MD - Man Wins Appeal But Remains on Sex Offender List

Original Article

05/23/2013

BALTIMORE (AP) - A man who successfully petitioned Maryland's highest court to be removed from the state's sex offender registry is still on the list.

That's according to the lawyer for the unidentified man, who has filed a motion for contempt.

The man identified in court documents as John Doe pleaded guilty in 2006 to sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in 1984. The Court of Appeals ruled in March that he couldn't be placed on the sex offender registry because it didn't exist when the crime was committed.

Nancy Forster, the man's lawyer, said she's appalled that the state's Department of Public Safety is ignoring the state's highest court.

The department and the Maryland attorney general's office declined to comment on the case.

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LA - Hundreds to be stricken from La. sex offender registry after class-action suit's settlement

Original Article

06/12/2013

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

NEW ORLEANS - Hundreds of people who were convicted of soliciting oral or anal sex for money under Louisiana's "crime against nature by solicitation" law will have their names removed from the state's sex offender registry following the settlement of a class-action lawsuit.

U.S District Judge Martin Feldman on Tuesday approved the settlement agreement between the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights and Louisiana Attorney General James "Buddy" Caldwell's office.

Feldman ruled last year that nine plaintiffs who were convicted of the offense must be stricken from the registry. Plaintiffs' lawyers argued the ruling should be applied to roughly 700 others in the same position.

Alexis Agathocleous, one of the lead plaintiffs' lawyers on the case, said the registration requirement for people convicted of violating the law disproportionately punished black women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

"We are gratified that the state has agreed to vindicate the rights of hundreds of people who continued to be unconstitutionally registered as sex offenders," he said in a statement.

The settlement doesn't apply to people convicted of soliciting sex from a minor or anyone who was convicted of another sex offense subject to registration. State officials have up to 30 days to make an initial determination of who is entitled to be removed from the registry.

Feldman ruled last year that state lawmakers had no "rational basis" for requiring people to register as sex offenders if they were convicted of violating the law. The judge said the plaintiffs wouldn't have had to register if instead they had been convicted of soliciting sex for money under the state prostitution law.

The state Legislature amended the 200-year-old law in 2011 so that anyone convicted of a "crime against nature by solicitation" no longer will be required to register. But the legislative change didn't apply to hundreds who already were registered.

During a hearing in December 2012, a lawyer representing Caldwell's office argued that the recent change in state law leaves the potential class members without any valid claims. Feldman refused to dismiss the class-action suit, however, and expressed frustration at the pace of the process for deciding whether people already had a right to have their names removed from the registry

"I am incredulous and very concerned about why this process has been dragged out against the backdrop of politics for so long," the judge said.

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MD - Sex offender registration requirement challenged

Original Article

05/26/2013

By Justin George

Corrections officials are refusing to remove a sex offender's name from the state's public database, defying a court order and setting off a legal battle that his lawyer says could affect scores of others convicted of sex crimes.

A man identified in court filings only as "John Doe," pleaded guilty in 2006 to a count of child sex abuse committed in 1984, when he was a junior high school teacher in Washington County.

The Court of Appeals ruled in March (PDF) that [name withheld], 53, should not be named on the sex offender registry because the database did not exist at the time of his crime and registration would be a form of retroactive punishment, which the Maryland Constitution doesn't allow.

Corrections officials say federal sex offender registration requirements prevent them from complying with the ruling. But [name withheld] asked a Washington County judge last week to hold the agency in contempt of court.

Nancy S. Forster, [name withheld]' lawyer and Maryland's former chief public defender, argued in a petition that the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services is violating her client's rights. Along with the department, the document also names its secretary Gary D. Maynard.

Forster said being on the registry has proven to be additional punishment.

"He struggles to find employment," she said. "The only employment that he can find is usually something very menial, and even then, once they discover he's on the registry, he loses that job as well."

Advocates for more-forgiving sex offender laws say the court ruling should affect other ex-convicts with similar legal circumstances as [name withheld]  If the state followed the ruling, they argue, these people could petition to remove themselves from the registry and find jobs and housing more easily as they re-integrate into society.

A contempt finding would put further pressure on state officials to comply with the ruling, Forster said.

State officials said they are reviewing the petition and researching how many people it might affect.

The corrections department and Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler's office, which is representing the agency, declined to comment further. The U.S. Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (S.M.A.R.T.), which works with the state on such laws, declined to comment as well.

[name withheld] received permission in 2009 from an Anne Arundel circuit judge to file the suit under "John Doe." Forster said she has sought to protect her client, who she acknowledged is [name withheld]  from being further ostracized and treated as a pariah.

[name withheld] pleaded guilty in June 2006 to one count of child sexual abuse. According to the statement of charges in the case, [name withheld] was a 24-year-old Boonsboro Middle School teacher during the 1983-1984 school year, when Maryland State Police allege he had sexual contact with several female students, exposed himself to them and encouraged them to touch him.

