Articles Concerning Sex Offender Issues ©
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“Keeping our children safe should always be a top priority. This bill provides social networking sites with one more tool to protect our children from dangerous predators on the Internet,” said Congressman Pomeroy, who was instrumental in the creation of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Website last year. “Just as we’ve always told our kids not to talk to strangers, now we must echo that warning when they log on to the Internet.” ..more.. : by Congressman Earl Pomeroy
Goto the bottom of that page where it says "ALL RECENT PROGRAMS>>>" click till you find the following: House Hearing on Sex Crimes and the Internet Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) chairs a House Judiciary Cmte. hearing on Internet sex crimes. Witnesses include various state representatives, FBI officials, child advocates and others. 10/17/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr. 31 min. eAdvocate
State officials handled nearly 100 instances of teacher sexual misconduct over a recent five-year period. The cases ranged from minor violations like using sexual language to more serious, criminal acts like inappropriate touching and even sodomy and rape. That's about two violations for each month on the school calendar. Kentucky's figures were gathered as part of a seven-month investigation in which Associated Press reporters sought records on teacher discipline in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. ..more.. : by WKYT
During the campaign for Jessica's Law, I began doing research. On the Department of Justice Web site, I found a report entitled "Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994," November 2003. This is what I learned. Fact: "Compared to nonsex offenders released from state prison, sex offenders had a lower overall re-arrest rate." Fact: "Released sex offenders with one prior arrest (the arrest for the sex crime for which they were imprisoned) had the lowest re-arrest rate for a sex crime, about 3 percent." ..more.. : by Tim Walden
_Sitting, torn clothing, stained or bloodied underwear, pain or itching in the genital area, venereal disease, pregnancy, and changes in weight. _Sexual behavior inappropriate for a student's age. _Being late to class, changes in personality, and increased time with one adult. _The behavior of adult molesters can include personal relationships with students, time spent alone with students, time before or after school spent with the same students, time in private spaces with students, flirting with students, and off-color remarks in class. _Sexual predators in schools are often well liked and considered excellent teachers. ..more.. : SOURCE: New York State School Boards Association.
Scientists agree that pedophiles can choose whether or not to act on their desires, and that abusers should be jailed. But they say the societal fixation on punishment makes it nearly impossible to rehabilitate pedophiles once they've been through the justice system. Now, a fledgling movement within the scientific community is drawing a clearer picture of the disorder. Literally. A small but growing number of researchers are using technologies such as brain imaging to map physiological differences between pedophiles and healthy people. They hope the research will convince the general public of what scientists have long understood: Pedophilia is a matter of biology, not personal choice. ..more.. : by Paola Loriggio, Staff Reporter
A key issue in the high court's review of the case will be whether the residency restriction law is punitive or merely part of the regulation of sex offenders. The difference is important because the former makes it an unconstitutional ex post facto law, while the latter is allowed. An ex post facto law is one passed to punish a person after the commission of an act. In the residency requirement laws, it applies to all sex offenders, even those who committed their crimes and served out their punishments years ago. ..more.. : by Paul A. Long, Post staff reporter
California Corrections Secretary James Tilton on Thursday began notifying local law enforcement agencies that the state would no longer take responsibility for placing tracking devices on the ankles of sex offenders once they leave parole. But few if any local agencies around the state are equipped to handle the expensive and intensive satellite monitoring the law requires. And the law is not clear on whether they should have to do so. ..more.. : by Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Changes in Ohio law that will be effective Jan. 1 bring the state into compliance with federal law. The laws classify sex offenders in three tiers, based on the crime for which the offender was convicted and without considering the likelihood of repeat offenses. Current state law requires fewer years of registration and classifies sex offenders based on their likeliness to commit another sex crime. ..more.. : by FOX19
Hearsay can be the most reliable source of information about situations with which you have no experience. But when you hear gossip that's incongruent with a person or incident you are familiar with, you'd be smart to throw that chitchat out the window in favor of your own direct knowledge, right? The new study, published this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals individuals sometimes place so much stock in gossip that they accept it as true even if their own observations and experiences suggest otherwise. "Gossip has a strong manipulative potential that could be used by cheaters to change the reputation of others or even change their own," lead author Ralf Sommerfeld of the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology and his colleagues write. "This finding suggests that humans are used to basing their decisions on gossip, rumors or other spoken information." ..more.. : by Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Staff Writer
How did Hartline go unnoticed by state law enforcement authorities? He didn't. They were paying him. ..more.. : by Larry Oakes, Star Tribune
