2-7-2010 Michigan:
LANSING — The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision that a homeless sex offender shouldn’t be punished for not registering an address or giving his whereabouts to law enforcement.
The opinion of the three-judge panel was released Tuesday. The Lansing State Journal reports today the office of Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III plans to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
Randall Dowdy visited a Lansing shelter off and on until 2006 when he was told he could no longer go there because he was a convicted sex offender.
Dowdy was charged with violations of the Sex Offender Registration Act. An Ingham County judge dismissed the charges in 2008.
The appeals court urged the legislature to update the law. ..Source.. Detroit Free Press
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Michigan court: Homeless sex offender OK not registering
Man murders alleged rapist nephew
2-7-2010 Dubai:
A man murdered a nephew who raped his daughter and refused to marry her when she became pregnant, Dubai Criminal Court heard yesterday.
A lawyer representing Arab defendant TB, 47, called on the court to reduce any sentence to the lowest possible level because of the circumstances of the case.
The defence also urged the court to rule out premeditation as the defendant had attempted to persuade the victim to marry his daughter and offered him Dh100, 000 to buy jewellery for the wedding. The nephew had provoked the defendant by refusing to marry the raped woman, it was alleged. The woman said in her testimony that the victim pursued her and kept telling her he loved her. After the father refused to allow them to wed, his nephew visited her home frequently and managed to take some photos of her.
The victim manipulated the photos to make them look obscene and showed them to her cousins, who told the defendant about the photos. The defendant then hit the victim at a family meeting. The nephew later called the daughter and told her he was ready to delete the photos in front of her. She went to meet him and he showed her the photos, but then suddenly attacked, stripped and raped her. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone what had happened. Six months later, the woman was medically examined and it was discovered that she was pregnant.
The public prosecution accused the defendant of premeditated murder. He is said to have lured the victim to his company's warehouse at Al Quoz Industrial area. He then struck his nephew on the head with an iron bar and then put a rope around his neck and strangled him with it.
The case was adjourned until February 16 when a verdict is expected to be delivered. ..Source.. Mohammed Elsidafy
Legal experts have differing opinions on sexual predator law
2-7-2010 Wisconsin:
Opponents question fairness; proponents say society is safer
The impetus of Wisconsin's sexual predators law is a 36-year-old case.
Gerald Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting and killing 9-year-old Lisa French of Fond du Lac in 1973. Just as he was to be released, state lawmakers created a statute that allowed prosecutors to keep sex offenders off the streets indefinitely by proving that they were risks to re-offend if released.
Ironically, an attempt to apply the predator law to Turner failed.
But it has been successfully applied more than 400 times since 1994. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the law.
Steve Watters, director of Sand Ridge Treatment Center in Mauston, which opened in 2001, said society is safer because of the predator law.
"If we opened the gates tomorrow, there clearly would be a significant increase" in sexual crimes, he said.
That is not a feeling shared by everyone in the legal system.
Gene Bartman, the supervisor of the Appleton office of the State Public Defender, said the civil commitment process is tilted clearly in favor of prosecutors.
Expert opinions are at the heart of the law, which puts sex offenders at a decided disadvantage, he said.
"These cases are all about predicting future human behavior and determining if a person poses a risk," Bartman said. "The way it's structured, there's no incentive to be perfectly objective about the determination — the error is always going to be on the side of safety.
"Predicting what any of us will do in the future is problematic."
The Sand Ridge facility is operating near its capacity of 300, with the possibility of a 200-bed expansion in 2011. Some of the current Chapter 980 patients are being held at the Wisconsin Resource Center near Oshkosh.
Treatment is focused on getting sex offenders to the point where they no longer are a threat to society.
Some convicts refuse to get treatment. Some maintain their innocence. And others are so entrenched in sexually inappropriate behavior that changing their behavior through treatment is a long-term process.
Still, Watters thinks the team at Sand Ridge is providing excellent treatment options.
"We feel that what we're doing is as good as we can do in this field," he said. "If you compare us to our peer institutions, we have among the highest rate of participation — about 75 percent of individuals who are detained or committed.
That's a pretty high figure.
"It is not a short-term treatment program. We're addressing a lifelong pattern of behavior. We're trying to address fundamental things."
Watters said treatment evolved and improved over the years. He said there has been a recent emphasis on addressing underlying issues relating to sexual misconduct, along with working with offenders on changing thought patterns.
Offenders are closely monitored and held responsible for their actions.
"One of the advantages of this facility is we have 24-hour observation. A guy may go to a patients' group and say he has no hang-ups, and then cut out of a Sunday flier a picture of kids in underwear. That's what a comprehensive institution can address."
Watters said the polygraph, or lie detector, is being used more often in treatment.
The aim is to verify disclosures by defendants and statements about what they are fantasizing about.
"Disclosure is very important," he said. "We need to know what issues we are dealing with." ..Source.. Andy Thompson
McGinty: Prostitution bill would help young victims
2-7-2010 Georgia:
Imagine the worst.
Imagine your 12-year-old daughter has been kidnapped and, when she's finally found, she's been forced into a child prostitution ring. Imagine that she's kept in a drug-induced haze and raped repeatedly. Imagine the horror, grief and shock that would overwhelm you and your family as you dealt with that situation, and the work you'd be eager to do to heal your daughter.
And now, in the middle of that trying and sensitive situation, imagine that the state of Georgia is labeling her a criminal.
Imagine what you would do.
State Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, knows what she would do. She has proposed legislation that would establish a path of diversionary treatment for children under the age of 16 who are picked up for prostitution. Her bill would set up a system of care that would focus on education, prevention and increased opportunity for the victims.
And victims are exactly what they are.
According the the governor's Office of Family and Children Services, there are more than 400 underage prostitutes on the streets in Atlanta. The city has been ranked as one of the worst in the country in terms of child prostitution. A 2002 FBI sting broke up 14 men who had grotesquely pimped dozens of girls, some as young as 10.
It seems like a no-brainer piece of legislation, right? Well, apparently not.
Various conservative Christian organizations in Georgia have joined forces to oppose the bill. At a rally outside the Capitol earlier this week, speakers slammed the legislation, with former state Sen. Nancy Shafer arguing "the very profitable and growing pedophile industry" would benefit from its passage.
Likewise, Sue Ella Deadwyler, a conservative Christian activist, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that, if passed, the bill would result in "an absolute cultural upheaval" in Georgia that would legalize prostitution. Deadwyler went on to question how many of the victims actually were forced into such behavior, and said most of them willingly volunteered to be prostitutes. Rally participants included the Georgia Christian Coalition and Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Coalition.
The current system, and the logic employed by those who so strenuously defend it, is seriously flawed. Rather than pursue justice against those who actually exploit young boys and girls, detractors of the proposed legislation would rather throw the victims in jail. In doing so, they confuse revamping the work needed to help the children victimized by prostitution with the decriminalization of the act.
For starters, the bill simply normalizes inconsistencies in Georgia law that label the commercial sexual exploitation of a child as abuse, yet prosecute children forced into prostitution as criminals.
Establishing a diversionary program doesn't signal an abandonment of law and order. The same actions still will be considered illegal and require the necessary enforcement. The only difference, however, would be on the sentencing end, where those younger than 16 picked up for prostitution would - after the appropriate legal process is completed - enter into a diversionary program. Doing so would cut down dramatically the likelihood that those exploited young people would continue the destructive behavior forced upon them.
In addition, Unterman's proposal makes no mention of weakening efforts of law enforcement officials in tracking down and arresting the despicable work done by the pimps. If anything, Unterman's legislation directs more focus on those perpetrators by properly labeling the children as victims.
In a column I wrote earlier this year, I cited the biblical story of Jesus and his disciples coming upon a blind man begging by the side of the road. The initial reaction of those with Jesus was to ask what it was this man, or his parents, had done wrong, as they assumed his affliction must be some form of punishment for his sins.
Jesus gently, but firmly, corrected the disciples and said the blindness was not a form of punishment. Instead, he said the experience with the blind man offered the opportunity for service and compassion, and he healed him.