Police alleged that [name withheld] followed one 13-year-old student into a room and raped her. The Washington County Board of Education investigated a report of indecent exposure and inappropriate touching, but no allegations were reported to police at the time, according to court records.

It wasn't until the victim was a college senior that she disclosed the alleged sexual assault to a teacher and mentor. The victim contacted police in 2005, and a police investigator obtained past clinical notes, which showed the victim did disclose the rape to mental health professionals. Three other former students also came forward, accusing [name withheld] of molesting them during the same school year, the police report said.

Asked why the initial victim reported the rape two decades later, she told police, "I don't want another child to go through this."

[name withheld] accepted a plea deal in 2006 that dropped a second-degree rape charge and other sex offense charges. He declined to comment through Forster.

He was sentenced to a 10-year prison term with all but 4 1/2 years suspended. He also received three years of probation. And the court ordered [name withheld] to register as a child sexual offender.

In October 2006, [name withheld] filed a motion disputing the registration order because his crime occurred well before 1995, when the Maryland registry was created. A judge ruled in favor of [name withheld]. He was released from prison in 2008.

In 2009 legislators expanded its registry parameters, and [name withheld] was again ordered to register as a child sex offender, this time for 10 years. He sued to keep his name off the list, but a circuit judge rejected his claim.

Read the entire article

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Registry removal

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

By Anonymous:
After 10 years my nightmare is finally over. I was removed from the sex offender registry today. During that time, I have read your blog daily and wanted to thank you for your hard work in keeping us informed of important issues. While I am not in a financial position at this time to make a donation, when things get better it will be a high priority.

I am having mixed emotions, however, knowing that there are so many thousands of people/families out there that will have to suffer for a lifetime. Perhaps someday facts will outweigh hysteria and people will no longer have to bear the difficult burden of being on the registry for the rest of their lives.

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UK - Sex Offenders and the Human Rights Act

Original Article

06/15/2011

By Tim Worstall

Sex offenders will be able to apply, under the Human Rights Act, to get off the sex offenders register.

This has caused the usual amount of huffing and puffing from those who don’t understand the whole point of human rights. The basic story:

A Supreme Court ruling has forced the Government reluctantly to draw up new rules allowing serious sex offenders put on the register for life to have their place on the list reconsidered.

The Home Office plans were opposed by child protection campaigners and Conservative MPs, who said some offenders could never be considered completely “safe”. The new rules were drawn up because the Supreme Court ruled that automatic lifetime inclusion on the register breached the Human Rights Act.

What the Supreme Court is really saying here is that one law passed by MPs conflicts with another law passed by MPs. And in a country that is under the rule of law this cannot be allowed to happen. The law must be possible to follow after all: we can’t have it that you both must do something and cannot do something at the same time. Similarly, we cannot have it that we’ve a system of protecting people from politicians (which is what human rights are all about) and at the same time allow politicians to breach those rights for people they don’t like very much.

As usual, at least one MP decides to grandstand instead of grasping the point:

Priti Patel, a Tory MP, said the court ruling added to the case for reform of the Human Rights Act.

“Sex offenders are vile criminals,” she said. “Why are these people allowed to use human rights laws to protect themselves? What about their victims?”

Because human rights are for everyone, not just those you think are not vile criminals. They accrue by virtue of being human, thus the name. It really is a very basic point and slightly worrying that those who would make the law in our name don’t get it.

This Human Rights Act, Ms. Pratel, is to protect us from you. That’s why everyone gets those rights, not just the people you approve of.

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IN - Pence signs into law changes to sex offender registry

Original Article

05/10/2013

Changes are coming to Indiana’s sex offender registry, thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Mike Pence Thursday.

HEA 1053 (PDF) requires the Indiana Department of Correction to remove information from the online public portal of the sex offender registry relating to a sex or violent offender who no longer is required to register or is deceased. The new law also adds the vehicle identification number of the vehicle owned or regularly operated by the offender to the information he or she is required to provide for sex offender registration. Driver’s licenses or ID cards must contain the offender’s current address and physical description.

Among other things, the law also merges the offense of criminal deviate conduct into the crime of rape and repeals the criminal deviate conduct statute, effective July 1, 2014.

The introduced version of the bill was prepared by the Criminal Law and Sentencing Policy Study Committee.

Pence also signed HEA 1159 (PDF), which limits the liability of a public school or an accredited nonpublic school that provides community-use physical fitness activities to the general public.

The governor still has dozens of enrolled acts before him with a signing or veto deadline of Saturday, including HEA 1393 (PDF) on judicial technology and automation and HEA 1320 on workers’ compensation.