"We have to move from the idea that nothing can be done to treat sex offenders to say not only can they be treated, but they should be treated and we should expect good outcomes," says Paul Federoff, a forensic psychiatrist and co-director of the Sexual Behaviours Clinic at Royal Ottawa Hospital. Speaking to delegates at the Canadian Sex Research Forum, which ended Saturday, Federoff said it is a myth that sexual criminals, including pedophiles, are highly recidivistic individuals who cannot be rehabilitated. Child molesters are far less likely to reoffend than most criminals and treatment programs for them are more successful than for other inmates, Federoff said in an interview. "The incidence of sex offenders re-offending is lower than people think. About 10 to 15 per cent reoffend over a five-year period. If you look at the reverse of that, up to 80 per cent do not reoffend. And those who commit the most significant offence of child abuse and incest have reoffending rates even lower." Despite successes, researchers say they are fighting an uphill battle to rehabilitate sex criminals because of public hysteria that they are hopeless cases whose behaviour cannot be changed. ..more.. : by Bob Remington , CanWest News Service
Instead of an informed debate about how sexual violence ravages this country, politicians and the media have largely focused on child victims of truly horrific crimes by previously convicted sex offenders -- like the murders of Megan Kanka, Polly Klaas, and Jessica Lunsford. Horrific yes, but uncommon, which means the laws are designed to tackle only a tiny minority and fail to address the full picture of sexual violence. [[[snip]]] Two popular myths about child abusers underlie many of our sex offender laws: first, that our children have most to fear from strangers, and second, that sex offenders will inevitably repeat their crimes. But the data tell a different story. More than 90 percent of child sexual abuse is committed by someone the child knows and trusts. And recidivism rates for sex offenders are far lower than most people believe -- authoritative studies show that three out of four do not re-offend within 15 years of release from prison. Furthermore, focusing much of our public policy resources on restricting the rights of former sex offenders will do very little, if anything, to protect the 87 percent of victims of sexual violence who were abused by someone who had no previous sex crime conviction. ..more.. : by Sarah Tofte (Human Rights Watch)
Pollitt, 54, is set to move in with his sister, Janice Rosengren, and her family, who live at 135 Fox Run Drive, and is to be closely supervised by the Department of Adult Probation, which is likely to keep him in a type of “lockdown” in the sister's home until it can assess his risk of re-offending. POLL: Would you take your brother in? (Poll results when I looked was YES=96 NO=149) [[[snip]]] Neighborhood groups have been gathering at a house across the street from the one where Pollitt will live. They have called town officials, the governor's office, and state agencies like the Department of Adult Probation and Department of Correction. Some have signed an online petition to keep Pollitt in prison, and many have told the media of their fears. The family's attorney said Tuesday that neighbors put up a sign in Rosengren's yard Monday and accosted her when she went to her mailbox. He said Pollitt, preparing to leave the Osborn Correctional Center in Somers on Friday, has heard of some of the controversy and has had second thoughts. ..more.. : by Karen Florin
In a one-paragraph order, the court said it will consider whether Jessica's Law violates the parolees' constitutional rights. The law approved by voters last November prohibits offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park where children gather. The four parolees' attorneys said the temporary injunction should apply to all the recently released sex offenders who had received notice from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Don Specter, director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office, said he would seek new injunctions for each of the 1,800 parolees if necessary. ..more.. : by AP
As she passed, every single man paused briefly to stare… at her. At her long legs. At her perfect waist-to-hip ratio. It didn't matter who the man was, either: a construction worker, a stock broker, Anderson Cooper. Kidding, on that one! Then I was walking behind a handsomely boyish gentleman — one of those guys who belongs on a billboard, or in my basement. As we headed down the avenue, not one woman turned her head to look. The difference between men and women: we care, they don't. Men look at every woman with a selfless wish for sexual fulfillment — hers, of course. Women, meanwhile, are thinking about shoes. What are the health consequences of this for men? It's called Sexual Rejection Syndrome — or SRS — and it contributes to high stress levels, that in turn affects your heart and blood pressure. SRS-related stress also has been linked to depression, obesity, suicide and gas. My own studies have shown that alcohol consumption rises sharply after sexual rejection. ..more.. : by Greg Gutfeld, Fox News
While there is a social stigma that goes along with being convicted of a sexual crime, and rightfully so, it is responsible of Tech to judge job applicants on a case by case basis depending on the severity of their crimes. Those entered in the sexual offender registry have been convicted of a variety of crimes, ranging from indecent public exposure to rape. The university has a policy regarding hiring individuals convicted of sexual offenses. In an e-mail with the Collegiate Times, Larry Hincker, vice president for university relations, said that the university considers the how recent the conviction occurred and how frequent and severe their crimes were. Previous work history, and honesty in disclosing information are also considered. Tech has a compelling interest to not hire certain types of sexual offenders. That said, just because someone is listed in the sexual offender registry shouldn't automatically disqualify them from employment. We are in no way whatsoever excusing sexual offenders, but those who have served their legal debt to society deserve a second chance, if they prove that they are rehabilitated. ..more.. : by The editorial board is composed of Amie Steele, Joe Kendall, Saira Haider, Laurel Colella and Sara Mitchell.