Perhaps Deadwyler and others so eager to turn victimized children into criminals should heed that lesson. ..Source.. Johnathan McGinty Athens Banner-Herald
What can be done to stop predators?
2-7-2010 National:
'Some can be easily treated, some can't... and you've got the whole group in between,' says Fred Berlin, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University
Chris Hansen spoke to Dr. Fred Berlin, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Berlin has over 25 years of experience working with sexual offenders.
Hansen asks Dr. Berlin, whether or not pedophilia can be solved with more severe punishment and better legislation. Can these men even be successfully treated?
Chris Hansen, Dateline correspondent: We had recently had 50 men come into a house, hoping to meet a 12 to 13-year-old child... Is it fair to call each one of these men a predator?
Dr. Fred Berlin: I don't think so. I think we're so quick now to use the term "predator." We have to talk in terms of, as far as I'm concerned, that have everyday meaning tied to them. Clearly, every one of these men is doing something that's terribly wrong. But there may be tremendous differences between them, and it's important to understand the differences as it is to understand the similarities.
Hansen: When you read the computer chat logs of the conversations between the men and the decoy, you see a grooming process. And it almost follows a pattern.
Dr. Berlin: Well, clearly, these are by definition men who have an interest in becoming involved sexually with children of that age. There is clearly something different about these individuals. They are trying to persuade these youngsters because they're attracted to them sexually to become involved in an intimate way. So what they're doing is wrong. But the fact that they're trying to pursue the kinds of desires they experience is not necessarily in and of itself surprising.
Hansen: Does it surprise you that so many men would show up to meet a child?
Dr. Berlin: Well, one of the things that we're learning about the Internet or through the Internet is the incredible diversity of the sexual makeup of human beings. These are very private matters. We don't tend to talk about it publicly.
And yet, if you go to the Internet, there are attractions of sorts that we wouldn't begin to imagine: people who are interested in looking at sites involving animals having sex with human beings, people who are interested in looking at sadomasochistic involvements, people who are interested in looking at very young children engaged in sexual activity, even infants. Obviously we don't want people to act on those attractions.
But we can't simply dismiss it as though we have no need to understand how many people have these kinds of desires. What can we do to help make sure they don't give into these temptations? The point I'm making is that we're learning that as much a public health problem as it is a criminal justice matter and that we need to address it from both perspectives.
Hansen: What makes a man go from visiting inappropriate Web sites and fantasizing on the Internet, maybe even in conversation, to actually showing up to meet a 12 or 13-year-old child?
Dr. Berlin: How do we go from fantasy to reality? Lots of people have private fantasies that give them some sort of pleasure and maybe even trouble them, but they don't act on them. I think one of the contributory facts-- it's not the only one-- is the insidious nature of the internet itself.
Hansen: The 24 hour a day, seven day a week access.
Dr. Berlin: I think there are three things that are problematic about the Internet, or at least three things. One is the easy accessibility. You don't, in the beginning at least, have to go anywhere. You just push a button that's sitting there next to you.
Secondly, there's this illusion of anonymity, which can be very disinhibiting. You feel as though you're there in the privacy of your bedroom. It's not that private, but you don't sense that at the time.
And thirdly, there is a distortion of reality and fantasy to some extent. That people feel as though they're playing a game. They're making up who they are. They wonder if someone else is giving a false persona. They begin to do things that in the light of day they might never have done and then, ultimately and sadly, sometimes cross a line that they might not otherwise have crossed.
Hansen: Does it surprise you that so many men would show up?
Dr. Berlin: Well, doing the work that I do, I wish I could say it surprises me but it doesn't. It is very clear that there are significant numbers of individuals who have sexual cravings about becoming involved intimately with children. We want to understand more about how that develops.
It's not that they sat down themselves as little children and decided to have these abnormal cravings. They discover in growing up that they're there. It's then their responsibility, in my judgment, to deal with that in a healthy and law-abiding fashion. But as with some drug addicts and alcoholics, the cravings for some of these men are so intense that they're not able to walk away from them simply through their own resources.
Hansen: What makes these men tick? Do we even know?
Dr. Berlin: Well, let me be careful when we say "these men." Because that's like asking me what makes drunk drivers tick. In other words, there's a tremendous spectrum from the alcoholic on the one end to the guy who had one too many at the Christmas party to everyone in between.
But there are a subgroup of individuals who commit sex offenses who are sexually disordered in the same way that there is a subgroup of drunk drivers who have alcoholism. When it comes to sexual disorders, what we're talking about in the simple layman's terms is that an individual experiences recurrent abnormal sexual cravings. In some instances, those are cravings that become involved actually with children.
In terms of why this can be so problematic, God or nature put the sex drive into each and every one of us for a very important reason, and that is literally the preservation of the human race. And so all of us have a sex drive that recurrently wants to be satisfied. When that drive becomes aimed, if I can put it in that way, in the wrong direction, towards children for example, it still recurrently wants to be satisfied. And it doesn't take a mental health expert to appreciate what a problematic circumstance that can become.
Hansen: Can these men, in most cases, be successfully treated?
Dr. Berlin: Many of these men can be successfully treated, many can't. Again, I'll come back to the analogy of working with alcoholics. Some can be easily treated. Some can't be treated. And you've got the whole group in between.
One point I do want to make, though, is that we're not, in my judgment, going to solve the problem only through a criminal justice approach. I very much support that, let me make it clear. But think about it for a moment, if the only thing we do with a person who's having sexual cravings about children is to send them to prison, there's nothing about prison alone that will either erase those cravings or enhance their capacity to successfully resist acting upon them.
Sooner or later, like it or not, most of these men are going to be back out there in the community. So unless we have both a strong criminal justice component and a strong public health component, in my judgment, we are doing society a tremendous disservice.
Hansen: The natural reaction after seeing a story like this is to say, "Lock these guys up. Throw away the key. That's the only way to protect children.”
Dr. Berlin: Well-- I think before I got into this area, I might have had quite the same reaction. One of the things we've done in this area is we've completely dehumanized these people. If we look back historically, at one time we looked at alcoholism as though it was only a moral problem. The alcoholic was the bum in the gutter.
Well, we still have moral values as we should when it comes to alcoholism. But we also have the Betty Ford Clinic. We recognize there are legitimate concerns for science and medicine.
When we talk about terms like "sexual predator," "pedophile," "sexual offender," we're talking as though it's only a moral problem. And God knows they're important moral issues. But there are also important issues of medical and scientific concern. How is it that some people are not attracted to people of their own age? How is it that some people crave sex with children and they're not attracted to other adults? Given the fact that such people exist and that we can't punish away or legislate those kinds of disorders, what can we learn through science research to help make society safer? What kinds of treatments can we provide for them?
If I may make one final point about treatment-- and I want to do it in the context that it should always be combined with a strong criminal justice approach-- when we see stings such as the one we're seeing here, I ask myself this (a) Does this make it more likely that someone who's sexually disordered who wants help is going to come forward and see it? (b) Does it give them any idea if they want that help where they can go to get it? (C) Are they going to feel comfortable that if they do seek help?
And if they're not going to feel that they can come forth and get help, how are we helping to prevent a problem? We're just having to pick up the pieces after the fact?
Hansen: If a man sees this program and that man has a problem in this area, what should that person do?
Dr. Berlin: There are very few resources available. We see on television all the time “if you have schizophrenia,” “if you have anorexia nervosa,” “if you have a drug problem,” “if you have an alcohol problem,” we as a society want to help you. We want to help you before you go out if you're an alcoholic and get in a car and injure an innocent person.
Where do we hear that as a society we want to reach out to people who are struggling and confused and disordered sexually? Where do they get the message this is where you can go? We're created a "we versus they" mentality. And I understand that what they do is offensive. It's aggravating. It makes me angry. But we're not going to solve the problem by pushing it further underground.
Hansen: Is there a place for these men to go to get help?