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OR - Bill would give break to some young sex offenders

Original Article

05/08/2013

By LAUREN GAMBINO

SALEM (AP) - Some young offenders convicted of having sex with underage partners would be able to request the crime be removed from their records under a bill narrowly passed by the Oregon House on Wednesday.

Voting 31 to 27, the House sent the bill to the Senate with little discussion.

Under the bill, in order for adult offenders to apply to have their records erased, coercion or force could not have been used in the sex act. Other conditions include completion of all required court-ordered programs and treatments.

Proponents say the current punishment for such sex offenders does not fit the crime. Opponents say people convicted of sex crimes often reoffend and should not be able to have their records expunged.
- Well the facts are that ex-sex offenders have a low re-offense rate despite what the opponents think.

"Individuals who commit sex offenses ... this isn't their first time and it won't be their last," said Crook County District Attorney Daina Vitolins, who opposes the bill on behalf of the Oregon District Attorneys Association.
- For some it may be true, but a vast majority it's just plain false.

To say an act is consensual when it involves a person who is too young to give consent is indefensible and minimizes the law, Vitolins said.
- And ruining kids for life is wrong!

The age of consent in Oregon is 18.

Read the rest of the article

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CO - Law considered to make it harder for sex offenders to remove names from registry

Original Article

05/06/2013

By Mark Meredith

DENVER - It’s a list that’s meant to protect communities and punish convicted sex offenders but some believe it’s too easy for former criminals to remove themselves off the state registry.

“It mortifies me and it terrifies me,” said Marilyn Spittler in an interview with FOX31 Denver after learning her ex-husband, a convicted sex offender wanted to remove his name of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s public list.

Spittler contacted KDVR after learning [name withheld], who was convicted of a sex crime in the 1990s, had petitioned Douglas County in April to remove his name from the state offenders list through a judge’s permission.

“I was shocked. I had no idea that it was even possible to petition the court,” Spittler said after learning about her ex-husband’s request. The request though, according to data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, may be more common than many people are aware.

According to a CBI spokesperson, since 2006, over 2,300 people have been removed from the state’s registry. Now, at the request of Marilyn Spittler, state lawmakers are considering changing the rules and allowing a district attorney to block the request for removal from the list.

“I would like to remove my name, given that opportunity,” [name withheld] said in an interview with FOX31 Denver in early April. More than a month later, [name withheld] has since removed his request to have his name cleared by a judge.

Since his release, [name withheld] has complied with state laws and provided law enforcement with updated pictures and addresses. [name withheld] has even notified his neighbors about his status in order to remain in compliance with sex offender laws.

“I think that over twenty years, I’ve given to the community a lot and I’m ready to move on,” added the 54-year-old businessman.

On Monday, a draft of amendment was released that would modify state law and make it harder for previously convicted offenders to remove their names.

As of late Monday afternoon it was not introduced by lawmakers because of unrelated discrepancies.

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MO - House endorses sex offender legislation

Original Article

04/30/2013

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) - Missouri House members have approved legislation (PDF) that would make changes to the sex offender registry.

Sex offenders would be grouped into three tiers with each considered to have a different risk of committing another offense. Eventually, people could file a petition in court and ask to be removed from the registry. How long they would need to wait before filing a petition would vary depending on their tier.

Part of the legislation also seeks to increase the penalty for incest, child rape and child abuse resulting in death. Another portion adjusts the definition of rape to include instances in which a woman has become incapacitated because of the actions of a third person.

The legislation approved 101-52 on Monday now goes to the Senate.

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CA - Seeking smarter rules for sex offenders

Janice Bellucci

Original Article

04/11/2013

By Gale Holland

Janice Bellucci of Reform Sex Offender Laws believes offenders should go to prison. But after they get out, she wants them to have a chance to lead stable lives.

Janice Bellucci is a mother of two, the wife of a pastor and a former Girl Scout leader active in volunteer work.

She lives in a gated community an hour's drive north of Santa Barbara, with needlepoint pillows on the sofa and a vegetable garden in the backyard. She is also the public face of an organization advocating for the closest thing to an untouchable caste in our society: California's 88,000 registered sex offenders.

A former aerospace lawyer, Bellucci is the president of the California chapter of Reform Sex Offender Laws, a national group of offenders, family members, psychologists and attorneys registered as a nonprofit.

The California branch holds meetings every other month, closed to the media, to discuss offenders' rights and legal actions she is taking. Bellucci believes sex offenders should go to prison for their crimes. Her target is the crazy quilt of state and local laws regulating their conduct after they get out.

These laws bar offenders from moving near parks and schools, leaving them with comparatively few places to live. Almost all of San Francisco, and most of San Diego, is off-limits, she says. Some ordinances forbid offenders to even visit county parks and beaches.