Southampton Crown Court heard that Mr Peters had become so concerned at the vendetta being waged against him by people living on his Hampshire estate that he installed a security camera at his house. That night the CCTV showed James Nicholson jnr shouting abuse and knocking over his fence. Mr Peters went outside to make repairs but Nicholson jnr jumped over the fence and as accomplice Andrew Smith held him, he was punched during a violent struggle. The victim managed to get back indoors and called the police. A few minutes later there was a knock on the front door and Mr Peters, believing it to be the police, opened it to be confronted by Nicholson's father, also called James, who attacked him. ..more.. : by John Hoskins
Supporters of the restrictions say they are a common-sense response to a serious societal problem. But Slack didn't molest a stranger from the nearby school. He assaulted a child who lived in his home -- a relative of his longtime female companion. Studies show that about 90 percent of sex crimes against children are committed by someone known to the child, such as a family member, coach, camp counselor or teacher. That percentage is consistent in Ohio and across the country, experts say. ..more.. : by Mary Beth Lane
One state appeals court has ruled that part of the law is unconstitutional. Another state appeals court has upheld the law. The question is whether a law that prohibits sexually oriented offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school can be enforced against a person who owned such a home before the law was passed -- and whose offense occurred before the law was passed. Arguments will be at the Darke County Courthouse in Greenville, part of the Supreme Court's twice-a-year program of holding sessions away from Columbus. ..more.. : by AP
Smith’s comments came in response to a news report about school officials around the country debating whether a registered sex offender should be allowed to attend athletic events and other school functions in which the offender’s children are participating. “There is nothing in the West Virginia Sex Offender Registry guidelines that forbids a sex offender from being on school grounds,” Smith said. ..more.. : by FRED CONNORS
Atchison, 53, of Pensacola, Fla., was put on suicide watch after he used a bed sheet in an attempted suicide in September. Detroit police confirmed Atchison's suicide death at 10:14 a.m. Friday. They have not released any details. ..more.. : by Click On Detroit
Superior Court Judge Neal W. Dickert ordered a $2,000 fine and three years of probation for Edward George Ferrang, 56, of Evans, on Monday after he entered an Alford plea - which allows him to plead without admitting guilt - to a charge of sexual battery on a child younger than 16. The state-mandated sentence for sexual battery is one to five years. Mr. Ferrang, of the 1300 block of Shadow Oak Drive, also must register as a sex offender, preventing him from living within 1,000 feet of a church, school, child-care facility or area where minors congregate. According to the Official Code of Georgia, being on the registry requires Mr. Ferrang to move within 72 hours of being placed on probation. However, Judge Dickert included an exemption to such rules in his sentence, allowing Mr. Ferrang to continue living in his Hardy Pointe subdivision home for 120 days or until the for-sale home is sold, according to court documents. The home is within 1,000 feet of a church. Mr. Craig said such actions are not within the judge's authority. ..more.. : by Valerie Rowell| Columbia County Bureau
"It's much easier for a prosecutor to not have to deal with sex offenders living near parks and they tell them that you can't," said Shelli Weisberg, legislative director. "People believe them. Every offender has to rely on what local law enforcement agency says." [[[[snip]]]] Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Rebecca Oster, who's handling the case, says the state Department of Corrections' probation office recommends sex offenders stay away from parks. "It was my understanding that the statute did say (that parks were prohibited)," said Oster, who works in the sex crimes unit. ..more.. : by Christina Stolarz and Darren A. Nichols
Mr. Abbott called websites like MySpace a “lions den” for sex predators who use them “literally looking for the person they can next victimize.” However, Mr. Abbott acknowledged that “there was no evidence” that the 14 people arrested last month had used MySpace to locate potential victims. Instead, all 14 were arrested for using the Internet, a violation of their parole (Not a crime). “Their mere presence [online] was a violation of parole,” Mr. Abbott said. “We don’t know if they were using it for the purpose of targeting a victim. What we do know is that we got off the street” sex offenders who violated their parole. ..more.. : by KENT FISCHER / The Dallas Morning News
Federal judge Walter Rice issued a permanent injunction against the law after pointing out the many ways that it could restrict legitimate speech between adults. The Supreme Court has already found that Internet users have reason to believe that there are minors present in every chat room, for instance; under the Ohio law, anything deemed obscene for minors that was uttered in a chat room could therefore possibly lead to prosecution. ..more.. : by Nate Anderson
Amanda Cunningham said she vividly recalls the day her Uncle Coy raped her. "I remember I had my purple Little Mermaid shirt on," she told ABC News. "He told me to take my clothes off, and I said no, so he took them off me." She was 9 years old. Coy Hundley was drunk, Amanda said, but that wasn't unusual. He would rape her again a few months later, she testified in court. Nearly five years later, in the fall of 2003, Amanda's mother, Kimberly Cunningham, finally learned of the alleged attacks. What happened next was the talk of Knoxville, Tenn., for years. Kimberly got into her car and drove to the tool company where Hundley worked. She called him out into the parking lot. Cunningham said that she was praying he would deny the rape. Instead, she said Hundley, 39, laughed at her. "What are you going to do about it?" he allegedly said. Kimberly shot him five times, reloaded the weapon and fired five more rounds, killing him. ..more.. : by CHRIS FRANCESCANI, ABC News Law & Justice Unit
Idaho law allows such evaluations so that judges, in sentencing sex offenders, can consider the risk that the offender poses to society. However, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination allows a defendant to refuse to participate in the evaluation when it is ordered by the sentencing court. As a result of the Supreme Court’s action, the Idaho Supreme Court’s decision stands. ..more.. : by AP
This year, Pearson can't even wait until the first day of the session. His Sept. 25 guest column in the P-I ("Public safety reforms needed now") calls on lawmakers to rush into special session and pass a laundry list of bills concerning sex offenders and community supervision of adult offenders. If the goal is public safety instead of mere publicity, an immediate special session is a terrible idea. ..more.. : by MARY LOU DICKERSON