Dr. Berlin: If someone whose craving sex with children gives into that craving, hurts another person, can destroy their own life in the process. We have places like the Betty Ford Clinic for alcoholics. We have places for drug addicts to go to. There are virtually no places where people who are sexually disordered can go in our society and seek help. There are young troubled adolescents out there now today as we speak, many that are experiencing abnormal sexual cravings. They may be very troubled by that. The last thing they're going to do in our society is raise their hand and ask for assistance. And the price we pay is that we may see them ten years down the line when they're arrested after the fact, because there was no help available to them before.
Hansen: So you would argue, while you need a strong criminal justice system in place to deal with these guys, until there is a treatment network in place, we could go do this story virtually every week anywhere in the country and get the same results?
Dr. Berlin: Absolutely. We need both the attorney general and the surgeon general involved with this. How much research is being done to look at the issue of how some people become sexually disordered? There are actually people in the Congress and the Senate that say that we shouldn't fund research of that nature as though somehow by looking at what we can do to help these men, we're not caring enough about victims.
My God, prevention is the most important thing when it comes to victims. And we're only going to learn how to do that by finding out people become sexually disordered, how to intervene before the fact and how for those who want help— that they can have access to that help before they go out and hurt an innocent person.
Hansen: Is this a problem that can be solved with more severe punishment and better legislation?
Dr. Berlin: The sense that I get is that our society today seems to feel that almost every problem can be solved by enforcing some prior statue more sternly, or by enacting new legislation. There are other things that have to be looked at. There's the role of science. There's the role of research. There's the role of treatment. There's the role of treatment providers working collaboratively with parole and probation in situations such as this. There are laws being enacted now in terms of where people who are sexual offenders can live in some states. Whereas other states are beginning to wonder if those laws are helping and are looking towards rescinding them.
Because there's so much emotion tied to this, we really need to get beyond that emotion, to think it through and to try to base public policy on facts that are going to try to lead to effective solutions.
And if I may just add one final point to that: Much of public policy today in this area is based on the exception rather than the rule—those horrible cases where there's a kidnapping, a sexual assault and a murder of a young child. That is a fraction of one percent of the big problem. And yet if we're going to base our public policy on the exception rather than the rule, it begs the question as to whether or not that's going to be the most effective public policy.
Hansen: Some prosecutors would argue that there's nothing that can be done for these men. That once arrested, once convicted, they should be locked up for the rest of their lives.
Dr. Berlin: Look, if you hear an overzealous therapist saying “We can help all of these men,” that's an extreme statement that is completely out of keeping with reality. On the other hand, if you hear somebody saying “Once an offender, always an offender,” although that may not be as easily appreciated, that is an equally extreme statement that is not in keeping with reality.
Hansen: But I have to tell you, in this particular investigation, we had numerous repeat offenders and registered sex offenders.
Dr. Berlin: Absolutely. And to some extent, it's like going to the mortuary and wanting to find out whether or not doctors ever help patients. Obviously you're going to see the ones that fail. What concerns me and what concerns me in terms of public perception is that we keep hearing about the failures but hardly ever hear about the successes.
If today, we want to say “Here are ten men who are repeat offenders,” should we not also say “We've gone out and found that today there are these multitude of men who are living safely in the community in a productive way and not hurting anyone”? Wouldn't that be a more balanced and honest way of presenting the facts to the public?
Hansen: Is that accurate? Is that happening in some of these groups? In some of these treatment areas?
Dr. Berlin: The United States Department of Justice, which doesn't have an ax to grind in my opinion, because of much of this new legislation, took a look at the issue of sex offender recidivism. And I've worked in this area for many years. And the findings surprised even me because what they found was, as a group, sex offenders have a lower rate of recidivism than people who commit other kinds of serious offenses. And yet the public perception, most of public policy, the way in which we view this problem today, is based upon exactly the opposite assumption.
Hansen: But we had guys walk into our house who not only had offended before but were registered sex offenders...
Dr. Berlin: Absolutely. And if we were talking about alcoholics, there would be people who are in treatment who, unfortunately, go back out and drink. But we don't say to that we shouldn't continue to treat alcoholism. We don't say to that that no one who has a drinking problem deserves help. And we certainly don't say to that that everybody who's an alcoholic who's in treatment is almost certainly going to recidivate.
Hansen: But in this case, the stakes are high given the fact that the victim would be a 12 or 13-year-old kid who could be scarred for the rest of their lives.
Dr. Berlin: The stakes are always high. But let me tell you, and I hope to God I'd never have to make this choice. But if the choice was between a sexual offender fondling my 12 year old or a drunk driver killing my 12 year old, given that horrible dilemma, it still wouldn't take me much time to figure out which I think is more serious.
Now the point I'm trying to make is not to minimize any of this. The point I'm trying to make that as a society we've somehow come to the conclusion that the worst possible crime of any sort is anything that has to do with sex. These are horribly serious offenses. But they're not the only serious offenses that are out there. And yet it's the only situation which we say, as a group, “none of these people are deserving of help.” None of these people can be successfully redeemed.
Hansen: What makes you say that this group of people is A) deserving of help and B) can really be helped?
Dr. Berlin: Well, I think what makes me say that is simply the facts. I didn't know anything about this area before I went into it. But I've seen many men who, for example, come into treatment as a condition of parole of probation but stay in treatment long beyond when that is required. 85 percent of people in this program have remained in treatment when there was absolutely no mandate that they do so.
I prescribed sex drive lowering medication for well over 100 individuals in the course of my practice as a physician. A very serious form of treatment. In all but a handful of cases, those men took that treatment on an entirely voluntary basis. There was absolutely no mandate from the court or anyone else that they could d so. Now, again, I don't want to minimize the fact that there are people who do very bad things. I'm not suggesting that all of these people, by any means, deserve help. What I am suggesting, though, is that the opposite side of the coin, that “they're all evil people, that none of them deserve help, that there's one glove that fits all,” in my experience, simply is not accurate.
Hansen: Without the Internet, do the vast majority of these men actually show up at a house to try to molest a child?
Dr. Berlin: Well, the Internet is relatively new, so we're trying to learn more about it. The answer is that there are some men who previously set out relationships with children before there was an Internet who now use the Internet as another way of doing that. And so that's one group.
There's another group of men who seem to use the Internet simply because they're interested in visual imagery. They're looking, for example, at child pornography. For them, that's an end in and of itself. And they're not necessarily looking to go any further.
And then finally, there are a group of men who seem to have had no prior history whatsoever of trying to seek out sexual relationship with children. But now with the presence of the Internet presumably playing on some vulnerability are beginning to act in such a fashion.
Hansen: The majority of the men we found in this investigation told me something to the effect of, "I've never done this before. It's my first time." Do you buy that?
Dr. Berlin: I don't know if I buy it for the majority of men. I'm willing to believe that it may be true for some of them. And in some cases, we can simply go out and get the facts. We can see whether, for example if they were arrested. We can look at their computer and see if they've tried to talk with other people they believed were children or-- in chat rooms. But I think in some cases, it may be true. In many cases, it will turn out not to be true.
Hansen: A lot of the men told me, sure, they had an obscene conversation with somebody they thought was a child, But they really weren't going to do anything.
Dr. Berlin: Let me put it this way. I'm very worried that a man in this situation could have gone through with the fantasy. And we do, as a society, need to protect children. Now having said this, in my experience, some of these men are confused. They're ambivalent. They're not sure whether it will or won't be a child. Some of them may not themselves know what they actually would have done had a child been there.
So we need to err on the side of playing it safe in my judgment and protect children by having laws that assume that they might have acted. But speaking now as a physician, some of them indeed may have been confused, ambivalent and troubled in the bright light of day may not have actually done so.
Hansen: So some of these guys might have been telling me the truth.
Dr. Berlin: Yeah. Some of them may have.
Hansen: We saw the entire spectrum. A 65-year-old man who said that there really was nothing wrong with him having sex with a 13-year-old boy. A 43-year-old teacher who came in and said, "I'm a sick son of a bitch. Take me away."
Dr. Berlin: Well, what these men likely share in common is the fact that they are sexually attracted to children. But that doesn't tell us anything whatsoever about other aspects of their character, their temperament, their personality and so on. Some will be introverted, some extroverted.
