Rules Committee Votes Down Ban on Legislators Having Sex with Pages and Interns

1-13-17 South Dakota:

The Joint Legislative Procedure Committee voted 9–5 today to reject a rule barring legislators from having sex with pages and interns.

Senator Stace Nelson (R-19/Fulton) offered this amendment to the Joint Rules of the Legislature:

1B-3.1 Sexual contact prohibited. No legislator or legislative employee may have sexual contact with any legislative intern or page.

Senator Nelson said this amendment is required to ensure the Legislature fulfills its “obligation to ensure a workplace that is free from any type of sexual harassment, coercion, etc.”

During questioning, Senator Blake Curd (R-12/Sioux Falls) drew an analogy to his military experience, saying that it is “good professional behavior to not be involved with people in your chain of command.” However, Senator contended that such behavior is already covered by Joint Rule 1A-4: ..Continued.. by caheidelberger

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Plan to add human traffickers to sex offender list advances

1-24-2015 South Dakota:

PIERRE — A proposal that would require convicted human traffickers to register as sex offenders would help fight a dangerous threat to the state, Attorney General Marty Jackley told a Senate committee on Thursday shortly before the panel passed the measure.

The state Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send the proposal to the chamber’s floor. Jackley said that human trafficking of minors that involves kidnapping, prostitution or the death of a victim and coercive trafficking that involves the prostitution of a minor should be designated sex crimes that require registration.

“When I look at the sex offender registry ... human trafficking is precisely what that registry is designed to protect against,” Jackley said.

There are about 3,300 sex offenders registered in South Dakota.

An offender who has committed a comparable offense in a different state and moved to South Dakota would have to join the registry.

Jackley said the registration requirement also would keep offenders away from libraries and schools.

Kimberly Kaveny-LaPlante, executive director of Call to Freedom, a Sioux Falls-based advocacy group, said she’s pleased the state is moving forward with the plan.

But, it’s something that should be on the books right now, she said.

“Why hasn’t this been in place before?” she said. “It’s just the beginning of some of the things that need to happen as far as legislation in our state.”

South Dakota residents’ friendly mindsets have led to denial about the prevalence of human trafficking in the state, Kaveny-LaPlante said.

She said the state needs to provide more financial assistance to the victims of human trafficking and the organizations that support them. ..Source.. by aberdeen news.com

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Jackley: Put pimps of minors on sex offender registry

UPDATE

12-23-2014 South Dakota:

Attorney General Marty Jackley has released his list of proposed bills for the upcoming legislative session. The state's top prosecutor will ask lawmakers to place some human trafficking convicts on the state's sex offender registry, ... ...

The push to add pimps convicted of trafficking of minors or trafficking through the prostitution of minors is based on the coercion embedded in the crimes, Jackley said. "The inclusion of human trafficking is part of our commitment to providing a sex offender registry that exceeds national standards, partners with our reservation communities, and protects our children," Jackley said.

The designation of traffickers as sex crime perpetrators makes sense, said Krista Heeren-Graber, Director of the South Dakota Network Against Family Violence. The goal of the registry is to inform the community of potential predators, she said. "I think it's a great idea," said Heeren-Graber. "It provides more protection and awareness for the community." ... ... ... ..Source.. by John Hult

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Exceptions To Sex Offender Housing Law

Note: When a law is enacted and within it there are exceptions/provisions only applicable based on some date, then the law has an ex post facto element to it; for some -those before the date- are free from the provision/s of the law. Punishment before the date, not after the date; law can be crazy.

11-3-2014 South Dakota:

SIOUX FALLS, SD - Community safety zones can be found throughout Sioux Falls, areas where people on the South Dakota Sex Offender Registry cannot live.

"It's a 500-foot restriction for registered offenders. They cannot reside within that 500-foot level from basically your schools, parks, playgrounds and pools. Those are municipal properties," Detective Ron Harris said.

Anyone can go on the registry to find out if a sex offender lives in their neighborhood. After looking at several locations in Sioux Falls, we found community safe zones where a registered sex offender can be found, including a home near Eugene Field Elementary and another home near Axtell Park School.

"There are exceptions to that. It allows people to live inside that boundary, so it's not a 100 percent exclusionary zone," Harris said.

There are eight exceptions laid out in state law including if a person is under 18 when they're convicted, if they've lived there before the law was put in place in 2006 and if a community safety zone was created after they moved in.

