Teacher Accused of Sex with Students Gets Charges Thrown Out as Unconstitutional

8-11-17 Alabama:

An Alabama teacher accused of having sex with two of her students succeeded in having her charges thrown out on constitutional grounds, Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson confirmed Thursday.

Carrie Witt was facing potential prison time for allegedly having sex with two students between 16 and 19 years old while she taught at Decatur High School.

Witt had the two charges dismissed without prejudice, but the state can still refile the charges if done in an appropriate amount of time.

Thompson noted in his ruling that students can consent to sex under state law once they turn 16 unless someone uses a "position of authority" to "coerce, groom, or otherwise obtain the illegitimate consent of the alleged victims."

The judge found that while there may be a gap in power between teacher and student, it "clearly does not exist between every school employee and every student regardless of where that student is enrolled." ..Continued..

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Student-teacher sex in Alabama: Hearing today on law's constitutionality

4-4-17 Alabama:

A Morgan County judge is expected to rule today on the constitutionality of the Alabama law that prohibits school employees from having sex with students, even if both have reached the age of consent.

The law's constitutionality is being disputed by a former Decatur High School teacher who faces two felony charges in connection with accusations she had sexual relationships with two male students.

Carrie Cabri Witt, 43, was arrested in March 2016 when police said she had sex with the teenagers -- one who was 17 and the other 18 -- when they were her students at Decatur High. Witt was a history, psychology and social studies teacher, who also coached girls' golf and junior varsity cheer.

Witt's attorneys, Robert Tuten and Nick Heatherly, argue teachers' 14th Amendment equal protection rights are being violated by the state law that was created in 2010. The law treats teachers and other school employees differently from other citizens, the attorneys argue in court records.

Morgan County Circuit Judge Glenn Thompson will hear the case at 1:30 p.m.

Other adults having consensual sex with 16-year-olds do not face criminal prosecution, Heatherly and Tuten argue. The law prohibits any school employees from having sex with students who are younger than 19. If teachers or other school employees violate the law, they can be charged with a Class B felony that carries a punishment up to 20 years imprisonment. The law also requires they register as sex offenders if convicted.

In a response motion, Paul Matthews, a Morgan County Assistant District Attorney, said the equal protection clause doesn't make the law unconstitutional, as "the defendant is not claiming and cannot claim that the statute classifies her by race, alienage, national origin or gender."

Therefore, Matthews argues, Thompson should assume the law is valid and decide whether it is "rationally related to a legitimate state interest."

Witt's attorneys claim the students were not enticed or pressured in any way and showed no signs of mental defect that would make them unable to consent to sex.

The school sex law "should be an attempt by the Alabama legislature to protect students from being victimized by teachers who abuse authority and influence to coerce or fraudulently obtain consent for sex acts," the motion states. "As applied to this defendant, however, the statute impedes (her) fundamental privacy right to engage in private acts of non-injurious, consensual sex without interference from the State."

"Had Witt been a volunteer coach and not a school employee, the statute would not even apply. She exercised no power over them. She never tried to use her position of authority over them."

Witt's attorneys also are arguing the law violates her right to privacy, in that it "criminalizes consensual sexual activity conducted in private," as "consent is not a defense to a charge under this statute."

Winfield Sinclair and William Parker, assistant attorneys general from the Constitutional Defense Section of the Alabama Attorney General's Office, are expected to attend the hearing. The hearing initially was scheduled for Monday but was postponed in expectation severe weather that could affect Sinclair and Parker's travel from Montgomery.

"They will be present for the limited purpose of addressing the challenge to the constitutionality of the law," said Joy Patterson, a spokeswoman for the AG's Office. "The criminal prosecution will continue to be handled by the district attorney's office."

Patterson said the AG's Office is declining comment on whether today's hearing could influence or set precedent for other cases in which several teachers across the state have been arrested for having sex with their students. ..Source.. By Ashley Remkus -- For Update HERE

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Alabama GOP Passes Bill Regulating Abortion Clinics Like Sex Offenders

Now where is the bill preventing children from going anywhere near lawmakers? Lest children learn how to misconstrue, and do all those other things lawmakers do to stay in office!

5-27-15 Alabama:

The Alabama house passed legislation Tuesday that would prohibit clinics offering abortion care from being located near schools, charging that children should be protected from anti-choice protests.

Lawmakers, after a two-hour floor debate, passed the bill with a 79-15 vote. Republicans hold a 72-33 house majority.

HB 527, sponsored by Rep. Ed Henry (R-Hartselle), would empower the Alabama Department of Public Health to reject applications or refuse to renew a health center license for facilities providing abortion or reproductive health-care services located within 2,000 feet of a public school.

The anti-choice measure targets the Alabama Women’s Center for Reproductive Alternatives Services, one of five clinics in the state providing abortion care and a longtime subject of the state GOP’s anti-choice regulatory proposals.

The Alabama Women’s Center is located across the street from Edward H. White Middle School. The clinic recently moved to the location after being forced to relocate to comply with the so-called Women’s Health and Safety Act, passed by Republicans in 2013.

The move cost $550,000, according to clinic administrator Dalton Johnson.

Henry said the intent of the legislation was to protect school children against protests from “both sides,” along with displays of graphic signs outside the clinics.