Some may be generally kind. Some may be cruel. Some may have good insight into the fact that it can harm children. Others may be blind to that fact. And so, again, there's a tremendous disparity in terms of who these people are as human beings.
The difficult thing that I find in our society today, is even speak of any of them as human beings because one can immediately be accused of being insensitive to issues of child abuse, of not caring about victims. My god, we all care about victims. The real issue is this: How can we most effectively protect society? And in order to do that, we're going to have to learn more about these men. And given that we can't lock them all up forever, how at least in some instances we can help them to become productive and safe citizens.
Hansen: You're not suggesting that these men shouldn't be arrested or put in prison.
Dr. Berlin: Absolutely not. We need a very strong criminal justice approach when it comes to this area. But in addition, not instead but in addition, we also need to have a strong public health approach. If the only thing we do with men who are having sexual cravings for children is put them in prison and do nothing more, prison won't erase those cravings or help them more successfully resist acting on them.
It really does amaze me, to be candid about it, that in our society we treat the person who's stolen from somebody, who's cheated on his taxes, and who's sexually desirous of children in exactly the same way, as though we can just punish them all, teach them a lesson and everything's going to be fine. If only the world were that simple.
Hansen: What is it going to take to set up a treatment program for guys like this? One that's effective?
Dr. Berlin: I think it will take a change in our collective mindset. Right now there seems to be this sense in my judgment that either we're concerned for victims or we're concerned for offenders. And that the people that are concerned for offenders must somehow not care enough about victimization. We're all on the same side here. And the best favor we can do a potential victim is to keep he or she from being victimized in the first place. And the only way society can do that is to learn more about how many men are sexually disordered, how they became to be such, to provide them, as we do with alcoholics, places to go if they need help. Until we do that, if we keep just thinking, "One more law, one more stern punishment is going to solve the problem," I think we do all of ourselves a tremendous disservice. ..Source.. Chris Hansen
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Are States Harassing Sex Offender Registrants?
2-6-2010 Virginia:
Something is going on in Virginia which warrants our attention. Apparently state law requires the State Police to produce -annually- the following report: "MONITORING OF OFFENDERS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS: A Report to the Governor, House Appropriations Committee, And Senate Finance Committee. "
Most folks may consider such reading mundane, but as many of you know I am more critical of reports produced by any state, that affect registrants. In this report I found two interesting paragraphs:As of December 1, 2009, there were 16,238 sex offenders listed on the Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry. They are divided into three groups which consist of the following: (1) 3,171 registrants under Department of Corrections Probation and Parole Services, (2) 6,053 sex offenders whose verification will be conducted by the Department of State Police, and (3) the remaining 7,014 registrants who are incarcerated in jails or prisons across the state.
Registry Violations
In the past twelve months, from December 1, 2008, through November 30, 2009, the Virginia State Police conducted 2,651 criminal investigations for “Failure to Register” and “Providing False Information.” During this same period, there were 972 arrests made across the state by the Virginia State Police for violations of the aforementioned offenses, with 379 convictions to date. Many cases are still pending trial.
Its nice to know that 7,014 (43%) of those shown on the registry do not even live in any community, but they are in jails or prisons. Guess it is easy to verify their addresses. Hey, proof that the numbers touted to the public -as being in various communities- are not true, verified by the police. Hysteria is a wonderful thing, when the state is causing it, now isn't it!
On to other things, 3,171 (19.5%) of those on the registry are on parole or probation. Well, that means they are being monitored by parole or probation officers, right? Allegedly these folks check in with whoever supervises them, at least monthly, but now catch this, the police are verifying their addresses. Am I wrong or is this doing the job TWICE? Why are the police doing -the same thing- that parole and probation officers are doing? Does this waste any taxpayer money?
Now, to the meat of my commentary: Failure to Register folks, these are the folks touted to be the bad guys for failing to follow the law. Are they, lets see?
Remember, the report covers a ONE YEAR period (12-1-08 through 11-30-09). During that time there were 2,651 investigations for "FTR" or "Providing False Information." So, approximately 29% of those registrants in the community (16,238 - 7,014) were investigated. Yes, I recognize some may have been investigated more than once, hence my approximately. The state claims 94% of the registry is in compliance, is something missing here?
Next, out of 2,651 investigations there were 972 arrests made, in other words, approximately 63% of the investigations were UNNECESSARY? Should we ask WHY? Maybe get a list of WHYS? Is there something wrong with the way the VA registry is programmed or operational problems? Or what else, no matter what 63% of the investigations must have wasted taxpayer money, someone should find out why the waste, and fix it?
Things are about to get worse, heads up: Of the 972 arrests 379 were convicted. So we have approximately 61% of those arrested were NOT GUILTY of what they were charged with. Or, we could also say, approximately 85% of the 2,651 investigations were false. Who is alerting the police to start an investigation, is it the general public harassing registrants, or police?
I think most folks know I spend oodles of time trying to document the "Harms that befall registrants and their families." Why do I smell a rat here? Are registrants being harassed, with some being forced to go through the judicial system and costing them money that their families -so dearly need-, is this further punishment? What needs to be done?
Finally, I am thankful Virginia requires this report, now should all states be required to produce such a report? These are a sampling of the figures we need to bring to the lawmakers to show the SUBTLE HARASMENTS that registrants are suffering. And, if this is happening in Virginia where they claim 94% compliance, what kind of disasters are there in other states whose lawmakers claim less compliance?
Advocates, there is work to be done!
Have a great day and a better tomorrow.
eAdvocate.
Sex Offender Loses Bid for Tax-Exempt Status
2-6-2010 Iowa:
A company formed by a convicted sex offender for the purpose of legalizing child pornography doesn't qualify for tax-exempt status, the U.S. Tax Court ruled, because its goals are "contrary to public policy and would encourage illegal activity."
Judge Carolyn Chiechi agreed with the Internal Revenue Service that Mysteryboy Inc., founded by ___, does not meet the requirements of a tax-exempt organization.
___ incorporated Mysteryboy while serving time in the Iowa State Penitentiary for child molestation. During his incarceration, he was an active, if unsuccessful, "jailhouse attorney," filing multiple appeals to his conviction, civil lawsuit against penitentiary guards, and a First Amendment claim against the prison for refusing to deliver mail addressed only to Mysteryboy and not also to ___ himself.
After serving his sentence, ___ was committed to state custody as a sexually violent predator.
___ said the primary activity of Mysteryboy would be to "research ... the pros and cons of decriminalizing natural consensual sexual behaviors between adults and underagers and decriminalizing what is defined as child pornography."
He said Mysteryboy qualifies as a "charitable" or "educational" organization, because as director he would offer counseling, promote safe sex, feed the hungry and establish a suicide prevention program. He said the group would also promote "the artistic use of human nudity young and old."
In opposition, the IRS submitted an Iowa Court of Appeals ruling that affirmed ___'s commitment as a sexually violent predator. The opinion cited a psychological evaluation of ___ and an article in which ___ wrote: "Thousands of kids would die yearly from either (sic) murder, suicide, physical abuse, neglect, hunger if not for the concerned and caring pedophile."
The IRS denied tax-exempt status, insisting Mysteryboy "was formed to sexually exploit children by promoting the repeal of child pornography and exploitation laws."
The tax court rejected ___'s appeal.
Judge Chiechi said Mysteryboy failed to show how its ostensible goals "will not provide Mr. ___ with a platform from which he will seek to legitimize the illegal behaviors in which he has engaged, for which he was convicted, and which formed the basis on which he was civilly committed." ..Source.. TRAVIS SANFORD, Courthouse News
Penn State researchers receive money for new prison study
2-6-2010 National:
Penn State researchers making end-of-life care for prison inmates are the focus of a $1.27 million grant.
Researchers are using the National Institute of Nursing Research grant to develop a comprehensive toolkit of tailored resources for end-of-life care in prisons, assistant professor of nursing Susan Loeb wrote in an e-mail.
Leaders of the program plan to apply study findings at six different prisons state-wide in an attempt to improve care for inmates reaching the end of their lives, wrote Loeb, the principal investigator for the study.
