Some Sex Offender Names Soon Could Vanish From Online State Registry

10-15-17 Pennsylvania:

A recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision likely means the Megan's Law list will be trimmed.

When Patch recently published maps showing where registered sex offenders live in various Pittsburgh communities, the effort was praised on various social media platforms where they ended up being shared.

Not everyone was pleased, however.

The people at the National Association For Rational Sex Offense Laws, an organization I didn’t know existed, sent me several critical emails and criticized the Patch practice nationally of informing readers as to where sex offenders reside.

That the information I obtained is public and available to anyone on Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law website was irrelevant. In a letter to Patch editors posted Thursday, the organization said that publishing the sex offender locator maps so close to Halloween was “pointless” and constituted “fear-mongering.”

I wondered if people who live in the communities I mapped shared those sentiments. So I put the entire association statement on a Brookline Facebook page and posed this question: “Do you believe the names and addresses of your local sex offenders should have been posted?” ..Continue..

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Philly Sex Offender Sues Big Tobacco for $50 Million

10-13-2017 Pennsylvania:

He started smoking Kools when he was a teenager. Now he wants to be paid.

We here at Philly Mag see a lot of personal injury lawsuits rolling through the local courts, but we don’t remember the last time we saw somebody suing big tobacco. For $50 million. And then there’s the fact that the guy suing is a registered sex offender.

Northeast Philadelphia resident Ted McCracken has filed a personal injury lawsuit against tobacco conglomerate R.J. Reynolds, along with other cigarette companies and executives, seeking at least $50 million in damages.

McCracken says he started smoking when he was 15, one to two packs of cigarettes daily. His favorite brands were Kool, Newport, and TOP tobacco, the kind you roll yourself.

These days, McCracken is 64 years old. He says he was recently diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (better known as COPD), asthma, and emphysema, all conditions that can be caused by cigarette smoking. And he plainly blames his ailments on nearly 50 years of cigarette use. ..Continued..

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

State trooper critically wounded in robbery investigation is expected to survive

8-20-17 Pennsylvania:

FAIRCHANCE — A Pennsylvania state trooper was critically injured when he was shot by a suspect in a robbery investigation before officers returned fire killing the shooter, state police said Saturday.

A second trooper also was shot by the suspect Friday night outside a grocery store in Fairchance, a borough about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. The officer was treated at a hospital and released, authorities said.

The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Clarence Belsar. District Attorney Richard Bower said Belsar had a felony criminal record that included a requirement he report as a sex offender.

Authorities said the troopers had arranged a meeting via Facebook with a person selling a video game console they suspected had been taken in a string of robberies in Uniontown and Waynesburg. They said the officers met Belsar outside the Stop ’n Save in Fairchance and identified themselves as police officers. ..Continued..

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Bill cutting off public assistance for non-compliant Megan's Law registrants passes the Pa. House

UPDATE: Bill to Control Sex Offender Benefits Passes State House

4-24-17 Pennsylvania:

Legislation that would make convicted sex offenders who are out of compliance with Megan's Law ineligible for public assistance passed the state House of Representatives on Monday by a 190-2 vote

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks County, now goes to the Senate for consideration.

It would allow sex offenders' benefits to be reinstated immediately once they came back into compliance but would not be eligible for any missed benefits. However, it allows benefits to continue for their minor children even if a parent or guardian is a non-compliant Megan's Law registrant.

A similar bill, sponsored by then-Rep. Mike Regan, R-York County, passed the House last session but it died in the Senate. Regan, a former U.S. marshal, said the marshal service found a high percentage of non-compliant Megan's Law registrants by tracking them down through public assistance rolls. ..Source.. by Jan Murphy

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Fix the law: Not every Pa. child offender is a sex offender

9-17-15 Pennsylvania:

A Wilkinsburg man broke the law when he defied a custody order and went into hiding with his 2-year-old daughter. But a sentence that brands him a sexual offender — when he committed no sexual offense — reveals a glitch in state law that should be corrected.

The saga began in December when Tex Ortiz, 32, fled with his daughter, whose mother is dead, three days after a court awarded interim custody to the toddler’s maternal grandmother. Ortiz was apprehended 15 days later in Altoona; the child was not harmed. In May, a jury found him guilty of kidnapping and interference with the custody of a child.

Ortiz was sentenced on Monday in Common Pleas Court by Judge Donna Jo McDaniel. He was ordered to serve eight to 22 years in prison and told he would have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. That’s because the state’s kidnapping statute, toughened in 2012 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal, requires lifetime registration in all cases involving a minor.