Bellucci also wants to give some sex offenders a way off the registry. California is one of four states where sex offenders register for life, regardless of the seriousness of their crimes.

Bellucci has brought a professional sheen to the sex offenders' fight, writing talking-point memos, testifying before agencies and taking cities to court. And she's had some success: After she sued, a court stopped Simi Valley from requiring sex offenders to post signs on their front doors warning trick-or-treaters away on Halloween.

She casts her cause as a civil rights movement. During a conversation at her home, Bellucci referred to those on the list as "registrants" rather than sex offenders, and she quoted Gandhi and the Constitution.

"People don't like to hear me say it, but it's like how the Jews were treated in Nazi Germany," she said. "First they were told they were different, then they ended up in concentration camps."

No doubt this preposterous characterization is objectionable. Sex offenders are shunned for their conduct, not their status. And their conduct is often unspeakable.

But even a state advisory board acknowledges that post-release restrictions on sex offenders have gone too far. In an August 2011 report, the California Sex Offender Management Board said that one-third of the state's registered sex offenders are homeless, partly because of the housing limits.

There is no evidence that residence limits make children safer, the report said. "To the contrary, the evidence strongly suggests that residence restrictions are likely to have the unintended effect of increasing the likelihood of sexual re-offense," the report went on.

A particularly boneheaded example of overkill is the pocket park in Harbor Gateway. The park is being built not to serve families but to drive registered sex offenders out of a nearby apartment building, my colleague Angel Jennings reported.

I have no doubt Harbor Gateway needs a park. But what kind of a society builds parks not for children, but to chase sex offenders away?

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza put the issue on hold in March by ordering officials to stop enforcing restrictions on how close sex offenders can live to parks or schools. Bellucci argues the limits are unconstitutional, and Espinoza, in an earlier ruling, agreed.

Bellucci, 61, doesn't have a sex offender in the family, although she currently represents some in civil challenges. She came to the cause by chance. The man who installed her water purifier wrote a book about his years on the registry. She read it and was aghast.

The man, [name withheld], had molested a child more than 30 years earlier, when he was a raging alcoholic, Bellucci said. [name withheld] went on to build a business and become a civic activist. He was physically attacked by a vigilante who found his name and address on the registry, she said.

His case helped convince her that lifetime registration was wrong. Bellucci has stories about Everymen who wind up on the registry: the "Romeo and Juliet" cases of two teens, one underage, in a sexual relationship; the guy who urinates behind a bar or moons a crowd. Nobody seems to know how many fit this category.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has proposed a three-tiered registry that would enable lower-level offenders with otherwise clean records to get off in 10 to 20 years. Bellucci is lobbying for its passage.

"Sex offenders come from all walks of life," she said. "Some grew up in the ghetto, some grew up in Beverly Hills. They're like everybody else."

Really? I don't think so. Some undoubtedly made mistakes, but others are hardened offenders whom law enforcement would do well to track and monitor.

Just this week, [name withheld], 58, a registered sex offender, was arrested on suspicion of the home-invasion killing of an elderly San Bernardino woman. [name withheld]'  previous conviction was for sodomizing a child under age 14.

I don't see the purpose of the public registry. For this story, I went on the Megan's Law website for the first time and found several sex offenders in my neighborhood. It made my skin crawl, but is it useful to know exactly where they are or what they did? I am well aware sex offenders are in our midst, and I don't need the details to protect myself and my children.

Bellucci is convinced sex offenders can be rehabilitated. She cited a study of 2008 data by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation showing than of those who returned to prison, about 2% had committed another sex offense. Banishing them from normal society makes them more likely to repeat their crimes, she believes.

"We all do so much better when we have stability," Bellucci said. "It's ridiculous all the challenges that get thrown in front of sex offenders."

But we've all heard of the priests, Boy Scout leaders and teachers who molested multiple children before finally getting caught. The state corrections department acknowledges it can say with only 75% accuracy who is likely to commit a sex offense again, although it hopes to increase the odds with better assessments.

Bellucci is undeterred.

"The people I'm focused on already paid their debt to society," she said. "All I want for them is peace."

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MD - High court ruling could affect sex offender registry - ourt says offenders from before registry began shouldn't be on list

Original Article

03/05/2013

BALTIMORE - The Maryland Court of Appeals on Monday decided that sex offenders whose crimes took place before the registry was created in 1995 should not have to register, and the decision could have widespread implications for hundreds of others on the list.

The case of Sarah Foxwell, an 11-year-old girl found raped and slain on the Eastern Shore in December 2010 sparked outrage and increased efforts to tighten restrictions on Maryland sex offenders.

"It's enabled all of us statewide to have a conversation about the fact that this really is a problem. It really does happen and it can happen anywhere, whether it's on the Eastern Shore or it's right here in Baltimore City," said Adam Rosenberg, the executive director of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center.