The change follows the Maine Supreme Judicial Court's decision Tuesday to allow a constitutional challenge to the law. Two of the nine justices suggested in a concurring opinion that registration has become punishment in addition to serving as a public safety measure. Resolution of the reinstated case could invalidate registration requirements for hundreds of offenders who committed their crimes between 1982 and 1992 and are covered by the registration law because it was made retroactive. "We have been saying for years that being placed on the registry had a punitive effect, and the court's decision finally acknowledges that, at a certain point, that's what it has become," said Walter McKee, president of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Kennebec County Bar Association. [[[snip]]] The Maine court decision is a signal that legislatures may have gone too far in forcing people convicted of sex crimes to provide their names, addresses and photographs for posting on Internet registries, observers say. But Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents For Megan's Law, a New York-based watchdog group that supports sex offender registries, said she was startled by the Maine ruling. "When a sex offender makes a decision to commit a sex offense, they've made a decision to create a lifelong devastating problem for the person they victimize," she said. ..more.. : by DAVID HENCH, Blethen Maine Newspapers
When: U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan M. Azrack in the eastern district of New York rules on September 18. Outcome: Warrantless surveillance request rejected. What happened, according to court records and other documents: The U.S. Department of Justice asserts it doesn't need to obtain a wiretap court order to listen to which touch tones are pressed when people are on the phone. Those touch tones may be revealing. To use industry lingo, "post-cut-through dialed digits" can represent sensitive information, such as voice mail passwords, bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and prescription numbers. They can also include much less sensitive information, such as pressing a button to put someone on hold. At issue in this case is not whether the FBI can legally eavesdrop on a telephone conversation between two Americans. It can--if it obtains a wiretap order from a judge. ..more.. : by Declan McCullagh
A Cowlitz County sheriff's deputy, Charlie Rosenzweig, says North was shot at close range with a small-caliber gun, but he didn't report it until Sunday afternoon. North says he was afraid he would be shot again, but the pain forced him to call 911. The 43-year-old appeared in court last week in Kitsap County on a charge of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. North says he is innocent and that the calls were made by someone who stole his cell phone. ..more.. : by AP
"One of the victims jumped into a pond to escape, but the mob encircled, stoned, pulled him out and he was beaten to death," Anwar Hussain, City Police Superintendent told to the Salem Voice Ministries (SVM) News Service. Another man's body was recovered on Saturday morning. There are many incidents of lynching, dragging and assaulting in Bihar state since last few days. It was on Sept 12, ten people belonging to a poverty-stricken community in Bihar itself, were lynched in Vaishali district. A high-level probe has found those men were not thieves as suspected earlier. ..more.. : by Paul Ciniraj
Kenneth was the subject of an Amber Alert about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after his father reported he had not returned from a trip to a local restaurant with Kanaske. He was found safe and the Amber Alert canceled. Kanaske was released after questioning. The father said his girlfriend let Kenneth leave with Kanaske and another boy to go to a restaurant, according to police, and when they failed to return after two hours, the father attempted to reach Kanaske through relatives and by cell phone. Kanaske could not be reached. While searching for his son the boy's father learned that Kanaske was a registered child sex offender and he immediately called police to report the child missing and possibly in danger. Police found Kenneth unharmed in a home on Bethel Road in Collinsville. Kanaske was there with the father of the other child and a third female child. All of the children were unharmed, according to police. ..more.. : by JENNIFER A. BOWEN, News-Democrat
Smith, 33, of 7 High Court, was charged with at-tempted murder, attempted first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree unlawful restraint, criminal possession of a weapon, assault, and several other charges. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bond. Today, local police were guarding him at Hartford Hospital, where he remains in stable condition, police said. Police spokesman Officer Hugo Benettieri said his jaw was reattached and police hope to have Smith arraigned at Manchester Superior Court today. ..more.. : by Ben Rubin, Journal Inquirer
After recent sentencing hearings, both Jerome and Schmidt pleaded guilty to battery [as party to a crime] on Friday, Sept. 14, and were sentenced to 45 days in jail ,with one year of probation. Schimmel pleaded guilty to criminal damage to property and injury by negligent use of a weapon or explosive on Sept. 14. Schimmel's sentencing hearing is set for Thursday, Nov. 15. The convictions result from an incident that took place in the early-morning hours of Sunday, April 22. ..more.. : by The Chetek Alert
The decision is a setback for the state's sex offender registry, which has been amended over the years to enhance penalties, such as changing a 15-year registration requirement to lifetime state supervision and removing the opportunity for waiving the requirement under certain conditions. The court ruling comes less than two years after a 20-year-old Canadian man killed two sex offenders in Maine after randomly finding their names on the online registry. Since the shootings, there have been legislative debates about the registry, including efforts to eliminate it altogether. ..more.. : by CLARKE CANFIELD The Associated Press
The girl's father was charged with simple assault, a class B felony. A Weare police detective was interviewing the 17-year-old from Henniker yesterday, said Deputy Chief Bill Quigley, but no charges have been filed against him. Because the girl is not old enough to consent under state law, police are investigating the father's allegation as a sexual assault. The story drew comments (READ THEM) ..more.. : by JOHN WHITSON
In all, 201 faulty e-mails to 40 counties were sent. Champaign County was not affected. Those who got the e-mail will receive another e-mail explaining the error. Local deputies have been informed of the mistake, Sheriff Gene Kelly said. ..more.. : by Staff Report |
Similarly, slave owners often tortured their slaves on a regular basis. There have been slaves throughout history on every continent, and their treatment has been nothing short of sadistic. If a slave dares to act against his or her ‘master,’ then torture follows. Owners raped, whipped and even substituted slaves in their places to be tortured or executed when they themselves had broken the law. And sadly, this practice continues today in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and even in the United States. Sex slaves are suffering this very second. And suffering is at the black heart of sadism. ..more.. : by Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, Ph.D.