"As a person comes in to register and provides that address that's checked into the computer and it gives us the radius right there. So, these individuals that are inside that radius would've already been cleared," Harris said.

The exceptions to the 500-foot rule don't sit well with people who call about an offender in their neighborhood.

"I get phone calls constantly about that issue and basically it's laid out in state law. So you really can't contest or argue it," Harris said.

The sex offender registry is meant to be a public awareness tool, not something that others can use against the people found on the registry.

"It's against state law to utilize the sex offender registry information to harass or punish someone because they're your neighbor," Harris said.

Harris says that one thing that can override the exemptions is a court order. A judge could still rule that a sex offender who meets one of those points has to move. ..Source.. by Jared Ransom

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My Voice: Treatment, not prison, answer for sex offenses

6-16-2014 South Dakota:

On behalf of our 4,000-plus members, the Dakota Reform Sex Offender Laws Family Solutions is asking South Dakota Senate candidates to make this issue a campaign priority.

Our mission — promote medical research, legislation and education to provide an empirically based, rational approach to dealing with sexually related offenses and stop the cycle of abuse to protect all children.

According to the Department of Justice, most child sexual-abuse victims are molested by family members or close acquaintances. About40 percent of crimes take place in the victim’s own home, and 20 percent take place in the home of a friend or relative. Your children are more at risk from your family, your friends and you than from convicted sex offenders.

While I was growing up in the Dakotas, incest was common. The abuser was confronted by family members and the inappropriate behavior stopped, a method that was very successful. I know from personal experience that the behavior can be changed and the abuser can be stopped, with the support of family and loved ones.

History has proved that incarceration and labeling does not protect all children. The Unified Judicial System Annual Report and the Crime in South Dakota report published each year by the Division of Criminal Investigation verify the number of new offenses each year while another child is victimized.

For an “offense” of any sexual nature, America law does not hesitate to destroy the family structure, slowly bankrupts the family and might force the family on public assistance (paid by taxpayers). Often the accused is provided additional legal resources through the court (paid by taxpayers). Citizens are incarcerated (health insurance, room and board paid by taxpayers), and once their sentence is served, they are released back into society, labeled with the registry as to where they can live and have difficulty finding jobs. ..Continued.. by Georgina Schaff of Lemmon is a Dakota RSOL Family Solutions State Affiliate Organizer.

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Attorney questions state's methods in child porn case

12-10-2013 South Dakota:

Prosecutors could be abusing their pre-indictment subpoena power when they seize evidence in child pornography cases, according to a Rapid City attorney.

Ellery Grey appeared in court Monday with Wesley Leach, a former city information technology specialist who is charged with possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography.

Leach, 51, was arrested in October. He remains free on bond.

Grey informed Circuit Judge Janine Kern that he plans to file a written challenge that could require an evidentiary hearing to state his case.

Leach returns to court on Monday, Dec. 16.

Bert Twiggs, the former Douglas School District technology director facing child pornography charges, also made a brief court appearance on Monday.

Twiggs' attorney, Paul Eisenbraun, is still waiting for a forensic expert to examine a clone of the suspect's hard drive. Kern set Twiggs' next court appearance for Dec. 23. ..Source.. by Journal Staff

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Legal sex and smartphone video equals child pornography

6-27-2013 South Carolina:

Sidney Myers, a 20-year-old South Carolina man, had procured a powerful handheld device built in a foreign country, a device which allowed him both to transmit a bomb threat and to create child pornography. The device was an HTC smartphone, and his use of the phone has now branded Myers a lifelong sex offender and landed him an 18 month federal prison sentence. His public defender claims that the “facts of this case have never been seen in our jurisdiction and likely will not be seen again,” but in the smartphone age, perhaps the facts no longer seem as unusual as they once would have.

Problems began when Myers met a young woman in a club. According to Myers’ lawyer, the woman told him that she was 18—though in reality she was just 16. They began dating, which led to sex, which led to videos of sex, all taken on Myers’ smartphone with the woman’s full consent. (Two different government press releases on Myers say he had either five or six such videos on his phone; the exact number is unclear.)

That age difference didn’t matter, legally, when it came to having sex. “It should be noted that under both South Carolina and federal law, the age of consent is 16, so it was legal for them to have sex whether she was 16 or 18,” wrote Myers’ lawyer in a court filing. But the age difference did matter when it came to recording the act. Because the girl was a minor, the images were child pornography under federal law, even though they involved a consensual relationship and someone above the age of consent.