"Since prisons are among the most restrictive, most complex organizations -- prisons are the best context for this study," Loeb wrote. "Our hope is that findings will benefit not only dying inmates but also others who spend their final days in a complex organization."
Though the study is still in the early stages, researchers are quickly learning, said Christopher Hollenbeak, associate professor of surgery and health evaluation sciences and an investigator on the study.
"The real goal of it is to come up with a tool in prisons to improve the quality-of-life care," Hollenbeak said. "We want to provide a toolkit that would be cost-effective as well."
Current end-of-life prison programs only offer limited low-cost medications. One proposed change is the "buddy system," where healthy inmates are paired with a terminally ill inmate to help look out for them, Hollenbeak said.
So far, researchers have visited the Philadelphia prison system for a chance to experience what it is like to be in a prison as an inmate, Hollenbeak said. Researchers are also spending time with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections in order to understand the prison landscape at all levels, Hollenbeak said. ..Source.. Laura Nichols
FBI wants records kept of Web sites visited
If lawmakers are so concerned over WHO MAY BE BREAKING A LAW, lets do this, enact a law so that, all vehicle speedometers will IMMEDIATELY report anyone exceeding the speed limit whereever they are driving. Costs prohibitive? Well John Q. Public already is spending billions on a law to know where former sex offenders sleep for a few hours of the day, whats the difference?2-6-2010 Global:
WASHINGTON--The FBI is pressing Internet service providers to record which Web sites customers visit and retain those logs for two years, a requirement that law enforcement believes could help it in investigations of child pornography and other serious crimes.
FBI Director Robert Mueller supports storing Internet users' "origin and destination information," a bureau attorney said at a federal task force meeting on Thursday.
As far back as a 2006 speech, Mueller had called for data retention on the part of Internet providers, and emphasized the point two years later when explicitly asking Congress to enact a law making it mandatory. But it had not been clear before that the FBI was asking companies to begin to keep logs of what Web sites are visited, which few if any currently do.
The FBI is not alone in renewing its push for data retention. As CNET reported earlier this week, a survey of state computer crime investigators found them to be nearly unanimous in supporting the idea. Matt Dunn, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in the Department of Homeland Security, also expressed support for the idea during the task force meeting.
Greg Motta, the chief of the FBI's digital evidence section, said that the bureau was trying to preserve its existing ability to conduct criminal investigations. Federal regulations in place since at least 1986 require phone companies that offer toll service to "retain for a period of 18 months" records including "the name, address, and telephone number of the caller, telephone number called, date, time and length of the call."
At Thursday's meeting of the Online Safety and Technology Working Group (PD), which was created by Congress and organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Motta stressed that the bureau was not asking that content data, such as the text of e-mail messages, be retained.
"The question at least for the bureau has been about non-content transactional data to be preserved: transmission records, non-content records...addressing, routing, signaling of the communication," Motta said. Director Mueller recognizes, he added "there's going to be a balance of what industry can bear...He recommends origin and destination information for non-content data."
Motta pointed to a 2006 resolution from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, which called for the "retention of customer subscriber information, and source and destination information for a minimum specified reasonable period of time so that it will be available to the law enforcement community."
Recording what Web sites are visited, though, is likely to draw both practical and privacy objections.
"We're not set up to keep URL information anywhere in the network," said Drew Arena, Verizon's vice president and associate general counsel for law enforcement compliance.
And, Arena added, "if you were do to deep packet inspection to see all the URLs, you would arguably violate the Wiretap Act."
Another industry representative with knowledge of how Internet service providers work was unaware of any company keeping logs of what Web sites its customers visit.
If logs of Web sites visited began to be kept, they would be available only to local, state, and federal police with legal authorization such as a subpoena or search warrant.
What remains unclear are the details of what the FBI is proposing. The possibilities include requiring an Internet provider to log the Internet protocol (IP) address of a Web site visited, or the domain name such as cnet.com, a host name such as news.cnet.com, or the actual URL such as http://reviews.cnet.com/Music/2001-6450_7-0.html.
While the first three categories could be logged without doing deep packet inspection, the fourth category would require it. That could run up against opposition in Congress, which lambasted the concept in a series of hearings in 2008, causing the demise of a company, NebuAd, which pioneered it inside the United States.
The technical challenges also may be formidable. John Seiver, an attorney at Davis Wright Tremaine who represents cable providers, said one of his clients had experience with a law enforcement request that required the logging of outbound URLs.
"Eighteen million hits an hour would have to have been logged," a staggering amount of data to sort through, Seiver said. The purpose of the FBI's request was to identify visitors to two URLs, "to try to find out...who's going to them."
A Justice Department representative said the department does not have an official position on data retention. ..Source.. Declan McCullagh
Are New Laws Making Sex Offender Tracking Tougher?
In 2010 there will be a census taken by the federal government, it is estimated to cost $11 billion dollars. Having the polcie do a monthly/quarterly census of registered persons may eventually reach a cost to make it prohibitive. So, Mr. John Q. Public how much money do you want to divert from your children's education (or some other worthy cause Health Care or Seniors) to know where former sex offenders SLEEP for a FEW hours of the day? The RSO census shows nothing more than that; where they sleep for a few hours. Further, no one has yet proved registry's have any value towards public safety, but they sound good don't they?2-6-2010 Florida:
VIERA -- Law enforcement officials said new laws are making it tougher for them to keep track of sex offenders.
In Brevard County alone, there are 712 registered sex offenders, all of whom are required to register with the Sheriff’s Office either twice or four times a year, depending on the severity of their crime.
New laws have increased the price for new identification, and the amount of paperwork needed to show proof of residency at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Officials said many sex offenders are homeless or move around a lot.
A sex offender’s license must have the correct address listed, or they could face a third-degree felony charge.
Authorities said in certain cases, the new laws are making it much tougher on sex offenders trying to register.
“The identification law is something that Homeland Security came up with, so when people come in, they are who they say they are,” said Lt. Todd Goodyear, with the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. “It wasn’t aimed at sex offenders, but for a lot of these guys, particularly with residency, it’s hard for them to prove it.”
Before October 2009, it cost $10 to renew a license. Now, it costs $25.
Brevard County officials said many sex offenders move around several times a year, which can become a financial strain.
Officials said in some cases, these new rules make it more difficult for them to track the offenders, and more difficult for the offenders to comply. ..Source.. Margaret Kavanagh
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Oregon sex offender terms apply to nonoffenders
2-4-2010 Oregon:
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled the state parole board can treat some inmates like sex offenders after release from prison even if they were not serving time for any sex crime convictions.
The court ruled Thursday that the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision can base those sex offender conditions on an inmate's criminal history and background, rather than the other crimes resulting in conviction.
The ruling involved two inmates, one convicted of drug crimes and the other convicted of assault and weapons charges.
Both inmates had been charged with sex offenses in the past, but those charges were either dismissed or reduced to lesser offenses. ..Source..
Michigan appeals court: Homeless sex offenders don't have to register
2-4-2010 Michigan:
The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that homeless sex criminals don’t have to comply with Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act.
Thats not exactly what the court said, it said, the legislature did not provide a procedure for the homeless to register. Nothing like construing that in a way to start hysteria as was done above.
Many law enforcement officials — who often have to deal with sex offenders who claim they have no permanent residence — aren’t happy with the ruling.
In a published opinion released Tuesday that sets a statewide precedent, a three-judge panel unanimously upheld a trial court’s dismissal of charges against a homeless Ingham County man for failing to register, failing to comply with reporting duties and failing to pay registration fees.
The appeals judges ruled that it’s impossible for a homeless person to comply with the law, which requires convicted sex criminals to report their “domicile or residence” to police. The judges concluded that a homeless sex offender, by definition, has neither.
The judges’ opinion bluntly urges state lawmakers to fix the law. “The Legislature is free, indeed, empowered, to ... include a provision addressing reporting requirements for the homeless,” said the opinion signed by judges Jane M. Beckering, Jane E. Markey and Stephen L. Borrello.
