11-30-2008 Wisconsin:
Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series examining sex offenders and their impact on victims.
They number 272 in Sheboygan County.
They share a simple label — sex offenders — but they range in age from 18 to 84 and have been convicted of 30 different offenses dating back as far as 1971. Online registries show what they look like, and local ordinances increasingly control where they live, but who are they, really, and what danger do they pose?
Experts say there is no simple answer.
"There's just not one kind of sex offender," said George Limbeck, a Sheboygan defense attorney who represents child sex offenders in about one-fourth of his cases. "They could be everyone from the stereotypical creepy guy who preys on children to the kid next door that makes a mistake of having a girlfriend who's a little too young, and everyone in between."
Sex offenders land on the state registry for offenses that include underage sex, forcible rape, possession of child pornography and exposing a child to sexual material. But known offenders are responsible for only a fraction of the sexual assaults committed.
Eighty-four percent of sexual assault victims do not report the offense, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Center for Sex Offender Management. One in six women and one in 33 men in the U.S. will experience an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, the center reports.
"A lot of times people like to think it doesn't happen in our community because we're a family community, we're a church community," said Mary Fontanazza, director of advocacy for Safe Harbor, which provides shelter and support for Sheboygan-area victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence. "They don't realize it happens everywhere."
And Sheboygan police say sexual assaults happen — or at least are reported — with increasing frequency in Sheboygan. The number of sexual assaults reported in Sheboygan through the end of September rose 15 percent from the same period in 2007, and the number of sex-related crimes, which include lewd behavior and child pornography, soared by 70 percent.
"I don't believe the community is panicked about sex offenders, but I think people are very well aware of what sex offenders can do and the damage they can do to a community," said Capt. James Veeser of the Sheboygan Police Department.
Residents are more aware than ever of the sex offenders in their midst — online registries and resources such as The Sheboygan Press sex offender database show what offenders look like, where they live and what they've done — but Fontanazza warns the information can also be misleading.
"So many assaults are unreported," she said. "People need to be aware and on guard and (not think), 'We're safe in this neighborhood because there's no sex offenders living there.' There probably are."
Differentiating sex offenders
The state sex offender database — created in 1997 and maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections — reveals Sheboygan County sex offenders are typically middle-aged white males, but experts warn against stereotyping.
"Sex offenders can be smart or not smart, they can be rich or not rich, they can be employed or not employed, mentally ill or not mentally ill," said Dr. Charles Lodl, a Mequon-based psychologist who has worked with sex offenders and testified in their court proceedings for 25 years. "There is no standard profile that in some way, shape or form indicates that an individual will be more likely to act out sexually in an abusive way."
The most common thread lies in the offenses, as 187 Sheboygan County offenders, or 69 percent, committed crimes against children. Sixty percent of those offenders — 112 people — were convicted of the same charge: second-degree sexual assault of a child between the ages of 13 and 15.
But that offense includes boyfriend-girlfriend encounters that were consensual in fact, though not in law, as well as sexual assaults by older perpetrators, a distinction Lodl said is crucial.
"Even though legally an 18-year-old having sex with a 17-year-old or 16-year-old is designated a sex offender … psychologically, that's not the case," he said. "There is usually nothing in that kind of scenario that really warrants any real kind of psychological intervention."
At least 45 of the county's 272 sex offenders were convicted when the offender was 20 or younger and the victim was 13 or older, though not all sexual encounters were consensual, according to accounts in court records and Press archives.
Judge Timothy Van Akkeren said the inclusion of these cases in the sex offender registry can lead to incorrect assumptions about the young offenders.
"It'll look like a very serious sexual assault" on court records and sex offender registries, the judge said. "An employer will say, 'I don't want this person on board.' … The person may have used some poor judgment, but they're not likely to engage in sexual contact with another person without that person's consent."
It's a different story for the more serious offenders, those who molested younger children or raped adults, said Joseph Henger, who runs sex offender treatment programs in Sheboygan County and throughout southeastern Wisconsin,
"This is about having extreme, distorted thoughts about what they're doing, plus they develop deviant (sexual) arousal," said Henger, of Milwaukee-based Henger Enterprises.
The making of a sex offender
Lodl said there is some evidence that pedophilia is rooted in genetics, but Henger said the sex offenders he sees are typically products of their environment and experiences.
"People aren't born this way," Henger said. "They unwittingly evolve and condition themselves into it."
Patricia Brinkman, a therapist at Northshore Clinic of Sheboygan who has worked with juvenile sex offenders for about 20 years, said many offenders have parents who provide little accountability, are poor models and make excuses for the child's behavior.
"A lot of times sexual offenders don't have real healthy home lives," she said. "Children that are more easily treated (in therapy), they don't come often from real bad situations. The more serious offenders, probably their structure, limit-setting, maybe modeling — usually that was more of a problem."
While Lodl warns against profiling, he said offenders who commit certain crimes do have some similarities in their personalities.
Offenders who commit forcible rapes are likely to have anger management problems and difficultly developing and maintaining relationships, Lodl said. They may rape someone out of sexual desire or simply anger. Child molesters are often looking to fill an emotional and sexual need rooted in social disorders that prevent the offender from finding more appropriate people to meet those needs.
Henger said offenders know their victims in about 85 percent of cases.
Brinkman said teenagers who molest young children often do so out of what she termed "inappropriate curiosity."
"For young men that either are shy or embarrassed or not as popular as some of the other kids where they wouldn't have a girlfriend, they'll experiment on children," she said.
Recidivism after conviction is rare
Experts say sex offenders often victimize multiple people, but registered sex offenders likely pose less danger since recidivism rates drop dramatically after conviction.
"If we hear about some type of sexual crime, that's a high priority for us just because … the history of sexual predators is that they have more than one victim," said Veeser, the police captain. "If we can prove a case against a sex offender, it might help someone in the future or someone who is involved with them right at that time."
Van Akkeren, the judge, said few sex offenders return to his courtroom for a second sexual assault case.
"As a result of the punishment they've received they (may) have been dissuaded … or it could be they've gotten more sly and they haven't been caught the second time," Van Akkeren said.
Lodl said sex offenders re-offend at lower rates than many other criminals. More than 50 percent of those convicted of crimes such as burglary and battery are convicted later of a similar offense.
"The recidivism rate after a fellow has been caught is somewhere around 13.5 percent," he said. "Before they're caught, that's a different story. Especially with incest offenders, the likelihood is they're going to keep doing what they were doing if there's no intervention."
One study found less than 15 percent of sex offenders committed another sex offense within five to six years of their release from prison, according to the Center for Sex Offender Management. Another study showed recidivism rates of 20 percent after 10 years and 24 percent after 15 years.
Brinkman, the therapist, said offenders are more likely to re-offend if they've had multiple victims, refuse to take responsibility for their crimes or employed force or threats in a sexual assault. She estimated more than 10 percent of sex offenders she sees as juveniles fit into this category.
"It depends a lot on … how much they've done it before, what age they're caught and whether they go through treatment," Brinkman said. "(If) their conscience is questionable or it's not very strong, they don't have a lot of remorse for what they did … then we're starting to get more into the sex offender that's always going to be a sex offender."
Sex offenders sentenced on individual basis
Van Akkeren said every sex offender in his courtroom must be considered individually, though most face similar charges.
The felony counts involving sex with a minor carry high maximum penalties — up to 25 years in prison for second-degree sexual assault, the most common charge — so judges have flexibility in sentencing, Van Akkeren said.
"We have what essentially are statutory sex offenders" in teen sex situations, and on the other side of the spectrum, "those who are the real threats to the community," the judge said. "We need to be sure that we deal with things appropriately."
A father convicted of molesting a child may face substantial prison time, while a teenager charged with the same offense from a consensual encounter may receive probation or a deferred conviction agreement that dismisses the charge if no further crimes are committed for a year or two. The judge also has the option to not require sex offender registration in boyfriend-girlfriend cases.