“The kids are being exposed to an element of life that they really don’t need to be exposed to at 4 or 5 or 6 years old,” Henry said, reported the Associated Press. “It’s a volatile atmosphere that our children shouldn’t be subjected to.”

There are no students attending White Middle School, which is vacant and undergoing renovations. The school will open in the fall as a magnet school, serving students in prekindergarten through eighth grade. ..Continued.. by Teddy Wilson

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Roane County commission to vote on fee for sex offenders for notification system

Of course using the FREE national notification system is not an option..wonder why?

12-9-2014 Alabama:

Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton said he's concerned about sex offenders living in the county and wants a system put in place to notify residents when a registered sex offender moves nearby.

Roane County commissioners will vote Monday evening on a resolution on whether to allow the sheriff's office to start collecting a $50 yearly fee from each registered sex offender in the county to pay for a notification system.

According to the resolution, certain homes, childcare facilities and schools would be contacted if a sex offender moves close by.

"It's good to know who they are and where they live," Kingston resident Adrienne Schaffer said.

Schaffer has two daughters ages 3 and 6 and said she believes a notification system would provide an added safeguard for her children.

"It's good to know where they live especially so you can avoid their houses for trick-or-treating and especially if they're in your neighborhood you can just be mindful if your children are out playing by themselves," Schaffer said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation already has an online registry available that allows you to search by name or address.

According to the TBI website, 93 sex offenders live in Roane County.

Stockton said the number of sex offenders in Roane County has increased around 25 percent since 2006 and believes the notification system will allow parents to keep better track of sex offenders.

"We would notify the public either by email or either by flyers that we put out in that neighborhood notifying the people that there is a sexual offender living in their community," Stockton said. ..Source.. by SAMANTHA MANNING

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Should child sex offenders receive rehabilitation in prison?

11-24-2014 Alabama:

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – In early November, WIAT 42 ran an investigative report that featured collected letters from sex offenders to see what they would tell parents to protect their children from abusers. That report caused us to take a closer look at what’s going on behind bars in Alabama.

It turns out Alabama is one of a few states that does not offer treatment programs for sex offenders who are in prison.

“If they leave and they are untreated they are two to three times more likely to re-offend than if they are treated and if they are treated re-offense rates are spectacularly low,” says Dr. Barry Burkart, a psychology professor at Auburn University.

Burkhart has spent 40 years studying sexual violence in society. At first he treated victims, but then he decided to tackle the source of the crimes, the offenders themselves.

“I had this kind of epiphany where I realized I could treat all the victims for the rest of my life and not make a dent but if I could treat offenders and prevent victimization,” he said.

His epiphany led him to the Alabama Department of Corrections where he sat on the board and helped develop the only sex offender treatment program at Bullock Correctional Facility. It was a state of the art program at the time ,says Burkhart.

“We were 10 years ahead of the rest of the country, when can you say that Alabama was ahead of anything except football?” added Burkhart.

Alabama had a program that addressed treating sex offenders who had been incarcerated, but got rid of it. So why remove the program?

Burkhart says the state’s administration did not believe the program to be necessary, “It was done during the administration of Fob James…he never talked to me but what I read in the newspapers [was] he did not believe the treatment programs were necessary and, coincidentally to closing the treatment programs, he reintroduced two old style ‘rehabilitation’ methods. He reinstated the chain-gang and the hitching posts.”

That was in 1995, now in 2014, State Senator Cam Ward says he has people asking to bring those methods back, “I have people today who say we should go back to chain gangs we should go back to how Fob did it.”

Ward heads the Alabama Prison Reform Task Force. He says prison reform is a hard push, “So prison reform just the slogan itself is a hard push. But if the face of prison reform becomes how do we help child molesters…the mama and daddy of that [victim] is going to say I don’t care about that.”

He says what they care about is where the money will come from and is the legislature taking it away from victims to treat criminals.

Dr. Burkhart says, “the rehabilitation side is not coming into the discussion, maybe it should, what’s coming into the discussion when I go these task force meetings unanimously is if this is anything about helping sex offenders we are not supporting anything with that going on.”

The discussion is clear for those working on the front lines to end child sexual abuse, “we want criminal justice to do two things, provide justice to the citizens of this state, which includes safety, and also deter, prevent, preclude criminal conduct, and nobody can tell anybody in this state that prisons in Alabama do any of those. They just don’t.”

Right now youth in DYS custody do receive treatment for illegal sex crimes they commit. The governor’s office says if Alabama is to treat adult sex offenders in prison that money needs to come from the legislature. ..Source.. by Sherri Jackson

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Checking In: School districts developing new policies to track sex offenders on campus

Another useless time consuming rule, how many school personnel will be available to monitor or travel with sex offenders who are picking up their children when school starts and gets out daily. How is it that people who lack the ability to think get in high places?

10-11-2014 Alabama:

Calhoun County schools will find it easier to exclude sex offenders from school grounds and events after the adoption last week of a policy covering what some felt was a gap in the law.

The new policy requires offenders to notify school officials in writing before they try to enter any campus. It's stricter than required by a state law amended in April that does the same thing. The amended law gives Alabama schools the freedom to institute their own policies to identify and track offenders.

“There’s a big misconception” about the policy change, said Randy Reaves, safety and security director for Calhoun County schools. “People think we’re letting them in.”