“The purpose of (the Sex Offender Registry Act) is wise, and the Legislature is urged to consider changes so that a homeless person who does not have a domicile or residence may readily comply with its requirements,” the judges wrote.
The sooner that happens the better, in the opinion of Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler.
“I certainly hope the Legislature takes a good hard look at this ruling and revisits the Sex Offender Registry Act,” Roesler said. “It’s going to be an obstacle to properly investigating the cases of who has failed to register and who has failed to comply with the act.
“The intent (of the law) was to keep track of persons who have committed the sex offenses that keep them on the sex offender list,” Roesler said. “It kind of defeats the purpose.”
Muskegon-area lawmakers, informed of the ruling Thursday by The Muskegon Chronicle, said they intend to take action.
“They’ve asked us to move forward on this, and we need to do it quickly,” said state Rep. Mary Valentine, D-Norton Shores.
“It sounds like a huge loophole that needs to be fixed,” said state Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores. “I would think that we would have to find a way to register these offenders.”
The court case involves a Lansing defendant named Randall Lee Dowdy. Dowdy, now 61, was convicted in 1984 of five counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of kidnapping, according to registry records.
Dowdy was rendered homeless in 2006 after operators of an Ingham County homeless shelter kicked him out after learning of his sex offender status. He then failed to register his address because he had none while he bunked in abandoned buildings and public places.
The Ingham County prosecutor charged Dowdy with a felony and multiple misdemeanors. A circuit-court trial judge dismissed the case. The prosecutor appealed. The case went all the way to the state Supreme Court, which failed to reach a consensus last year and remanded it to the appeals court for a decision.
A similar case is going on in Bay City. ..Source.. John S. Hausman | Muskegon Chronicle
Bestiality ban to cut video source
2-4-2010 Netherlands:
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Internet potentially will lose one of its main sources of bestiality videos under a ban approved Tuesday by the upper house of the Dutch parliament.
The new law bans human sex with animals, including in private situations where the animals are not injured, and prohibits the production or distribution of animal pornography, a summary of the law posted on the upper chamber's website said.
Given the illicit nature of the product, precise figures on animal pornography video sales are difficult to find, but the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, in a 2007 survey, found that distributors in the Netherlands were responsible for some 80 percent of bestiality videos worldwide.
The bill was introduced in April 2007 and passed the lower house in July 2008, but took time to make its way through the upper house to final approval. It was not immediately clear how soon the law would go into effect.
Sex with animals had been legal in the Netherlands, as long as it could be proven the animals were not injured. ..Source.. Ben Berkowitz
Freed inmate must go back to Tuttle hell
2-4-2010 Florida:
Vindication gets Eduardo Galego out of prison and back into the netherworld where Miami-Dade sequesters sex offenders.
The Third District Court of Appeal reversed Galego's 2008 probation revocation last week. The three-judge panel decided that a sick diabetic checking himself into a hospital emergency room was not the same as a convict willfully jumping probation.
The decision saved Galego from 18 more years of hard time. He figures to be released Thursday morning.
But out of prison into what?
``It's a peculiar feeling,'' admitted Valerie Jonas, the assistant Miami-Dade public defender who convinced the appeal court to undo the 2008 revocation. The appeal court victory essentially forces Galego back into the bowels of the Julia Tuttle Causeway, back into the same conditions -- without electricity, water or toilets -- that Jonas had argued were ``deleterious to diabetics' health.''
NO ALTERNATIVE
Jonas said Wednesday that Galego, desite his prescribed regime of medicines, including insulin that requires refrigeration, has no money for rent, no relatives outside the restricted areas and no legal alternative to the squalid camp under the Tuttle.
What Jonas called her ``Pyrrhic victory'' came just as Miami-Dade County's new sex offender ordinance took effect on Monday, preempting the Draconian residency restrictions passed by many Miami-Dade cities that essentially banned sex offenders from most of the county's affordable housing. But it is unclear that a new ordinance maintaining a 2,500-foot residency restriction around schools will provide enough affordable housing to fix what has become an international embarrassment along the Tuttle Causeway.
The Miami-Dade Housing Trust has found housing for a number of Tuttle residents, but other offenders just out of prison are still finding their way to the bridge settlement.
Gretl Plessinger of the Florida Department of Corrections said Wednesday that the agency's probation officers no longer direct sex offenders to the Tuttle. ``We don't tell them to go there, but if they tell us that's where they want to go, that's what we do,'' she said. ``It really should be a last resort.''
PLEA DEAL
For Galego, it's the only resort. Galego, 43, had spent five years in prison awaiting trial on charges he had sexually assaulted a 17-year-old. In 2006, he took a plea deal -- time served with seven years probation.
But probation meant he was consigned to the Tuttle, one of the few areas in urban Miami-Dade County outside the sex-offender restriction zones.
On Jan. 24, 2008, Galego missed his 10 p.m. curfew. He claimed to have been in the throes of a diabetic episode.
``Substantial uncontroverted lay, medical and documentary evidence established that he missed curfew because he had become sick that day with acute complications of diabetes mellitus, leading to emergency intervention at the hospital,'' Jonas argued in an appeal that included supporting testimony from Dr. Joe Greer, chief of gastroenterology at Mercy Hospital and assistant dean of academic affairs at the College of Medicine at Florida International University.
His probation officer, however, acted on the assumption that Galego was drunk and partying, not sick.
With no more evidence than the officer's claim that he had heard music in the background when Galego had called in earlier that afternoon, the probation was revoked.
Such tough treatment did nothing to disprove allegations around the courthouse that prosecutors offer lenient sentences attached to long probationary periods to accused sex offenders with difficult-to-try cases -- with the tacit understanding that probation officers will use any excuse to bounce the defendants back to prison.
But in this case, the appeal panel insisted that ``it is the state's burden to prove, by the greater weight of the evidence, that a probation violation is a willful and substantial one. However, rather than provide substantial and competent evidence to prove its case, here the state relied on sheer conjecture.''
The decision gave Galego, a Cuban immigrant with no money, no job, no work permit, no home, an improbable legal victory.
And his ticket back to the Tuttle. ..Source.. FRED GRIMM
Justice Kennedy laments the state of prisons in California, U.S.
2-4-2010 California:
Speaking to L.A. lawyers, the Supreme Court jurist blasts the prison guard union's influence, calling it 'sick' but sidesteps questions about the ruling he wrote last month on campaign spending.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy criticized California sentencing policies and crowded prisons Wednesday night, calling the influence that unionized prison guards had in passing the three-strikes law "sick."
In an otherwise courtly and humorous address to the Los Angeles legal community, Kennedy expressed obvious dismay over the state of corrections and rehabilitation in the country. He said U.S. sentences are eight times longer than those issued by European courts.
"California now has 185,000 people in prison at $32,500 a year" each, he said. He then urged voters and officials to compare that expense to what taxpayers spend per pupil in elementary schools.
"The three-strikes law sponsor is the correctional officers' union and that is sick!" Kennedy said of the measure mandating life sentences for third-time criminal offenders.
Kennedy wrote the high court's controversial Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruling last month and was bombarded with written questions on the 5-4 vote that fundamentally changed campaign spending laws.
But he sidestepped the audience's efforts to draw him out on that decision, which frees corporations -- and presumably unions -- to spend as they wish on campaigns and candidates that were once limited to accepting individual voter contributions.
Kennedy would say only that it was "important to have robust, principled debate after opinions," and suggested that was best left to the legal community.
One questioner asked: "Does Justice Kennedy feel scolded?" It was an apparent reference to President Obama's warning that the ruling opens the door to Big Business drowning out the voices of the electorate with lavish and targeted campaign spending.
"He doesn't," Kennedy said cryptically, spurring laughter throughout the packed auditorium at Pepperdine University's School of Law. ..Source.. Carol J. Williams
Sex Offenders' recovery group raises concerns in Chandler
Lincoln County man says he’s providing ‘a second chance’
CHANDLER — These days, a simple Bible verse about helping others brings Tom Wright to tears.