Ortiz, whatever his sins, has not been accused of a sexual offense. To publicly brand him a sexual offender, especially after his sentence is complete, is both cruel and unusual, and likely not what the General Assembly intended. One University of Pittsburgh law professor said “it doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Don’t blame Judge McDaniel; she had to apply the law as written. But the Legislature should revisit the law to make sure this can’t happen again. ..Source.. by the Editorial Board

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Farry bill to better safeguard communities from sexually violent predators signed into law

There is no doubt that this law violates the HIPAA federal law. ACLU where are you?

8-10-15 Pennsylvania:

HARRISBURG >> Legislation authored by State Rep. Frank Farry (R-Bucks) closing a loophole in the reporting requirements of individuals who have been deemed sexually violent predators is now law in Pennsylvania.

“I take the safety of our communities very seriously and I am pleased the governor acted quickly to sign this important piece of legislation into law,” Farry said. “Megan’s Law has done a great deal to better protect the public from sexually violent predators, but there still exists some weaknesses in the law that need to be addressed. My legislation fixes one of those weaknesses.”

House Bill 73, signed into law as Act 20 of 2015, requires businesses that provide counseling services to sexually violent predators to notify the district attorney of the county, and the law enforcement office of the municipality where the provider is located, that such services are being provided.

“One of the best ways to safeguard the public and make the job of our law enforcement officers easier is to know where these individuals live, work and regularly visit,” said Farry. “Sexually violent predators must undergo regular counseling as a condition of release, yet many law enforcement officers working near counseling facilities providing this type of treatment are not notified these individuals are entering their community on a regular basis. My legislation improves that communication to better assist law enforcement.”

The state Sexual Offender Assessment Board assesses every sex offender who must register under the sexual offender registration act, known as the Adam Walsh Act, to determine whether an offender is considered sexually violent. These offenders take the designation of sexually violent offender due to the predatory behavior exhibited when committing a sexual offense. Current law states sexually violent predators must undergo counseling sessions on at least a monthly basis.

Under the new law, if no municipal police jurisdiction exists, a notice must be provided to the local Pennsylvania State Police barracks. Notifications must be provided by Jan. 15 of each year. ..Source.. by Bucks Local News

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

OP-ED: Legislation will help keep Pa. safe from pedophiles

8-2-15 Pennsylvania, West Virginia:

Twelve-year-old Jeremy Bell did not have to die. Especially under such gruesome circumstances — brutally raped and murdered by his elementary school principal in West Virginia. In fact, that pedophile should not have even been at the West Virginia school.

The story begins in the 1970s, at Prospect Park Elementary School in Delaware County, Pa. Child after child, boys 10 to 12, came forward and told the school officials how the fifth-grade science teacher had groped them and performed sexual acts on them — raping at least one boy. The school, shockingly, took the teacher’s side: The principal wrote the teacher a letter of recommendation and helped him land a new job in Fayetteville, West Virginia.

For two decades, that teacher continued to brutalize children in West Virginia, until one night, 12-year-old Jeremy Bell paid the price: He was raped and murdered by the educator.

As fathers, we wish this tragedy was unique. Sadly, we know better. Last year, 459 school employees were arrested across America for sexual misconduct with children — more than one per day of the year. Twenty-six arrests involved Pennsylvania educators. And, just halfway into 2015, we have seen more than 260 arrests, including 16 in Pennsylvania. And these are just the predators that we have caught.

We cannot find any official source which supports the claim that "459 school employees were arrested last year." That claim was also made in Congress when a bill "PROTECTING STUDENTS FROM SEXUAL AND VIOLENT PREDATORS ACT -- (Senate - March 10, 2015)" was introduced. see "Justice eventually caught up with the killer, and he is now serving a life sentence for that murder. But for little Jeremy Bell that justice came too late. And, sadly, Jeremy Bell is not alone. Last year we had 459 school employees across America arrested for sexual misconduct with the very children they are supposed to be protecting and teaching and caring for. That is more than one per day. And those are just the ones where there was enough evidence to actually prosecute, to make an arrest and to pursue charges. How many others were getting away with this? Frankly, 2015 is not off to a much better start. So far we are 69 days into the new year and there have already been 82 school employees arrested across the country for sexual misconduct with the schoolchildren in their care. "

The official source of school crime is found in "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2014" which does not support the 459 claim.

The practice of schools helping a child molester land a teaching job at another school is so common, that it has its own moniker —“passing the trash.”

Together, we are fighting to protect our children from this horrific practice. Being from different political parties, we do not always agree on everything. But all parents can agree that we must keep child molesters out of our schools.

One of us, a member of the Pennsylvania state Senate, helped lead the fight to have the state Legislature adopt the S.E.S.A.M.E. Act. The S.E.S.A.M.E. Act banned passing the trash within Pennsylvania, requiring all schools to conduct thorough background checks with each previous employer and barring them from recommending for future employment those accused of sexual abuse.