Even though some of the worst provisions were stripped from the bill before passage, this bill is bad. In June, I listed some of the things wrong with it: A) this legislation defines "gangs" and "gang crime" so broadly that it will drastically increase the number of children and youth who are inappropriately swept into the juvenile justice system -- especially poor children and children of color; B) this legislation places an extremely heavy emphasis on incarceration and punishment, and fails to support what we know really works to reduce recidivism: prevention and intervention; and C) this legislation unfairly and inappropriately targets undocumented individuals. This bill, like its predecessors, panders to irrational fear. ..more.. : by TalkLeft
According to the complaint filed Sept. 10, Harris was falsely labeled by a prison employee as a sex offender and then improperly housed with a Class 5 inmate — the most violent type. Leslie Rakestraw, the lawyer for the Harris family, said the claim will ask for $2.5 million in damages. [[[snip]]] An internal investigation by the department noted that prison staff made mistakes that led to the death of Harris. After the slaying, 12 prison employees were reprimanded or fired. Michael Gaston is accused of slaying Harris within hours after he moved into Gaston’s cell on Sept. 17, 2006. Prison records show Gaston stabbed Harris with a nine-inch shank, which was found protruding from his chest as he lay covered in blood. Gaston was serving a prison sentence at the time for killing a man over a car loan. The prison report indicates that a guard who quit the department soon after the incident falsely told inmates that Harris was a sex offender. ..more.. : by Devon Hersom
In the South Carolina case, Sherone Nealous claims that forcing inmates to wear pink is discriminatory and makes them more likely to be assaulted by other inmates. Nealous is serving time at the Allendale Correctional Institution for assault and battery with intent to kill, aggravated assault and assault and battery on a police officer. "When the inmate population views an inmate wearing a pink jumpsuit, it is known that the clothing was assigned by (the Department of Corrections) as punishment for sexual misconduct," states a legal memorandum filed by the department. It "conveys no suggestion that the inmate wearing the jumpsuit is a willing participant in homosexual activity or otherwise vulnerable to … assault." ..more.. : by Ron Barnett, USA TODAY
The group of older and disabled women supported Land after another neighbor was charged with disorderly conduct and accused of taping Land's sex offender registration and handwritten warnings about Land all around their building. The women agreed to testify for Land. "He's not the problem," said 80-year-old Delores Baebler, who lives in an apartment near Land at 115 E. B St. in Belleville. "It's Pamela Marcus." Marcus, 46, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct Thursday and agreed to pay a $75 fine. She spoke with a reporter outside the courtroom, but she later asked her comments not be used for the story. [[snip]]] "The whole business makes me nervous," said Land as he stood outside the courtroom with six of his neighbors who back him in the dispute with Marcus. "I told her to mind her own business," said neighbor Marilyn Cox. "I told her to leave him alone and he wasn't hurting anybody." Things were different before Marcus moved to the building about a year ago, Baebler said. [[[snip]]] Land said he's received harassing phone calls and threats. Last month, someone placed charcoal under his van. ..more.. : by BETH HUNDSDORFER
The attorney-referee, Margaret Ayalp, mandated the boy to sign the bond form, which included such stipulations as notifying the boy's teachers of the allegations and requiring the school to provide supervision on the playground and in restrooms. He is to have no overnight visits with his mother when his two brothers, ages 3 and 5, are present. The boy lives with his father. "This child was completely mistreated by the court. There are adult sex offenders who don't get terms and conditions like this," Henry said. ..more.. : by Valerie Olander
Volusia County Judges Peter F. Marshall and John Roger Smith, in separate rulings, wrote that the city is subjecting such sex offenders "to potential loss of liberty, loss of property and relocation of their residence without making any provision for their legal representation which is guaranteed under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States." ..more.. : by Ludmilla Lelis | Sentinel Staff Writer
While many in the public were surprised that the parents were under investigation, police detectives were not. While rare incidents of children being abused and killed by sex offenders grab headlines, in fact parents are a far greater threat to children. ..more.. : by Benjamin Radford
Many states make former offenders register for life, restrict where they can live, and make their details known to the public. And yet the evidence suggests these laws may do more harm than good. Jacob's Law was the first federal attempt to prevent convicted sex offenders from repeating their crimes after release. It was the outcome of my unwanted education in sexual violence against children. Soon after Jacob was taken, I learned that sexual motives are usually behind child kidnapping. That was a thought totally out of my realm of consciousness. Who would do that? Who would sexually harm a child? As the search for Jacob went on, I asked law enforcement, what do you need? An investigator told me: A ready list of potential suspects, a central database of offenders convicted of sexual violence against children. The Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children Sex Offender Registration Act was part of the 1994 Crime Bill signed by President Bill Clinton. Our goal was to give law enforcement a tool to help build safer communities. Back in 1990, when we first recommended registering convicted sex offenders, we were met with resistance: "You can't do that. These people have rights!" How times have changed. Few people today are concerned about the rights of sex offenders. Most now complain our laws are not tough enough. But they might be missing some basic facts. First, in most states "sex offender" covers anyone, including juveniles, convicted of any sexual offense, including consensual teenage sex, public urination and other non-violent crimes. Second, Jacob was the exception, not the rule: more than 90 percent of sexual violence is committed by someone the child knows. And third, most shocking to me, sex offenders are less likely to re-offend than commonly thought. A Department of Justice study suggested ex-offenders have a recidivism rate of 3 percent to 5 percent within the first three years after release. ..more.. : by Patty Wetterling