The Lincoln County man thumbs through the red, leather-bound book he keeps handy at his desk, finding his favorite passage in Matthew.
He said his ministry to help men no one else will — sex offenders — is God’s will.
And he doesn’t plan to stop, despite opposition from some county officials.
"It hurts me to see that some people don’t understand what we’re doing here,” Wright said. "We’re trying to help these men establish a new life. Everyone deserves a second chance.”
Wright is housing eight registered sex offenders on his property about two miles north of Chandler. He said he’s been doing it for more than two years without a complaint from the community until he started to build a sewer lagoon that angered some of his neighbors.
Sheriff Chuck Mangion said Wright doesn’t appear to be breaking any laws, but if he decides to go along with plans to expand his outfit, he will have to follow the legal requirements of a treatment center. Among other requirements, he will have to provide licensed counselors, he said.
Wright is building small cabins to house as many as 15 men.
Mangion said some residents are concerned, because there is a camp used by Girl Scouts about a mile away.
He and other county officials, including an assistant district attorney, met with Wright last week. Wright told them then he probably wouldn’t go through with the expansion, but he has since changed his mind.
Wright said he started his foundation, Labor of Victorious Examples, also known as LOVE, to help registered sex offenders re-establish themselves in society.
During the day the men work for his company, Wright Way Homes, building houses on site to be sold and moved to another location. All proceeds go into his foundation to fund the ministry, he said.
The men don’t earn a paycheck. Wright said they work for room and board, to cover any past court fines and keep up with any other expenses they may have incurred. When they graduate from the program a year later, they’re given two months wages to help them get started, he said.
While there, they’re required to attend Bible study, Wright said.
Patrick Rantz, 45, said no one was willing to help him when he was released from prison for child molestation. He said he would have been homeless had Wright and his wife, Rose, not accepted him in their ministry.
"When you’re a registered sex offender, no one is willing to help you and they treat you like you’re not human,” Rantz said. "I felt hopeless before I came here, but now I’m rebuilding my life.”
Rantz, an Air Force veteran, said he plans to get financial aid and return to school.
There are 90 registered sex offenders in Lincoln County. Mangion said he’s concerned Wright’s ministry will import more.
He said two men that once lived on Wright’s property were made to leave last year because they allegedly burglarized Wright’s home while he lay in the hospital battling cancer. Those men are now homeless, living in tents outside of town, he said.
They walk four miles into Chandler once a week to report to the sheriff’s office as required by law, Mangion said. "They’re not breaking any laws so we can’t make them leave, but this can’t keep happening,” Mangion said.
Wright said he thinks residents have nothing to fear because the men in his program are better supervised than the 83 others in the community. He said he can’t guarantee the safety of everyone, but he feels that as long as he’s doing God’s will, positive things will happen. ..Source..ANN KELLEY
Michigan Homless and Sex Offender Registration: Court Decision
2-3-2010 Michigan:
Today the State Court of Appeals -on remand from the State Supreme court- issued its decision in the case of a homeless person who was charged with failure to register (FTR).
In essence, the trial court dismissed the charge of FTR and the prosecutor appealed the decision, then the prosecutor missed a filing deadline, and the court of appeals would not hear the case. Then that was appealed to the Michigan Supreme court which issued an order remanding the case back to the court of appeals, telling them to hear the case. Right what a mess.
Well the court of appeals issued its decision today and that can be found in our blog "Sex Offenders - In the Courts" Michigan, case is People -v- Dowdy.
The essence of what happened is, he does not have to register because the legislature failed to setup a procedure to handle homeless sex offenders. I'll bet following this decision the legislature will act with a quickness to correct this.
Enjoy,
eAdvocate
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
N.J. considers transferring jailed sex offenders to East Jersey State Prison
2-3-2010 New Jersey:
WOODBRIDGE -- New Jersey is quietly discussing plans to transfer at least 160 jailed sex offenders to East Jersey State Prison in Woodbridge, officials said today.
The proposal is already generating fierce local opposition. The state is required to move the civilly committed sex offenders — those who have completed their prison terms but are judged too dangerous to be released — out of a facility in Kearny by May 18 to comply with a court decision issued last year.
The proposal would relocate the sex offenders from Kearny to a high security unit at East Jersey, in a building separate from the main prison facility, said the officials, who asked not to be named because they are not permitted to discuss internal deliberations. Inmates with disciplinary problems currently housed in the unit would be transferred or returned to the general population.
"They want to keep this low key," said one official at the prison. "People are upset."
Department of Corrections spokesman Matt Schuman said a final decision has not been made. Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex) said East Jersey, in the Avenel section of Woodbridge, is one of several options being considered as the state rushes to comply with last year’s court order.
"It’s last-minute decision making," he said. "There isn’t a strategic long-term plan."
The state incarcerates 412 civilly committed sex offenders who are guarded by Corrections and are provided therapy by the Department of Human Services. About 250 are already housed in Woodbridge, at the Special Treatment Unit Annex near East Jersey.
Woodbridge, with about 100,000 residents, has a prison population of almost 3,000. In addition to East Jersey and the Annex, it’s also home to the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, which houses sex offenders serving criminal sentences.
A political firestorm erupted when the state pushed to move more sex offenders to Woodbridge a decade ago. Today, the township’s elected officials said Corrections has kept them in the dark.
"They’re not calling local officials," Vitale said. "We should be included in those discussions."
Councilman Robert Luban said he’s outraged township officials "were not notified in advance that they were even thinking about this."
Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said it would be wrong to dump more prisoners in Woodbridge.
"Enough is enough," he said. "There are plenty of other places that could share the burden."
In 2000, then-Gov. Christie Whitman issued an executive order placing the Kearny facility under state control, claiming authority under the Disaster Control Act, which allows the governor to exercise emergency powers to protect residents.
Since then, officials have scoured the state for a permanent home, but proposals continuously encountered local opposition. Last year, the Appellate Division ordered the state to vacate the Kearny facility by May 18, saying it cannot claim an emergency of "indefinite duration."
Corrections has moved quietly to address the issue. Hudson County Counsel Don Battista said an inquiry from the county’s lawyers received a terse reply on Jan. 19: "The state is not required to advise you of our plans."
Housing civilly committed sex offenders has grown increasingly costly as the population increases.
"The Annex is way overcrowded," said Joan Van Pelt, an attorney at the Department of the Public Advocate. "They’ve double bunked all of the dorms. They’re taking treatment rooms and turning them into dormitories." ..Source.. Chris Megerian/Statehouse Bureau
Mother accused of killing infant son invokes Fifth Amendment
2-3-2010 Ohio:
HAMILTON — A Hamilton mother accused of killing her 5-week-old son and throwing his body in the trash told the judge today, Feb. 3 she was evoking her right to remain silent when he began to ask about her competency to stand trial.
Asuncion “Suzie” Avila-Villa, dressed in bright orange jail garb, looked down and appeared to be reading when she told Butler County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Nastoff, “on advice of counsel, I evoke my Fifth Amendment privilege.”
Avila-Villa, 26, is charged with aggravated murder and several other felonies, including abusing Isreal Santos’ body and having sex with teenager. Prosecutors say she killed her baby to escape punishment for having sex with the underage boy.
She had an appointment county’s Job and Family Services a few days after the infant’s death. That would have forced her to name the baby’s father or risk losing her public benefits, according to prosecutors.
Defense attorney Chris Pagan told Nastoff he advised his client not to answer questions if she was quizzed, noting possible future difficulties in her defense.
Nastoff then scheduled a hearing for Feb. 12 to address her competency. The hearing will not include statements by the defendant or testimony of a mental heath professional, because the judge has not yet ordered a psychological evaluation of Avila-Villa.
The judge said he would anticipate testimony from “lay people” who have interacted with the defendant and observed her cognitive skills.
Assistant Prosecutor Jason Phillabaum filed a motion two weeks ago requesting a competency evaluation noting defense counsel raised mental heath issues and the defense asked for a psychiatrist.
Phillabaum said he is not alleging Avila-Villa is incompetent, noting in fact they believe she was “calculated” in her actions surrounding her son’s death.
