1-31-2009 California:
A state court of appeal has upheld the 200-year sentence given to a Marin County man convicted of molesting four girls.
Robert Alan Girard appealed the sentence handed down after his 2007 conviction claiming it was cruel and unusual punishment. He was 64 at the time.
A registered sex offender, Girard was sentenced to four consecutive 50-year terms for molesting girls from 2003 to 2006. The girls, whose ages ranged from 6 to 8, were molested at his house while sleeping over with his daughter.
The judge cited Girard's previous record during the sentencing. Girard was convicted in 1980 of performing a lewd act on a child, among other charges.
A three-judge panel at the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, saying it was fully justified and will protect the community from future predatory conduct.
..News Source.. by SFGate.com
January 31, 2009
CA- State appeals court upholds 200-year sentence
AL- Two sex offenders talk about life in the public eye
1-31-2009 Alabama:
_____ is a sex offender.
Very soon, all his neighbors in Auburn will know it too—because a sex offender notification flier is about to be sent out.
“It still stresses me out,” he said. “All they see is a sex offender. They want to judge somebody. Only God can judge me. Let God judge me.”
They’ll know that _____ was charged with sexual abuse in the third degree in 2005, that he was charged in Oregon and that his victim was a 15-year-old girl.
They’ll also know it was consensual.
“It was a female I knew,” Grody said. “We just had sex one night. I’m no rapist.”
_____ was 26 when he slept with the girl.
He was charged when his ex-wife — to whom he was still married at the time— learned of the weeklong affair and turned him in, _____ said.
“The girl told me she was 18,” he said. (Because sex crime victims’ identities are kept confidential, the Opelika-Auburn News was unable to interview the victim for this article.)
“I got messed up,” he said, meaning that he was charged with something he didn’t do.
Although _____ spent only 30 days in jail, the incident has followed him ever since.
“They made it out that I’m a bad person. I’m not,” he said.
Like other sex offenders, _____ cannot live within 2,000 feet of a school and has a driver’s license that identifies him as a sex offender. A lot of his personal information has been made public.
Although some sex offenders have a hard time finding a job, _____ said he didn’t and now works as a heavy equipment operator.
But on the job, it’s a different story.
He said that when he’s working, he occasionally hears people who know about his status talk about it on the CB radio.
“They don’t know the whole story,” he said. “They’re just judging me.”
____ said he once went outside his house to discover his truck covered in eggs and ketchup.
“It’s embarrassing,” he said.
He said he’s not a predatory offender, someone who “hides out in the woods and rapes little girls.”
“She lied to me. She looked older,” he said. “I’m a good ol’ country boy. I won’t ever do it again.”
___________, who now lives in Phenix City, is also a sex offender.
He was convicted in Lee County of sexual abuse in the second degree and attempted sexual abuse in the first degree.
At the time, his victims were 4 and 14, he said. They were the daughters of his ex-wife.
“I can tell you this, the easy part was going to jail,” he said. “Getting out of jail was the hard part.”
_____ maintains he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, when the 14-year-old said he fondled her. (The victim could not be interviewed due to victim confidentiality.)
“It’s embarrassing to me. … With that kind of charge, you’re automatically guilty. You’re automatically guilty for the rest of your life,” he said.
Like _____, _____’s real battle began after his 12 months in jail.
“It’s hard to find a place (to live),” he said. “Every July and January, I have to check in and re-register in Opelika.”
When he moves into a new place, he tells neighbors that he’s a sex offender, he said.
“I try to be up front with people,” he said.
_____ said his family has been supportive. He works with his brother.
“I did apply for one job,” he said. “They saw my license and they said, ‘No, unfortunately, we’re not hiring at this time.’ ” ..News Source.. by Brittany Whitley, Staff Writer
CA- No place to call home: Vagrant describes circumstances and how they came about
1-31-2009 California:
Jesse Rodriguez can be labeled many ways: father, boyfriend, two-strike felon, ex-con, homeless, a 43-year-old. The list goes on.
But three numbers, 290, have defined his life for the past three years.
Two-ninety serves as a euphemism for sex offenders. It refers to the penal code section that requires them to register with the state so law enforcement officers can track them.
Rodriguez was convicted in 1981 of a sex offense when he was 15 years old. He calls it an assault in juvenile prison that he said was meant to test his manhood. He won the fight, but lost the war.
A 2001 drunken driving conviction put him in the slam for several years. It also dredged up his teenaged crime and cast a long shadow on his life when he was released.
While a homeless life may be romanticized, as it is in folk songs such as Burl Ives' "Big Rock Candy Mountain," Rodriguez doesn't sleep near cigarette trees or lemonade springs.
Before he goes anywhere for any length of time, he calls his parole officer to clear it. Under state law, he must keep far from schools and parks. His curfew is 9 p.m.
Rodriguez' parole ends in March 2010, which means he'll be free to move about Merced County or leave, as he plans. He can then hand in his ankle bracelet, a digital shackle. Despite a rap sheet and daily temptations, he's committed to playing it straight.
"I don't want my life to be a locked door," he said. "I want to hold my own keys."
Because he's scared about becoming a target for violence both for being homeless and a registered sex offender, the Sun-Star agreed to not use his real last name or to show his face.
He remained nervous about being profiled, but hopes telling his story will bring him to terms with what he's done. "Maybe this is me washing my hands," he said, "asking for forgiveness."
Of the 515 registered sex offenders in Merced County, 30 are listed as transient, and about 80 are serving out parole. The state puts the most dangerous ones without a place in a group home to protect the public.
The more stable ones like Rodriguez live along Black Rascal Creek on railroad land in their own colony.
While the city recently found a short-term fix to house the homeless at the Merced Rescue Mission, a way to give sex offenders on parole a roof and bed remains elusive. That's the result of the stricter restrictions put in place when voters overwhelmingly approved Jessica's Law, a 2006 ballot measure.
A homeless task force is bouncing around ideas of what can be done to keep them off the street. It hopes to offer a report to the Merced City Council by the end of February.
The three shelters available to the homeless -- the D Street shelter, the mission and Sierra Presbyterian Church -- can't house sex offenders.
After the law was enforced, statewide the number of paroled sex offenders registered as transient shot up to 1,056, a 600 percent increase from 88, according to a report by the Sex Offender Management Board released in December.
Locally, agents kicked them out of the 16th Street motels where they'd been staying because that residence didn't follow the law. Rodriguez was among them.
Few Mercedians muster any sympathy for sex offenders, but keeping them on the streets isn't the solution.
The state's sex offender board warns, "The body of literature and research to date indicate that a lack of stable and appropriate housing can contribute to recidivism."
In other words, the public is probably less safe with sex offenders roaming the streets.
A hidden community
A couple dozen homeless people live in camps between Black Rascal Creek and a set of railroad tracks that are only used for parking train cars.
Treated sewer water from the Beachwood neighborhood's plant flows through the creek, making the air acrid with the stench of musty detergent.
Some of the people string rope between trees to use as a clothesline. Rodriguez had hung a thermometer, which read 50 degrees mid-afternoon. In the evenings, the needle swings close to 30 degrees. Stuffed garbage bags line the road. It looks like a 21st century Hooverville -- the desperate camps of the Great Depression.
Rodriguez sleeps on a $20 inflatable mattress inside a 10-foot-by-20-foot tent along Black Rascal Creek. The air-mattress was a recent upgrade he bought after working some odd jobs.
He relieves himself in a portable camping toilet. He charges his ankle bracelet and cell phone with a friend's gas-powered generator. He pedals around town on a bicycle.
Rodriguez took home $35 a day for holding signs advertising the big-box store's close-out sales. Last week, he dug up a pipe for $40 and collected another $75 for weed-whacking and raking a vacant home's yard.