But state legislation is not enough. Pennsylvania law cannot stop schools in other states from passing their pedophile employees to Pennsylvania schools.

That is where the other one of us, a U.S. senator, has stepped up, taking the fight to Washington, D.C. Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed Sen. Toomey’s bipartisan proposal to ban passing the trash nationwide. The passage of this federal legislation is a significant step forward toward protecting our children from child molesters.

These efforts show how state and federal officials, working together, can stop the heinous practice of passing the trash.

Pat Toomey is a Republican U.S. senator for Pennsylvania. Anthony Hardy Williams is a Democratic state senator from Philadelphia who represents the 8th Senatorial District. ..Source.. by The Mercury Columns

==========================================
Note this comment from another article:
==========================================

"Even with the good work done by the law enforcement agents and children advocates here, more than 450 teachers and school employees were arrested last year alone on charges of sexual misconduct with children. That's more than one per day," Fitzpatrick said. "What's more appalling is that these are just the cases we were able to catch. According to the Government Accountability Office, the average pedophile teacher preys on and assaults 73 children over a lifetime." No GAO report supports this claim either.

=================================================
Further research has uncovered this possible source:
====================================================

More teachers are having sex with their students. Here’s how schools can stop them. 1-20-2015 by Terry Abbott who is chairman of Drive West Communications and a former chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education.

A 14-year-old student in Florida wrote his cellphone number on a classroom chalkboard because he wanted a classmate he liked to call him. The student indeed was contacted – not by the girl but allegedly by his 32-year-old teacher. Within days, police said, the two were involved in a sexual relationship.

In Pennsylvania, a 33-year-old teacher approached a 17-year-old student at a school dance and began flirting with him, police said. The married teacher then sent the student sexual text messages and photos, along with a video of herself performing lewd acts, according to news reports. The relationship escalated, and the teacher pleaded guilty last month to institutional sexual assault.

Unfortunately, these kinds of stories are becoming more common across the country. In 2014 alone, there were 781 reported cases of teachers and other school employees accused or convicted of sexual relationships with students. My firm, Drive West Communications, has been tracking news reports of sexual misconduct by educators for more than a year. Every week has brought news of 15 young people, on average, who were sexually victimized by the educators entrusted with protecting them. That’s an abhorrent rate and a trend that deserves far more attention from school leaders and policy makers. ..Continued at link above..

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Testimony over prison time for sex offender who refuses treatment

7-30-15 Pennsylvania:

By the time Akbar A. Rivera was 17, he'd sexually assaulted two children.

Rivera's most recent victim was a 12-year-old girl whom he forced himself upon repeatedly in 2007 while living in south Bethlehem. Because he had an equivalent offense as a juvenile in New York, he was charged in Northampton County as an adult, where he pleaded guilty and ended up with a 21/2- to five-year prison sentence.

More than seven years have gone by since the now 24-year-old Rivera was charged and later convicted, but he remains imprisoned to this day. That's because he has refused to attend any mandated sex-offender therapy, which the officials supervising him believe is necessary if he is not to be a threat to the community.

Though Rivera has already served the entirety of his original prison term, he remains jailed as a probation violator who has seen just one day on the street since his arrest, according to state prison records.

And because Rivera has continued to spurn counseling, authorities want him to stay behind bars.

"He's refusing to get treatment. He has absolutely no interest in self-rehabilitation," Assistant District Attorney Tatum Wilson said.

Rivera is considered a sexually violent predator, a designation that brings a lifetime of registration as a sex offender and enhanced reporting and counseling requirements. Wilson said it would be "reckless" to allow his release.

On Wednesday, President Judge Stephen Baratta took testimony on authorities' request that Rivera be re-sentenced to further prison time. The hearing came as Rivera has been deemed a probation violator once before — in 2013, when he was sentenced to an additional 30 days to two years behind bars, a term that he completed without release in May.

Wilson wouldn't say how much further prison time she'd like Rivera to face. But Baratta could give him up to another seven years, the total that remains of his probationary term.

State probation officer Tina Kominsky said Rivera attended just one sex-offender treatment class in prison, when he announced his desire to "max out" his sentence and signed himself out of further sessions.

While jailed, Rivera has been cited for misconduct that includes contraband, failing to comply with guards' orders and slashing a fellow Northampton County Prison inmate with a razor in 2009, Kominsky said.

Rivera's public defender, Matthew Goodrich, highlighted that his client does not need to be in prison in order to attend sex offender counseling. Goodrich suggested that last time, Rivera was tripped up by another requirement he faced: that he find a suitable place to live, a difficulty for someone labeled a violent predator.

Goodrich also noted that if Rivera remains in jail for the next seven years, he won't be able to be kept any longer regardless of his behavior.