But before Gov. Bentley approved the amendment to sex offender laws in April, Reaves said there was no way for schools to know who was on campus.

“Sex offenders didn’t even have to let us know who they were,” said Reaves.

Under Alabama law, a registered sex offender cannot live or work within 2,000 feet of a school or childcare facility. Sex offenders are not permitted to loiter within 500 feet of these areas, either.

But the law said they weren’t loitering if they had a “legitimate purpose” for being on school property, like picking up a child or grandchild attending that school.

Rep. Steve Hurst, R-Munford, who sponsored the amendment, said he felt the law needed clarification.

“Our school systems want to have some mechanism in place that says sex offenders have to check with them so they know,” said Hurst.

Under the amended law, sex offenders convicted of a crime against a minor must notify a designated school official before entering grounds or attending a function, such as a football game or class play. Entering without prior notification is a felony.

Upon arrival, the offender must report to the “designee” and follow any procedures established by the school to track the offender while he or she is on campus.

Eric Mackey, director of the group School Superintendents of Alabama, said the new amendment “greatly limits what a sex offender can do on school grounds.”

He said that “schools can monitor these people, where they couldn’t before.” He acknowledged that the situation the amendment specifically applies to — that of a sex offender, convicted of a crime against a minor, who has a child in school whom they’re allowed to see— is not widespread.

“We’re talking an extremely limited population,” Mackey said. “You’re dealing with less than 10 family situations in the entire state.”

Mackey also said he believes there are no such situations in Calhoun County.

Sending a strong message

But Calhoun County Schools’ new policy, drafted with help from the district attorney’s office, takes no chances.

Reaves said the policy requires all registered sex offenders — regardless of whether they committed a crime against minors — to notify him in writing 14 days before any event they wish to attend. They’ll do this via a form available from the Sheriff’s Office.

If Reaves approves the request, he’ll forward it to the school’s principal, who will choose the applicant’s designee.

It’s the offender’s responsibility to contact that designee to set up a time and place to meet on school grounds.

“We’re simply doing what we were mandated by law to do,” said Reaves.

“Did we make our policy a little more stringent? Yes,” he said. “But that’s to make sure they’re abiding by it and we’re not letting sex offenders on campus.”

Mackey thinks the school board’s move was a smart one: it sends a strong message to the community.

“There could be one of these situations next year,” he said. “This shows that the board is serious about controlling any sex offender movement near campuses.”

Roy Bennett, Oxford City Schools’ student services coordinator, says the system doesn’t have a policy in place yet. “We’re going to follow state law” in the meantime, he said.

Bennett also said that keeping track of sex offenders on school grounds has “never been a big issue” at Oxford schools. “I don’t know of any time it’s ever been a problem,” he said.

Anniston schools Superintendent Darren Douthitt said his school system has a policy, but he’s not familiar with it. He expects it to change anyway, given the recent state law amendment.

“We’re waiting for a model policy from the Alabama Association of School Boards,” Douthitt said. Adopting a tweaked model policy from the state association saves the school system time and money, because it doesn’t have to work through its board of attorneys, he said.

Jacksonville’s school system doesn’t have a policy on sex offenders yet, but Superintendent Jon Campbell said the district is creating one now.

“Whatever policy we choose will have better control over who is in our system,” said Campbell, who mentioned using the county school board’s new policy as a model.

“We’ll also be working with our attorney to make sure the policy will stand up in court,” he said.

Efforts to reachPiedmont City Schools Superintendent Matt Akin this week for comment on the system’s sex offender policy were unsuccessful. ,,Source.. by Zach Tyler

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Brick tossed, gun fired over Facebook post

3-14-2014 Alabama:

PHENIX CITY, Ala. — An eastern Alabama man is accused of throwing a brick at the home of man who maintains a Facebook page known as "The Neighborhood Watchers."

Authorities say the dispute centers on an update the administrator posted on the social media site.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office says 22-year-old Zachary Heath Belitz faces a disorderly conduct charge. He's accused of throwing the brick Wednesday after the Facebook group's administrator posted an item about Belitz' upcoming trial on indecent exposure charges involving multiple women. Belitz faces an April 15 trial in that case.

On Wednesday, sheriff's officials say the Facebook administrator ran outside with a shotgun and fired twice after the brick was thrown, and a truck fled the scene. No one was hurt.

It wasn't known whether Belitz has an attorney. ..Source.. by azcentral.com

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Former Fayetteville police officer arrested in connection with rape

Note: Another writer has reported this story HERE, but a careful review of that story will show the report is incorrect. Below follows the two reported incidents in chronological sequence which is needed to get the facts correct.

12-28-2013 Alabama:

A former Fayetteville police officer was arrested last week in connection with rape, second-degree sexual assault, burglary and disclosure to an unauthorized person.

Jamison Stiles, 31, of Fayetteville is accused of sexually assaulting one woman in October and another woman in July. Both alleged incidents occurred while Stiles was still employed as an officer with the Fayetteville Police Department.

Fayetteville police received a report on Nov. 10 from a woman who said she had been sexually assaulted on Oct. 26 by a uniformed police officer. The woman identified Stiles from a photo line-up, and an internal investigation began three days later on Nov. 13.