Food stamps pay for his meals. He tries to save his cash for clothes or other essentials. Many of the homeless do their basic shopping at Wal-Mart, just a quick walk away. They fill up their water jugs at a spigot near the car wash.
In the center of his campsite, Rodriguez has a patio table missing its glass top. In its place rests a plastic window shutter, where he keeps a jar of extra crunchy Skippy peanut butter, mustard, mayonnaise and raspberry preserves. Two pots and two saucepans, both dirty, also sit on the table.
He lives among other sex offenders and, just as he doesn't like to be judged, doesn't ask much about their crimes. "I don't even let my mind get there," he said. "It ain't my call."
It's a life he's accepted.
A life of mistakes
Rodriguez organizes his life by crimes and dates, summarizing it like this:
He was born in the City of Commerce and moved to the San Luis Obispo area in the mid-'70s when he was 10 because doctors told his parents the Southern California air was choking their asthmatic son.
After a few years there, his family settled in the Bay Area. His dad, a speed freak, abused him and his mom.
Trouble caught up with him in junior high, just about the time his parents split. He hung out with runaways, gang members and other troublemakers. He dressed to the nines in pleated pants, Stacy Adams shoes and collared shirts.
By 13, he had tried PCP, began boozing and even sniffed paint. All this, and some other run-ins with the law, sent him into the state's juvenile justice system, where he bounced around.
There, boys were often "punked." That's when one would show his dominance by rubbing against another boy. Sometimes they'd be raped. "You had to protect your manhood," Rodriguez explained.
In 1981, at the Karl Holton Youth Correctional Drug and Alcohol Treatment Facility, he was cornered by one teen.
He went on the offensive, dropping his pants and yanking the boy's head to his crotch. "Suck it!" he recalls yelling at the 15-year-old.
That angry act changed his life forever.
Rodriguez was convicted of oral copulation, a crime that has followed him around.
Three years later, after getting released, he cold-cocked a man in a parking lot, stealing about $100. He was convicted of robbery.
In 1991, he beat a homicide charge. He and a friend were crossing a dark overpass when they collided with two gang members. Knives were drawn. One member was killed. An inch-wide scar shows where Rodriguez was stabbed in the hip. He was arrested for the death.
"(My attorney) was a beautiful man," he said. "He just said I have a chance."
He beat the charge, but his wife left him, taking his son with her. He moved around some more and ended up in Merced and Mariposa, where he dated a woman.
Her father gave him a rifle as a gift. He was popped for a parole violation. In 2001, he was drunk and with a friend. They were racing down Sandy Mush Road and landed in a canal bank when he took a 15 mph turn at about 65.
He was sentenced to 32 months in prison, which was upped to 40 months after he went on the lam for 16 months.
After serving the term, he was released on parole and told, because of the nature of his sex offense, he had to register as a sex offender. He wept in the state office, feeling like a marked man.
"My whole life changed," he said. "I wasn't going to be able to spend time with my nieces and nephews. I'd be missing out on their lives."
Though his sex offense dated back decades, he was still a convicted sex offender on parole, even if it was for a different crime.
Because the crime happened when he was a juvenile, he isn't listed on the Megan's Law Web site. But it still meant staying 2,000 feet from schools and parks, an ankle bracelet and public scorn.
Community partnership key
Though many sex offenders see their relationship with parole officers as us-versus-them, Rodriguez believes the officials just doing their job and plays by their rules.
That's echoed by David Domico, Merced's parole office manager, who explained that voters sent a clear message when they approved Jessica's Law. It lumped sex offenders together and added more restrictions to their lives.
"It doesn't differentiate between child molesters or someone convicted of indecent exposure in 1980," he explained.
The office held community meetings after the law passed and urged paroled sex offenders to get their lives together. In August 2007, officers forced them out of the 16th Street motels. Seventeen declared themselves transient that day.
Parole remains the only law enforcement agency in the county enforcing the 2,000-foot distance from schools and parks that registered sex offenders must follow. Most agencies are waiting to see whether the courts hold the requirements legal.
The state isn't responsible for housing parolees or sex offenders, though it maintains some homes, Domico said. The key, he said, is finding solutions by involving the community.
Other states have begun finding ways to help sex offenders get back on their feet through transitional housing, according to a state report.
Colorado sponsors group homes that house two-to-three convicts each. They're able to support one another and learn social norms.
In Suffolk County, New York, sex offenders are put in mobile homes that are moved to different parts of the county every few weeks to keep from burdening any one area.
Sex offenders in Washington stay in houses or apartments leased by the government and are supervised correctional officers.
With the help of $32 million in foundation grants, Minnesota built 3,000 housing units for homeless people.
Domico's office works with Continuum of Care, a network of groups that help the homeless. It hasn't yet been approached about the new task force, which formed two weeks ago. It still needs to be approved by the Merced County Association of Governments.
Merced Rescue Mission executive director Herb Opalek chairs the committee and has begun seeking what can be done to house homeless sex offenders.
Besides checking with other counties, he's trying to learn if there are any foreclosed homes far from schools and parks that could be bought by local government. "All we can do is suggest," Opalek said. "We hope we'll bring the issue to the forefront and get something done."
Any group home requires a permit from the city or county and the acceptance of neighbors, who typically aren't comfortable with sex offenders living next door.
A map the city drew up shows a few slivers of land within Merced's city limit where violent and nonviolent sex offenders could live.
Avoiding mistakes
Rodriguez went to a mobile medical bus Tuesday to get his aching molar looked at by a doctor. Waiting to be called, one of his fellow sex offenders said he should request Valium, which he could sell on the street for a few dollars a pill.
"Oh yeah, then I'll live the high life selling pills," Rodriguez shot back sarcastically.
He came out of the checkup with a baggie filled with ibuprofen and an appointment with a dentist for the next day.
Every day is filled with temptation that he's dodging. When his parole ends, he plans to move to Hawaii, where one of his brothers lives.
"I don't want to be in trouble. My life just gets harder," he said. "I'm determined to do this correctly." ..News Source.. by SCOTT JASON
NM- Bill gives officers contact info of sex offenders
It never ceases to amaze me how ignorant lawmakers and law enforcement is, their heads are in the sand, they have no idea how the Internet works and are totally oblivious of the costs of today's throwaway cell phones, and have ignored land lines. Every Internet service provider has ways to eliminate spam, and any e-mail coming in can be tagged spam, e-mail addresses are a dime a dozen and can be throwaway as well, IP addresses can be dynamic and most of the major service providers use that anyway. Lawmakers and law enforcement folks seem to get a mental block when they get elected or hired, I guess it could be that reasoning is deadened by the perceived power of their position. This article displays all of these elements.
1-31-2009 New Mexico:
Keeping track of convicted sex offenders could get easier for law enforcement with the passage of a new bill.
Undersheriff Sal Bargaiola said having sex offenders' phone numbers, cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses would help big time--and they might just get the information.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department and Republican State Representative Bill Rehm teamed up to introduce legislation that they hope will give detectives another tool to be able to track down and communicate with sex offenders when they move into Bernalillo County.
"We know that sex offenders go to MySpace, we know they go to Facebook, this way we'll be able to see their e-mail addresses,' Rep. Rehm said.
"What I think this bill will do is, you can switch addresses three and four times a year, you're not going to switch cell phone numbers, and you're not going to switch e-mail addresses," he said.
Under the proposed bill, the phone numbers of sex offenders would not be posted on the state's online registry. That information would be given only to law enforcement.
The sheriff's department said sex offenders who obey their registration requirements might actually prefer a checkup over the phone. Instead of a visit from armed deputies.
