IA - Sex offenders are once again scapegoated for the murder of children, nobody arrested, no sex involved?

Sex Offenders = Scapegoat?

Original Article

02/25/2013

By MIKE WISER

DES MOINES - Sex offenders could be hunted for their crimes indefinitely under legislation introduced Monday by an Iowa lawmaker.

Sen. Jeff Danielson’s bill would remove the statute of limitations on sex offenses involving children, a provision that drew praise from some during a Statehouse hearing.

“Sometimes it takes decades before the trauma can be spoken of,” said Kim Hiscox, an organizer and spokeswoman for the National Child Safety Council. “A statute of limitations doesn’t make sense.”

The bill, which Danielson, D-Cedar Falls, said “was a starting point,” makes several other changes to existing law. They include:

• Modifying the state’s sex offender registry tier structure so offenders are ranked on the list based on an assessment of their propensity to reoffend. Currently, offenders are placed on the list based on their conviction.
• Putting aside $2 million for a state revolving fund under control of the Department of Public Safety to pay for training and best practice protocols for law enforcement agencies involved in tracking missing children, including new alert systems and establishment of a statewide human trafficking task force.

Witch-Hunt Mentality

The legislation is in response to the abduction and killings of cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, who were reported missing in July and whose bodies were discovered by hunters in December.
- And is was mentioned that they were probably killed by drug dealers, not ex-sex offenders, so instead of punishing murderers, they go after the scapegoat, sex offenders, and from a quick scan of the news, we do not see that sex was involved, so why punish ex-sex offenders for the crime of a murderer?

No arrests have been made in the case.

“It does not go far enough, but it’s the step in the right direction,” Sen. Kent Sorenson, R-Milo, said.

Sorenson has pushed for a reintroduction of the death penalty in the state since the girls’ bodies were discovered.

“I think capital justice is something we can have a discussion on,” Sorenson said, adding he could support Danielson’s bill. “I’m hoping we can make it a work in progress.”

Robin Arnold, a Cedar Falls woman who turned in 15,000 signatures from people who supported tougher sex offender laws to the committee, said she hoped the legislation would make it possible for quicker responses from law enforcement and the community at large when children are missing.
- Come on, this is insane!  Why do we continue to punish ex-sex offenders when a child goes missing or murdered instead of punishing the person who committed the act?  This is just wrong!

“I listened to them say every day for seven days ‘We have no reason to believe the children had been abducted,’” Arnold said. “So on the seventh day when it came across that ‘We now believe the children have been abducted,’ I cried, I prayed, I started the petitions.”

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IL - State Rep. Jefferson moves to strengthen laws against sex offenders

Original Article

02/15/2013

State Rep. Chuck Jefferson, D-Rockford, is introducing a bill to enhance legal action against the criminal sexual assault of minors.

“We have an obligation to do all we can to ensure that our children are protected,” Jefferson said. “For some survivors of sexual abuse, it may take many years for them to be able to come to terms with what happened and feel comfortable enough to alert the authorities. This measure will provide an opportunity for law enforcement to go after the criminals no matter how many years ago the incident occurred.”

Under the current law, prosecution for criminal sexual abuse of a minor may be commenced within one year of the victim turning 18 years old. Jefferson’s bill will remove the statute of limitations for aggravated or predatory sexual offenses, or criminal sexual abuse, in cases where the victim was younger than 18 at the time of the offense. Additionally, the bill allows for a 20-year window to prosecute the failure to report certain alleged or suspected sexual assault offenses against minors.

“This bill is about empowerment,” Jefferson said. “It will allow survivors the chance to speak up about a past crime, and possibly prevent an offender from committing further sexual abuse. Even if just one life is saved, then we will have made a difference.”

Jefferson’s House Bill 1063 (PDF) has bipartisan support, and will be considered for a committee vote next week.

For more information, contact Jefferson’s full-time constituent service office at (815) 987-7433.