According to a preliminary arrest report, Stiles and another officer arrested an intoxicated woman at 12:03 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 26 on North Block Avenue in downtown Fayetteville. Instead of arresting her, Stiles took the woman to her home at the Cliffs Apartments at 12:36 a.m.

Stiles returned to the area twice – once at 2 a.m. and again at 4 a.m. The woman said she awoke naked at around 4:30 a.m. to find a uniformed police officer standing over her. After a brief conversation, the officer pulled the woman’s blankets away, grabbed her breast and left the apartment.

Detectives said Stiles lived in the same complex where he worked as a security guard, which gave him access to a master key to all of the apartments.

Stiles was placed on administrative leave, and was relieved of his badge and gun on Dec. 4, according to a news release. Stiles was fired on Dec. 16 for several policy violations, including failure to cooperate with the investigation.

Stiles had worked for the Fayetteville Police Department as a patrol officer since January 2011. Before that, he worked as an officer with the Rogers Police Department for about a year.

Second report

Police received a second report on Dec. 17 from a former department employee saying she had been sexually assaulted at her home by Stiles in early July while Stiles was on duty and wearing his full uniform.

The woman said she was leaving work at around 6 p.m. July 7 as Stiles was arriving for his overnight shift. She said Stiles watched her drive away, and that he later sent her text messages. Detectives said Stiles used his police computer to find the victim’s address after accessing her license plate records.

This did not occur in the first incident.

Stiles drove by the woman’s house at least four times that night before finally stopping early Monday morning to confront her in the driveway. After a long conversation, Stiles took the woman’s cell phone and began looking through her private photos “while moaning at them” before forcing his hands under her underwear twice, according to the report.

Stiles, who police said had no known prior criminal history before the incidents, was released on a $50,000 bond on Saturday.

Sgt. Craig Stout told reporters the case has certainly damaged the department’s reputation.

“Unfortunately, any time an incident like this happens, whether it’s in Fayetteville or somewhere across the country, it gives law enforcement a bad name,” said Stout. “We’re going to have to work very hard to rebuild trust with the community.” ..Source.. by Flyer Staff

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Should false rape accusers be sued?

12-18-2013 Alabama:

Editor's note: Roxanne Jones is a founding editor of ESPN The Magazine and a former vice president at ESPN. She is a national lecturer on sports, entertainment and women's topics and a recipient of the 2010 Woman of the Year award from Women in Sports and Events. She is the co-author of "Say It Loud: An Illustrated History of the Black Athlete," (Random House) and CEO of Push Media Strategies.

(CNN) -- Eighty years -- that's about how long it took the state of Alabama to posthumously pardon the last three of nine men who were falsely accused and wrongly convicted of raping two white women on a train. They infamously were called the Scottsboro Boys, because the nine black men were just 12- to 19-years-old when they were arrested in 1931.

It turned out that the women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price, had lied to police about the rapes. At one of the trials, Bates recanted her testimony, saying she had made it all up. Still, the all-white jury convicted the boys, one after another.

Forty-three years later, a similar story: This time it was Delbert Tibbs, who died recently of cancer. Tibbs spent nearly three years in prison in Florida after he was convicted in 1974 of a rape and murder that he had nothing to do with, according to the Florida Supreme Court.

Ancient history, you say? We've moved past those shameful days of unequal justice, you insist. Think again.

In 2012, according to the FBI, nearly 87,000 "forcible rapes" were reported. That's down 7% from the number of rapes reported in 2008. Law enforcement agencies estimate that the number of false rape accusations ranges from 2% to 8% annually, or between 2,000 and 7,000 cases each year.

Exact numbers are difficult to track because of the lack of in-depth research on false rape cases and because of the varying definitions of what constitutes an "unfounded" rape claim. It can mean the alleged victim did not try to fight off the suspect or suffer injuries, was not threatened with a weapon or the victim and perpetrator had a previous relationship.

Law enforcement experts agree that rapes are widely underreported, and no one is suggesting that violence against women isn't a serious problem. But experts do not dispute that false rape accusations can and do happen. Many of those innocent men end up in prison or with lives shattered.

One of the unfortunate statistics

In 2002, Brian Banks was one of those unfortunate statistics. He was just 17 when a classmate, Wanetta Gibson, 15, falsely accused him of raping her at school. Banks, then a top football talent, spent more than five years in prison and five years on probation for rape and kidnapping. ..Continued.. by Roxanne Jones

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Hundreds of sex offender cases led by former deputy at risk

12-13-2013 Alabama:

MADISON COUNTY, AL (WAFF) - The indictment of a former Madison County Sheriff's deputy is putting hundreds of sex offender cases in jeopardy, according to the District Attorney's office.

A Madison County grand jury recently indicted Shawn McClure for theft and receiving stolen property. McClure's job at the Sheriff's Department was to check on all registered sex offenders in the county. Now, the DA's office said his arrest compromises every single one of those cases.

This month, about 20 cases involving sex offender violations were ‘no-billed' by a grand jury. DA Tim Gann said those cases were thrown out because of McClure's arrest and indictment, which could also threaten hundreds of other cases. McClure is the key witness, and often the only witness, in all of his cases.

This poses a problem for prosecutors because they can no longer call him as a witness. Gann said they are now in salvage mode as they try to re-open the cases that were thrown out.