"I think it's better for the courts, it's better for them and it's better for us that we have more information not less," Rep. Rehm said.
Several sex offenders have called Rep. Rehm opposing the bill. But so far this session, it has received full support from lawmakers. ..News Source.. by KOB.com
January 30, 2009
FL- Sex Offenders Living Under Bridge Claim They Are Being Forced Out
1-30-2009 Florida:
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Juan Martin is a convicted sex offender and says because he can't live near schools so he's forced to live under the Julia Tuttle Causeway.
Martin says the place is becoming overcrowded and admits some people have built make shift homes outside of the bridge. But that's where the problem comes in. He says Miami Police have threatened to arrest anyone who does not keep their living quarters under the bridge.
He's not alone; about 40 other sex offenders have taken up residence under the bridge. They literally transformed the area into living quarters, complete with kitchen and bathroom. They say it's their only choice. The group says they don't want sympathy, they just want a place to stay -- and to be left alone.
Martin says it's not the first time the group has been threatened that they would be removed from under the bridge.
For now there is no solution and the group says they have nowhere else to go.
Officials plan to have a meeting on the issue next month. ..News Source.. by NBC6.net
MT- House endorses more limits for young sex offenders
1-30-2009 Montana:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The House solidly endorsed a bill Friday that would prevent juvenile sex offenders from living near schools, public parks, or daycares.
The measure was endorsed 91-9. Before moving to the Senate, it must still pass one more largely ceremonial reading in the House.
The bill would extend the same limitations in place for adult sex offenders to juveniles rated most likely to re-offend.
If offenders complete treatment and their living situation is approved by their treatment officer, the bill allows the new restrictions to be waived.
Republican Rep. Ray Hawk of Florence is the bill's sponsor. He says the need for it came to his attention when he learned a juvenile offender was living within 30 feet of a school playground in his district.
The bill is House Bill 55. ..News Source.. by Montana News Station
DC- Obama Selects Pastor, 26, to Head Faith Office
1-30-2009 Washington DC:
President Obama has named Josh DuBois, the 26-year-old who ran religious outreach for his presidential campaign, to head the White House's new office of faith-based programs, a White House aide said today.
DuBois, who has worked as an associate pastor for a small Pentecostal church in Massachusetts and received a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University, was widely expected to get the position and is considered close to the president, for whom he also worked in the Senate.
DuBois's appointment to run the White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships -- first reported today in the New York Times -- is the first publicly known detail about the future of the office, which partners with faith groups on social service issues and helps advise them on applying for federal funds.
Obama aides have said the president's effort will expand the faith-based office at the White House. Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives made a priority of placing faith offices within federal agencies, but was criticized by some former high-ranking staff for becoming politicized.
It's still unknown whether Obama's faith-based effort will include the same amount of staff at the agencies -- including the Justice, Labor and Education Departments -- or how he will juggle concerns some faith-based social service groups have voiced about being forced to compromise their beliefs in order to compete equally for federal funding. Obama has come under fire for saying he would reverse a Bush executive order allowing faith-based groups to discriminate in hiring based on religion, but then largely halting comment on it.
DuBois is a familiar face to faith activists.
DuBois "is a very close confidant and adviser to President Obama, so this demonstrates the president is very committed to working with faith groups and organizations in this country," said Burns Strider, who ran religious outreach for Hillary Clinton's campaign and now does faith-based political consulting. "He's put a trusted adviser to run it so it can hit the ground running."
The faith-based office will remain, as it did under Bush, within the Domestic Policy Council. There will also be faith outreach staffer in the Office of Public Liason.
DuBois also worked for U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and was raised in Nashville. ..News Source.. by Michelle Boorstein and Michael D. Shear
NB- Police suspect arson in fire at home of suspect in pornography case
1-30-2009 New Brunswick:
TRACYVILLE, N.B. — Police say they suspect someone deliberately set fire to the home of a New Brunswick man who faces charges following a child pornography investigation.
Police were called to the house in Tracyville, south of Fredericton, around 10 p.m. Thursday.
"We hope this is not the act of a vigilante," RCMP Sgt. Claude Tremblay told a news conference Friday. "I know this upsets the community ... I understand that 100 per cent, but the public has to leave the police to do their work."
Tremblay confirmed that no one was living at the dilapidated two-storey building, which was left badly damaged.
"Burning the residence did not serve any purpose," he said.
The property belongs to Michael Gary Gilbert, 38, who was charged this week with production of child pornography, sexual exploitation and sexual assault.
The investigation was launched by Toronto police in late 2007 after photos allegedly showing minors engaged in sex acts were found circulating on the Internet. They were eventually traced to southern New Brunswick, police said.
Police initially said they had identified a lone male victim from the province, who was apparently under 18 when the photos were taken.
Investigators now say they have found additional victims - male and female - who were under 18 at the time of alleged offences.
Tremblay said police are still sifting through computer files and CDs.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
Tremblay said police had completed their work at the home, and the fire did not destroy any potential evidence.
"We executed our warrant and our officers were there for almost a day and a half, and they vacated the residence with everything they needed," he told reporters Friday.
Gilbert waived a bail hearing Thursday.
He'll remain in custody until a court appearance Feb. 9.
On Friday, residents in the Tracyville area said people should not try to take the law into their own hands.
"Two wrongs never make a right," Andrea Alexander told CTV. "Burning someone's house is against the law, so I guess you can't do that."
Meanwhile, Kent Phillips said he doesn't approve of anyone trying to burn the home.
"That doesn't fix the problem...and that doesn't fix the situation," he said.
Almost three years ago, a riot on New Brunswick's Grand Manan Island sparked debate over vigilante-style justice.
About 40 people were involved in a melee that ended with the burning of a home - occupied by a man that residents believed was involved in the drug trade.
Four young men were later convicted for their role in the riot, and the man at the centre of the dispute was found guilty of threatening to kill his neighbours.
..News Source.. by The Canadian Press
MI- Man found in snow had no place to turn
See earlier stories. Died because of a ill conceived law that protects no one. Given that there has not been a single crime reported nationwide, occurring in a protected place (school, etc.) by a registered sex offender living within the proscribed distance, this is a testament to the short sightedness of lawmakers.
Consider this, if the missions accepted him to sleep for the night, placing him within the proscribed distance to the prohibited places, those prohibited places would not even have any children in them at that time he would be sleeping. Clearly the laws protect no one:
1-30-2009 Michigan:
Thomas Pauli was found dead Jan. 26
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - Grand Rapids homeless advocates say a man found dead in the snow had been frustrated because he could not find a place to stay.
A business owner found the body of Thomas Pauli, 52, next to the old A to Z Radiator shop in the 600 block of S. Division Ave. on Jan. 26. Pauli was crouched in a kneeling position. The medical examiner says the autopsy was inconclusive, though evidence showed Pauli might have froze to death. Police say foul play was not involved.
Officials at Degage Ministries, a mission that offers myriad programs for people in need, say they believe Pauli was unable to get into a shelter because he is on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry.
State law "prohibits convicted sex offenders from residing, working or loitering within a student safety zone which is defined as the area that lies 1,000 feet or less from school property."
That law makes the Guiding Light Mission on Grand Rapids' Division Avenue off limits because Catholic Central High School is nearby.
The Guiding Light Mission, however, is refusing to say whether it had been forced to turn Thomas Pauli away. Shelter officials told 24 Hour News 8 they do not keep record of the people they turn away. But The Guiding Light did confirm that it refuses shelter to two to three people a month because of the state law regarding sex offenders.
Pauli was convicted in 1991 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child under the age of 13 in Grand Traverse County.