"I think we do a good job in this county of distinguishing between the various kinds of sex offenders," said Limbeck, the defense attorney.
He said Sheboygan County judges take sexual assaults more seriously than they did a decade ago.
"Nowadays when you have a real significant age difference between the defendant and the victim, the likelihood of a prison sentence has increased," Limbeck said. "The criminal justice system has kind of grown with the community in general as we've become aware and better educated about the crimes that are being committed." ..News Source.. by Eric Litke • Sheboygan Press staff
November 30, 2008
WI- Sex offenders: Who are they?
UK- Porn bill for couple who can't download
11-30-2008 United Kingdom:
Innocent people are getting letters from lawyers claiming they should pay for films they've never seen.
A Hertfordshire couple in their 60s were horrified to receive a letter last week from a London firm of lawyers accusing them of dowloading a hardcore gay porn movie. It demanded they pay £503 for "copyright infringement" or face a high court action. The 20-page "pre-settlement letter" from lawyers Davenport Lyons, acting on behalf of German pornogaphers, insisted they pay £503 to their clients for the 115 minute film Army Fuckers which features "Gestapo" officers and "Czech" farmers.
The bewildered couple contacted Guardian Money. "We were offended by the title of the film. We don't do porn - straight or gay - and we can't do downloads. We have to ask our son even to do an iTunes purchase."
But this Hertfordshire couple are not alone. A large number of people have received this letter, provoking a massive outcry on web forums such as slyck.com and torrentfreak which estimate 25,000 of these letters have been sent out. If all the recipients paid up, it would net £12.5m - more than almost any porn film has made.
The lawyers also sent out similar demands for a second German gay porn film with an even more offensive title.
Media expert Michael Coyle at Southampton-based solicitors Lawdit, is fighting on behalf of individuals who have received the letter from Davenport Lyons. "Owners of films, music and computer games obviously have to protect their rights and prevent illegal copying, otherwise everyone would get all sorts of content for free.
"But many of these letters have been sent to people who have no idea what a download is. We've had straight pensioners complain, and a mother who had the shock of having to question her 14-year-old son about gay porn because he was the only apparent user of the internet connection that was registered to her."
Coyle says Davenport Lyons represent DigiProtect, a German company with rights to both pornographic films.
He questions the amount demanded and methods used to identify computers alleged to have downloaded material. He believes the sum demanded is out of all proportion to the alleged injury. "In one case, Davenport Lyons wanted £500 for a £20 game. The alleged file-sharing would have cost only about £50 - the rest is legal costs."
"All they do is find the internet connection, demand the service provider reveal the name and address (not all do) and then send out a letter demanding cash. But the technology is flawed. It is easy to hijack a wireless router especially in a built-up area or a block of flats, so it is never clear who used what," says Coyle.
Coyle offers a £50 service for those who refuse to cave in to the demands as he believes some of the firm's successes are due to consumers paying up because they cannot afford the legal costs of defending themselves.
"They have won court cases including a high-profile £16,000 on a games download. But these have not been defended. My advice is to deny file sharing to any such request," he adds.
We put a number of questions to Davenport Lyons. In a statement it said: "We cannot comment on individual cases. We represent clients who own valuable rights in copyright material and are legally entitled to protect and enforce such rights against any unlawful infringement. The material was not put on a file-sharing site by our clients.
"We write an initial letter to those suspected of illegal file sharing based on technical information received from our clients. Such procedure is required by court rules. We allow ample opportunity for the recipient to respond, and if they have done nothing wrong they have no reason to be concerned." ..News Source.. by Tony Levene
FL- Man posing as teen girl explains role in Dateline sex sting
11-29-2008 Florida:
BUNNELL -- A hardware store manager discussed his role posing as a "standard teenage girl" for the Dateline NBC TV's "To Catch a Predator Sting" in Flagler Beach during a recent court hearing.
Eric Joseph Walker, who manages an Ace Hardware store in Fort Walton Beach, talked about his decoy duties in the case against Stephen Holt of Orlando.
Holt was among 21 men who police said followed up sexually explicit online chats with decoys posing as children by driving to Flagler Beach to meet the "children" during the sting, which ran Dec. 8-11, 2006.
Holt, 21, faces charges of attempted lewd or lascivious battery, computer pornography, child exploitation, and transmission of harmful material to a minor.
Walker discussed his role via speakerphone as part of the hearing in which Holt's attorney, William Jay, sought to have chat logs and other evidence thrown out. Circuit Judge Kim C. Hammond has yet to rule on Jay's motion.
Walker declined to speak to a News-Journal reporter or provide his age. Public records list an Eric J. Walker who lives in Fort Walton Beach and is 40 years old.
Walker explained his role to Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Carlson. He said he decided to become a decoy -- known as a "volunteer contributor" -- after reading an article about Perverted Justice in February 2004.
He told Carlson he didn't receive any training but did "sign off" on procedures.
"It's a pretty extensive list of rules of how to conduct ourselves and what you can and can't do in chats," he said.
"The most important ones are the ones that cover how first contact is made, how we are never to make first contact with the subject," Walker said. "And also how to chat, how we never bring up sexual things or meet, you know, never bring up meeting the person first. That's all left up to the subject."
He said Perverted Justice administrators generally put out a call for contributors about four to six weeks before an onsite sting.
Walker said he was on his computer at home in Okaloosa County when Holt made first contact on Dec. 2, 2006.
Carlson asked Walker what persona he was portraying.
"A 13-year-old girl, just kind of standard teenage girl," Walker said.
He said Holt saw his decoy profile in a public chatroom and contacted him via an instant message.
Walker said he drove to Flagler Beach for the bust and continued to chat online with Holt from the sting house.
Under questioning by Holt's attorney, Jay, Walker said all his directions about behaving online came from Perverted Justice. Jay said since Walker was a private citizen he needed Holt's consent to record their online conversations. Holt didn't consent, Jay said.
Jay added that the only way Walker could record the conversation without Holt's consent was under the direction of law enforcement, but Flagler Beach police do not have jurisdiction in Okaloosa County.
Jay said the sting was not led by Flagler Beach police but rather by Dennis Kerr, an administrator at Perverted Justice.
Carlson countered that Flagler Beach police granted the authority to Kerr, who then gave it to contributors such as Walker.
Carlson said that -- unlike in a telephone conversation -- Holt has no expectation of privacy in an online instant message conversation.
"Mr. Holt didn't know really who he was talking to," Carlson said. "He thought he was talking to a 13-year-old girl. But, as you heard today, he was speaking to an adult male individual." ..News Source.. by FRANK FERNANDEZ, Staff Writer
MA- Gang database going online in January
11-30-2008 Massachusetts:
It’s about to get a lot harder to be a gang member.
A new statewide computer tracking system called Mass Gangs is going online the first week of January and will be used by every law enforcement agency in the state.
The program, which has similarities to the state’s online Registry of Motor Vehicles database, is funded by a $2 million grant from the federal Department of Bureau and Justice Assistance.
Instead of running a license number through the computer and coming back with only a driver’s history or criminal record, police can use the Mass Gangs system to view a suspect’s gang affiliations, pictures of gang tattoos and other photos linked to gang activity, such as graffiti. It also enables local police departments to better share information about gang-related crime.
Officials say Mass Gangs is free to cities and towns because it is federally funded. It is simply a Web browser that is accessible on all police station computers and police car laptops.
-But, not available to the general public. Isn't that how sex offender registries started?
Kurt Wood, executive director of the state Criminal History Systems Board who will oversee the intelligence program from his Chelsea office, says the concept of Mass Gangs arose after local police departments spoke about the importance of intelligence sharing.
“Major city police chiefs and gang investigators who do the work on a daily basis said we need to get an application together,” Wood said. “There’s no need to not share this information on a more efficient basis.”
Even though local police share gang intelligence with each other, oftentimes certain agencies are unintentionally left out of the loop, officials say.