"Some of those cases are gone and that is just the harsh reality when something like this happens. It is something that nobody likes, but it is something we have to deal with. The people investigating the cases now and our office are doing our best to make it right as best we can," Gann said. ..Source.. by Diana Crawford

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DA’s Office Tries To Salvage Hundreds of Sex Offender Cases After Investigator’s Arrest

12-13-2013 Alabama:

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — About 20 cases involving sex offenders were thrown out this month and potentially hundreds more have been compromised due to the recent arrest of an investigator with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department.

The Madison County District Attorney’s office confirmed with WHNT News 19 and our news partners at The Huntsville Times/al.com Friday that the indictment of Shawn McClure, whose job was to check on all registered sex offenders in Madison County, leaves up in the air hundreds of cases involving registration violations.

McClure, a former deputy, was indicted on charges of second-degree receiving stolen property and second-degree theft.

“It is our responsibility to address criminal activity wherever it occurs,” Sheriff Blake Dorning told WHNT News 19. “It doesn’t matter where it occurs. Nobody is above the law.”

On November 5th, Investigator McClure ended his 12-year career at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. He handed in his resignation as an internal investigation probed into whether he had participated in any wrongdoing.

Assistant District Attorney Tim Gann says about 20 cases involving Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) violations were no-billed by the grand jury due to McClure’s indictment and arrest on second-degree theft charges.

Gann said McClure’s arrest throws into doubt potentially hundreds of cases that are still pending, where McClure is the key witness.

“It relates directly to the indictment of Shawn McClure. He was the SORNA investigator for the Madison County Sheriff’s office,” Gann said. “All those cases he investigated, obviously we cannot call him as a witness, they are to be no-billed.”

“We have made arrangements with the sheriff’s department and their current investigator is going to reopen all those cases and take a hard look and see if we can salvage them,” Gann said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to.”

Gann said the theft charges against McClure could compromise the SORNA cases because of the nature of the alleged offenses.

“Theft charges go to credibility,” Gann said. “It goes to somebody’s truthfulness, their credibility as a witness. What will we do is go case by case. If he is an essential witness, if we can’t make the case without him, it will have to be dismissed.”

“If we can make the case without him, it’s basically a salvage operation, we will,” Gann said. ...Source.. by Matt Kroschel

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New Study Sheds Light On Prevalence Of Child Pornography

11-23-2013 Alabama:

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) – You may think of child pornography as something that could never hit close to home, or some uncommon perversion. Now a new study is shedding light on the prevalence of child pornography in the United States.

The findings are unsettling.

The study focused on just one file-sharing program, Gnutella, over the course of one year. They found that just under 250,000 computers in the US were sharing and receiving images of child pornography.

“What it tells me is there are people you would not suspect involved in this,” said Chris Newlin, Executive Director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center.


For more perspective, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has collected more than 60 million images of child pornography from the internet. They have identified less than one percent of the victims.

Newlin points to a lack of resources available to national and local law enforcement agencies to address, and track down people disseminating images depicting sexual abuse of children.

He stresses the need is great and urgent. For every person who would claim to just ‘look’ at the images, Newlin suggests a much graver reality.

“If someone has this stuff on their computer, there’s a very high likelihood they have abused children. Not just a child. Children.”

This is why Newlin urges people who know someone who is looking at images of child pornography to turn them in. ..Source.. by Daniela Perallon,

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Does castrating child molesters in the criminal justice system make predators stop preying?

In response to Hurst's premise, a Code of Ethics didn't seem to help when certain Lawmakers, those who have committed sexual crimes while in office, from committing sexual crimes during their period as a Lawmakers. What makes him think the castration issue is any different?

11-20-2013 Alabama:

Alabama legislator Steve Hurst wants to force pedophiles to be physically castrated, a drastic measure that goes farther than any other state and ignites fierce arguments with no winning side. The bill would also make molesters pay for the procedure.

He was just a little boy when he first molested a child.

At age 7 he tried to rape his 3-year-old cousin by luring her into a closet.

He knew he was doing something awful and bad, but his only deterrence, he said, was his ignorance of female anatomy.

Larry Don McQuay, now 52, has said he molested more than 240 children in a long, dark criminal career that could only be stopped, he told Texas authorities, by having his testes cut out.

To believe him and his lawyer is to accept that castration — whether surgical or chemical — keeps serial pedophiles from ruining more young lives.

To neuter or not to neuter is one of the most fierce questions in criminal justice systems around the globe.

Now comes an Alabama state legislator, with a newly proposed law that has reignited fiery rhetoric on all sides, and goes farther than any other castration laws currently observed in at least nine U.S. states.

Under the bill from Rep. Steve Hurst, which will be debated next year, convicted molesters older than age 21 whose victims were younger than 12 would be forced to undergo surgical castration at their own expense. ..Continued.. by Deborah Hastings

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Daniel Adamek launches 'Little Orange Fish' in son's name to advocate for better mental health care

11-13-2013 Alabama:

Daniel Adamek is keeping his promise to advocate for mental health change in the name of his son, Christian, who committed suicide last month at the age of 15.

Adamek on Tuesday launched Little Orange Fish, a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve access to mental health care. The group also aims to continue the important national conversation about mental illness that began after Christian, a Sparkman High School student, died on Oct. 3.