Federal prison officials have moved to prevent the release of five men at the federal prison hospital in Butner, arguing that the men are “sexually dangerous.” That process, known as civil commitment, was approved under a law signed by President Bush in July 2006 as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. The prisoners won’t be released immediately, however, because Judge W. Earl Britt of U.S. District Court stayed the decision until the government has a chance to file a formal motion to stay. In his ruling, Britt said that the civil commitment is unconstitutional because the federal government cannot hold a person indefinitely out of fear that the individual will commit a crime in the future. Britt said that the government would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person is “sexually dangerous” to commit them indefinitely. ..more.. : by Associated Press
Laws requiring widespread public notification of past crimes and restricting where such sex offenders can live have not been shown to reduce the number of new sex crimes, the report says, but rather shun former sex offenders and may be driving them underground,. "There's no evidence these laws actually work and they may be making things worse," said Sarah Tofte of Human Rights Watch and the author of the report. "These laws are making it significantly impossible for former offenders to re-enter the community." ..more.. : by Angela Rozas | Tribune staff reporter. To read the Full Report
In fact, it is a well-known fact that terrorists all over the world do not use paper and pen or the phone to communicate. Everywhere, all over the world, it's the net. Vijay Mukhi, President of the Foundation for Information Security and Technology says, "The terrorists know that if they use machines at home, they can be caught. Cybercafes therefore give them anonymity." "The police needs to install programs that will capture every key stroke at regular interval screen shots, which will be sent back to a server that will log all the data. [[[[[snip]]]]] The Mumbai police are in dialogue with M/s Micro Technologies for procuring a software called CARMS (Cyber Access Remote Monitoring System), a powerful monitoring tool that seeks to curb cyber crime. CARMS monitors web browsing, file transfers, news, chats, messaging and e-mail, including all encoded attachments. In a sensitive environment, CARMS can also be used to restrict user or group access to only approved external and internal sites, explained a company official. All cyber cafes in the city wil now need a police license to keep their business going. All cafes need to register at the police headquarters and provide details on the number of computers installed, type of computers and technical details like the IP address of each machine. ..more.. : by Vinod Kumar Menon
Landen said the mother believed that Upperman had been molesting her daughter and confronted him about it, causing Upperman to go to the house. Landen does not know if Upperman intended to kill the mother and daughter. “He went there with a mission, with a mission in mind, but I just don’t know what that was,” Landen said. ..more.. : by Staff Reports
Court documents show that prosecutors dropped the sex crime charges which would have left Rich with the legal distinction of a sex offender for life. An AP report says Rich was 17 when he posted the photo of his then 15-year-old girlfriend on the popular social networking Web site. The report also reveals the two teens dated for more than a year. Apparently in a moment of vengeance he posted the naked picture of the girl on her page. However authorities say at the time the picture was taken she consented to being photographed. However she did not give him permission to post the picture on her MySpace page. ..more.. : by Ayinde O. Chase
After a series of humiliations including being charged with child molestation, Willis Rouse said he intends to sue the state for preventing him from leading a normal life with his wife and their 4-year-old son, Alex. "They robbed something from my wife and me," Rouse said a few days after he was released from prison. "I didn't get to see my son's first steps or hear his first words. They subjected me with the stigma of being a sex offender, depriving me of the right to provide for my family." ..more.. : by Kirk Mitchell
She said the Perverted Justice decoy gives the assurance of privacy and the conversations are ephemeral. "Instant Messages are special and ephemeral. There is no expectation they'll be saved," Berk said. [[[[[[snip]]]]]] Berk also is arguing there are substantial differences in length and content among three copies of the Instant Messaging chat logs that exist. Staebell is arguing the chat logs truly and accurately depict the conversation between Von Erck and Wolin. Von Erck concluded his testimony today by affirming that nothing either he or Wolin said was left out of the chat log the prosecution wants to introduce into evidence and that nothing attributed to either of them was something they did not say. Berk told Ballinger today that even if the chat log is admitted into evidence, she wants to further question Von Erck on the entrapment issue. ..more.. : by CBS5.com
Auto tracking. Every car will be required to have a transponder, and automated highway readers will record all trips. The transponders will allow agencies to monitor driving habits and to issue electronic tickets for violations. The system will collect fees for using congested roads, replace parking meters and prevent undesirable people from driving in certain areas. For example, pedophiles will not be permitted to drive near schools. Driving with a malfunctioning transponder will be illegal. A black market will emerge in cars registered to “clean” or dead individuals. Very personalized PC. Every computer will have a static IP address. No one will be able to operate a computer without registering through a token, fingerprint or other identification device. All e-mail will be stored permanently, and records of other network activity, including searching and transactions, will also be retained. Stolen computers will be a hot black market item for criminals who will use them to avoid accountability for online actions. MySpace is mandatory. Every individual will be required to maintain a personal Web page with basic contact information accessible by the government and the public. People with out-of-date pages will be fined. An individual will be allowed to post minimal information for public use, but the government will demand more. Everyone will be required by law to have an active e-mail address. Official government notices will be sent by e-mail rather than by post. Society caught on tape. Surveillance cameras will be even more universal than they are today. You will not be able to walk down a street, enter a store, park in a garage, ride the subway, sit at your desk at work, open your front door or do anything else outside your home without being recorded. ..more.. : by Robert Gellman