Myers didn’t share the videos with anyone, which is typically how such cases end up in the judicial system; he didn’t even transfer them off his phone. The videos would have remained private mementos had Myers not had a truly terrible idea on November 2, 2011.

The bomb threat

He had spent the previous night at the girl’s home, with the consent of the girl’s mother, and he wanted to spend more time with her. As Myers’ lawyer describes the moment, “The two of them came up with a plan for [the girl] not to go to high school that day. On impulse, Mr. Myers called the office at her school and reported a bomb threat.” In fact, investigators would later find that he had called twice, claiming that six bombs were on the school grounds of Eau Claire High School. ..for the rest of the story.. by Nate Anderson

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Official Wants Fairgrounds Banned To Sex Offenders

6-19-2013 South Dakota:

The lead prosecutor in South Dakota's Brown County wants commissioners to ban convicted sex offenders from the fairgrounds during the annual county fair.

State's Attorney Larry Lovrien says many of the events at the fair are geared toward children, and that many volunteers and vendors who work at the fair are sex offenders. His proposal aims to keep the fairgrounds safe for children.

Lovrien is suggesting the county declare the fairgrounds a public park or playground each year during the fair. That would make the fairgrounds a "community safe zone," and sex offenders are forbidden by law from coming within 500 feet of such areas.

County commissioners have not taken any action on the proposal. ..Source.. by KDLT News

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SD sex offender accused of illegal petitioning

5-15-2013 South Dakota:

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A South Dakota law prohibiting convicted sex offenders from circulating petitions is being used to prosecute a Rapid City man banned from petitioning on county property more than a year ago.

Dallas Krausch, 75, is on the state's Sex Offender Registry because of a conviction for having sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl in Pennington County in 1986. He was hired to circulate petitions for several years, and at one point he said it was his only source of income. But his allegedly aggressive approach drew complaints at the Pennington County Courthouse in 2011, and that November, county commissioners barred him from circulating petitions on county property.

Krausch is now being prosecuted for allegedly collecting petition signatures on April 11 at the Rapid City Public Library, the Rapid City Journal reported (http://bit.ly/16zmFZd ). His arrest came four days after he was asked to leave the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, where he also was circulating a petition, according to police reports.

Defense attorney Dennis Groff said in court Tuesday that he is working with prosecutors to resolve the charges against his client, who faces two misdemeanor counts. Krausch could face up to two years in jail and $4,000 in fines if convicted.

The Legislature passed a law last year prohibiting convicted sex offenders from circulating petitions. It was proposed by legislators from Pennington County, and some said the law specifically targeted Krausch. Supporters stressed the importance of keeping personal information, such as addresses, out of the hands of potential predators. ..Source.. by Chron.com

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SD, ND, tribe unite on sex offender registry

11-12-20012 North and South Dakota:

The states of South Dakota and North Dakota have reached an agreement to work with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to crack down on sex offenders.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The states of South Dakota and North Dakota have reached an agreement to work with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to crack down on sex offenders.

The states and tribe will share offender and conviction data, process DNA samples, and advise each other of offenders moving across jurisdictional boundaries.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEHN’-juhm) and Standing Rock Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy announced the agreement on Friday. It will enable the tribe to put data from its sex offender registry on a national database.

The Standing Rock reservation straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. ..Source..

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Living areas may expand for sex offenders

1-25-2012 South Dakota:

A House committee has recommended passage for a bill that will allow sex offenders on probation to live in halfway houses within community safety zones.

The bill, which passed 9-3 on Monday, expands a 2010 law that allowed sex offenders on parole to live in supervised housing within 500 feet of a school, church or park – part of an overhaul of the sex offender rules that also allowed some people to have their names removed from the registry.

House Bill 1060, which was proposed by the Unified Judicial System, would allow probationers, who have not gone to prison for their crime, the same residency rights as parolees.

“Parolees and probationers often are referred to as the same, but legally, they’re not,” said Greg Sattizahn, the legal representative for the UJS.

In Sioux Falls, there are two halfway houses and one homeless shelter within community safety zones: The Arch halfway house, the Glory House and the Union Gospel Mission.

Until the law change in 2010, sex offenders who couldn’t find a job or a home could be charged with a felony for residing at the mission. Those who needed supervision after their prison stay couldn’t be placed at one of Sioux Falls’ halfway houses.

Now, parolees can be placed in those halfway houses, but probationers cannot.

Rep. Stace Nelson, R-Fulton, was not part of the legislative debate that altered the rules for sex offenders in 2010. He voted against HB 1060, saying it puts children in danger.