Lori King, a supervisor at the Degage Life Enrichment Center, said Pauli was an intelligent, quiet and gentle man who had struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. She also said Pauli had gone through rehab and once told her he wanted to go back to school.
"He voiced how hard it was for him to find housing, to find employment, just to be accepted back into society, like he had a big X on his head and nobody was going to give him a chance," King told 24 Hour News 8. "I was nauseated to think about him outside freezing. I knew why he was outside. Enraged is putting it lightly."
Target 8 did a special investigation into the law designed to protect children, which unintentionally isolates convicted sex offenders. This makes it difficult for police to track their whereabouts and even harder for people on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry to get another shot.
"They're upholding the law, but that causes such a hardship for people in our community. People who've done their time but still have the stigma attached to them," said Marge Palmerlee, executive director of Degage Ministries.
"There needs to be an exemption for homeless shelters or we're going to have more tragedies," said homeless advocate Don Tack.
It's a problem Target 8 looked into nearly three years ago. At the time, even the Grand Rapids Police Department was concerned that some sex offenders were hard to find because of the law -- homeless with no address.
It's as if the law keeping them from living near schools defeated the other law requiring them to register so police know where they are.
"We've had conversations with political folks about the need to amend this and didn't really get anywhere in the past," said Tack.
Tack thinks Pauli's death might renew interest in amending the law.
There are already some exemptions built into the Michigan Sex Offender Registry law allowing patients in mental health facilities, for example, to live within those 1,000-foot school safety zones as they are known. ..News Source.. by Henry Erb and Jessica Leffler
LA- Jindal announces sex offense legislation
Another proposed law lacking logic to coverup the failure of the current state agency that issues day care licenses. Clearly that agency failed in its duty to provide a safe environment for children at that specific day care, they simply ignored checking to see if a RSO resided at that day care.
1-30-2009 Louisiana:
If a day care owner knowingly allows a registered sex offender to come onto the facility's property, that owner could be charged with a crime and face prison time, according to a proposed law by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
The proposal was among several pieces of suggested sex crime legislation Jindal announced Thursday at the Caddo Parish Correctional Center.
"This will resonate with the people here," Jindal said.
His words came about a month after a local day care owner's son, a registered sex offender, was arrested after being accused of sex crimes with children at the facility.
Rodney Chism, son of Katherine Robbins, owner of the Smart Start Learning Center Express in Caddo Parish, was arrested in December on two counts of juvenile molestation. Robbins, who allegedly knew her son was a sex offender, could only be charged with perjury because there are no existing laws criminalizing such scenarios. The day care center was closed after authorities with the state Department of Social Services said Robbins had not performed adequate background checks on her employees.
Other proposals listed by the governor would strengthen many existing sex offender laws, such as making some of the most violent sex offenders submit to psychiatric evaluation after their prison and parole terms end. If a psychiatric evaluator determined the offender was likely to commit a crime again, the change would mean a district attorney could request indefinite, forced evaluation of that person until he or she was deemed to be no longer a threat.
"If you are a monster who preys on children you better not be in Louisiana," Jindal said.
Sex between teachers and students also would be more strictly prohibited. Currently, no educator may have sexual contact with a student until age 19, and Jindal proposes increasing that age limit to 21. School boards also would be required to notify their counterparts in other areas when an employee of theirs with a history of sexual offense applies for school work elsewhere.
"We want to make this the safest place in the world to raise a child," Jindal said.
The governor was flanked by several elected officials, including state Reps. Henry Burns, R-Haughton, and Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport.
Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator, who also attended, said he was happy to hear the state was toughening its sex offense laws. The Caddo sheriff's office is one of 15 agencies that participates in the Northwest Louisiana Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, which operates sting operations against online predators.
"This has been a governor who has been really easy to work with," Prator said.
After the news conference, Jindal fielded questions about President Obama's stimulus package. As the governor has stated previously, he said he had concerns about the amount of the debt the U.S. government was taking on; however, he was optimistic that "shovel ready" projects, like the proposed Interstate 49 North expansion, would be given federal dollars. Jindal also said he did not expect a special state legislative session this year.
Jindal had originally scheduled a town hall-style meeting at the Haughton Fire Department on Tuesday, but rescheduled because of a forecasted ice storm. On Thursday morning, his flight was delayed because of rare snowfall in the Shreveport-Bossier City area, the governor said. ..News Source.. by Drew Pierson
January 29, 2009
MI- "Sexting" Scandal Hits Another Local School
1-29-2009 Michigan:
It's not texting--- it's sexting, and it's a new trend in local schools.
This time, students from the Herbison Woods School in DeWitt were caught sending and sharing explicit photos.
"We had several students inappropriately taking pictures and distributing them on cell phones," Superintendent Tina Templin said.
Templin would not confirm the details of this case, but parents we talked to said two sixth graders...a girl and boy... took revealing pictures of themselves, sent them via picture text to each other, then shared them with friends.
"I guess I've heard about it happening in high school, maybe junior high , but sixth grade? That's pretty young for that to be happening," Steve McGiveron said.
McGiveron has two kids at Dewitt High School.
"Back in my day you would just look at Playboy under the bed, so it's nothing new," he said, "but I think technology has allowed it to become so much easier and widely accessible to people of all ages."
One parent with children at Herbison Woods said this is a growing problem and enforcement has got to start at home, so she's blocked picture texts from her kids' cell phones.
Parental involvement is imperative, Templin said, and that's why she sent a letter to every parent in the district.
"I really wanted to inform the parents of the seriousness of the situation and also for their help with talking to the students," she said.
Templin would not discuss punishment, except to say no students will be expelled.
But parents tell Newsten the male "honor student" was suspended for five days while the young girl is still in school.
"There would not be a double standard," Templin said. "We would apply the code of conduct evenly across the genders. There would not be discrimination happening."
Sexting, a childish mistake, with serious ramifications.
The DeWitt Police Department would not comment on whether criminal charges will be filed. ..News Source.. by Jamie Edmonds
IA- Proposed sex offender law change makes sense, county attorney says
Proximity restrictions, as described in this article, while likely to protect some children from CERTAIN REGISTRANTS, are severly discriminatory to OTHER REGISTRANTS. Discriminatory in that, there is no REAL classification of registrants as to who posses a risk and who does not, and to what population they may pose a risk to. Further, if tied to places where children congregate, that would again be useless as that is not where such crimes occur (proven by recent Iowa statistics). Finally, the Adam Walsh Act classification system of tiers is as useless as "a ___ in the wind," Warden's comment from the movie "Shawshank Redemption" when Tim Robbins disappeared from his cell.
Report to the Iowa General Assembly, January 22, 2009
1-28-2009 Iowa:
DES MOINES --- Sex offenders would be restricted from loitering or being present --- rather than residing --- near places where children play or gather under changes being proposed by state public safety officials.
Ross Loder, lobbyist for the state Department of Public Safety, told a legislative panel his agency is working with justice department officials to craft legislation that will comply with new federal sex-offender requirements --- including a provision to repeal Iowa's 2,000-foot residency restriction and convert to presence and loitering restrictions that focus on where offenders are while they're awake instead of while they're asleep.
Thomas Ferguson, Black Hawk County attorney, said trading residency restriction for exclusion zones makes sense.
"That would be more effective in achieving the goals of protecting children and be more efficient in the use of law enforcement resources," Ferguson said.
"The residency restriction just bans someone from sleeping near certain designated areas --- school and day cares --- but it doesn't really prohibit them from spending their day in an area where kids can be," Ferguson said.
He noted that limiting where convicted sex offenders can live caused some to disappear from the registry system that was put in place to keep tabs on them.
Loder said the proposed changes are part of a complex measure intended to improve the effectiveness and enforceability of laws designed to oversee convicted sex criminals while meeting a deadline to comply with the federal Adam Walsh Act or face sanctions.