Adamek said Wednesday that his family, which includes another son and a daughter, has been overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity they have received from family, friends and the community, both inside and outside of Alabama.

"I can't overstate how comforting that has been for us all," Adamek told AL.com/Huntsville.

Now the family is asking the community in Madison County and beyond to support Little Orange Fish, which is "dedicated to changing the behavioral, emotional and mental health care community and ensuring immediate access to essential support and treatment," according to a news release.

The organization is named for Christian Adamek's favorite color.

Christian hanged himself on Oct. 2, just days after getting into trouble at school for streaking at a Sparkman High football game. News of his death went viral, with people worldwide speculating on whether his real or perceived punishment for the Sept. 27 streaking incident played a part in his suicide.

Though Christian's punishment was never made public by his family or the school district, his father shot down rumors that the teen had been threatened with the label of registered sex offender. ..Continued.. by Crystal Bonvillian

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Sex offender (Registrant) speaks out against Alabama bill that would regulate sex offender clusters

10-30-2013 Alabama:

MONTGOMERY, Alabama --- A registrant is doing what he says few other offenders will do, speaking out against a bill that would further restrict where they can live.

Derek Logue opposes a bill that would make it illegal for sex offenders to live at the same residence without a live-in monitor and a license from the sheriff. Legislators and a prosecutor in Autauga and Chilton counties say the licensing and monitoring are needed to protect the public from having large numbers of offenders in one place.

Logue says it’s already hard enough for them to rejoin society after leaving prison. They can’t live or work within 2,000 feet of a school or daycare.

“There’s not a lot of hope for us,” Logue said. “But transitional housing at least gives people some stability. What you want is to have a chance to reintegrate back into society.”

Logue said they need stability during the first couple of years after prison and said that's when they are more likely to commit another crime. He said the bill would effectively block halfway houses and group homes that could help offenders and reduce recidivism.

Officials in Chilton and Autauga counties say their priority is public safety.

C.J. Robinson, chief deputy district attorney for Autauga, Elmore and Chilton counties, said 49 sex offenders have lived at the same Chilton County address since 2010. An average of about 10 live there on most days, Sheriff Kevin Davis said. They live in trailers behind a small church. It’s not in a dense neighborhood, but there are houses scattered along the two-lane highway near Triumph Church, which is outside Clanton. ..Continued.. by Mike Cason

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Sex offender bill pre-filed

10-24-2013 Alabama:

A bill defining areas where multiple sex offenders live and regulating how many live in the same residence could become law if passed by the Alabama Legislature.

State Rep. Kurt Wallace, R-Maplesville, is co-sponsoring House Bill 21, which would designate places where sex offenders live as “residential sex offender clusters” and prohibit more than one unrelated adult sex offender from living in an unauthorized residential sex offender cluster.

Wallace has pre-filed the bill for the legislative session beginning in January.

Wallace said he tried to get the first version of the bill passed about two years ago, but the bill didn’t make it past the committee meeting stage.

“The original bill was an anti-clustering bill that made everybody separate,” Wallace said.

The bill—which would have statewide application—met opposition from larger counties, including Jefferson and Montgomery, based on the notion that law enforcement agencies would have more difficulties in keeping track of sex offenders if none were in the same residence, Wallace said.

“Bigger counties didn’t want that,” Wallace said. “The sheriff’s job is to keep up with these people. It’s easier to keep them together in one place. Our sheriff, Kevin Davis, doesn’t have that same issue.”

“The new version says that each sheriff has the opportunity to set up zones—certain areas where they can live,” Wallace said. “He gets to decide how many can live in a cluster.”

Investigator Erric Price with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department said 160 registered sex offenders live in Chilton County, as of Wednesday.

Of 160, 11 people live at the same address, 40 County Road 374 off Enterprise Road south of Clanton, in campers behind Triumph Church.

In 2011, as many as 23 people convicted of sex crimes were released to the same address, according to a story published in The Clanton Advertiser.

The owner of the property, the Rev. Ricky Martin, at County Road 374 declined to comment Wednesday.

Price said he estimated 10 of the 11 sex offenders living in Chilton County had no ties to the county before relocating behind Triumph Church.

“This area is being saturated with a large group [of sex offenders] at one time,” Price said. “By having this place here, it draws people that would have never come here.”

Price said Wallace’s bill could help decrease the number of convicted sex offenders—who committed their crimes elsewhere—moving to Chilton County after being released.

“It would help in that people that have no ties to Chilton County would not be coming into our county to start with,” Price said. “On the flip end, it would be easier for me to check on them and manage them as a sex offender manager when they’re all together. It’s got pros and cons.”

Price said two of the 11 sex offenders in Chilton have been arrested by the sheriff’s department on alcohol-related charges since relocating here.

“It’s a big task,” Price said of Triumph Church’s mission to help sex offenders. “I do believe the Rev. Martin has a good heart, I just don’t believe he fully understood the magnitude and job of what it would consist in trying to rehabilitate these gentlemen. I think it’s a task that’s too big for one person to take on.”

Existing law restricts sex offenders from living and being employed within 2,000 feet of property on which a school or childcare facility is located. It also restricts sex offenders from residing within 2,000 feet of their victims.