But because of the statements made by defense attorneys, Phillabaum said he want to make sure the competency issue is address and does not become a issue later in an appeal.
During a hearing last month, Pagan said, “I have no concern about her ability to communicate with me ... but she has serious difficulty articulating the circumstance surrounding the issue.”
He added Avila-Villa has a “significant mental health background.”
Pagan said during Wednesday’s hearing the defense has not raised the issue of incompetence, but is attempting to collect medical records to determine if that issue should be raised at all. He said he plans to travel to California next week to explore his client’s past.
Nastoff said, ”I don’t believed the issue of competency has been raised at this juncture.
The judge said in sense the argument is “absurd,” because the state and defense have not technically raised the issue of competency.
Avila-Villa’s two-week trial is scheduled to begin May 3. ..Source.. Lauren Pack, Staff Writer
Aristotle Calls for NewsCorp to Sell MySpace and Disclose Any Liability Risk from Contacts Sex Offenders May Have Had With Children Using Service
If there is any truth to "NewsCorp 'Not Fit' to Manage Sensitive Data" -as reported below, what about the fact that they have access to ALL RSOs' data which was given to them by Congress?2-2-2010 Global:
NewsCorp 'Not Fit' to Manage Sensitive Data
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- John Aristotle Phillips, CEO of Aristotle International Inc., a global leader in online identity verification, called today for NewsCorp Chairman Rupert Murdoch to sell the company's MySpace subsidiary. Phillips also asked NewsCorp to disclose precisely how records of tens of thousands of sex offenders on the social network were handled, as well as liability estimates the company could face as a result of such offenders' conduct on MySpace. NewsCorp, through its affiliate, EPartners, owns 13% of Aristotle International. Lawrence (Lon) Jacobs, Senior Executive Vice President and Group General Counsel of News Corporation ( NWS, NWSA), was appointed as EPartners' representative on Aristotle's Board of Directors last year. Phillips also is a shareholder of NewsCorp.
"When Aristotle announced that Lon had joined our Board, it was my hope MySpace would come clean. We believe MySpace must notify parents whether their children have been contacted by a registered sex offender on the service and must make all records available for analysis by law enforcement as well as child safety researchers to the fullest extent permitted by law," said John A. Phillips, CEO, Aristotle. "Now it appears MySpace is stonewalling, hoping the scandal will just go away. This kind of tactic is consistent with the business practices of other NewsCorp divisions that have recently led to hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuit settlements[1]."
Phillips maintains that NewsCorp should sell MySpace, as past practices suggest the Company is not fit to properly manage sensitive data. "Given the large number of predators still trolling the social networking site, a detailed explanation of what MySpace is doing with the records of any contacts predators may have had with children is required," Phillips added.
In 2008, in agreement with 49 state Attorneys General, MySpace acknowledged that identity authentication tools are vital to protecting children from online predators and inappropriate content and agreed to take several specific actions. These actions included commitments to:
Develop an e-mail registry. Parents may submit children's email addresses to the registry and MySpace will restrict access from users of those addresses
•Respond within 72 hours to consumer complaints of inappropriate content or activity and specify the steps taken to address them.
•Dedicate additional resources to better identify and remove inappropriate content and develop monitoring software for parents.
•Establish a 24-hour hotline to respond to inquiries from law enforcement.
•Provide adequate resources to ensure that all reasonable efforts are made to explore and develop identity authentication technologies.
Phillips anticipates that NewsCorp will eventually sell MySpace if a buyer can be found willing to assume whatever risks or liabilities might flow from the activities of sex offenders using the site.
"MySpace could have taken the steps to notify any parents whose children were contacted by convicted sex offenders, and by changing terms of service to allow greater disclosure of sex offenders' conduct. That's what a responsible company with responsible management would have done. To my knowledge, they didn't, presumably afraid of the negative publicity. It's reprehensible," Phillips concluded.
About Aristotle International
Aristotle also is recognized as a global pioneer in political technology, providing indispensable tools to those who seek to use the Democratic process to influence decisions at the ballot box. Every occupant of the White House -- Democrat and Republican -- for more than 25 years has been an Aristotle customer, as are many U.S. Senators, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Democratic and Republican state party organizations. For information about career opportunities or for client inquiries, go to www.aristotle.com.
About Integrity
Integrity is Aristotle's Identity and Age Verification service utilizing government-issued IDs, among other data sources, to bring instantaneous age and identity verification to life. Aristotle's technology platform is the most widely accepted identity and age verification service deployed for instantly verifying government-issued IDs for citizens of 152 nations. The service operates across various platforms, including online, interactive voice response (IVR), wireless and other mobile devices. More than 50 million consumers have had their identities verified with Integrity when transacting with global Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and merchants. ..Source..
Burnt car victim 'witness to pedophile murder'
2-3-2010 Australia:
It has been revealed that a man found dead in a burnt-out car in NSW bushland was a police witness in a pedophile murder trial.
The Illawarra Mercury reports Matthew Digby was serving a sentence for motor vehicle theft in a regional prison in September 1998 when he claimed to have witnessed the murder of a man jailed for child sex offences.
Former high school teacher John Thomas Kennett was reportedly outed as a "rock spider" a month after his incarceration for attacks on 12 boys.
He was bashed by fellow inmate Harry Robinson and later found dead in his cell at Junee Correctional Centre with severe head injuries.
At the 2004 murder trial, Robinson's counsel said Mr Digby was actually an accomplice who had been acting as a lookout during the attack but the allegation was denied and no charges were laid.
Robinson was convicted of murder and sentenced to 22 years in jail.
The allegations emerged as Mr Digby was farewelled in Sydney's south today.
Two detectives mingled with 150 mourners at Woronora Crematorium, where Minister Phillip Grace said Mr Digby "walked to the beat of a different drum".
"Even as a boy he was somewhat of a rascal — as a result of his life and what he became involved in, certainly he knew many ups and downs," he said.
Mr Digby was praised for his love of children and willingness to help others. ..Source.. ninemsn staff
Fresno Water Tower off Limits to Sex Offenders
2-3-2010 California:
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Just before Christmas the City of Fresno installed floodlights to show off the historic water tower in downtown. But now the tower has become a beacon for homeless sex offenders on parole. They say it's one of the only places they can go to stay on the right side of the law.
The electrical outlets at the base of the tower are the attraction. These parolees are required to wear electronic monitoring devices on their ankles. The devices hold a charge for about 12 hours and must be charged for an hour in the morning and an hour at night. The trouble is dozens of these men live in a homeless tent encampment beneath a freeway overpass at the edge of downtown. They do not have access to electricity.
They were using an outlet at the state parole office, but their access was cut off two weeks ago. Their move to the water tower has not been embraced by the city. The old water tower also serves as a visitor's center for downtown. Police Chief Jerry Dyers said it's not an appropriate place for sex offenders to gather. "This is not the message we want to send. When people come to the water tower which is a visitor's center, that is not the image we want to portray," said Dyer.
Dyer said he is working with the state parole office to find another plug-in location, but indicated it might take awhile. In the meantime the city manager's office may turn off the power to the outlets at the tower.
One homeless sex offender who didn't want to be identified said, "Once you cut that off where are we going to go? We're going to go somewhere else, and they're going to that off. Then we'll go somewhere else and they will cut that off."
Without a source of electricity to charge their monitors the men will be breaking the law. Once the monitors are dead the men will be un-trackable to the law enforcement agencies that are supposed to be keeping track of them.
Brian Semsen, a Baptist minister who works with the offenders said the men in the camp are trying to comply with the law, but are being treated unfairly. "These folks out here on the street are the Lepers of our day. In Jesus' time Leper's were considered unclean. There were laws requiring them to segregate. They had to shout "unclean, unclean" when they approached others so they could warn them to stay away. Now these folks, these men are the Lepers of our day." Semsen said.
The sex offenders know they are unwanted, but said if they don't find access to electricity nearby, they will have to use outlets at businesses on the Fulton Mall, a popular public shopping area. ..Source.. Gene Haagenson