Among the provisions would be language to shift the focus from restricting where sex offenders can reside to establishing exclusion zones where they could not be present without permission or loiter within 300 feet of a restricted area, he said.
The proposed changes also would establish a three-tiered system requiring sex offenders to register for 15 years, 25 years or life without a waiver option. Right now convicted sex offenders in Iowa could be required to register for 10 years or for life depending on the crime for which they were convicted.
Loder said there is concern that should Iowa not adopt the federal changes that the state might be viewed as a place where sex offenders could go to avoid being tracked in a uniform national system.
Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport, chair of the House Public Safety Committee, said he recently attended a national conference where some state officials indicated it would be more costly for them to comply with the federal mandate than to accept the funding sanctions.
Lykam noted that a similar discussion on moving away from the residency requirement two years ago failed because one of the four legislative caucuses was not on board.
In Black Hawk County, the residency restrictions cut off large sections of residential areas, often driving sex offenders to rental property on the edge of the cities.
Lobbyists for the county attorneys, sheriffs' and deputies' associations strongly advocated a repeal of the current 2,000-foot residency requirement.
Aside from the claim that the requirements deter offenders from registering their addresses, authorities said it is addresses only a small portion of sex crimes against children. Only 1.5 to 2.5 percent of molestation cases involve a stranger, Ferguson said. In the vast majority of cases, the perpetrator is family member, step-parent or friend of the family, he said. ..News Source.. by ROD BOSHART, Courier Des Moines Bureau
MI- UPDATE- Death of homeless sex offender in Grand Rapids poses questions
See earlier stories:
1-29-2009 Michigan:
So is this what it finally takes for us to hear the muffled cries of the homeless -- an ex-con dead in the snow because it's against the law for a sex offender to huddle up at either of two Grand Rapids missions?
Thomas Pauli didn't choose to die alone in the cold.
He apparently froze to death because of a crime he committed nearly 20 years ago, and a law that's dogged him ever since his release from prison.
In the days prior to the discovery of his body Monday morning at a recycling operation in the 600 block of South Division Avenue, he reportedly attempted to score a bed at either or both the Guiding Light Mission and Mel Trotter Ministries, just blocks away.
But officials at both facilities reluctantly acknowledge they would have turned him away because registered sex offenders can't reside for even one night within 1,000 feet of a school, in this case, Catholic Central High.
Never mind that school isn't in session during the hours a guy like Pauli would have been snoozing away on a warm cot.
Or that ex-cons -- or anyone else -- are more likely a threat to a neighborhood when they have nowhere to go. When they are desperate.
The problem is compounded by the fact that both missions are too near a pair of public parks, and that Mel Trotter houses women and children. All those elements also render the missions lawfully unable to accept offenders.
The missions aren't to blame. They risk fines or even being shut down if they don't comply with the law.
--Given that there is nothing in registration law which would fine or cause them to be shut down, what law or other authority are they speaking of? If there is anyone who knows of their authority (laws) please contact eAdvocate
But it's a law that needs changing. And we need to re-examine our collective level of commitment to a part of society that, to most of us, matters least.
Asks Bill Shaffer, an officer with Guiding Light, "How do we treat the unlovable?"
"I couldn't sleep last night thinking about Thomas Pauli freezing to death outside," said a tearful Marge Palmerlee, executive director at Degage Ministries, which cares for folks like Pauli who live and frequent the Heartside area on downtown's fringe.
"Who can sleep at night, thinking of these people outside. It's just unbelievable."
No, it's not.
I'll bet that even before readers got to my fourth paragraph, some were thinking that Thomas Pierrie Pauli, who was born on Christmas Eve 52 years ago, got what he deserved. OK, so he spent time in the joint. Big whup. A sex offender should pay forever.
Maybe so. I know too many people -- people close to me -- who have been victims of sexual assaults. In Pauli's case, he was convicted in Grand Traverse County in 1991 of second-degree criminal sexual conduct against a person younger than 13.
Of the 5 to 15 years to which he was sentenced, he served more than 11. Not exactly a slap on the wrist. His wife divorced him two years into his stint.
After his release in 2003, he eventually ended up at an address on Leonard Street NE. But he wandered from there and ended up roaming Heartside's gritty domain. He checked in and out of Project Rehab.
On Dec. 30, he was booked for failing to register his address with authorities. He got 16 days for that misdemeanor and was freed Jan. 14.
Sometime during the past two weeks, he tried to bed down at either or both missions, according to Palmerlee, who knows of two people saying they saw Pauli standing in lines.
"A patron told me they'd seen him in Mel Trotter's line not long ago," added Lori King, life enrichment center supervisor at Degage.
Officials at both missions cannot confirm Pauli tried to get in, but they also can't rule it out, because they don't track applicants who are refused admission, only those who make it across the threshold.
Either way, they said it breaks their hearts to know they have to abide by a law that puts men in life-or-death situations.
"Ethically, it feels like we're responsible," said Bill Merchut, in charge of programs at Mel Trotter. "But we have to follow the law.
"These men and women are clearly 'The Scarlet Letter' folks of our day. "I've had (sex offenders) say, 'Where can I go?' and I stand there with my mouth open and I have no answer."
There aren't many options for men seeking overnight shelter outside of the two missions. In a perfect world, there would be a homeless shelter located where it could accept sex offenders. Maybe a place like the former Greyhound bus station, Merchut said. Or perhaps the former site of a corrections center on Wealthy Street SW near the Grand River. But any solution will require a monstrous coalition. And money.
Don Lamse was the gentleman who found Pauli about 10 a.m. Monday in a parking area adjacent to the auto recycling operation he manages on South Division. The victim was beside a '93 or '94 GMC conversion van.
Lamse, 70, walked over and tried to rouse him. "Hey, hey," Lamse remembers saying. "Something like that."
Pauli was bent into a crouching position, knees and hands on the ground. He wore no gloves. "I tried to nudge him a bit while I was talking to him, and he felt pretty stiff."
Lamse said he found it odd that Pauli didn't crawl into any one of several unlocked vehicles, the van included. "He could have gone inside and had some shelter if he'd just opened a door.
--With no gloves and a temperature of -3 degrees, would anyone's hands work to pull on metal objects (doors, likely jammed from accidents) to gain access to the inside of the vehicle.
He added, "That's not a nice way for anybody to die." ..News Source.. by Tom Rademacher The Grand Rapids Press
January 28, 2009
WI- Some can’t live with sex offender decision
No doubt, the police will have a field day misinterpreting this one to incarcerate registrants, opps you weren't loitering just birdwatching...I can see it now.
1-28-2009 Wisconsin:
Defeat of residency restrictions anger rules’ supporters in Greenfield
Supporters of an ordinance that would restrict where sex offenders can live in Greenfield are not giving up, despite the Common Council’s recent denial of one set of proposed rules.
Alderwoman Linda Lubotsky, who proposed such an ordinance, and other proponents plan to protest at 6 p.m. today, Jan. 29, on the steps of City Hall, 7325 W. Forest Home Ave. Plus, Lubotsky said a new proposal will come back to the Legislative Committee in the coming weeks.
Those prospective actions come on the heels of the Greenfield Common Council’s Jan. 20 meeting, in which the governing body took two votes — one on an ordinance restricting where sex offenders can live and one on where they can loiter.
Loitering ‘yes,’ living ‘no’
The loitering ordinance passed unanimously. Under the new rules, sex offenders cannot loiter within 1,000 feet of a public park, parkway, swimming pool, library, recreation trail, playground, school, day care center, specialized training facility (such as for gymnastics or dance academy programs) or athletic fields used by children.