"If he had succeeded in cutting off the leg, he would not have set off the alarm on the monitoring device and he would have had 48 hours before anyone knew he had done it," Delacruz said. The suspect might also have maimed himself so that he would be deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, or so that he would be jailed in a special prison wing for the disabled, Delacruz said. "He has not given an exact reason for why he did it, except maybe to his clergyman or doctor," Delacruz said, adding that emergency medical staff found Scholes with "plastic zip ties on various parts of his body, including, I'm told, his penis". "He had already been given psychological testing and was deemed fit," Delacruz said. Scholes was sentenced on Friday to 50 years in jail. ..more.. : by AFP
The victim, a 33-year-old Appleton man, was treated at St. Elizabeth Hospital for extensive facial injuries, including two missing teeth. According to the criminal complaint, Starkey told police he became aware of the offender's status because his girlfriend was contemplating renting a room from the man. Starkey allegedly told police he had made contact with the man about his status as a sex offender and called him a "baby raper." ..more.. : by Dan Wilson
Ted Wallis, a doctor in Austin, Texas, recently came upon a lost child in tears in a mall. His first instinct was to help, but he feared people might consider him a predator. He walked away. "Being male," he explains, "I am guilty until proven innocent." In San Diego, retiree Ralph Castro says he won't allow himself to be alone with a child -- even in an elevator. ..more.. : by Jeffrey Zaslow
It was vigilante justice," said Scott County Sheriff Anthony Lay. Friday morning Sheriff Lay announced the arrests of Sellers and Bell. The Scott County Sheriff's Department worked with the Tennessee Arson and Bomb Division to make the arrests. "This is a prime example of how an innocent person has been fatally injured," added Sheriff Lay. Investigators say Sellers and Bell admitted to torching the Chandler home after they learned Timothy was found with more than 900 pictures of pornographic images of children. "I really wish it wasn't me who got out," Timothy Chandler said. "I wish it was her. She didn't deserve that." Timothy spoke to Ten News earlier this week about the fire that took his wife's life. He had a gut feeling it was revenge. According to investigators he was right. ..more.. : by Robin Murdoch, Reporter
The judge, Victor Marrero of the Federal District Court in Manhattan, ruled that the measure violated the First Amendment and the separation of powers guarantee. Judge Marrero said he feared that the law could be the first step in a series of intrusions into the judiciary’s role that would be “the legislative equivalent of breaking and entering, with an ominous free pass to the hijacking of constitutional values.” According to a report from the Justice Department’s inspector general in March, the F.B.I. issued about 143,000 requests through national security letters from 2003 to 2005. The report found that the bureau had often used the letters improperly and sometimes illegally. ..more.. : by ADAM LIPTAK
Shepherd also found the state Juvenile Justice Department has exceeded its authority in creating a system where youths who commit even minor offenses are required to undergo long-term treatment at residential centers. The case was brought on behalf of five boys with mental retardation. ..more.. : by WLKY.com TV
According to the data, only 28% of sex offenders were recommitted into the prison system compared to 52% of other felons. Both groups showed similar arrests rates with no admission to the prison system. ..more.. : by Richard Simms
But an analysis of court data suggests declining effectiveness in criminal wiretaps at a time when the federal government has been strengthening its powers and shrouding new surveillance programs in secrecy. State and federal courts authorized 8,122 wiretaps for domestic criminal investigations in the first five years after Sept. 11, 2001, marking a nearly 25 percent increase over the previous five years. Those figures do not include the controversial warrantless wiretaps backed by the Bush administration. ..more.. : by SEAN HOLSTEGE
Lane Mikaloff, a sexual predator, challenged the law after being told he needed to move from his home near an elementary school. Because the residency law passed after Mikaloff was convicted and released from prison, Gwin said applying it to Mikaloff would be unconstitutional. ..more.. : by Shane Hoover. Court Decision
Judge James S. Gwin in Akron ruled that the law cannot be applied to anyone who committed a crime before July 31st, 2003, the effective date of the Ohio Legislature's ban. David Singleton, executive director of the Cincinnati-based Ohio Justice and Policy Center, said the decision affects offenders living in 40 counties in the Northern District of Ohio. ..more.. : by Frank Malloy. Court Decision
About a week later I got a call from the client. The local jail wasn't releasing him because he had not submitted an approved home plan; he was homeless. Thus, he was essentially being held indefinitely for being homeless. ..more.. : by The Saucy Vixen on Life (A Lawyer)
“The law goes well beyond parole in that it never allows a sex offender to reintegrate into society,” Gwin wrote in his decision. “Subjecting a sex offender to constant ouster from his or her home seems a significant deprivation of liberty and property interests. “It sentences them to a life of transience, forcing them to become nomads.” Gwin’s decision directly affects only an Akron man, Lane Mikaloff, who had challenged the law. But Mikaloff’s lawyers say the ruling could affect thousands of sex offenders in Greater Cincinnati and across the state. ..more.. : by DAN HORN
But what are those threats really? Is there a way to know? Actually, yes... ..more.. : by Shirley Lowery
The strategy of limiting where released sex offenders (levels 2 and 3) can live has both supporters and opponents. As a police officer for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health in the Metro Boston area since 1985, I believe the chasing of sex predators out of town is an illusion of safety. I can tell you from firsthand experience that most of the dangerous sexual predators look and act just like you and me. Don’t look like aliens from outer space and do, indeed, pose great danger of re-offending. This illness they suffer is incurable. They are always posing a potential danger to society. ..more.. : by SAL GIARRATANI
These credentials can be grabbed without using encryption cracking tools, and often can be intercepted and used even if you logged into a site in a secure manner. Sidejacking doesn't require that a cracker gain remote access to your computer, nor does having session information sidejacked necessarily make your computer more vulnerable. Protecting against sidejacking may take a rethink on the part of Web site operators, users, and browser makers. ..more.. : by Glenn Fleishman