The bill Wallace wrote and co-sponsored with Rep. Paul Beckman, R-Prattville, would prohibit sex offenders from living in an unregulated sex offender cluster.

The bill defines a “residential sex offender cluster” as any lot at which two or more unrelated adult sex offenders maintain a residence or other living accommodation, or in the case of a hotel, motel, apartment complex or similar multi-unit dwelling structure, the term would mean a discrete unit in which two or more unrelated adult sex offenders live.

Under the bill, places housing five or more sex offenders would be considered “large residential sex offender clusters,” with the maximum occupancy being 30 sex offenders per residence.

The bill would also authorize the sheriff of each county to license a residential sex offender cluster in which two or more unrelated adult sex offenders live; require monitoring of sex offenders living in authorized residential clusters; and authorize the Department of Mental Health to disseminate rules regulating residential sex offender clusters.

Live-in monitors of such clusters would have to have no record of a felony conviction, and one monitor for every 10 offenders would be mandatory.

Wallace said his formation of the bill stemmed from phone calls he received from concerned residents, who said sex offenders living nearby had knocked on their doors, looking for work.

Wallace said he doesn’t want Chilton to become a hub for people convicted of sex crimes.

“If a Chilton Countian goes bad, we’ll have to deal with that because that’s one of our own,” Wallace said. “When you put that many like-minded individuals together, are they talking about what they did? When you run with a bad crowd, separate yourself from that crowd. As long as these people are grouped together and talking about the same desires they have, they’re not getting a cure for themselves.” ..Source.. by Emily Beckett

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Alabama legislators want to require license for 'sex offender clusters'

The Legislative Macadamia Nut Capitol of the USA . See HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE

10-21-2013 Alabama:

A few miles outside Clanton, Triumph Church sits on a two-lane county highway bordered by fields, farms and scattered houses.

On most days, about 10 men who have finished prison sentences for rape or other sex crimes live in trailers behind the small church.

A legislator from the county said the men's presence is troubling to some families who live nearby, even though the county sheriff says there's never been a serious incident involving the church and the men who live there.

“The community is not happy, I can assure you,” said Rep. Kurt Wallace, R-Maplesville.

Wallace wants the facility to be licensed by the county under an arrangement that would require a live-in monitor and other restrictions. He has proposed legislation that would designate such places as “residential sex offender clusters.”

He has pre-filed a bill for the legislative session that begins in January. The law would have statewide application. Rep. Paul Beckman, R-Prattville, is co-sponsoring the bill because he said there is a similar place in Autauga County.

“You’ve got families with kids even though it’s out in the country, and you’ve got no way of safeguarding and protecting them,” Beckman said.

State law already restricts where sex offenders can live. They are not allowed to live within 2,000 feet of a school or child care center, or within 2,000 feet of their victim.

That can make it hard for sex offenders to find a place to live when they are released from prison.

"It's one of those things that nobody wants them, but they have to go somewhere," Wallace said.

Chilton County Sheriff Kevin Davis said a total of about 60 sex offenders have found a temporary home at Triumph Church over the last few years. The trailers where the men live are behind the church, Wallace said, but are not readily visible from the highway.

Ricky Martin, the church pastor, declined to be interviewed for this story. Martin and others were holding a yard sale next to the church Friday morning.

The sign in front of the church read: "Fear not, the Lord can help you."

A couple who live less than a mile from the church said the men who live at the church have never caused them a problem but they would prefer they were not there.

Sheriff Davis said about 9-11 sex offenders live there most days. He said the number has been as high as about 15.

“It has not been a problem,” Davis said. “Certainly I understand the concerns of having them all in one spot. But also, on the flip side, if they’re all there it’s very easy to go and check and make sure they’re all where they’re supposed to be.”

County sheriffs are responsible for keeping track of sex offenders under the state’s Community Notification Act.

Davis said one concern is that many of the sex offenders are not from the county. He said some have come from out of state.

“They have no ties to the community. They’re not coming because this is home,” the sheriff said.

Wallace said that is one reason the place bothers him. He said the county doesn't want to be home for sex offenders from all over the state.

“We don’t mind taking care of our own," Wallace said.

Wallace said he found out about the sex offender residence after a woman became alarmed when two men knocked on her front and back doors. She didn’t answer but called 911, Wallace said. The two men told authorities they were looking for work. The woman later learned the men were two of the sex offenders living in the trailers.

“When she found that out she of course went nuts because she had a couple of small grandchildren that occasionally stay with her,” Wallace said.

Wallace has proposed similar bills the last two years but they did not pass.
The Legislature has passed bills applying only to Jefferson County and Birmingham that prohibit more than one unrelated sex offender from living in the same residence.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy Randy Christian said the laws have worked well. Christian said he did not think placing a new requirement on sheriffs to license locations with more than one sex offender was a good idea.

“Simply say more than one cannot live at an address and a violation means jail time,” Christian said in an email. “I think that is the most effective way to deal with that issue and it has been effective here in Jefferson County.”

Montgomery County Sheriff D.T. Marshall said there are places in the county where multiple sex offenders live, like some low-rent motels.

“It’s getting harder and harder for them to find a place to live,” Marshall said.

When sex offenders reach the end of their prison sentence they are required to have an approved place to live. If not, they are returned to the jail in the county where they were convicted.