“We have Lynn police sharing information with themselves but not Revere, for example,” Wood said. “Boston may have the same issues that Lynn does but you would never know.”
Wood says there is certain criteria law enforcement must follow in order to place a person’s information into the Mass Gangs system. A scorecard is used to rank each person based on how many pieces of evidence links him or her to a gang.
If a criminal arrest is linked to gang activity or a suspect admits to police or prison officials he is in a gang, the person’s information will likely be placed into the database.
“We don’t just put somebody in there because they’ve been observed with someone in a gang,” Wood said. “They have to qualify.”
Tracy Varano, director of planning and projects for the Criminal History Systems Board, says Mass Gangs must adhere to code federal regulation 23, the federal rules on government intelligence systems.
The program will undergo a review at least every five years, she said.
“Mass Gangs is an intelligence system, therefore we’re complying with those regulations,” Varano said. “Information has to go through a periodic review to make sure it meets the standards.”
One way Mass Gangs would maintain its integrity is by assessing everyone placed into the system every five years. If a person in the system has no criminal activity and police don’t suspect he is still in a gang, then his information gets removed from the database.
“If there is no update to his record and no further activity, that record will automatically be purged from the system in five years,” Wood said. “In order to stay in the system an action has to be taken by a police officer to attest the person is still involved in gang activity and it is documented. Then that five-year period starts over again.”
Once the final officers are trained on how to use the program, it is scheduled to be up and running Jan. 6. ..News Source.. by Dan O’Brien/The Daily Item
November 29, 2008
GA- More sense, please
11-29-2008 Georgia:
Georgia's sex offender laws should differentiate between statutory rape and other sex offenses.
LIKE MUCH legislation, Georgia's sex offender laws also adhere to the law of unintended consequences.
Some issues have been addressed by the General Assembly, mainly as a result of Georgia's courts dialing back the harsh punishments called for under this section of state law.
Take, for instance, the case of Genarlow Wilson. Found guilty of receiving oral sex from a 15-year-old girl when he was 17, Wilson was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Under the same law in effect at the time, had the teen had vaginal sex with the girl, he would have been convicted of a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in jail and would not have been subject to the sex offender registry.
Since that case found national attention (and a reprimand from the state Supreme Court), the General Assembly closed the loophole that treated oral sex differently.
The Wilson case highlighted the need to treat statutory rape cases - where the offense centers on age difference - separately from cases in which the offense centers on violence. Indeed, the law treated cases of teen-age misconduct differently, even when Wilson was convicted.
That law should be expanded to include all cases of statutory rape where the victim has testified the offense was not violent, and where the age difference is within a preset range - within three or four years.
Such cases should be treated differently from violent, predatory offenses in sentencing phases, and in the requirements for sex offender registry after a defendant's prison term has been served.
A more recent example of this is the case of Cedric Bradshaw of Statesboro. When Bradshaw was 19, he pleaded guilty to having sex with a 15-year-old girl.
After serving five years, Bradshaw was sentenced to life in prison for twice failing to register his correct address. On Tuesday, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the sentence, but not the finding of Bradshaw's guilt in failing to register.
The defendant earlier served a six-month sentence for registering under a false address. Upon his release, Bradshaw was forced to move from his sister's home and then from his aunt's house under state provisions banning sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a children's recreation center or a church.
He then gave law officers the address of a family friend who initially said he could move in, but with whom Bradshaw claimed he was unable to establish subsequent contact. The defendant was found to be living with his girlfriend in the interim.
While a penalty may be called for in this case, state Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham rightly noted that someone convicted of voluntary manslaughter could receive a sentence as low as one year - not the 10 years imposed on Bradshaw.
By remanding the case back to a lower court and requiring a new sentence to be established, the high court has again made necessary a fix by the General Assembly. Otherwise, the lower courts will have no legal basis for setting a different penalty.
The legislature's legal fix should include a lesser penalty (if any at all) for failure to register when committed by a person convicted of statutory rape, as opposed to the inherently violent offenses of rape or child molestation.
The purpose of the registry is to protect the public from adult creeps who prey on defenseless children or who would sexually assault an adult. An ill-advised sexual relationship between young people of similar age should not fall into the same category.
In other words, Georgia's law should reflect some common sense. ..News Source.. by Savannah News
FL- Spotlight: clustered lives of sex offenders
11-29-2008 Florida:
ST. PETERSBURG - The Palace Mobile Home Park has become a sort of modern-day leper colony. Tucked beside a liquor store off Interstate 275, the trailer park is a haven for sex offenders, with about 100 of its residents on the state's registry.
It is also the subject of a documentary film by a group of Central Florida filmakers. Titled Scum of the Earth, the film takes a generally sympathetic approach to its subjects, whose crimes involved children.
One subject molested his daughter, whom he's now not allowed to contact. Another claims she was sexually abused by family members and years later molested a 3-year-old girl she was baby-sitting.
The title, meant as irony, sums up society's view of sex offenders. The film explores how the Palace became a sanctuary for these outcasts.
Clustering of sex offenders is a natural outgrowth of restrictions on where they can live, said Jill Levenson, an assistant professor at Lynn University in Boca Raton who specializes in sex-offender issues. Communities throughout the state have restricted offenders from living too close to schools, day-care centers and bus stops.
"This public policy of fear and revenge is really making the problem worse," said filmmaker Phyllis Redman, who has a background in social work. "Yet it's continuing to be implemented primarily because of public fear."
Her husband Eric Breitenbach, a fellow filmmaker, acknowledges that many people might find the subject matter tough to watch. When he has brought up his latest project in group settings, "you can hear a pin drop in the room . . . You can tell people are immediately worried or turned off or apprehensive about watching or even considering watching a film like that."
'Marginalized' lives
Breitenbach and Redman, who live in Deltona, often focus on those Redman describes as "marginalized." Their critically acclaimed film When Pigs Fly chronicled a Flagler County woman's battle to save domestic pigs from death. The production team also includes Gary Monroe, a DeLand photographer.
When the group started its most recent project, a mental-health counselor at the Palace encouraged his clients to tell their stories on film. It would be cathartic for them, said therapist Don Sweeney, and educational for those who might choose to watch.
By opening up on camera, "I wanted people to see that I'm still a human being," said Robert Smith, who spent time in prison on charges of lewd or lascivious battery on a child. Smith said he molested a 10-year-old girl at his son's party. Smith said he doesn't remember the crime because "I got pretty blitzed" beforehand.
People credit -- or blame, depending on their point of view -- a woman named Nancy Morais for creating this haven for sex offenders. Morais, whose son is a convicted sex offender, began offering services at the Palace for sex offenders when she was managing the park. The group she founded, called Florida Justice Transitions, has its headquarters there. At the Palace, "I think they feel safe," said Sweeney, who runs group-therapy sessions there. "They don't have to worry about vigilantism, people hating them, putting them down."
Redman said their subjects suffer with shame, guilt and remorse. In the course of filming, one went back to jail for missing by one day a deadline to register as a sex offender. One attempted suicide. Another faces eviction from the park.
"All of these guys are really hanging in the balance," Redman said. "The tougher society makes it on them, the more likely they will not be successful, whatever that means: re-offend, return to addictions or commit suicide or become homeless."
2nd arrests rare there
The Palace has its share of problems, although law-enforcement officials say it's rare for park residents to get rearrested for sex crimes. Sweeney said drugs and prostitutes are prevalent. Earlier this year, a transient visiting friends at the park murdered a pregnant woman whose fianc� lived there, according to news reports. And there is occasionally tension between the sex-offender residents and their neighbors.
"It's hell here," said one woman who had complained to management that an offender in the park had harassed her.
Residents pay several hundred dollars a month to live -- often with roommates -- in tiny mobile homes packed tightly along narrow streets. Many of them are well-kept, landscaped and decorated with items such as pink flamingos. An American flag hangs in front of one home.