Live from Las Vegas: During a recent presentation at BlackHat, Errata Security raised a few eyebrows by showing a pair of point-and-click "SideJacking" tools dubbed Ferret and Hamster. The approach taken by Hamster—web session cookie cloning—is not particularly new. However, by exploiting live BlackHat user traffic to gain access to attendees' GMail accounts, presenter Robert Graham made the threat posed by SideJacking perfectly clear: The next time you use an open Wi-Fi hotspot to access a vulnerable website, you may not be alone. ..more.. : by Lisa Phifer
Results released last month showed 28 percent of the sex offenders were recommitted to the prison system, compared with 52 percent of other felons. Helm said the study's findings are similar to results of two previous TBI recidivism studies, one conducted in the early 1990s and a second in 1997. ..more.. : by The Associated Press
So why does NBC seem to be scaling back its commitment to “To Catch a Predator”? The network has filmed only one sting operation so far this year, compared with seven in 2006. In several ways, the high ratings for “Predator” have come at a high price for NBC. Some advertisers say they are wary of being associated with the show’s content, in which men lured to a house by the promise of a sexual encounter are instead surprised by Mr. Hansen and then arrested. ..more.. : by BRIAN STELTER
A 100-hour investigation by Fairfield police that found no evidence to support Edington's belief failed to shake his assertions. His wife, Christina, also was not dissuaded, tearfully insisting that she "knew the truth" of their allegations as he was led away to prison. Earlier, standing before Judge Richard Comerford Jr. to be sentenced on the charge of first-degree manslaughter, Edington referred only to a letter he had written the judge when asked if he had anything to say. In that letter, Edington takes responsibility for killing 59-year-old Barry James, but adds that he fatally stabbed James on Aug. 28, 2006, after his wife told him James had molested their 2-year-old daughter. ..more.. : by DANIEL TEPFER
For those of you who consider yourselves perfect and have never fallen short in the eyesight of God, what are you still doing on earth, angels? People on parole have paid their debts to society. They are human beings on parole - not "parolees." People on parole have served their time in prison to pay their debts. They paid. When will the punishment stop? Instead of counting how many people are on parole in this city, the question should be: What is wrong with a city that produces so many people on parole? Let's take the housing issue first. ..more.. : by Kim Carter
The sentence could have been worse, but prosecutors reduced the charges from sex crimes that would have branded Rich a sex offender for life. He was 17 when he posted the photo. The girl was 15 at the time. Rich had dated the girl for more than two years. He posted the picture after they broke up. Authorities say she agreed to have the photo taken, but Rich did not have permission to post it. ..more.. : by ABC.com
The Wake County Revenue Department hired appraisers to look at homes in the area for tax reasons. Apex Police warn it is still important for parents to remain alert and report any suspicious activity. ..more.. : by NBC17.com
Thompson, 52, is 5-foot-1 and weighs about 100 pounds. The Court of Appeals said probation was justified by many other factors in Thompson's case, including a psychological evaluation and a risk assessment instrument that indicated Thompson is not a pedophile and is unlikely to reoffend. ..more.. : by LESLIE REED
Searching the room, the employee found the boy and the girl in a closet. The official told police that the victim's pants and underwear were below her thighs. [[[snip]]] During an interview with the victim, she told police she was at the water fountain when the boy came behind her and asked if she liked him. She replied yes, and they both went into a closet. The 17-year-old told police he asked the victim if she wanted to make out and both went into the closet where they kissed. He denied having sex with her. The teen was charged with lewd or lascivious battery. It's the second time in the last several days that a teenager admitted to having sex with each other. Last Thursday, a 16-year-old North Marion High School girl was arrested by Marion County sheriff's deputies and charged with lewd or lascivious battery for having sex with her 14-year-old boyfriend in a girl's restroom. ..more.. : by AUSTIN L. MILLER
Through his online alter ego, Lewis and his colleagues have conducted undercover narcotics operations leading to 10 arrests. Some of those arrests led investigators to information that resulted in five more, including two for attempted murder. "I wanted to target not so much the younger crowd, but the more sophisticated drug dealer," Lewis said. "I just wait for them to contact me." It started in December 2006, after Lewis' stepdaughters Jordain, 16, and Lindsay, 14, introduced him to www.myspace.com. Popular with teenagers, the site allows users to create profiles -- complete with photographs, music and text -- for others to view. MySpace users can link together as "friends," exchange messages and search for others with similar interests. "I got familiar with what they were doing, and I didn't like it," Lewis said. That's because Lewis noticed a number of profiles in which people described using drugs or posted photos of themselves getting high. "This is their venue to brag, to say how big and bad they are," Lewis explained. ..more.. : by CAROLYN QUINN
Each article addresses a different sex offender issue, so I have listed all of them below. Hope you folks enjoy reading them: Costs mount to support sex offender laws Violent sex attacks led to tough laws Stats: Sex offender laws don't work Political Pressure: Legislators quick to target sex offenders Laws end up hurting the not-so-dangerous If sex offender laws don't work, what does? Study: Despite growing laws, sex offender numbers increasing Awareness a key to prevention Moms on both sides let down by laws Offenders sue over strict laws Breaking down the law Many Web sites feature offenders who have never touched a child Laws not all that can stop offenders: Education, awareness elements of prevention SEX OFFENDERS: A FLAWED LAW - RIGHT NEXT DOOR: Unlike many states, Massachusetts does not legislate where sex offenders can live SEX OFFENDERS: A FLAWED LAW - Experts: Education best defense against predators SEX OFFENDERS: A FLAWED LAW - BACK ON THE STREET: Mom of three molested children pushes for stricter sex offender sentencing (video in story) SEX OFFENDERS: A FLAWED LAW - Violent crime drives U.S. offender laws : All by Lauren FitzPatrick, GateHouse News Service Other reporter are chiming in: Nowhere to live? Aaron Chambers, GateHouse News Service SEX OFFENDERS: A FLAWED LAW - Right cop helps sex offender registry work; Police choose their officers carefully DON CONKEY
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