Much of the conversation has focused on the sex offender registry, which was placed front and center in the Maryland Court of Appeals on Monday.

In the case presented to the court, a Washington County teacher who went by the name John Doe was convicted in 2006 of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old student in 1983. Doe argued that he should not have to register as a sex offender because the registry didn't exist until 12 years after the crime.

"He's saying when I did what I did, there was not a sex offender registry in place, therefore you can't put me on the sex offender registry for doing what I did," explained Baltimore criminal defense attorney Christopher Wheatcroft, of the firm Alperstein & Diener, P.A.

The Maryland Court of Appeals agreed in a ruling that sets new precedent in the state and has the potential to remove hundreds of sex offenders from the registry.

Wheatcroft called the decision fair but acknowledged that the future will at least partly depend on how the Legislature and the Department of Public Safety react to the ruling.

"Long-term, I don't know how many people will be off the registry, and I don't know what process they're going to have to follow to make that happen if it remains an opportunity for them," Wheatcroft said.

Rosenberg said regardless of what happens, the registry is only one part of the solution.

"It's great to be able to know who is in your neighborhood that has been convicted of being a sex offender, but that doesn't solve the entire problem," he said. "There are many more people who could be committing a sex offense that we don't know of, and that is preventable."
- Preventable how exactly?  And what about knowing all the other ex-felons who live in our neighborhood, like murderers, gang members, drug dealers / users, DUI offenders, thieves, etc?

Details written in the judgment show that the court was somewhat divided in determining its ruling. Legal experts said the issue still has a long road and will likely make its way to the Supreme Court.

Video Link

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MO - Missouri Sex Offender Registry Changes Proposed

Original Article

Video available at the link above.

03/27/2013

By Kevin Schwaller

SPRINGFIELD - Proposals in Jefferson City could let select sex offenders take their names off of Missouri's sex offender registry.

Rep. Don Phillips, R-Kimberling City, Mo., says if his bill passes, more than 1,100 people on the registry would be eligible to take their names off of the list. He says some people simply don't belong on those records.

Phillips gave an example of someone who may be charged after relieving themselves on the side of the road.

We also spoke with the mother of a sex abuse victim. KOLR10 News concealed her identity to protect that victim. She is referred to for the purposes of this story as "Janette".

"We started our journey in 2011," says Janette.

That journey in court is one no mother wants to travel.

"He was five years old when it happened."

Janette says her brother-in-law sexually abused her little boy. It took her son years of growing to admit what happened.

"The ten years that he had kept in silence and what had happened to him, you know, no amount of jail time would have made that up," Janette says.

Now, Janette wants to be sure the man who pleaded guilty to the misconduct won't get a chance to leave the sex offender registry.

"We are in desperate need of reforming our sex offender registry. We have hundreds and hundreds of people that don't belong on there," Phillips says.

Rep. Phillips is sponsoring a bill in the Missouri House. It would create a tiered system for gauging offenses. Some offenders won't have to register. Others will have to wait ten or 25 years to try to petition for removal from the registry. The worst offenders generally stay on for life.

Let's go back to Janette. She says the time in court wore on the family. They settled with a plea deal: two counts of misdemeanor sexual misconduct. She says the original charges were statutory sodomy and molestation.

The perpetrator got two consecutive nine month sentences. Now, Janette believes this bill could eventually let him off of the registry.

"The main reason we wanted to do this is so there couldn't be another hidden monster in a family, all you would have to do is Google his name and see that he was a registered sex offender," says Janette. "And that's what we wanted to make sure, is that it didn't happen to another family."

If this law passes -- based solely on the charges -- Janette's brother-in-law could petition to be taken off the registry in ten years.

Janette says she also wouldn't want victims to have to relive the experiences by having to appear again when someone is trying to be removed from the registry.

Phillips says victims would not have to come forward again in his bill.

The house has considered several similar proposals in the past and there are more this year.

The bill we examined (HB 462) has cleared one committee and still must make it through the Missouri House rules committee before going to the house floor.

See Also:

• HB-462 (PDF): Changes the requirements for the state sex offender registry
• HB-589 (PDF): Changes the laws regarding sexual offender registration and classification
• HB-624 (PDF): Changes the laws regarding sexual offender registration

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CA - Losing Sex Offender Scarlet Letter After 16 Years to Return Man's Life, Claims Defense Lawyer

Original Article

03/22/2013

By Matt Coker

Orange County can be a pretty hostile place if you are a sex offender, witness the bans on pervs in parks the district attorney's office has pushed for and the personal information about parolees made public thanks to the likes of county Supervisor Todd Spitzer.

So, perhaps it is with some added gusto that a Tustin law firm is trumpeting a client getting his sex offender scarlet letter removed.