It is not illegal for a sex offender to use a path to walk through a park, but the rules prohibit an offender from being in the child safety zone “under circumstances that warrant alarm for the safety of persons in the vicinity.”
-So, will people just start sounding alarm to everyone hoping to catch a sex offender? This is unbelievable, hysteria permeates the minds of lawmakers, creating conditions that are meaningless, unless a sex offender is "walking on a path through a park (presumably applies to child safety zones mentioned -albeit all unmarked-)." What a joke!
But, after a testy discussion between aldermen and audience members, the council, on a 3-2 vote, denied restrictions on where sex offenders can live.
As proposed, the ordinance would have allowed sex offenders now living in the city to stay put but no sex offenders could move to a residence within 1,000 feet of those places named in the loitering ordinance.
Questionable effectiveness
In voting against the residential restrictions, aldermen Donald Almquist, Shirley Saryan and Tom Pietrowski said they have not heard any complaints about sex offenders and questioned whether the ordinance would be effective.
Melissa Becker, director of the sex offender program for the state Department of Corrections, and resident Bill Stevens said the data does not prove these ordinances are a deterrent.
“Sex offenders obtain their victims through social networks, through their churches, through their hobbies, through mentoring, through babysitting, through dating women with children … nothing to do with where they live,” Becker said.
“Even the rare stranger offender does not offend in his neighborhood,” she added. “There’s just too much chance of getting caught.”
The map showing the areas where sex offenders would not be able to live was called into question, as city officials pointed out a park and a day care center that were missed when it was drawn up.
An unwelcome sign?
Supporters of the ordinance now fear Greenfield will become a “dumping ground” for sex offenders, given that several neighboring communities have passed residency restrictions for sex offenders.
They often point to Steven Hanke, a convicted sex offender who was evicted in connection with a new ordinance limiting where sex offenders can live in Franklin.
The law survived a court challenge and Hanke moved to a Greenfield hotel, much to the ire of some residents who spoke at the Jan. 20 public hearing.
Not passing the ordinance, supporters said, threatens the safety of the city’s children and other residents.
“Asking for 1,000 feet ain’t asking for much,” resident John Butschli Jr. said. “There’s plenty of other places for them to move.” ..News Source.. by MARK SCHAAF
IA- Convicted sex offender to be released
See earlier story about those to be released resulting from court decision. If we look close at this case it appears this man, although having a prior sex offense (unknown date), was being held on a 'domestic abuse' case and they were trying to force him to take sex offender therapy. What is the connection between domestic abuse and sex offender therapy? If there is any then all those held for domestic abuse should be required to take SO therapy.
1-28-2009 Iowa:
A man convicted in Johnson County as a sex offender is one of 15 convicted sex offenders scheduled for release without supervision following two recent Iowa Supreme Court decisions.
Fredrick DeWayne Stewart was charged with domestic abuse assault without intent in connection with an incident April 21, 2000. He was admitted Oct. 13, 2000.
Fred Scaletta, Department of Corrections spokesman, said Stewart was released Wednesday from the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison.
The two court decisions override the Department of Corrections’ interpretation of Iowa Code to suspend “earned time” — or good behavior credits — if an offender refuses to participate or fails Sex Offender Treatment Programming until they complete the programming.
The Department of Corrections decided that the ruling in the case of Mount Pleasant inmate Denny Propp should be applied to other sex offenders in the state prison system.
The ruling applies to offenders whose offense was committed prior to an amendment to this section of the Iowa Code, effective Jan. 1, 2001.
Johnson County Sheriff Lt. Raquel Wray said that although Stewart was convicted in Johnson County, “we don’t know if Mr. Stewart will be coming back to Johnson County or not.”
The Department of Corrections made the announcement Monday about the releases. The goal was to release all 15 within 48 hours, but some might be in custody longer to find transportation, Scaletta said.
“Last thing we’re going to do is just open the door and let them out,” he said.
Since these sex offenders are ending their sentence and will not be supervised, they did not need to provide the Department of Corrections with an address for where they were headed. They did, however, have to complete paperwork for the Iowa Sex Offender Registry before their release, Scaletta said. ..News Source.. by Rachel Gallegos • Iowa City Press-Citizen
UT- Legislature considers revising sex offender laws
Something is becoming apparent with these newer bills they are encroaching into personal lives to an extent so as to deprive the person his/her liberty guaranteed by the US Constitution. There will be a straw that breaks the camel's back coming and courts will declare these unconstitutional, as they protect no one, they are the result of a mind suffering from control fantasies, without regard to civil rights of the person. Utah is Sen. Hatch's state and we know how he feels about former sex offenders:
1-28-2009 Utah:1) Verbal Vigilantism by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, on the Nancy Grace show 7-16-2006, speaking about the Adam Walsh Act which was not yet enacted on that date:
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: "Well, the bill really puts the screws to
those who are sexual predators, and you know, sexual offenders. You know, we
have ..." Quoted from: CNN Transcript of Nancy Grace show 7-16-2006. For the rest of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Two bills designed to strengthen rules governing sex offenders will be considered by legislative committees.
House Bill 41 would require officials to update registries within five days after a sex offender has moved in an effort to keep old and new neighborhood records current.
House Bill 29 seeks to protect children 14 and younger from sex offenders. It would require a sex offender to obtain written permission from a child's parent if the offender is to accompany the child anywhere.
Both bills are scheduled to be heard Wednesday.
Utah has about 7,000 registered sex offenders in the state database and has an e-mail program where residents can sign up and receive alerts if an offender moves into their neighborhood. ..News Source.. by LocalNews8.com
Legislators push for changes to sex-offender laws
Lawmakers are looking to protect children and ramp up the sex-offender registry through a pair of bills.
HB41 would require offenders to register with local law enforcement agencies rather than the Department of Corrections.
Sponsor Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork, said his measure would give a sheriff's office or police department a chance to meet with offenders living in their communities, and would ensure out-of-state sex offenders register when they move to Utah.
Law enforcers supported his measure Wednesday.
"The local agency needs to know first," said Saratoga Springs Police Chief Gary Hicken. "We check on sex offenders every 90 days, but there would be no requirement to do that. It's just a wise thing to do."
A second proposal -- HB29 -- would require offenders to remain on the registry for at least 10 years, five more than the current minimum. Offenders could not defend themselves by saying they didn't know a minor's age.
The bill also would make it a class A misdemeanor for registered offenders to be with a child away from the juvenile's home without written permission from a parent or guardian, and an offender would need a parent's verbal consent to be with a child at the juvenile's home.
Sponsor Rep. Richard Greenwood, R-Roy, said Wednesday that police are frustrated that predatory sex offenders can entice children to accompany them without facing any penalties. Officers can do nothing until a kidnapping occurs.
"Now the law could do something -- even if the child runs," he said.
HB41 passed the House last year, but the Senate did not hear the bill before the session ended. Both bills got stuck in committee Wednesday morning while analysts determine their fiscal impact. ..Source..
SC- Police shocked by what they find on kid's phones
1-28-2009 SOuth Carolina:
Some Aiken teens may be playing with fire if they take part in a recent trend of sending explicit images over cell phones.
Several teens around the country have been charged with sex crimes after "sexting" - a newly coined term for the sending and receiving of explicit images and texts - and law enforcement officials want Aiken teens to heed the warnings before they find themselves in hot water.
"Across the board, every parent needs to be aware of what we are finding," said Aiken Public Safety Juvenile Division Capt. Maryann Burgess. "They take pictures of themselves and send them to each other without even thinking about it."
But law enforcement officers are putting a lot of thought into the matter.
"Sexting" is most often associated with teens taking nude photos of themselves and sending them out via cell phone. Both are winding up on the Internet and on cell phones throughout the area.