That's true, Kominsky said, though if Rivera continued to refuse counseling then, he could face arrest for failing to comply with his Megan's Law requirements, a felony.

"The possibility exists to keep this cycle going for the rest of all time?" Goodrich asked.

"Unfortunately, if he chooses not to comply," Kominsky said.

The hearing was recessed without a decision by Baratta, who said he will take further testimony in two weeks.

The delay came amid a kerfuffle involving a psychologist at Rockview State Prison, who was scheduled to testify by video.

The psychologist, Kevin Miskell, initially refused to do so despite a court order, according to Baratta. Eventually Miskell did appear on the video, but his responses brought ire from Baratta, who accused him of being intentionally evasive.

Miskell said he gave Rivera a psychological test under which he was recommended to complete an 18- to 24-month sex offender program. But Miskell, who coordinates sex-offender treatment at Rockview, claimed that he couldn't say whether Rivera would be a danger without the treatment.

Baratta said Miskell was acting as though he did "not know anything" about his job.

"I'm just kind of shocked about that," Baratta said.

"I don't know what to say to you, sir," Miskell stammered, before Baratta ended his testimony. ..Source.. by Riley Yates

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Where is my sex offender now? Notices keep victims informed

This accomplishes what?

7-28-15 Pennsylvania:

A new partnership of state law enforcement and victim advocates will help ensure victims of sexual violence are updated when the status of their offender changes.

The Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Office of Victim Advocate are teaming up to identify and provide thousands of additional and sensitive notifications, said Jennifer Storm, the commonwealth's Victim Advocate.

In a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, Storm said the partnership will increase the office's ability to notify victims when the status of a registered sexual offender changes -- such as release from prison, chance of parole, change of employment, change of address or noncompliance with registration rules.

The Office of Victim Advocate annually issues 20,000 to 30,000 of these notifications by letter, phone or email, and the partnership is expected to increase notifications by 5,000 to 7,000, Storm said.

Storm said every time a victim is notified of an update in his or her case, it can lead to additional trauma and emotions that victim advocates are trained to understand. Counseling and other services are then be available to the notified victim.

Since the collaboration began on May 11, the the office has identified and registered an additional 798 victims to keep updated on the status of their cases and provide supportive services, Storm said.

"That is 798 victims who are now empowered, who are now informed and who now know the status of their offender," she said.

Joyce Lukima, chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, said the notifications from the victim advocate group will allow for sensitive notifications that will take into account that stress.

"Survivors of sexual assault are often placed in a no-win situation, wanting to know the whereabouts of the person who has harmed them but also not wanting to constantly think about the crime that they have experienced," she said.

The partnership and additional notifications will be funded through a $143,000 grant from the Commission on Crime and Delinquency Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, said Rep. Mike Vereb, R-Montgomery, who chairs that commission.

Pennsylvania State Police Captain Scott Price said sex offender information must be updated, but there is no law requiring victim information from being kept on file by law enforcement. So after a convicted sex offender is released after a lengthy prison sentence, local police are notified but there is no guarantee the victim will be notified.

Cumberland County District Attorney Dave Freed said his office often hears from victims who are worried after they have been notified of a change in their offender's status.

"We can get somebody convicted. We can get them sentenced. We can get them locked up," Freed said. "That doesn't change what happened to the victim."

Freed said he fully supported the partnership for providing more knowledge to victims of sexual violence in the state. ..Source.. by Sam Janesch

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Judge: No breaks for female sex offender

5-1-15 Pennsylvania:

A former Bath woman who sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy was sent to state prison Friday by a Northampton County judge who said she should get no breaks because of her gender.

Lisa Winarchick, 50, will serve two years and three months to seven years in prison on charges of statutory sexual assault and corrupting a minor. She'll also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life.

Winarchick had been drinking with the boy on the front porch of her Northampton Street home when she offered to perform oral sex on him, Assistant District Attorney Patricia Broscius said in January when the defendant pleaded guilty.

The crime occurred sometime during summer 2013, but the boy felt embarrassed and kept it a secret until he was later confronted by his parents, Broscius said. During the incident, the boy felt "it wasn't right," pulled up his pants and went home, she said.

On Friday, Broscius said Winarchick has shown little remorse for how her actions have affected the boy, for whom the abuse was his first sexual experience. If Winarchick was a 50-year-old man and her victim a 15-year-old girl, "I think we'd all be screaming," Broscius said.

That was echoed by Judge Paula Roscioli, who said the victim is no less harmed because he is male.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Roscioli told Broscius.

Defense attorney Matthew Goodrich said he and his client never argued she should be treated any differently. But he argued for a county-prison sentence, saying Winarchick suffers from mental illness and has never been in serious trouble with the law before.

Goodrich said Winarchick is "mortified" by what she did, and knows that she will carry that stigma for the rest of her life. Two of Winarchick's family members testified in support of her, calling her a good person who made a mistake.