Harold Cooney's home has a ramp for his wife's electric scooter. The living room is decorated with angel figurines and filled with wooden and glass furniture that seems out of place in its cramped surroundings. A small sign over the door reminds him not to forget to wear his electronic monitoring device when he leaves the house.
Now 76 and battling leukemia, he served prison time in 2006 after police caught him masturbating on a Web camera, thinking a 14-year-old girl was watching him on the Internet. It was actually a law-enforcement officer.
Cooney and his wife, Ruth, consider themselves parental figures to many of the men. She said her husband's arrest turned out to be a blessing in disguise because they have been able to help so many men at the park."If it wasn't for this place," she said, "I don't know where these people would go." ..News Source.. by Sandra Pedicini | Sentinel Staff Writer
Seeking Solution to Violence
11-29-2008 National:
Man Hopes to Create a Registry of Domestic Abusers
William Kellibrew's memory is seared with the carnage of domestic abuse: bullets being loaded into a handgun, piercing screams, four point-blank blasts at his mother and older brother, his own voice pleading not to be killed.
Kellibrew was 10 at the time, and for years family members did not want to discuss the 1984 killings by his mother's former boyfriend. He had to deal with it on his own.
His memories flooded back last week when Tiffany Gates was stabbed to death and a former boyfriend, covered in blood, was arrested at the scene in Southeast Washington and charged with murder. Kellibrew and Gates, 33, had known each other since elementary school and were so close that they considered themselves brother and sister.
Before Gates died, she dialed feverishly for help, reaching friends, the 911 communications center and a U.S. marshal who was nearby when she said, "He is here and kicking my door in."
Friends will gather to bury Gates today. And Kellibrew plans to turn his tears and anger into action. He has organized conference calls with family members and contacted anti-violence groups proposing an abuse registry similar to those for sex offenders. Feedback so far has been positive, he said.
"It's a community tragedy," said Kellibrew, 34, a student at the University of the District of Columbia. "I'm past grieving or mourning. When my mother died when I was 10, I remember being helpless. I did not have the strength to talk. I could not speak. I said after this, 'We've got do something different.' "
An average of three women are killed each day in the United States by a husband or boyfriend, and estimates of physical abuse run as high as 3 million cases each year.
Locally, the numbers are staggering. According to the latest report of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 12,800 cases of domestic violence were reported to D.C. police in the first six months of 2007. In Maryland, almost 22,000 cases were reported in 2006. In Virginia, 51,600 people contacted domestic violence programs that year.
The cases stem from stormy relationships, with breakups and reconciliation attempts that frustrate families, prosecutors and police officers who are called in to mediate.
In the past year, women in the region have been set afire by former boyfriends, and their children have been killed by ex-husbands. A week ago, a St. Mary County's man was arrested after he allegedly broke in to his ex-girlfriend's house and killed her new boyfriend with a shovel. The three children she had with the suspect were in the house, and the woman had notified authorities of her fear that he would kill her.
"This is a public health crisis," said Kiersten Stewart, director of public policy at the Family Violence Prevention Fund. "There are going to be more Tiffanys if we don't take this as the public health crisis it is. We need to focus on preventing these situations."
Her organization was among those that advocated for the federal Violence Against Women Act. The law, initially passed in 1994, increased pretrial detentions for the accused, imposed restitution on those convicted and banned gun purchases for those with protective orders or domestic violence convictions.
Despite progress, domestic abuse is often shrugged off as a family problem. Police officers complain about repeated calls to the same locations. Relatives tire of imploring loved ones to leave abusive relationships. Manipulation and fear drive the abused back to the arms, and control, of the abuser.
Experts say combating the violence requires extensive outreach in schools -- among boys, in particular -- to drive home the point that it is unacceptable.
More typically, the focus is on punishment, not deterrence. On its Web site, the Family Violence Prevention Fund says the Violence Against Women Act "included mainly a continuation of already existing programs with few improvements, additions and funding increases."
Stewart said law enforcement should always respond vigorously to red flags, particularly when murder and suicide are threatened. Just as important, she said, is funding for therapy for youths such as Kellibrew who have witnessed domestic abuse. Preventive programs to reduce the stigma attached to domestic violence victims and to educate boys and men have received little federal funding.
Manyka Gaither, Kellibrew's sister, said she and Gates had been friends since they were 8 years old. The two women lived together for years, and they shared each other's triumphs and failures. Gates befriended the entire family.
Gates began dating Roderick A. Ridley in summer 2007, records show. They shared the apartment in the 3900 block of D Street SE, where Gates was killed.
The relationship deteriorated, and she turned to police and the courts for help after a series of incidents. She obtained a temporary protection order after Ridley allegedly threatened her life, the records show. Gates accused Ridley of kicking and punching her and striking her head with a knife in a dispute at the apartment Aug. 12. He also tried to burn her apartment, records show, and was awaiting trial on that charge.
Court records show that Ridley has a 13-year history of battery and false-imprisonment charges involving various women in the District and Maryland.
"The judicial system should not have let this man out," said Sheila Gates, Tiffany's aunt, a former D.C. police officer. "They should have seen his history of violence. She had too much life in her to be taken this way."
On the night she died, Tiffany Gates was on the phone with a U.S. marshal as Gates burst in. Although the marshal and another member of a fugitive task force searching for Ridley were near her apartment, they called for backup and waited for D.C. police to arrive before entering the building. By the time they reached her, she lay on the floor dying.
A year ago, Kellibrew told his survivor's story on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," sitting next to comedian Bill Cosby. He recounted abuse that he and his siblings witnessed and the killings before his eyes.
The killer spared Kellibrew's life but took his own that day.
Gates's death -- eerily similar to his mother's -- brought childhood horrors rushing back. Domestic violence deserves more attention, he thought.
He pulled together a conference call with friends and relatives two days after the killing to develop a plan of action. He reached out to the National Center for Victims of Crimes. At his urging, his employer, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, is considering ways to add domestic violence to its national agenda. Kellibrew is feeling his way, trying to draw attention to the issue, even among those who are not directly affected.
"Instead of just going to the service and grieving or mourning, we have to take a proactive approach in rebuilding our lives," Kellibrew said. "We have to use our resources to manage our grief. We want to capture that energy and use it for something positive." ..News Source.. by Robert E. Pierre, Washington Post Staff Writer
WV- Cabell County Tests GPS Home Confinement Monitors
11-29-2008 West Virginia:
A pilot project underway in Cabell County lead to a better tracking system for registered sex offenders and other criminals on home confinement.
HUNTINGTON -- Finding the address for a registered sex offender in West Virginia, is as simple as logging onto http://www.wvstatepolice.com.
But knowing the real-time location of a sex offender, may soon be just as easy for home confinement officers. "When they're [sex offenders] away from home, we don't really know where they are, and I think we can do better than that," said Cabell County Circuit Judge Dan O'Hanlon.
O'Hanlon is leading a pilot project to test GPS monitor bracelets for some criminals sentenced to home confinement, especially sex offenders.
"It allows us, as an organization, to better track the criminals and provide a more secure, safer environment," said Alternative Sentencing Director Oscar Adkins.
The home confinement officers attach the hardware to an offender's ankle, then track their electronic footprint through the Secure Alert satellite system and website. The program can also be tailored to each specific case.
"We can put zones of exclusion where there are parks, swimming pools, daycare centers, elementary schools, the home of a victim. And if a person goes anywhere near those, an alarm would be set off," said O'Hanlon.
-But, they cannot be programmed to sound an alarm if the offender enters a child's home everywhere in the United States, GPS does not prevent crime, it will do no more than pinpoint WHERE A PERSON WAS when a crime took place! That is not PREVENTION!
Advocates say it costs less than jail time and allows better security than the traditional home confinement system.
"If you're in jail, somebody is monitoring what you do, what you eat, what you wear, every minute of every day. If you have the privilege of serving your sentence on home confinement, we ought to be able to monitor you just as much as if you are in jail or prison," added Judge O'Hanlon.