The unidentified fellow had been arrested and convicted in 1996 for misdemeanor indecent exposure after removing all his clothing and running around the front yard of his residence in an undisclosed Orange County city. (If I had a nickel for every time I . . . uh . . . moving on . . .)

That stupid act cost him 26 days in jail, three years of probation and fines. But a far worse penalty was having to register as a sex offender as the designation doubly penalized him by forcing him out of government-assisted housing he'd been living in for 47 years.

After living as a registered sex offender for 16 years and looking at a lifetime as one, the man turned to Stephen D. Klarich, a founding partner with Tustin's Wallin & Klarich and a specialist in sex offender law. The first thing the lawyer did was refer the client to a psychologist, who conducted an examination and wrote a report claiming the man had been rehabilitated. The report was rolled into a petition for a certificate of rehabilitation that Klarich sought from Orange County Superior Court.

At a subsequent hearing involving Klarich's client and others seeking certificates of rehabilitation, the fellow who'd run around his yard nekkid was the only one to get a certificate that day, according to the lawyer.

Losing the sex offender tag, Klarich claims, has allowed his client to return to government housing, seek employment he'd previously been barred from obtaining and go on to live a productive life with his wife.

Just watch how you celebrate, buddy.

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MD - Sex offender doesn't have to register - Judges rule it violates Constitution, ex post facto laws and is additional punishment!

Original Article

03/04/2013

By JESSICA GRESKO

A ruling Monday from Maryland's highest court calls into question a state law that requires some people to register as sex offenders for crimes committed decades ago.

The ruling means at least one man will have his name removed from the sex offender database, but other offenders may also be able to challenge their inclusion.

Maryland first created a sex offender registry in 1995, and more than 8,300 people are now in the database. Lawmakers strengthened sex offender laws in 2009 and 2010, and one of the changes made required registration for some people who committed crimes before the database's creation.

On Monday, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a man who as a junior high school teacher in the early 1980s had inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old student. The man pleaded guilty to abuse in 2006 after a former student came forward, and he went to prison for about two years.

As a result of provisions that went into effect in 2009 and 2010, the man was required to register as a sex offender. That's because while he committed his crime before the registry existed, he pleaded guilty after it was in place. He was also required to re-register every three months for the rest of his life.

A majority of the seven judges sitting on the court ruled that the man should not be required to register, but they disagreed as to why.

Three judges said in a 41-page ruling that requiring the man to register violates the Maryland Constitution. The Constitution prohibits "ex post facto" laws, which retroactively dole out punishments that weren't in place at the time an act was committed.

Two more judges agreed the man should not have to register but rested the decision both on the Maryland and U.S. Constitutions. One more judge said the man shouldn't be required to register because it wasn't part of his plea agreement. A final judge would have upheld a lower court ruling requiring the man to register.

One of the man's attorneys, Pat Cresta-Savage, said the ruling was "definitely a victory" for her client, but how it will affect others "remains to be seen." She said it seems individuals will have to challenge their inclusion on a case-by-case basis.

David Paulson, a spokesman for the Maryland Attorney General, said the office is reviewing the ruling. The office could decide not to challenge the ruling, to ask the court to reconsider or to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

See Also:

• Md. high court ruling could affect sex offender registry

Video Link

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OR - Mix of emotion at hearing for sex offender bills

Original Article

These are good bills, and thank you to all who attended the hearing.

02/28/2013

By Anna Canzano

SALEM – There was a mix of emotion Thursday as Oregon lawmakers heard testimony about a pair of bills that would overhaul how sex offenders register and are supervised.

The first proposal, House Bill 2552, concerns juvenile offenders. The bill would allow those who committed a sex crime before age 16 from having to report as a sex offender under certain circumstances.

The second bill, House Bill 2549, would mandate that all sex offenders be classified by their risk level to society. For instance, a Level 3 sex offender would be classified the most dangerous; Level 1 would the least likely to re-offend.

Currently, Oregon does not classify sex offenders; Washington does have a ranking system.

Surprising fallout of House Bill 2549? It would also provide relief to certain sex offenders. If passed, those convicted of serious crimes -- such as first-degree rape and sodomy -- can ask to be taken off the state registry within as few as five years after they're done with probation or parole.

Connie Hollon was behind the original law in 2006 that put a portion of Oregon’s sex offender registry online. She finds the proposal disappointing.

“It saddens me,” Hollon said. “This is a bill … by a few select proponents that have their own agenda.”

“This is also a crime that doesn’t walk away from the victim,” she added.

Others spoke in staunch support of the bills. Ken Nolley, president of Oregon Voices, said the current laws are actually creating an unjust culture.

“The very laws we’ve passed to protect our community is actually destroying families … in many, many cases,” Nolley said.