Burgess said lewd photos are popping up on nine out of every 10 phones investigators confiscate from teenagers during unrelated investigations. That's not to say nine out of 10 teens are taking photos, but by the time law enforcement is investigating a case, the vast majority of phones taken during an investigation have lewd photos on them, she explained.
According to a study conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com., more than one in five teen girls have sent nude or seminude images of themselves. Almost one in five boys has done the same.
Some of the pictures are lewd, and others are bordering on pornographic.
The law in South Carolina distinguishes between "erotic" and "pornographic" images, explained investigator Mark Patterson with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.
"Most of the pictures are erotic; girls sending pictures of themselves to their boyfriends," he said.
Pornographic images focus on genitalia.
"We see that, too, but mostly we are finding erotic images," he said.
In either case, the images are becoming more commonplace and sending them or even having them is a crime.
Investigators are trying to first educate teenagers about the consequences, saying they could charge the juveniles with anything from improper use of a telephone to possession and distribution of child pornography.
Lt. Troy Elwell, who has an extensive background in juvenile investigations, explained that the consequences of a child porn conviction are serious and lasting.
"It's nothing you want to have anything to do with," he said. "With child porn, each image is a different count."
Fifteen images means 15 charges. Each charge carries with it the possibility of three years in prison and mandatory registration as a sex offender.
It's not just the legal repercussions that can destroy a child; there are psychological impacts, as well.
A high school student in Aiken County who sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend learned several other students had seen the pictures after they broke up. The teenager in the pictures was devastated.
"She asked her parents if she could go to a different school," Patterson said. "But once you hit that send button, you will never get it back."
School officials have rules in place that prevent teenagers from using their phones during school hours, but law enforcement officers are calling on parents to monitor their children's cell phones.
"Be nosy," Elwell said.
Ask questions and set up ground rules, Burgess added.
Investigators and school officials can look at the images on a cell phone, and parents have the right to do the same.
"If you are footing the bill and the child is under 17, they have no expectation of privacy," Elwell said.
A cell phone agreement requires a contract, and, in most cases, a parent is making the agreement.
"These phones belong to the parents," Burgess said.
Police said they are talking with area students about the foreseeable problems down the road. These photos can haunt them for years, police said.
"In the worst case scenario, the images can be posted on a child pornography site," Elwell said.
Police are warning parents that teenagers elsewhere in the country have been charged with being in possession of pornographic images. Deputies in Aiken have not filed any charges against teenagers thus far, but Patterson said he has considered it in a handful of cases. And he knows there is a possibility a case will rise to that level. ..News Source.. by KAREN DAILY, Staff writer
PA- Wanted sex offender found online
1-28-2009 Pennsylvania:
YORK — A convicted sex offender has been found after seven months in hiding — the break in the case came when information on his Facebook profile indicated where he was.
On May 4, 2008, Justin Soukup, 20, of York was supposed to be sentenced for sexually assaulting a York County girl who was under the age of 15. He was looking at a possible 1-20 years in prison. However, he didn’t show up for the proceedings.
At that point, York County District Judge Alan Gless issued a bench warrant for his arrest and York County Attorney Tim Sieh added a second charge to the list — felony failure to appear, which could result in five more years in prison.
Months passed by and law enforcement officials were unable to locate Soukup. That’s until it was discovered that Soukup actually posted information about his whereabouts on his Facebook profile, making it quite clear where he was living — at least to his online audience.
The News-Times has been told by the father of the victim (who will remain unnamed in order to protect the identity of the minor girl) that he began his own investigation and went online. He said that’s when he discovered Soukup’s Facebook profile, which actually included indications that he was living in South Dakota. The victim’s father said he then contacted law enforcement in that particular jurisdiction and in York County, explaining the situation and providing the electronic information he had discovered.
“They later called me back and said they were able to locate him,” the victim’s father said. “I was relieved to hear they had him in custody and he’ll be coming back here for sentencing.”
York County Sheriff Dale Radcliff said that once Soukup was taken into custody, law enforcement officials in Rapid City, S.D., contacted his department to let them know he’d been arrested.
“My understanding is that at one time, he’d been living in Yankton and that he was wanted for other crimes in South Dakota,” Sheriff Radcliff said. “Right now, we have a hold on him and we’re waiting for him to be extradited back to York County.”
In this jurisdiction, Soukup was originally charged with two Class 2 felonies (both first degree sexual assault of a child, with two separate victims). Those were amended to one Class 3 felony, attempted first degree sexual assault. ..News Source.. by
MI- Under new law, child molester Aaron Michael Snyder gets life in prison
1-28-2009 Michigan:
MUSKEGON COUNTY — For the first time in modern Muskegon County history, a nonmurderer has gotten the toughest sentence Michigan has to give: mandatory life in prison without chance of parole.
That sentence was handed down Tuesday to repeat child molester Aaron Michael Snyder, 34, of 1547 Auble. Snyder pleaded guilty as charged Jan. 12 to first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person younger than 13.
Muskegon County 14th Circuit Judge James M. Graves Jr. handed down the sentence. But it wasn't Graves' call: under a 2006 state law, applied here for the first time, the prison-until-death sentence wasn't optional.
Because Snyder has a prior child-sex conviction -- a 1993 Newaygo County conviction of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a child younger than 13 -- the life-without-parole sentence was mandatory.
Snyder's guilty plea was conditional. At the time he made it, he reserved the right to appeal his sentence and the validity of the state law.
In Snyder's case, sentencing guidelines in the absence of the "mandatory life" law called for a minimum prison term of somewhere between 6 3/4 and 14 years, Graves said in court. But, he noted, those guidelines were "academic" in Snyder's case.
In court Tuesday, Snyder did not address the sentence itself. He said he had already apologized to the victim's family, his own family and added an apology to the judge.
Snyder also asked Graves to recommend sex offender counseling for him while in prison -- which the judge did -- and to order him held in a Muskegon County prison, which the judge said he has no authority to do.
Snyder, already a registered sex offender, was charged last July. The offense involved an 8-year-old boy at Snyder's Laketon Township home, according to Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague. Tague said in addition to the Newaygo County conviction, Snyder later molested a young person while living at a Teen Challenge facility in Missouri. ..News Source.. by John S. Hausman | The Muskegon Chronicle
Those cleared by DNA tests struggle to be free
1-28-2009 National:
ST. LOUIS — Johnny Briscoe thought his nightmare was over in the summer of 2006 when, after 23 years of proclaiming his innocence, he finally walked out of a Missouri prison.
DNA evidence lifted from a cigarette butt should have stripped away any doubt that another man — not Briscoe — had raped and robbed a woman in her suburban St. Louis apartment on Oct. 21, 1982. Yet Briscoe's exoneration, featured by national news organizations, did notfully free him from the persistent doubts of acquaintances and family members about his innocence, or from the emotional scars seared by more than two decades in prison.
"Rape," says Briscoe, 54. "Now, that's a provocative word. When I try to explain it, it's a bitter pill."
Nearly 90% of the 227 people cleared by DNA evidence since 1989 were convicted of some of the most heinous sex crimes, according to the Innocence Project, which helps inmates prove their innocence through DNA testing. DNA — present in blood, semen and body cells — can be particularly useful in solving sex crimes and often is the most definitive way of determining innocence.