Addressing Roscioli, Winarchick fought tears as she read from a prepared statement.

"I need to apologize to the humiliation, the pain, that I have brought to so many lives," she said. by Riley Yates

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Man who fatally stabbed K-9 gets up to 44 years in prison

3-10-15 Pennsylvania:

PITTSBURGH — A man whose fatal stabbing of a K-9 prompted Pennsylvania lawmakers to stiffen the penalty for harming police animals has been sentenced to up to 44 years in prison.

A judge on Tuesday decided John Lewis Rush should serve a minimum of 17 years, nine months in prison and said he must also serve eight years of probation after being released.

The 22-year-old Stowe Township resident was convicted in December of torturing a police animal, aggravated assault on the dog's handler and three other officers, and other offenses.

Police say Rush stabbed the dog and wounded two officers trying to arrest him in January 2014 on warrants for violating probation and failing to register as a sex offender.

Rush says he stabbed the dog in self-defense. ..Source.. by WPXI.com

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Pa. bill would mandate supervision for serious sex offenders

2-24-2015 Pennsylvania:

Pennsylvania’s serious sex offenders would face three years of supervision following their prison sentences under legislation headed to the state House of Representatives.

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved House Bill 446, a proposal that would require courts to impose the mandatory probation.

Current law gives judges flexibility when ordering supervision.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin), said offenders who are released from prison because they have served the maximum sentence imposed by the court are not subject to any supervision by state parole or the court.

He said Megan’s Law requires sex offenders to register their home and work addresses with police, but there is little way of knowing their daily activities without parole or probation supervision.

The legislation will now go to the House floor for further consideration. ..Source.. by Myles Snyder

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Buckingham officials mum as they repeal sex offender law

1-29-2015 Pennsylvania:

The Buckingham supervisors repealed a township ordinance Wednesday night without mentioning what it concerned: sexually violent offenders.

The axed ordinance had established regulations for where sex offenders could reside and how far they had to stay away from schools and places where children congregate.

But the ordinance violated state law. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that local municipalities could not have laws that superseded state regulations regarding sex offenders.

Without mentioning its provisions, the supervisors repealed the law through the approval of a new ordinance that also amended the township’s rules governing the public's use of parks “to eliminate any regulation of the lawful ownership, possession, transfer or transportation of firearms, ammunition or ammunition components when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of the commonwealth.”

Municipalities throughout the state are removing firearm regulations because a new state Act 192 amends the Uniform Firearms Act to allow gun owners or gun organizations the right to sue a municipality if its laws are more regulatory than the state’s gun laws.

The supervisors addressed questions about the reasons for removing the gun regulations but didn’t mention that they were also repealing the ordinance pertaining to sex offenders. In a public notice published Jan. 20 in The Intelligencer, the township stated that it would repeal its ordinance concerning sexually violent offenders “recognizing that the area of legislation is preempted by the Pennsylvania Sentencing and Parole Codes.”

Under Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, sexual offenders are classified in tiers according to their crimes. Offenders not incarcerated are required to register with the state and must notify the state when they change residence, change their vehicle, telephone or email, among other stipulations. While the law does not restrict where an offender may reside, such a restriction can be imposed on the offender through the court system under the terms of his or her sentencing, probation and/or parole.

Buckingham’s law required offenders to stay at least 2,500 feet away from a school, day care center, camp or other place where children are located as well as to not live in the R-1 residential zone, among other regulations.

On Thursday, township manager Dana Cozza said the issue of removing the township’s sex offender regulation had been discussed at an earlier meeting, but she acknowledged it didn’t come up as the law was being repealed Wednesday night.

“It wasn’t a focus of what we were doing,” she said.

Supervisor Paul Calderaio said the supervisors didn’t try to avoid the topic. The subject of the repealed ordinance just didn’t come up, he said.

“It was mentioned at the last meeting … We’ve talked about it,” Calderaio said.

Calderaio said the ordinance being repealed was a “cleanup” of the Buckingham Code so that the township regulations agree with state law.

At the same meeting, the supervisors authorized the appointment of Hugh Hager to the Sewer and Water Committee for a term expiring in 2018.

They also authorized the purchase of a new Ford F-350 pickup truck with a snowplow and lift gate for $47,187. Cozza said the V-shaped plow and lift gate added approximately $17,000 to the cost of the vehicle.

The supervisors approved the sale of the township's old 2006 pickup truck.

"Aren't they cheaper out of season?" Supervisor Maggie Rash asked about the purchase of the truck with a plow.

"Unfortunately not," Cozza replied. ..Source.. by Peg Quann Staff writer

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Offensive offender list

1-8-2015 Pennsylvania:

Kids do stupid things. And sometimes they do stupid things that are criminal.