Judge O'Hanlon will present a report to the State Supreme Court in six months regarding the success of the GPS pilot project.
If the results are positive, registered sex offenders and other criminals on home confinement could be required to wear the GPS monitors. ..News Source.. by Gina Long
VT- Sex law changes to be revealed today
11-12-2008 Vermont:
BENNINGTON — Vermont state senators will reveal recommended changes to the state's sex offender laws today, but five issues discussed over the months-long process will not be included in a 34-point plan, according to the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, announced several weeks ago that the committee would seek a new charge — aggravated sexual assault on a child under 16 — that would allow prosecutors to seek a mandatory 25-year minimum sentence at their discretion.
34 recommendations
The new law, and 33 other recommendations, are included in a 34-page document the Judiciary Committee will hand over to Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin, D-Windham, in Montpelier today. The document also contains a scathing account of Michael Jacques' 23-year criminal history in Vermont.
Jacques, 42, is charged in the June rape and killing of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett. Police say the young girl from Braintree was sexually assaulted and killed by Jacques, her uncle. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury and could face the death penalty.
Many Vermonters, including Gov. James Douglas and Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie, clamored for the Legislature to pass additional measures to protect children from sexual predators following Bennett's death.
The subsequent calls for stronger laws triggered Shumlin to task the Senate Judiciary Committee with reviewing existing laws and offering possible revisions. Lawmakers resisted calls from Douglas to meet immediately in a special legislative session to approve some measures.
In fact, Sears said from the outset that the committee would not spend time looking into two ideas backed by Douglas — civil confinement and the death penalty. Civil confinement would allow the state to hold certain sex offenders in prison beyond their sentences. Neither idea is included in the document.
Three other ideas have also been excluded from the Judiciary Committee's recommendations, including "judicial accountability," the federal Adam Walsh Act of 2005, and the idea of allowing a defendant's prior bad acts to be accessible to law enforcement and admissible in court, Sears said.
Not all members of the committee supported an enhanced judicial accountability measure that would allow the General Assembly to vote by roll call when voting to retain judges, Sears said. Retention votes are now done by secret ballot. Sears said he personally supports the idea, and will likely introduce the idea as separate legislation.
The Adam Walsh Act requires state sex offender registries to meet federal requirements. States not in compliance face losses in federal funding. But Sears said the cost of retooling the registry will cost about $1 million, while the loss in federal funding will amount to about $37,000. Sears said he supports the idea of the federal act, but the state will need to address the issue in separate legislation at another time.
-Note: Compare to the Justice Policy Institute estimates.
According to Sears, several states have tried to comply, only to have their revised registries rejected. He said Nevada's plan was thrown out by the state's Supreme Court as unconstitutional.
"The evidence is that, thus far, no state has been able to comply," Sears said.
Sears said he will ask the Douglas administration to allocate $30,000 to $50,000 in funding in the annual budget adjustment to begin upgrading the sex offender registry (Note: That is to upgrade registry, not maintain it).
Attorney General William Sorrell and most counties' state's attorneys across the state said they would like greater access for prosecutors and police to the records of prior convictions committed by people charged with sex crimes. However, the idea was not unanimously approved by the committee.
"The committee wasn't convinced that that was a good idea," Sears said.
The idea is also likely to be introduced as separate legislation, Sears said.
The Judiciary Committee is set to meet again on Dec. 18 to begin working on the final legislation. The package will be introduced during the first full week of the new legislative session in January, and will likely be the first bill taken up on the Senate floor, Sears said. ..News Source.. by NEAL P. GOSWAMI, Staff Writer
Amazing Fact About Sex Offender Registries
Look at the cost to maintain the registry in this county in Georgia ($34,100.00). If we were to assume that the costs are reasonable then using that number calculate what is being spent "nationally" it comes to $107,108,100.00 per year. (Note: there are 3,141 counties in the US US Census Bureau) Its hard to believe that, for an address book which is all the registry is, that the public would spend that kind of money.
11-29-2008 Georgia:
Mandates cost A-C $1.8 million
Locals pay for state, federal government decisions
Athens-Clarke County will spend more than $1.8 million this year on programs the state and federal governments refuse to fund.
The expenses range from $500 to pay the state to certify police officers to use radar guns to $1.3 million for storm drainage infrastructure to comply with federal environmental law, according to a partial list of unfunded mandates prepared by Athens-Clarke officials.
And the list doesn't include $2 million in local tax revenue for libraries and public health, areas where state funding has been stagnant or declining in recent years, Athens-Clarke Mayor Heidi Davison said.
"A lot of the expenses we incur are a result of state and federal decisions that are pushed down to the local governments," Davison said.
State Rep. Bob Smith, R-Watkinsville, told county commissioners at a May meeting that he did not believe the state was forcing Athens-Clarke County to spend local taxes on state-mandated programs. To prove Smith wrong, Davison handed out the list to the county's five state lawmakers at a similar meeting earlier this month.
Smith took issue with some of the items on the list, including $31,200 to hire a clerk for a second Athens-Clarke State Court judge the legislature approved last year. The legislature passed a bill creating the judgeship exactly as Athens-Clarke officials wrote it.
Athens-Clarke officials also shouldn't complain about spending $5,200 to mail second notices to drivers caught by red-light cameras because the county raked in a net $569,000 from fines levied based on the cameras, he said.
As for federal unfunded mandates, like the stormwater infrastructure, locals should take it up with President-elect Barack Obama, Smith said.
"I'm sick and tired, like many voters in Georgia, of these onerous environmental regulations all over the place," he said.
The 17 unfunded mandates Athens-Clarke officials identified also include:
► $500,000 over three years to retrofit diesel engines in county vehicles to comply with the Clean Air Act.
► $500,000 over five years to replace 17,000 street signs to comply with new state standards.
► $34,100 annually to maintain a registry of sex offenders.
► $32,000 annually to respond to open-records requests.
State funding and local taxes have caused tension between legislators and local elected officials in recent years.
Last year, some House Republicans tried to outlaw the property taxes that fund local government services and schools and replace them with sales taxes collected and distributed by the state. Mayors and county commissioners across the state fought the proposal, and it went down in flames.
This year, state lawmakers will consider capping property assessments at 3 percent per year, a bill Smith said he supports.
"A message has got to be sent," he said. "People want government to be streamlined. You can't stop (governments) until you starve them."
Davison, though, contends that the state should help local governments keep taxes low by providing a larger share of the funding for essential services like public health and education, not by trying to control what local elected officials spend.
"They keep telling us we're wasting money, but they won't help us, and we're picking up the slack," she said. ..News Source.. by BLAKE AUED
November 28, 2008
POSITION STATEMENT ON LAWS PROVIDING FOR THE CIVIL COMMITTMENT OF SEXUALLY VIOLENT CRIMINAL OFFENDERS
9-9-1997 Position Statement:
In its June, 1997 decision in Kansas v. Hendricks, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the use of a civil commitment process to continue the confinement of sexually violent criminal offenders who are found to have a "mental abnormality" that causes them to pose a danger to others, even if they are not found to have a "mental illness." In upholding the statute, the Court gave the states broad discretion to define mental abnormality and to determine whether a violent sex offender who has completed his or her prison sentence poses a continuing danger to others.
The Court's conclusion that the civil commitment of dangerous sex offenders who do not have a mental illness is constitutional does not necessarily mean that such laws represent good policy. The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) believes that some statutes could have severe and negative consequences for people with mental illnesses and for the public mental health system.
Specifically, NASMHPD believes that legislation allowing for the civil commitment of dangerous sex offenders who do not have a mental illness to psychiatric hospitals following completion of their prison sentences creates the following significant risks:
Laws which provide for the civil commitment of dangerous sex offenders for purposes that are principally punitive or for the purpose of continuing confinement, rather than for the purpose of providing treatment or psychiatric services, disrupt the state's ability to provide services for people with treatable psychiatric illnesses and undermine the mission and integrity of the public mental health system.