Both bills were heard by the House Committee on Judiciary. The judiciary committee did not hold a vote on either bill.

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MO - New bill would allow some sex offenders to be removed from sex offender registry

Original Article

See the video at the link above.

02/06/2013

By Lauren Pozen

JEFFERSON CITY - A new bill introduced today would allow some sex offenders to request to be removed from the lifetime sex offender registry.

There are more than 21,000 registered offenders on the registry. Offenders are required to register every 90 days.

A representative from Kimberling City wants to allow some offender to be removed from the registry, based on a three tier system:

Tier I

The first tier would have the lowest risk sex offenders. These are criminals least likely to re-offend like those convicted of indecent exposure. They would be able to petition a judge to take their name off the list ten years after their conviction.

Tier II

The second level would be for offenders with intermediate offenses and a moderate risk of committing another sex crime. They could ask a judge to remove their names, but only after 25 years.

Tier III

The third level would list severe offenders, who would remain on the registry for life. One exception would allow only those adjudicated as juveniles to petition to be removed after 25 years.

Registered sex offender, [name withheld] says if the bill passes, it would be life changing.

"It would change my life. I would not have this burden on me for the rest of my life. I am only 23," he says.

At 17, [name withheld] was charged with statutory rape. He pleaded guilty. a probation violation sent him to prison for two years. Now he is out, but he says it still feels like he is behind bars.

"I am not the same kid that I was when I was 17. I mean yeah, I was bad. I learned a lot, but come on," [name withheld] says.

Every three months, he re-registers as a sex offender.

"I have to go up there, fill out more paperwork. Get my picture taken, retina scan, fingerprints," says [name withheld].

House Bill 462 (PDF) could change that for [name withheld]. He would fall under Tier I.

"The registry can be a small piece of a tool. But, the danger of it is that it does create a false sense of security," says Barbara Brown, executive director with the Child Advocacy Center.

Brown says changing the registry for either crimes against children or adults is a slippery slope.

"If you commit a crime against children that is serious enough to get you on the registry, I see no reason to take your name off at anytime," Brown says.
- I'm sure you'd not be saying that if one of your own children were on the list, and what about all the other criminals who harm children?

As for [name withheld], he would like to see some changes.

"I would like to see everybody with a lesser crime get off. I know several people that are my age and are in the same position I am in," he says.

Representative Phillips says if House Bill 462 passes, there will be no direct cost to the state, federal funding is available for the administrative expenses to remove people from the registry. Massachusetts already has a similar law in place.

See Also:

• Kimberling City representative's bill targets sex offender registry

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FL - ARK volunteer taken off sex-offender list

Original Article

01/10/2013

By Jen Horton

[name withheld] — who came to the public’s attention because of his wife’s role at the Animal Rescue Konsortium (ARK) in DeLand — has been removed from the Florida Sexual Offender/Predator Public Registry.

Critics of the ARK shelter, which was raided by the DeLand Police Department Nov. 8, complained that one of the shelter volunteers — [name withheld] — was a registered sex offender.

Just two weeks before the raid, on Oct. 26, [name withheld] had been arrested by DeLand police and charged with failure to register properly as a sex offender. He had listed himself on police records as a transient, but had stayed at least occasionally at ARK.

[name withheld] and his wife were homeless, and ARK president Maggi Hall had given them permission to live at the ARK shelter in exchange for caring for the 126 animals on the property.

After the raid, the [name withheld]'  situation was dire, as they had few possessions and no home, and had difficulty finding work. Daniel [name withheld]’s status as a registered sex offender made hard times even harder.

However, then [name withheld] learned the dates of his conviction on sex charges predated the enactment of the Florida registry.

[name withheld] was convicted of sexual assault in Michigan in 1996 when he was 22 years old. He said the charges had been brought by a former girlfriend.

Florida’s Public Safety Information Act, which requires sex offenders to be registered and their addresses published on a state website, did not go into effect until 1997.
- So anybody whose crime was before 1997 needs to hire a lawyer to get off the registry.

[name withheld] consulted with an attorney, who helped him have his name removed from the sex-offender registry. He’s happy to lose the label.

“I can live anywhere I want to,” [name withheld] said.

Most jurisdictions restrict where registered sex offenders can live. The ARK shelter is among locations in DeLand that are off-limits as a sex offender’s residence.

[name withheld] said he now has a good job, and he and his wife have a car and a new place to live in Orange City.
- This just goes to show you, the registry is punishment.  It made this man and his wife homeless, and when he was removed from the registry, he now is able to get on with his life.

“Things are going good for us,” he said. “I’m happy.”

Depending on exactly where they live, the [name withheld]’ trouble with [name withheld]'s past conviction may not be over.

