a roller coaster of emotion. This event has single handedly shaken my world like nothing before it. It has transformed my family in…
Read MoreEver have Your Fortune Told.
Human beings have the habit of wanting somebody to be omniscient In powers to predict the future. When you think of a fortuneteller you think of a Gypsy type woman in a dark room with a turbine on her head in front of a crystal ball. We know in our hearts that these people are charlatans, whether they use a crystal ball, tarot cards, numerology or our astrological signs. Why then should we put any more faith into forensic psychologists who disregard the limits of science by overstating the accuracy…
Read MoreMA: Outraged Mom, Allegedly Assaults Neighbor Who Faces Child Porn Charges
A Massachusetts mom faces felony charges after she admitted to assaulting her neighbor, who had returned home after being arrested on child porn charges. According to a police report obtained by The Smoking Gun, Nicole Pelletier, 42, entered Gary Spring’s condo through an unlocked door the evening of Sept. 22. Full Article
Read MoreWA: Sex offenders back at Marysville home
MARYSVILLE, Wash. — Sex offenders have moved back into a church-run home, just a few months after the City of Marysville forced them out. The home in the 15300 block of Smokey Boulevard is located in a light industrial area in Marysville. The city said that it was being used illegally as a residential facility for sex offenders and ex-cons. Full Article
Read MoreNY: Judge Rejects Sex Offenders’ Challenge to Residency Laws
The claims of nine convicted sex offenders that New York state, county and town sex offender registration requirements and residency restrictions are unconstitutional have been dismissed by a Brooklyn federal judge. But Eastern District Judge Pamela Chen (See Profile) also dismissed without prejudice their claim that state residency laws preempt more restrictive local laws. Full Article
Read MoreHesperia settles sex-offender lawsuit
HESPERIA — An agreed-upon dismissal of a registered sex offender’s federal lawsuit was filed Thursday following a settlement. The suit had been filed in July over delay in approving municipal code changes about “presence restrictions” for sex offenders. Hesperia city code sections regulating the residency, mobility and business activities of registered sex offenders were preempted by several state laws that, when taken together, form “a standardized, statewide system” to regulate their presence, according to Hesperia’s attorney. Full Article
Read MoreDA’s Sex Offender Ban Continues to Be Repealed by Cities
Westminster city officials this week became the latest Orange County city to repeal a ban on sex offenders in city parks, following a recent appeals court ruling striking down a similar county law. Wednesday night, council members voted 3-1, with councilmember Sergio Contreras voting no and Andy Quach absent, to repeal the ordinance requiring convicted sex offenders to get written permission from police before setting foot in a city park. Violation was a misdemeanor. Full Article Note: The Article contains a video segment of the December 2012 Lake Forest City…
Read MoreCA Sex Offender Management Board Considering New Tiered Registry Bill
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB), a state organization, has begun consideration of a new tiered registry bill that would allow some, but not all, registered citizens to end their requirement to register in either 10 or 20 years. The bill would also allow most registered citizens who have been registered for 30 years or more and have not committed a subsequent sex offense to stop registering in the year 2017. According to CASOMB, the draft bill would increase public safety by allowing law enforcement to focus resources upon…
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