“We’re talking about sex offenders here. They’ve been tried, they’ve been convicted. I don’t want to be a part of any process that puts them back in the presence of children,” Nelson said.

Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls, said those who’ve been released from prison have been deemed safe enough to be out in the community and ought to be allowed to live in a supervised environment if no housing option exists outside of a safety zone.

The same should hold true for probationers, he said, who the courts have deemed less dangerous than those sentenced to prison.

“In most cases, they can be trusted more than a parolee,” Abdallah said. “To say that this is being soft on sex offenders … we have a court system, we have a probation system. If we can’t rely on our courts, I don’t know what the hell we’re doing here.”

Abdallah and Rep. Shawn Tornow, R-Sioux Falls, each voted for the bill. Tornow said his support isn’t guaranteed in the full House.

He wants to know whether there are options for sex offenders that aren’t within safe zones.

“I don’t believe it’s outside the realm of reasonableness to assign them to a halfway house that’s not within a community safety zone,” Tornow said.

Fran Stenberg, executive director of the Union Gospel Mission, expects that lifting the restriction will be helpful for some of the homeless sex offenders who turn to his shelter. Stenberg said sex offenders often volunteer that information.

“It’s a small problem, but it is a problem,” Stenberg said. “It’s not anything we have to worry about, but it’s a problem for them. It’s on their shoulders (to register their address).”

The bill now moves on to the full House. ..Source.. by John Hult

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37 South Dakotans have names removed from sex offender registry

8-9-2010 South Dakota:

Sweeping changes to South Dakota's Sex Offender Registry passed by the Legislature this year have resulted in 37 names, including those of six Pennington County residents, being scrubbed from the list.

All 37 offenders had been convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure, according to Attorney General Marty Jackley, which meant the names were removed from the registry automatically on July 1. The registry can be found online at sor.sd.gov

Rapid City Police Lt. Tom Vliger said a half dozen of the names purged from the sex offender registry were from Pennington County.

“Pennington County had 309 people listed on the registry. Six were removed,” he said.

Vliger said that those convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure were not part of innocent pranks of locking people outdoors while naked, streaking or swimming in the nude.

“These are not people who are urinating in public,” Vliger said.

Misdemeanor indecent exposure involves an intent to arouse or gratify sexual behavior by someone exposing themselves in public in a way that is likely to annoy, offend or alarm another person, he said.

The important difference from the earlier examples is the intent to arouse sexual behavior, Vliger said.

Legislators passed changes to the registry in March, allowing some offenders to petition for removal and requiring the names of all those convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure to be purged.

Jackley had argued that misdemeanor offenders already on the list be required to petition as well, but lawmakers overruled him.

The Legislature made changes to the registry this year following an intensive set of studies from 2009-2010.

Lawmakers created a tiered system that allows people convicted of lesser sex offenses to be removed by petition either 10 or 25 years after their conviction. Those deemed high-risk, such as those convicted of violent rape or child molestation, are classified as Tier III offenders and are not eligible for removal.

Tier I offenders, who can petition for removal after 10 years, include those who were 21 or younger when convicted of statutory rape.

People on Tier II, who must wait 25 years, include those convicted of bestiality and incest.

Offenders on the registry still are required to report their address every time they move and are not allowed to live near schools, parks or pools.

There have been two petitions for removal delivered to Jackley's office for review, he said, but his attorneys have yet to offer a recommendation.

Offenders who wish to be removed must file a petition with the Unified Judicial System in their home county, after which Jackley’s office reviews the case and sends a recommendation to a local judge.

The judge can object or sign the petition. Minnehaha County State's Attorney Aaron McGowan said his office has seen a courtesy copy of one petition, although local prosecutors are not required to review petitions.

The exact process has yet to be defined, Jackley said. Judges likely will have broad discretion.

“We’re kind of in uncharted waters at this point,” he said.

The Rev. Joe Panaia of Tea was glad to see his name removed. Panaia operates a ministry called “Bridging the Gap” and uses his past experiences to tell the story of how he has turned to Jesus.

“I’ve never tried to hide my past, but I'm not going to put it on the front page of my website,” he said.

Panaia’s appearance on the list, as well as past convictions for forgery and fraud, stirred controversy one year ago when he attempted to open a youth center in Tea. He eventually backed away from plans for the center.