In 2012, Orange City adopted a residency-restriction ordinance that applies to all sex offenders, whether or not they are listed on the state registry, and whether they were convicted in Florida or another state.
- And it's another unconstitutional ex post facto law that should be repealed!

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IN - Supreme Court removes Hammond man from sex offender list

Original Article

All states have the issue of "ex post facto" laws in their constitutions, so why aren't all states finding the same?

01/10/2013

By Dan Carden

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a Hammond man removed from the state's sex offender registry after determining the law requiring him to register for life imposes an unconstitutional retroactive punishment (PDF).

[name withheld], 52, pleaded guilty to child solicitation in 1997 after seeking a sexual encounter with a 9-year-old Lake County girl, according to court records.

He served 18 months in prison, 18 months on probation and was required by a 1996 law to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

In 2006, the Republican-controlled General Assembly changed the sex offender registration law to require adult sex offenders who victimized children younger than 12 to register for life.

[name withheld] argued in his appeal to the state's high court that extending his registration period from 10 years to life was an additional retroactive punishment and prohibited by the "ex post facto" clause of the Indiana Constitution. Ex post facto is Latin for "after the fact."

In a 5-0 decision, the state Supreme Court agreed.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice Brent Dickson, a Hobart native, weighed the punitive effects of lifetime registration and determined that as applied to [name withheld]'s low-level felony conviction it is additional punishment and therefore unconstitutional.

Republican Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who sought to keep [name withheld] on the sex offender rolls, is reviewing the court's decision, said spokesman Bryan Corbin.

Corbin said Zoeller expects to meet with state legislators to help draft an update to Indiana's sex offender registration law in the wake of several similar recent court rulings.

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TX - Considered a Sex Offender Since He Was 12, a Plano Man is Finally Freed from the Registry

Original Article

12/10/2012

By Eric Nicholson

In May, the Texas Observer profiled [name withheld], a 25-year-old Plano man struggling to find a job and otherwise coping with life on the Texas Department of Public Safety's sex offender registry.

His crime? Molesting his 8-year-old sister -- when he was 12.

[name withheld]'s case illustrates a flaw in the state's rules for handling sex offenses perpetrated by juveniles, the absurdity of which has been previously documented. In 2009, when the Houston Chronicle examined the issue, there were 3,600 registered sex offenders who were juveniles when their crime was committed. Eleven of those were required to register at the age of 10.

This all stems from the 1991 law that established sex offender reporting requirements and made registration mandatory for adults and juveniles. Tweaks have since been made to the law, allowing juvenile sex offenders to petition a judge to remove juvenile sex offenders from the registry, but mandatory registration, which lasts for 10 years, under current DPS rules, remains.

The rule is perplexing, both since it means that the punishment for a crime committed as a child extends well into adulthood and because the Texas Department of State Health Services concludes that "there is no compelling evidence to suggest the majority of juveniles with sexual behavior problems are likely to become adult sex offenders."

In [name withheld]' case, his inclusion on the registry has more or less ruined his life. He enrolled at Texas Tech but later dropped out after he began receiving death threats following the inclusion of his name and picture on a local TV news report about sex offenders. He got a job on a construction crew after dropping out but was soon let go. His next gig, traveling around the country and putting up wind turbines, took him to Washington for a month, where he was convicted for failing to register as a sex offender. (It's not directly addressed in the Texas Observer story, but that's presumably why he was required to remain on the registry beyond the 10 years, until the age of 31). He eventually got married and had two kids, but he still couldn't find a job.

The future's a little brighter for [name withheld] now. The Texas Observer reported Friday that [name withheld] successfully petitioned to have his name struck from the list.

See Also:

• Children as sex offenders? What has this world come to?

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IN - Sex offender ruling could impact other cases

Original Article

Good, this is as it should be.  If someone is forced to obey some new law for a past crime, that is known as an ex post facto law, and is unconstitutional.

11/26/2012

By Julian Grace

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a convicted sex offender’s attempts to remove his name from the state’s registry list.

[name withheld] was convicted of rape and child abuse in Massachusetts. He completed his sentence in 1989 and then later moved to Indianapolis 1993. [name withheld] was convicted and sentenced well before state sex offender list were created.

According to IU Law Professor Fran Watson, this case will spur more sex offenders to pursue the courts to get their names off the list. Watson believes some Sheriff’s Departments might get involved and inform the current sex offenders of the recent ruling.

“I would not be surprised if the [name withheld] decision is placed on the Department of Corrections web site,” said Watson. The Attorney General’s Office has not determined if they will appeal the Court of Appeals decision.

Monday, 24-Hour-News 8's Julian Grace reached out to [name withheld]. However, the phone number listed under his name was disconnected.

As of Monday, [name withheld] name and address is still listed on the state sex offender registry list. No word yet if [name withheld] picture will come down from the federal sex offender list.

Video Link

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