Marshall said Wallace’s licensing bill sounded like it could be a good idea but he didn’t want to give an opinion without reading the bill.

The bill sponsored by Wallace and Beckman would define any place that housed two or more sex offenders as residential sex offender clusters and any place that housed five or more as large residential sex offender clusters. The maximum would be 30 sex offenders.

The clusters would have to have a monitor with no record of a felony conviction who lived with and supervised the sex offenders. There could be no less than one monitor for every 10 offenders.

Large residential clusters would have to pay an annual licensing fee of $100 plus $20 per offender.
Chilton County Sheriff Davis said having sex offenders live together raised a concern about how they might influence each other’s behavior. He said jail inmates often express a desire to change their ways, but that can change if they run in the same circles after they’re released.

“A lot of times behavior is based on who we hang around," Davis said.

Wallace said he would not be opposed to sex offenders living together in a treatment facility that was certified by the state and said his proposal would exempt such a facility from the licensing requirement.

“I just don’t want them hanging out together with nothing to do but sit around and talk about the things that make them do what they do,” Wallace said. ..Source.. by Mike Cason

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Alabama lawmaker lobs bill to castrate sex offenders

What a waste of time for lawmakers, when they know mutilation of a person is illegal.

10-14-2013 Alabama:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama lawmaker is proposing a bill for the 2014 legislative session to further punish convicted child predators before they're released from prison.

The Florence Times Daily (http://bit.ly/1fuBdgI) reports Republican Rep. Steve Hurst of Munford is trying again to pass a bill requiring sex offenders over the age of 21 whose victims were 12 or younger to be surgically castrated before being released from prison.

Under Hurst's bill, the castration would be financed by the sex offender.

A version of the same bill Hurst tried passing last year didn't make it out of committee. ..Source.. by WHLT22.com

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Foster homes are now protected from sex offenders living near-by

6-20-2013 Alabama:

The Decatur Police Department is wanting foster families to know that they are now protected in the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act.

The Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act of 2011 prevents more than 11,000 sex offenders in the state from living within 2,000 feet of a school or child care facility. The Decatur Police Department says that now includes foster homes.

"We've received notification of a recent Attorney General opinion which stated the section of the sex offender notification and registration act covering child care facilities also includes foster homes" said Lt. John Crouch with the Decatur Police Department.

Decatur Police are encouraging foster families to list their addresses with their local law enforcement agency.

"Then they can be included in the restricted areas where sex offenders are not allowed to live" said Crouch.

Foster parents like Gabe and Melissa Ross were happy to hear that option is now available to them.

"We have six children in our home and we try to do as much as we can but I feel like this law will really help and add to the security of our home" says Melissa Ross.

"Anything we can do to help protect these children is a great thing because they grow up with such difficult backgrounds, a tough foundation" said Gabe Ross. "Anything we can do to help protect them, provide safety for them."

One foster family has already added their address to the list with the Decatur Police Department and the Ross family says they could be next.

"We would consider putting our name on the list to help protect our children" said Melissa Ross. ..Source.. by Rachel Keith

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Judge dismisses child porn evidence during hearing

6-6-2013 Alabama:

An attorney representing a registered sex offender formerly from Wisconsin will ask that child pornography charges be dismissed now that key evidence in the case won’t be allowed in his client’s trial.

Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Mike Jones ruled Wednesday that a laptop and an external hard drive cannot to be used as evidence in a possession of child pornography case against Richard Darel Murray.

After a lengthy motion hearing Wednesday, Jones ruled that Florence police were not within their rights to confiscate the computer and hard drive they found at Murray’s Cleveland Avenue residence.

Murray, 45, was indicted in January on 100 counts of possession of child pornography and living in a prohibited residence within 2,000 feet of a school or child care facility. He also was charged with failing to register as a sex offender, officials said.

Authorities said 100 photos of nude children were discovered during a preliminary investigation of two computers and an external hard drive found at his residence.

Testimony during Wednesday’s hearing indicated child pornography was found on a laptop that was in Murray’s bedroom. Also, it was pointed out during the hearing that Murray was paying rent to the people who were living at the residence for use of the bedroom.

Two computers and an external computer hard drive were confiscated by Florence police as they were investigating reports from the people who Murray was living with that they found what they believed to be child porn on a desktop computer in the living room of the residence.

Forensic experts uncovered 100 images of child pornography on the laptop, but none on the desktop computer.

Jones said Murray’s landlord did not have the right to give police the laptop because it was in the bedroom that Murray was paying rent to use.

Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said police officers did not know at the time when the computers were seized that Murray was paying rent to the couple living at the residence. Jones said that does not matter and ruled the laptop could not be used as evidence.

Florence attorney Jeff Austin said he plans to file a motion to have the child pornography charge dismissed.

The charges of failing to register as a sex offender and living in a prohibited residence within 2,000 feet of a school still are pending.

Reports from Wisconsin indicate Murray was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse of a child in August 1994.

Authorities said he has been living in Florence since April 2012.

Both charges are Class C felonies and punishable by 1-10 years in prison if convicted.

Murray is being held in the Lauderdale County Detention Center on bail totaling $515,000. ..Source.. by Tom Smith Senior, Staff Writer

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