But unlike adults who commit a crime, we don’t subject kids to the same consequences, which sometimes can be harsh and life-changing. We take into consideration their immaturity and the likelihood that a young person’s behavior can be altered via counseling, oversight and education, and we cut them a break.

Their crimes, unless heinous, are considered in a courtroom sealed from the public so their identities are protected. Likewise, the records of those proceedings are sealed so that wayward kids once back on the right track are protected from the damaging stigma of a criminal record. Simply put, they get a second chance. Sometimes, a third and fourth.

This is unlike the way we handle adult offenders. Set in their ways and so prone to re-offend, adults are dealt stiffer consequences and under the harsh glare of the public spotlight. This includes jail terms followed by sometimes lengthy periods of parole with restrictions intended to protect the community. Sex offenders, for example, can remain listed as such for the rest of their lives and be forced to report their whereabouts to authorities.

In 2011, this philosophy was extended to juvenile sex offenders 14 and over in Pennsylvania under a statute that keeps them on a state police registry for at least 25 years. During that time, they are required to submit their address, place of employment and school to police four times a year.

If that doesn’t sound unreasonable, consider that a 2013 report compiled by the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission found that only 2 percent of juveniles who committed a sex offense went on to commit another sex offense. Then there’s this: While the juvenile registry is only accessible to law enforcement, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency reports it is not uncommon for information on state registries to leak out.

It’s why we welcome a recent state Supreme Court decision striking down the law on the basis that it unfairly treated teens like adults. The court did not break new ground. In 2012, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down a lifetime registration requirement for teen sex offenders there. The Missouri Legislature took similar action in 2013, though the governor vetoed the measure. And that same year, Maine lawmakers decided against establishing a teen sex offender registry.

It turns out the Pennsylvania court is on the vanguard of this issue, an uncommon position for any branch of Pennsylvania government.

Look, we’re not succumbing to a follow-the-crowd mentality on this issue. Nor are we advocating going soft on teen sex offenders. Their victims deserve justice, and that justice should be swift and harsh. But locking teens onto an offender list for much of their adult lives, when the fact is only a tiny fraction re-offend, is not fair justice. The judges got this one right. ..Source.. by Courier Times

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Sandusky investigators tied to pornography probe

11-21-2014 Pennsylvania:

AG Kane: Porn being passed around was not for the faint of heart

Dozens of state officials in Pennsylvania, many who worked to bring down infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky, have been caught exchanging crude pornographic e-mails written on state e-mail accounts, state computers, and on state time, according to the state’s attorney general.

In all, more than four thousand sexually explicit e-mails were circulated between about 50 people, many state employees, over a four-year period starting in 2008. Some of them at the very same time that the very same people were building a child sex abuse case against Sandusky.

The porn being passed around was not for the faint of heart. PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane, said, “When I saw them, they literally took my breath away. They are deplorable; hard core, graphic, sometimes violent e-mails that had a string of videos and pictures depicting sometimes children, old women. Some of them involved violent sexual acts against women.”

The e-mails were discovered by AG Kane, who ran for office on the promise that she would investigate why it took three years to charge Sandusky after his first victim came forward.

While looking into that, her office uncovered the pornographic e-mails. Those involved in the scandal include some of the biggest names in Pennsylvania’s justice system; State Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan, and one of the main Sandusky investigators, Prosecutor Randy Feathers.

The e-mails are so graphic, the chief justice of the state supreme court wrote that they are “clearly obscene and may violate the crimes code section on obscenity.” However, now incredibly, Kane says she can’t do a thing about it, can’t investigate further, and can’t name any names that haven’t already been made public.

(But are you investigating this right now?) Kane replied, “We are not investigating. I cannot investigate.” (Why not?) “I am being stopped from doing my duties as attorney general. My office is being stopped from certain investigations, and we are being stopped from even telling why,” said Kane.

(So, I’m hearing you say that your hands are tied. Why are your hands tied?) “My hands are tied-and this will be frustrating for you, because it’s just as frustrating for me. My hands are tied, because there are court orders that don’t allow us to say certain things, which I believe the public needs to know,” said Kane.

To understand why, you have to go back to a public, bitter feud between AG Kane and the main prosecutor in the Sandusky case, Frank Fina, which started with her criticism of how Fina handled Sandusky. The two have been lobbing allegations at each other about whether several cases have been handled correctly.

As a result, Kane is now being investigated about whether she improperly leaked a memo about a case from 2009 that Fina handled; and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a gag order in that case is keeping Kane from moving forward on the porn e-mails.

(As the state’s top prosecutor, you’re saying that there’s a court order that’s keeping you from investigating a case that you think, and the chief justice on the state Supreme Court thinks, might be illegal.) Kane replied, “That is correct.”