The civil commitment of dangerous sex offenders who may or may not respond to existing treatment modalities and who will require enormous resources for very long lengths of stay diverts scarce resources away from people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness and who both need and desire treatment.
The commitment of dangerous sex offenders to psychiatric facilities could endanger the safety of others in those facilities who have treatable psychiatric illnesses.
NASMHPD recognizes concerns about the dangers that criminally violent sex offenders may pose upon release from prison. NASMHPD believes that these concerns should be addressed through sentencing or other alternatives within the criminal justice system. Nonetheless, if civil commitment processes are adopted to address these concerns, such statutes should adhere to the following principles: Statutes used to civilly commit dangerous sex offenders who do not have a mental illness should be distinct from existing statutes for the civil commitment of people with mental illnesses. Laws which do not clearly distinguish these procedures stigmatize the civil commitment process and people diagnosed with mental illnesses who receive services under a commitment process. Such stigma prevents people from seeking necessary and effective treatment for diagnosable mental illnesses.
Facilities and treatment programs for dangerous sex offenders should be administered and funded outside the state mental health agency in order to maintain the mission and integrity of the public mental health system. Confinement and treatment of dangerous sex offenders or others who do not have a diagnosable mental illness are beyond the scope of that traditionally administered by state mental health agencies.
Treatment programs for dangerous sex offenders should be administered under programmatic guidelines and philosophies that recognize the differences between these criminal offenders and people with diagnosable psychiatric illnesses.
Facilities for the confinement of dangerous sex offenders should be separate from facilities for the treatment of people diagnosed with mental illnesses to ensure the safety of others and to maintain the distinct commitment status of the criminal offenders.
If dangerous sex offenders are confined in facilities under the purview of the state mental health agency, it is imperative that the mental health agency play a significant role in determining commitability and diagnoses, treatment strategies, and lengths of stay for sex offenders civilly committed under the statute.
Laws providing for the civil commitment of dangerous sex offenders should be narrowly drafted to ensure that they apply only to dangerous and violent sex offenders who pose a significant risk to society if released.
Treatment for people determined to be dangerous sex offenders should be initiated during criminal incarceration. Treatment programs should be rigorously examined, both during incarceration and after, to determine effectiveness and to measure outcomes based on the reduction of recidivism rates.
NASMHPD joins the American Psychiatric Association in calling for an increased investment in research on paraphilic disorders and in the clinical training of mental health professionals regarding assessment and treatment of people with those disorders. In addition, NASMHPD believes that state mental health agencies should initiate and participate in broader early prevention and intervention efforts to facilitate development of skills and competencies that help all people to build healthy, meaningful, and socially responsible lives.
Adopted by the NASMHPD membership on 9/9/97.
The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) represents the public mental health service delivery system serving 6.1 million people annually in all 50 states and 5 territories. ..Source..
RI- Debate continues over state’s new sex-offender bill
11-28-2008 Rhode Island:
Late in June, in the waning hours of the General Assembly’s 2008 session, a law passed making it a felony for any registered sex offender to live within 300 feet of a Rhode Island school.
The three-paragraph law dropped Rhode Island squarely into the middle of a heated national debate over the treatment of sex offenders who have served their prison sentences.
For the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Hannah Gallo, D-Cranston, and supporters of the measure, the new law is a common-sense response to citizens’ repeated concerns over registered sex offenders who end up living near elementary schools, playgrounds, bus stops and other places children congregate.
“To me,” Gallo said, “it just doesn’t make sense as to why we would let sex offenders live near a school where they can stare out the window at children and perhaps (absolute proof there has never been such a case) go out and prey” on them.
-Nowhere in the nation has there been a case of a RSO -living within xx feet of a school- that has preyed on a child walking to school. Whenever a child walking to school has been accosted, it has been by someone driving or walking near the school, and when such offenders have been caught, it has never been a registered sex offender living within xx feet of the school. This residency premise is a congered up myth with no basis in fact or prior act.
Opponents say that all the new law accomplishes is to make Rhode Island the latest state to try to slap a one-size-fits-all solution on a complex problem, and that there is no data to support the theory that restricting where sex offenders live helps to keep them from repeating their crimes.
“The law is ill-conceived and incredibly vague,” Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, said. “Quite simply, it’s a bad idea.”
He points out that in 2006, four years after Iowa became one of the first states to implement restrictions on where convicted sex offenders can live, its statewide association of county prosecutors spoke out publicly against the law.
“The Iowa County Attorneys Association believes that the 2,000-foot residency restriction for persons who have been convicted of sex offenses involving minors does not provide the protection that was originally intended,” the association said in a statement.
THE IDEA for Rhode Island law, Gallo said, came from her constituents concerned about sex offenders in the community. One of the most recent examples, she said, was a case last year in which a registered sex offender moved in less than a block from Cranston’s Glen Hills Elementary School, and there was little that could be done to assuage parents’ worries.
There are about 1,550 registered sex offenders in the state, according to the attorney general’s office, which works with state Department of Corrections as it follows sex offenders after their release. Paula A. Kocon, a special-project coordinator for the Department of Corrections’ Sex Offender and Community Notification Unit, said the state uses a three-tier ranking system to indicate an offender’s likelihood of repeating his or her crime. Level 1 is considered the least likely and Level 3 is considered the most likely.
Kocon was at the Warwick police station Monday night as officials tried to answer worried parents’ questions about Level 3 sex offender Leo Nadeau’s recent move to the Craig Street area, less than a half-mile from the complex with Toll Gate High School and Winman Junior High. Parents were notified of Nadeau’s arrival in the area in accordance with state laws that allow a public notification process for Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders.
Parents repeatedly expressed a fierce desire to protect their children from harm and said it didn’t seem fair that their sense of safety in their own neighborhood had to be sacrificed for one individual. They noted that Nadeau’s house was across the street from a playground basketball court, which has led many of them to keep their children away from that park.
“So our lives are disrupted,” one man shouted out from the back of the room.
COL. STEPHEN P. McCARTNEY, the Warwick police chief, said the department has had many such meetings, and he understood residents’ fears.
“The problem is that it is a very complicated and complex issue,” said McCartney, who is also president of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association. “The first thing you have to keep in mind is that we are talking about people who have finished their incarceration and, in a sense, paid their debt to society.
“At the same time, we have to understand that from a psychological point of view, parents are very concerned and want to control the environment to make it safe for their children, so they put a lot of pressure on their legislators. Then a law gets passed, and it’s our job to enforce it.”
In the neighboring city of Cranston, Col. Stephen McGrath says he supports the intent of the new law, but sees some problems with enforcement since it is not specific as to what boundaries are to be used in determining the 300 feet and what exactly defines a school. He also said that he shared the view of some national studies that say residency restrictions can give citizens a false sense of security.
“People have to remember that these offenders can drive and are free to travel about,” he said. “There is not a law that prohibits them from visiting someone who lives near a school and staying there for a matter of hours. Obviously, we want to strengthen laws that protect people, but some of the logistics of actually enforcing them can be problematic.”
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S office also responded cautiously to the new law.
“We are aware that there may be problems with this law, and we are also aware of the argument against such laws, which is based on studies that show that in at least 9 out of 10 cases of child molestation, the victim knows their attacker well through either family or friends,” Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the attorney general’s office said. “But Senator Gallo is trying to address an issue that is a matter of public safety and much concern, and she deserves a lot of credit for that.”
Brown said his office has not ruled out a court challenge to the law. With a little over 20 states having such laws, there have been several such challenges across the country, he said, with varying results.
“Among other things, this law does not differentiate between Level 1 and Level 3 offenders,” Brown said. “And it also has no expiration, so conceivably people could be limited as to where they live for the rest of their lives.
“It absolutely gives the public a false sense of security because the statistics are abundantly clear that more than 90 percent of child molestation crimes are committed by family and friends of the victim.”