Yet not even DNA washes away the lasting stigma that shadows once-convicted sex offenders who are cleared by genetic testing, and the criminal justice system that wrongly jailed them offers little help. Briscoe's plight is part of a silent struggle for a rising number of exonerees. After high-profile releases from prison, they often fend for themselves.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Internet | Texas | New Jersey | St. Louis | Missouri | Chicago | Princeton | Center | Northwestern University | N.J.-based | Innocence Project | Briscoe | Dallas-area | Wrongful Convictions | Jerry Miller | Centurion Ministries | Rob Warden
Most states did not account for the exonerated when officials started re-entry programs for the hundreds of thousands of offenders released in the U.S. each year. Most are ineligible for basic benefits, such as counseling and job training, that states give guilty offenders when they re-enter society.
Despite legislative campaigns to get the wrongfully convicted financial help to compensate for the years lost in prison, 25 states still don't do so. In states that do, the money or services often are offered only if the exonerated waive their right to sue. Such lawsuits seek monetary damages for wrongful convictions and compensation for time in prison.
The burden of re-integration into society is heavier for wrongly convicted sex offenders than for other exonerees, says Sim Platek, a New Jersey social worker who counsels exonerees, including those wrongfully convicted of sex crimes. "The shame of it goes deeper than any other shame," he says. "Very rarely do you see people fully recover from this immediately."
Charles Chatman, 48, a Dallas-area man freed last year after 26 years in prison, tells of his "shame" in dealing with family members, many of them women, after his wrongful conviction — and even his exoneration — for aggravated rape.
Other exonerees, such as Jerry Miller, 50, of suburban Chicago, carry court papers as commonly as driver's licenses to prove to potential employers and others that their convictions were overturned. Miller was convicted in the 1981 rape and kidnapping of a Chicago woman and spent 24 years in prison. He finished his sentence before being exonerated. In 2007, a year after his parole, he was cleared by DNA testing of the victim's clothes.
Illinois officials required him to register as a sex offender and attend counseling after his release but before his exoneration.
"My picture was on the Internet," he says of the required photo on the public sex offender registry. "I thought prison was bad. But (outside) I was like the scum of the earth." Illinois officials have since removed him from the state's database.
James McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, a Princeton, N.J.-based group that works to free the wrongfully convicted, describes the stigma as "a tremendous barrier."
"When you hear the word 'rape,' " McCloskey says, "it scares the bejesus out of people."
'Seed of doubt'
Rob Warden, executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Chicago's Northwestern University, says the indignities many exonerees suffer can be mind-boggling.
"There are people out there totally exonerated, absolutely innocent who get notices that they need to register as sex offenders," Warden says.
Platek says it is not unusual for some, after long periods in prison and protracted struggles to win exoneration, to exhibit symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder. Others, he says, slip into depression, abuse drugs and alcohol or have paralyzing flashbacks to their time in prison.
Among states that provide compensation, 10 also offer some tuition, health care or job-search counseling. The Innocence Project and its affiliates are pushing for uniform compensation laws and urging social service agencies to help exonerees.
In Texas, for example, a group of defense lawyers got a local clothing store to give shirts, pants and jackets to exonerees who leave prison with no street clothes. Most were wrongfully convicted of sex crimes, and many scramble after their release to find shelter, health care and jobs.
Even when they find work, stability can be elusive. One 58-year-old Centurion Ministries client, cleared of rape in 2006, was hired by a New Jersey food store about two years ago, McCloskey says.
A prison guard who visited the store recognized the former inmate, and word spread among other workers that the business had hired a sex offender.
As a result, McCloskey says, the former inmate was transferred to another store 70 miles away, then fired. Rather than sue the employer and call more attention to himself, he looked for a new job.
"There is always that stigma, that seed of doubt that follows these guys," McCloskey says.
Miller says he "dreaded" Halloween 2006 after his release from prison because, as a registered sex offender, he could not interact with children. On Halloween, he says, he felt humiliated when three police officers arrived to ensure he was complying.
"I was told that if I answered the door, I would be arrested," Miller says. "So, I cut off the lights and sat there by myself. That was pretty tough."
'He was still incarcerated'
When Johnny Briscoe came home July 19, 2006, time had rearranged the streetscape of his hometown St. Louis and dramatically altered his family.
Close relatives, including his father, had died while he was in prison. His son, Donyea — 2 when Briscoe was convicted — was 25. "I couldn't believe it," says Briscoe, a carpenter and handyman.
For months after his release, Briscoe spent most of his time in the tiny, upstairs bedroom of his mother's house. He arranged the room much like his prison cell — everything within arm's reach.
"He was acting like he was still incarcerated," says his sister, Ruth Briscoe. "I think he was more scared being out than being in (prison)."
Briscoe, a soft-spoken man with an easy smile, felt secure enough to leave home only with a "witness." He believed he needed a companion, usually Ruth, to vouch for his whereabouts and to help him avoid encounters — no matter how innocent — that could leave him vulnerable to accusations.
When he did go out, he didn't go far. And he was always back by 10 p.m. "I didn't want to fall into any traps," he says of the sexual assault charges levied against him more than two decades earlier.
In that case, a victim whom he had never met, in a part of town he had never visited, picked him out of a police lineup. Mistaken identity by witnesses and victims is one of the most common factors in wrongful convictions, the Innocence Project says.
He was included in the lineup after another man who later was implicated in the crime — an acquaintance of Briscoe's — identified himself to the victim as "John Briscoe."
The false identification started a chain of events that ended in Briscoe's 1983 conviction and 45-year prison sentence. For about five months, he was in a cell next to the acquaintance, Larry Smith.
After suspecting Smith's possible connection, Briscoe confronted Smith outside their cells one day. "He denied it," Briscoe says.
Smith is serving a life sentence for a separate sexual assault at the same apartment complex involved in Briscoe's case. Smith was identified in 2006 in the same DNA tests that excluded Briscoe.
Although the DNA evidence points to Smith, J.D. Evans, St. Louis County's first assistant prosecutor, says the testing was not conclusive enough to support formal charges against Smith.
"For a year and a half (after being released), I was really paranoid," Briscoe says.
His ex-wife, Lynette Briscoe, 54, and Donyea also felt uneasy. Lynette, who divorced Briscoe 10 years into his prison term, says she was "angry" he was convicted and she was left alone. Even she was not convinced of her former husband's innocence.
Neither was Donyea. Ruth says her nephew came to her after Briscoe's release. "He didn't know how to talk to (his father)," she says. "He was more comfortable asking me, 'Do you think he did that?' "
Since then, Johnny Briscoe says he and his son rekindled a relationship denied 23 years ago. Lynette Briscoe, who never remarried, is seeing her former husband again. "Our life was taken away from us," she says, and a "chapter was never closed."
Other family members remain distant. "They believe that he's still a convict," Ruth Briscoe says.
"I just leave it be," her brother adds. " I can't change it."
No simple answers
Briscoe's attorney, Burton Newman, says his client is trying to regain a sense of normalcy.
Briscoe is suing St. Louis County and four county police officers for his wrongful conviction rather than accept state compensation of $36,000 for every year spent in prison.
It could take months to resolve the lawsuit, but he's now comfortable enough to go shopping and run errands alone.
Yet his search for full-time work has been a bust. Applications for about a dozen positions have gone unanswered. The sour economy is a factor, but Briscoe suspects many prospective employers are turned off by his background. On each employment application, he says he has acknowledged the conviction and the circumstances of his exoneration.
To improve Briscoe's chances of getting work, Newman recently advised him not to admit to the conviction, arguing that it has been wiped away by exoneration. Exonerations clear criminal records, but it often takes time to update the system. Some wait months for pardons.
For Briscoe, there is no simple way to deal with questions about his past. "It is my job to convince everyone I didn't do this," he says.
Jessie Burnley, Briscoe's 80-year-old mother, has no trouble defending her son. She carries a news clipping of his release — frame and all — to show anybody who asks. "I take it to church, everywhere, to tell (people) that my son is innocent," she says. ..News Source.. by Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