Kane says she believes she did the right thing. Fina didn’t comment for this story.

(Do you feel that the system is being abused to protect certain people?) “I knew that I was walking into public corruption, which again is why I ran, but I will tell you this, even I am shocked at the level of public corruption, I am shocked at how deep it goes, and I am shocked at how powerful it is. I have never seen anything like this. It’s breathtaking. It has been described by the people familiar with what is happening as shameful.”

Most of the state employees who have been publicly shamed have lost their jobs, either resigning or being forced out, but the Police Commissioner Noonan still has his job because, according to published reports, the Pennsylvania Governor says there was no proof he opened the e-mails.

As for AG Kane, sources tell us that that gag order that she says is preventing her from investigating the e-mails, it doesn’t actually mention any names; it’s vague. However, she says she’s not taking any chances. ..Source.. by Sara Ganim

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Easton settles Boobies costs for $385,000

9-29-2014 Pennsylvania:

Easton Area School District has agreed to pay $385,000 to attorneys who successfully challenged the district's policy banning breast cancer awareness bracelets with the slogan "I ♥ Boobies!"

The settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania ends nearly four years of legal action on behalf of two former middle-school students who challenged the policy after being threatened with discipline in October 2010 for wearing the popular rubber wrist bands.

Brianna Hawk and Kayla Martinez argued that the ban violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and sued the district in federal court in Philadelphia. U.S. District Judge Mary A. McLaughlin ruled in favor of the girls, and the school district appealed, saying it should have the power to regulate lewd or vulgar messages in school.

After hearing arguments in the case twice, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals found in a 9-5 opinion that the breast cancer awareness message, "I ♥ Boobies! Keep A Breast" is protected by the First Amendment, notwithstanding its potential to offend, because it is a social or political statement.

Encouraged by the dissenting opinion that the decision "entirely eviscerates the school district's authority," Easton officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the case. The high court announced in March it would not take the appeal.

Under the federal Civil Rights Act, anyone who wins a lawsuit challenging a violation of a civil right such as freedom of expression can ask a judge to award attorney fees and court costs.

ACLU attorney Mary Catherine Roper said Monday her organization and the school district reached an agreement on attorney fees and costs through negotiations, rather than continuing to litigate over what rate and how many hours were appropriate to determine the attorney fees.

Roper said Hawk and Martinez did not seek money in their lawsuit, and that the fees paid by the school district under the settlement agreement will compensate the ACLU for its work on the case.

According to Roper, the district must pay the fees in three installments: $150,000 in a lump sum, to be made within 30 days; $100,000 on Jan. 1; and $135,000 on July 1.

Easton schools solicitor John Freund said the settlement amount is a substantial reduction from the $499,000 the ACLU initially demanded. The entire $385,000 payment to the ACLU will be funded by taxpayers, Freund said. The school district's own legal fees totaled $110,000, and insurance covered 90 percent of that cost, he said.

The fees Easton Area School District will pay in the "Boobies" case are more substantial than in other recent Pennsylvania student-speech cases.

Pocono Mountain School District in 2013 paid $90,000 to lawyers after the 3rd Circuit ruled a fifth-grade girl's First Amendment rights were violated when school officials refused to let her hand out invitations to a church Christmas party.

A federal court in Scranton awarded $246,048 in fees and $29,403 in costs to the ACLU after the 3rd Circuit ruled in 2010 that Blue Mountain School District officials violated an eighth-grade girl's rights by suspending her after she lampooned her principal on a Myspace page she created. ..Source.. by Peter Hall

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

As Another Young Boy Commits Suicide in an Adult Prison, We Must Rethink the Prosecution of Children as Adults

9-26-2014 Pennsylvania:

Zachary Proper, age 15, committed suicide two weeks ago in an adult prison in Pennsylvania. There has been little media coverage of his death, suggesting a disturbing complacency about suicide by youth who would rather take their own lives than endure decades in jail.

How did Zachary end up serving time as an "adult"? At the age of 13, he was charged with killing his grandparents. Under Pennsylvania law, because Zachary was charged with murder, state law required that he be charged as an adult. He ultimately plead guilty to third degree murder of his grandparents and was sentenced to 35-80 years in prison.

Although charged as an adult, Zachary also had the right in Pennsylvania to ask the criminal court to send his case to juvenile court. His lawyer did just that. The criminal court heard testimony from Zachary himself as well as law enforcement, family members and experts who evaluated Zachary. Zachary's parents supported their son throughout these court proceedings.

While there was testimony about Zachary's abusive childhood and a prior suicide attempt, the court declined to transfer his case to juvenile court, and was particularly troubled by the absence of a "guarantee" that Zachary would be rehabilitated by age 21, when juvenile court jurisdiction would end. Of course, no expert could offer such a guarantee.