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VA - Former teacher arrested on charges of sex abuse from 1960s

Original Article

11/18/2012

MCLEAN - The head of a northern Virginia private school says the school is "deeply disturbed" by the news that a former longtime teacher has been charged with sexual assaults involving four of his students from the 1960s.
- So since the laws are retroactive (ex post facto), are they going to go back 100 years, check birth/marriage certificates and arrest anybody who married underage children or gave birth to someone underage?  How many politicians would that ensnare?  Or what about John Walsh, or this elderly couple? And what about the statute of limitations? And what "proof" can they possibly have? It's one persons word against anothers.

Fairfax County Police on Friday arrested 73-year-old [name withheld] of McLean after a yearlong investigation.

Police opened the case after receiving a report from a 55-year-old woman who was a student of [name withheld]'s at the Potomac School. She came forward after running into [name withheld] at the Washington Episcopal School, where he was teaching at the time. Police say their investigation found three other alleged victims, all girls ages 12 and 14 when the alleged incidents occurred between 1968 and 1969.

"We are deeply disturbed by this news and our hearts are with the entire Potomac community, past and present, as we work through this difficult time," wrote Potomac School head Geoffrey Jones in a note to parents Friday that was reported by The Washington Post.

[name withheld] worked at the Potomac School from 1965 to 1994, police said. The school confirmed he was both a teacher and an administrator and said in a statement Saturday that it is cooperating with Fairfax County's investigation.

A message left at a telephone listing for [name withheld]'s home in McLean was not immediately returned Saturday. [name withheld] is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, and the jail said he is set to appear in court Monday.

The Potomac School was founded in 1904 and has students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Approximately 1,000 students attend the school.

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PA - Statute of limitations on child sex abuse: 'It will inevitably increase the possibility of fraudulent claims'

Daniel M. Filler

Original Article

07/10/2012

Daniel M. Filler, professor at Drexel University law school, Philadelphia.

Q: What are the ramifications if the statute of limitations were eliminated in child sex-abuse cases in criminal proceedings?

A: The whole problem with the issue is that child sexual abuse is a hair-trigger issue in our society, and that fact has led to some real miscarriages of justice. That doesn't mean that there really aren't ugly things that happened to people who wait to report. Increasing or eliminating the statute of limitations might lead to more justice, but it also might increase more injustice. The question is how much injustice are we willing to tolerate to get more justice.

Q: What do you mean by more injustice?

A: These kinds of cases make people particularly anxious. I think when it comes to these cases, the worry is that, on one hand, memories are sometimes repressed. But it is also true that a person can be nudged toward remembering things that might not have occurred. Given that, people feel a statute of limitations is needed. It's the only way a defendant has a chance to disprove such allegations. It's impossible to find an alibi so long after the event is said to have occurred. The older the memories are, the fear is that it's more brittle and more likely a person is to create mis-remembrances.

Q: What are the ramifications if the statute of limitations were eliminated in child sex-abuse cases in civil proceedings?

A: It will inevitably increase the possibility of fraudulent claims because of all the noise around the Sandusky case and the Catholic Church. It has raised the anxiety in these matters. A fraudulent claim may succeed because the jury is more sympathetic. Defendants may be more likely to settle quickly.

Q: Advocates say child abuse victims routinely don't go to authorities for decades after the crime because they don't feel empowered enough or out of the control of the abuser, often someone in a position of authority. Wouldn't that be reason to extend the statute?

A: People understood this when they created the statute of limitations to extend to 30. In a society, we have to draw the line somewhere. We say 18-year-olds are fully adults for purposes of voting and becoming a criminal defendant. We say when you're 21, you're an adult if you want to drink. The Pennsylvania Legislature made a tough call and said, for the purposes of reporting child sex abuse, you can report it up until age 30. This recognizes that it's tough to report — but by 30 many people are out from under the thumb of an authority figure, and we've given them much longer ... [for] criminal liability and voting rights.

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NY - Sex Scandal Statute of Limitations

View the article here

06/15/2009

Paul Vitello, staff reporter for the New York Times covering health issues for the Metro desk, discusses the controversy over the bill in Albany that would adjust the statute of limitations in childhood sexual abuse suits.

 

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"The mood and temper of the public in regard to the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing tests of a civilization. We must have a desire to rehabilitate into the world of industry, all those who have paid their dues in the hard coinage of punishment." - Winston Churchill (Bill Of Rights)

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