GALLO SAID SHE was aware of reports that challenge the effective of residence restrictions, but she, along with many fellow legislators, still thought that buffer zones were a good idea.
State Rep. Peter G. Palumbo, D-Cranston, co-chairman of a House committee on sexual offenders, said he supported such restrictions because even if the minority of cases involved strangers, there were still horrifying occurrences such as the nationally chronicled New Jersey case of 7-year-old Meagan Kanka, who was molested and murdered by a convicted sex offender who lived near her.
“These guys, for whatever reason, have some sick, twisted monster in them,” Palumbo said, “and if we let them live near our schools, they’ll be sitting there looking at the kids, and it will be tempting for them.”
Said Gallo: “Children are basically trusting, and when they’re walking to school, they’re more likely to be more receptive to someone who lives in their neighborhood who approaches them rather than a complete stranger.
“I think parents have the right to know that their children can walk to school safely. They should not have to live in fear of their neighbors.” ..News Source.. by Barbara Polichetti, Journal Staff Writer
November 27, 2008
CT- Former school band assistant charged with violating probation
11-26-2008 Connecticut:
NORWALK - A former Brien McMahon High School band assistant, on probation since June after being convicted of having sex with a 16-year-old student in 2005, has been arrested on charges of violating probation.
Aaron Sumpter, 26, of 45 Baxter Drive, Norwalk, was arrested Monday by the probation department for allegedly consuming alcohol and cocaine, and not participating enough in his sex-offender treatment.
He was released on $12,500 bond and was due in court for arraignment on two violation of probation charges Monday.
After pleading guilty to fourth-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and driving while under the influence, Sumpter was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and three years of probation by Judge Burton Kaplan at state Superior Court in Norwalk on June 11.
Sumpter was charged with second-degree sexual assault on Feb. 23, 2006, after a police investigation determined he had a consensual sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female band member in late 2005. Sumpter was 23 at the time.
In an unusual plea agreement, Sumpter spent 35 days in jail before his sentencing in June.
If it is determined that he violated his probation, Sumpter could serve all or part of his suspended two-year sentence.
As part of probation, he was to participate in and complete sex offender evaluation and treatment and abstain from alcohol and drugs, his arrest warrant affidavit stated.
But last month, three of Sumpter's urine samples tested positive for cocaine and another in September tested positive for alcohol, the affidavit stated. During his Oct. 21 group sex offender class, Sumpter admitted to using cocaine.
On Oct. 21, he was warned by his probation officer that his probation was in violation status and any further non-compliance would result in a violation.
A third urine sample, taken that day, came back positive for cocaine, the affidavit said.
On Oct. 28, Sumpter was kicked out of the sex-offender treatment program for failure to keep a daily journal, and as a result, was not "effectively engaging in treatment," the warrant said. He also was cited for not providing his probation officer with a log showing all of the Internet sites he visited.
Sumpter's attorney, William Westcott, could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. ..News Source.. by John Nickerson, Staff Writer
ME- Sex Offender Expert Offers Coping Advice
11-26-2008 Maine:
BLUE HILL — Generation after generation of youngsters has ventured from home and into the cruel world with this time-honored parental advice echoing in their minds: “Don’t talk to strangers.”
Turns out the well-intentioned words to live by are way off the mark when it comes to protecting our offspring from the horrors of child sexual abuse.
It would be better to admonish our children to beware of Uncle Charlie, the youth choir director, the babysitter and others near and dear to them.
It would be better yet to teach them the value of talking openly to their parents.
Barbara Schwartz, noted expert in the field of sex offender treatment, made those points before an audience of about 100 area residents who packed the Blue Hill Farm Country Inn Nov. 19.
Schwartz’s talk, “No More Victims: Sex Offenders and the Community,” was sponsored by “Breaking the Silence,” a support group for victims of sexual abuse, family members and community.
In introducing Schwartz, host Jim Schatz said that society is marginally effective at taking deviant behavior out of the community, but not at all effective at taking such behavior out of the offender.
Focusing on child molesters, Schwartz spoke for nearly two hours on managing sex offenders in the community.
“Stranger danger is not where we should put our energy,” Schwartz said, adding that children are far more likely to be sexually abused by a family member, babysitter, minister, Scout leader or some other trusted adult.
Despite a media blitz that creates a scary climate through shows such as “CSI” and “Law and Order,” sadistic pedophiles — those who hurt or kill children — are extremely rare, accounting for less than 10 crimes a year in the United States, Schwartz said.
“They’re all about sex and murders,” Schwartz said of popular television fare.
Far more common are fixated pedophiles, those obsessed with prepubescent children.
“A fixated pedophile is the individual we think about when we think of a child molester,” said Schwartz.
Statistically, 90 percent of child sexual abuse victims in the United States are molested by family members, friends and close acquaintances, Schwartz said, adding that more than 50 percent are molested by other children or adolescents.
“We can teach kids to be afraid of strangers,” she said, “but the guy next door that you’ve known for 20 years is the real danger.”
There is a fine line to observe, however.
“If we scare them too much, they become paranoid about all adults,” Schwartz said. “Who are they going to tell?”
When children tend to fear or distrust all adults, sexual crimes against them go unreported.
Schwartz said it is wise to teach children appropriate boundaries, personal distances and the right to privacy.
She said parents should not force their children to kiss or sit on the laps of relatives and friends, and they should teach their children that when an adult tells them “it’s our secret,” that’s a cue to come and tell their parents what is happening.
“Teach them to use their intuition and their instincts,” said Schwartz. “If it seems yucky, it probably is. Tell someone.”
The ultimate goal regarding child sexual abuse is “no more victims,” but until the goal is reached, there will be victims and offenders.
Schwartz, who serves as the director of Maine’s sex offender therapy program with the Department of Corrections, directed many of her remarks at keeping the community safe.
She urged her audience to educate themselves about sexual predators in order to offset the misinformation and the myths surrounding the subject.
Among those myths is the belief that sex offenders always repeat their crime.
“It’s not true,” Schwartz said, adding that the recidivism rate among child molesters is 15 percent across the board, including those who have received treatment and those who have not.
Another myth, she said, is that treatment doesn’t make a difference. Studies refute that and clearly show that treatment reduces recidivism rates.
The popular notion that banning sex offenders from places where children gather will significantly protect children is ill informed, Schwartz said.
“If you want to molest a child, being 2,000 feet from a school isn’t going to keep you from doing that,” she said. “Ninety-three percent occur in our homes. Places frequented by children are the safest places. The isolated kid is at risk.”
Schwartz also labeled as a myth the notion that the only way to deal with child sex offenders is to put them behind bars.
Likewise, the notion that tougher legislation is the only solution is a myth.
“I’m not suggesting we don’t incarcerate sex offenders,” she said, “but, again, don’t paint them with a broad brush.”
Schwartz offered alternatives, such as putting sex offenders on probation, GPS monitoring, strict loitering laws and more.
She said a “containment approach” works well when a team of probation officers, counselors and other support providers surround the offender with supervision.
Shunning offenders from the community is counterproductive, as offenders become unable to find housing or employment.
Schwartz said they end up homeless or in very temporary shelters and drop off the radar screen.
“If they can’t find a job, they can’t pay for therapy,” Schwartz said. “They need appropriate therapy and they need circles of support and accountability to reintegrate back into communities. That’s something communities can organize for little money.”
She said communities can identify appropriate rental housing for offenders, who often make great tenants because they come with probation officers, must not be involved with drugs and must pay their rent on time. Communities also can offer jobs and welcome offenders into a church with appropriate safeguards.
Schwartz works in Maine prisons where she directs the RULE program, a therapy program for sex offenders.
The program is based on the principles of “responsibility” for the impact of their offenses on victims and community, “understanding” their actions, “learning” new patterns of behavior and “experiencing” new skills to live in a community.
“It’s all about no more victims,” said a participant in the RULE program who had come to the talk with Schwartz.
His presence reinforced the responsibility aspect of his prison therapy program as he encountered several audience members who remain victims of sexual offenses.