But there are highly successful, proven programs that can help kids who commit serious crimes, even those who have committed murder. The chance of success for Zachary would have been especially promising since the juvenile justice system would have had nearly eight years of his adolescence to work with him - a critical period for change and transformation as Zachary matured into adulthood. ..Continued.. by Marsha Levick

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Court: Sex offender sent to prison for failing to register Facebook account

It is idiotic to send a person to prison for failing to register a Facebook account; whoever came up with that idea needs to be committed to a mental institution. PA cost of incarceration -per year- is $42,339 and here up to 6-years or $254,034 which will be paid by the taxpayers. This state needs to imprison their legislators for squandering taxpayer funds. This makes zero sense. The punishment does not fit the crime!

9-26-2014 Pennsylvania:

Megan's Law offenders must do more than just register their addresses with state police. They also have to let state police know if they open an account on social media.

One who failed to let state police know about his Facebook account paid a heavy penalty Wednesday. Justin Stafford, 36, of 1020 Chestnut St., has been a Megan's Law registrant since 2004. He was convicted of indecent assault.

Earlier this year, Stafford opened a Facebook account and failed to notify state police, who found out about it from an ex-girlfriend of Stafford's. Police charged Stafford on April 7.

Stafford pleaded guilty to failure to provide accurate registration and unsworn falsification.

Judge Samuel Kline sentenced Stafford Wednesday to three to six years in state prison and fined him $350. ..Source.. by Steve Snyder

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Committee OKs bill extending mandatory supervision

Politicians should be required to subject themselves to a polygraph as to the truthfulness of their comments (see highlighted below).

9-25-2014 Pennsylvania:

The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee has approved a measure to extend mandatory supervision of serious sex offenders after their release.

“I authored this legislation to protect the public while these offenders are making the adjustment from incarceration to freedom,” the bill’s prime sponsor, State Rep. Ron Marsico (R-Dauphin) said. “There have been too many incidences where a sex offender leaves prison and immediately commits the same or similar crime as the one he or she was convicted of previously. It’s a public safety issue, and I’m going to do everything I can to prevent these heinous crimes from occurring.”

Marsico said his legislation closes a loophole in how serious sex offenders are tracked after release from prison, noting inmates who are released from prison because they have served the maximum sentence imposed by the court are not normally subject to any supervision by state parole or the court.

“Even if paroled before maxing out, the period of parole supervision may be short, depending on how close to their maximum term they were released,” Marsico said in a memo circulated to capital peers.

In the memo, Marsico noted data from the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission shows sex offenders are the most likely inmates to serve the full maximum term or close to it before being released. The reason for this is they have refused to take responsibility for their crimes or have failed to cooperate with treatment and other rehabilitation programs.

“These people pose a serious risk to public safety when they are released back into the community without a level of supervision to monitor their transition,” Marsico said. “To address this problem, [my] legislation will require the court to impose a mandatory three-year probation period consecutive to any term of total confinement for a person convicted of a Tier III sex offense under Pennsylvania’s Adam Walsh Act.

“Under existing law, the court will have the flexibility to order supervision by the PA Board of Probation and Parole, or county probation. If a person is paroled and adequately adjusts to freedom under parole supervision, current law would permit the court to modify or even terminate probation supervision.”

The bill now heads to the state Senate for a concurrence vote in that chamber, it is part of a bigger parcel of related bills passed recently by the judiciary committee. ..Source.. by Damon C. Williams

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

PA House Outlaws “Revenge Porn”

7-12-2014 Pennsylvania:

Just before the summer break, Pennsylvania legislature passed a bill that outlaws “revenge porn” in the state. Violators of the law would face two years in prison if the victim is an adult and five years if the victim is a minor. Presumably, those distributing photos of minors would also face child pornography charges.

Revenge porn is pornography that is distributed without the consent of the individual or individuals pictured. It generally takes the form of an ex-boyfriend posting dirty photos of his ex-girlfriend online once she’s broken up with him or wronged him in some way. (Hence the “revenge” part.) Obviously, the genders can be reversed, or both parties can be the same sex. It can also take other, similar forms. It’s been around for a while, obviously, but — as Internet usage expands and photos get easier to take and share online — there have been more calls to criminalize it explicitly.

Nine states have bills prohibiting revenge porn, including New Jersey. N.J. used its 2003 invasion of privacy law to prosecute Dharun Ravi after Rutgers student Tyler Clementi's suicide. Though Pennsylvania passed a bill that originated in the House, Berks County Democratic Sen. Judy Schwank originally pushed for the bill in the Senate earlier this year.

"We’ve been able to put these two bills together to retain the strongest features of both," Schwank told KYW 1060. ..Source.. by Dan McQuade

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...