The audience, too, appeared to benefit from meeting face-to-face with a sex offender.
The “Breaking the Silence” group was formed more than a year ago as victims and families coped with allegations of sexual abuse by a mentor at Liberty School in Blue Hill. Howard Evans was charged last March with unlawful sexual contact and two counts of assault.
In August, he pleaded guilty to the charges.
Several audience members said issues raised by Evans’ unlawful behavior remain unresolved.
“More needs to be done for victims to rehabilitate them back into the community,” said one woman. “It takes a lot to speak out. There is re-entry for victims as well as offenders.”
Schwartz said forming groups to support victims is an excellent community response. She praised the “Breaking the Silence” group for its work.
The local support group will meet more frequently in response to a recent arrest of a Blue Hill man on three counts of unlawful sexual contact stemming from alleged incidents with a 10-year-old girl in 2004.
“Breaking the Silence will meet every other week,” said program organizer Hugh Curran.
The group meets at the Blue Hill Congregational Church. For information, call 667-4580. ..News Source.. by James Straub
MN- Judge questions purpose of sex offender program (Civil Commitment Therapy)
11-26-2008 Minnesota:
An Olmsted District Court judge has ordered a hearing to determine whether the state's sex offender program actually provides treatment to sex offenders as required or is primarily a way to keep dangerous people behind bars.
Judge Kevin Lund has ordered an evidentiary hearing in the constitutional challenge being raised on behalf of Jesus Maldonado Travis, 33, of Rochester.
Rochester attorney Ted Heim, who represents Travis, filed a motion earlier this year challenging the constitutionality of portions of the state's sex offender civil commitment laws.
The judge issued his decision Monday, ordering an evidentiary hearing to begin April 20 and last no more than three days.
The civil commitment proceedings against Travis have been on hold for years. Olmsted County filed a petition for the indefinite civil commitment in December 2005, but agreed to allow Travis to try to complete a sex offender program through the Corrections Department. However, due to violations while in the program, the county decided to move forward with Travis' civil commitment.
In May, Heim filed a motion challenging the constitutionality of the state's sex offender statutes. He claims the sex offender program has become nothing more than a detention facility and has failed to successfully treat any of the patients in its 18-year history.
In a memorandum attached to his order, Lund says the Minnesota Supreme Court has rejected the argument that the civil commitment statutes governing sex offenders violate the double jeopardy clauses of the state constitution as long as the civil commitment is programmed to provide treatment and periodic review. He says the high court has held that the purpose of the civil commitment statute was to treat and rehabilitate and not serve as "preventive detention."
An evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine whether the state sex offender program provides treatment to satisfy the constitutional requirements of the due process clause, the judge's memorandum says.
Heim challenges the civil commitment standard as violating substantive due process. Lund says that because the challenged statute involves the committed person's right to liberty, it is subject to strict scrutiny.
Lund says the hearing will examine whether treatment and rehabilitation programs have actually been implemented at the state sex offender program sufficient to satisfy due process considerations.
"Given the valid and significant liberty interest at stake, it is necessary for this court to engage in an extensive inquiry into the conditions of confinement at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program as alleged by Mr. Travis,'' the memorandum says. Without careful judicial scrutiny to root out ineffective treatment programs, the civil commitment of sex offenders becomes "indistinguishable from lifetime imprisonment," according to Lund's memorandum. ..News Source.. by Janice Gregorson
Musings of an offender entering therapy
11-27-08 National:
It’s daylight, but you dare not go outside for fear you’ll be recognized. Besides, you don’t have written permission to travel. State-sponsored hatred inflated by public ignorance has made it dangerous for you to be you. Political propaganda and pop culture has twisted lies and misinformation into a reasonable facsimile of the truth. It is much better to hide and obey, secretly longing to escape to a place where you might be tolerated. But there is no such place, except the blurry details of lands across the seas that are impossible to get to. The other alternative is to assume another identity and try to pass yourself off as one of them.
It wasn’t all that long ago when the first legislation made it a crime for you to not publicly declare yourself. Next came the ordinances that restricted where you could live, tightening the noose until it was practically illegal for you to live anywhere. There are officers in charge of you and every detail of your life; overseers given unlimited power to send you away for the slightest infractions. The state-induced behavior modification programs were cleverly supported as “therapy.” To avoid the prison camps, you must admit that your very existence is in and of itself a crime in order to be eligible for their therapy. Then, you had to confess that there was no hope for you – that you are every bit the detestable, loathsome boogeyman society knows you to be. They use these confessions to reinforce current laws and bolster support for more stringent controls. But as long as you work hard and honestly in therapy, you’ll remain “free.” Polygraphs, proven unreliable for the desirable citizens, are used periodically.
When the news shows yet another one of you who has gone astray, your heart sinks because the rise in hatred can be felt like the August heat. You will be sneered at, spit at, threatened or beaten and it’s best to lay low. Talk of legalizing your execution is heard in the whispers of the damned and party crescendos. Sometimes, you wish that were so. The despair can get to the point where you are constantly wishing they’d just take you away and get it over with. On the days you manage to muster the resolve to persevere, you swear that just one more straw and you will run – which is exactly what they want.
… Adlai Stevenson
A portion of this piece was edited out for policy reasons, which we reserve the right to do so before posting.
November 26, 2008
CT- Proof: Porn Pop-Up Teacher is Innocent, Despite Misdemeanor Plea
11-26-2008 COnnecticut:
Accused of letting impressionable students see pornographic pictures as she browsed the web in her classroom, former Connecticut school teacher Julie Amero dodged felony charges last Friday by agreeing to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge and surrendering her state teaching credentials, according to the Hartford Courant.
But if a soon-to-be released forensic report (.pdf) about her hard drive is accurate, Amero's guilty plea is hardly justice -- since the school computer had adware, the anti-virus software on the computer had been discontinued, and the technical testimony at her trial was amateurish and flawed.
Amero, a substitute teacher in Norwich, Connecticut, was arrested after students in her class reported that they'd seen pornographic images on her computer screen on Oct. 19, 2004. Amero said the computer wouldn't stop sending pop-ups and that she didn't know what to do with the computer.
In January 2007, she was convicted of four felony pornography charges and faced up to 40 years in prison.
Computer security experts, including Alex Eckelberry of Sunbelt Software, read about the case and immediately suspected Amero was the victim of rogue software and an overzealous prosecutor. He and a crack team of computer forensic experts examined the hard drive for the defense on a pro-bono basis.
Based on their March 2007 report, the judge in the case set aside the conviction in June 2007 — essentially granting Amero a new trial and raising hopes the prosecution would drop the case.
Threat Level received an advance copy of the report, which hasn't been publicly released.
Among its findings:The school's IT manager told the jury that the anti-virus software had been updated with new virus definitions in early October, just days before the incident. But according to the system’s antivirus update log, signatures were last updated on Aug. 31, 2004 . Those signatures were from June 30, 2004, which was the last update Computer Associates ever made for that product.
The computer had no anti-spyware or firewall software. It also lacked any pop-up blocking technology.
On Oct. 12, 2004, an adware program, newdotnet, was installed onto the system, likely at the same time someone installed a 'free' Halloween screen saver. The IT manager told the jury he didn't know if adware or spyware was on the computer, and the police's forensic investigator falsely told them that there was no evidence of uncontrollable pop-ups. In fact, the forensic report found pages that reloaded more than 20 times in a second.
The jury was told that one adult web page had a red link on it, indicating that Amero had clicked on it. In fact, the computer she was using turned visited links a green color and the HTML on the web page specified that link be red for every visitor.
Prosecutors argued that Amero should have shut off the computer and by not doing so, endangered her charges at the Kelly Middle School.
Eckelberry, who led the tech team on Amero's behalf, said in a blog post that Amero wasn't in condition to endure another trial.
Amero pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge and has to pay $100 fine. ..News Source.. by Ryan Singel