Despite the guilty plea, Panaia maintains his innocence in the 2001 indecent exposure case. According to court documents, Panaia exposed himself to a co-worker and joked about her turning him in. He fought the charges but eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail and probation. ..Source.. by John Hult

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Lawyer Who Claimed Child Porn Was Legal Research Is Acquitted

Advocates may want to keep this attorney's name handy should a newly accused person need a lawyer in South Dakota.

12-20-2010 South Dakota:

A 62-year-old Sioux Falls lawyer has been acquitted of child pornography charges after claiming he viewed the images at work as part of his legal research.

Leo Flynn plans to continue practicing law, the Argus Leader reports. "This just reaffirms why I became a lawyer,” he said outside the federal courtroom. “That's why I'm going to continue to do what I do.”

South Dakota laws protect lawyers and other professionals who view child pornography as part of their official duties.

Flynn told police in a recorded interview that he installed the file-sharing program Limewire on his computer and downloaded child pornography after a former client called with questions. Prosecutors had argued Flynn’s interest in the images was personal rather than professional. They also noted Flynn's statement to police that his life was over, a comment the defense attributed to sarcasm.

Flynn had argued he could not reveal the names of clients who had questions about child porn because of attorney-client privilege. His defense lawyer also told jurors Flynn doesn’t fit the profile of someone interested in child porn because he viewed the material only at work.

Flynn’s friends called him the “perv attorney” because so many of his clients had been accused of sex crimes, the Argus Leader reports. He said he’ll go back to practicing law, although he’s not sure whether he will ever accept another child porn case, according to KSFY.com. Jurors deliberated for six hours before reaching the verdict. ..Source.. by Debra Cassens Weiss

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37 are sex offenders no more in S.D.

8-9-2010 South Dakota:

Changes allow some convicted of lesser crimes to be removed from list

Sweeping changes to South Dakota's Sex Offender Registry passed this year by the Legislature have resulted in 37 names being scrubbed from the list.

All 37 offenders had been convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure, according to Attorney General Marty Jackley. That meant the names were removed automatically July 1 from the registry, which appears online.

In March, legislators approved changes to the registry, allowing some offenders to petition for removal and requiring the names of all those convicted of misdemeanor indecent exposure to be purged.

Jackley had argued that misdemeanor offenders already on the list should be required to petition as well, but lawmakers overruled him.

Tea pastor Joe Panaia was glad to see his name removed. He operates a ministry called "Bridging the Gap" and uses his past experiences to tell the story of how he's turned to Jesus.

"I've never tried to hide my past, but I'm not gonna put it on the front page of my website," he said.

Panaia's appearance on the list, in addition to his convictions for forgery and fraud, stirred controversy a year ago when he attempted to open a youth center in Tea. He eventually backed away from plans for the center.

Despite the guilty plea, Panaia maintains his innocence in the 2001 indecent exposure case. Court documents say Panaia exposed himself to a coworker and joked about her turning him in. He fought the charges but eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail and probation.

A sexual contact charge relating to an incident at a McDonald's restaurant was dropped in 2005. He was convicted of forgery in 2007.

The pastor said he's turned his life around, and he hopes his removal from the registry will help him to continue his work.

"The only thing I'm guilty of is pleading guilty to a crime I didn't commit," he said.

Jackley said Panaia's case is being reviewed based on information from other states.

The Legislature made changes to the registry this year after an intensive set of studies the past two years.

Lawmakers created a tiered system that allows people convicted of lesser sex offenses to be removed by petition either 10 or 25 years after their conviction. Those deemed high risk, such as those convicted of violent rape or child molestation, are classified as Tier III offenders and are not eligible for removal.

Tier I offenders, who can petition for removal after 10 years, include those who were 21 or younger when convicted of statutory rape.

People on Tier II, who must wait 25 years, include those convicted of bestiality and incest.

Offenders on the registry still are required to report their address every time they move and are not allowed to live near schools, parks or pools.

Two petitions for removal have been delivered to Jackley's office for review, he said, but his lawyers have yet to offer a recommendation.

Offenders who wish to be removed must file a petition with the Unified Judicial System in their home county, after which Jackley's office reviews the case and sends a recommendation to a local judge.

The judge can object or sign the petition. Minnehaha County State's Attorney Aaron McGowan said his office has seen a courtesy copy of one petition, although local prosecutors are not required to review petitions.

The exact process has yet to be defined, Jackley said. Judges probably will have broad discretion.

"We're kind of in uncharted waters at this point," he said. ..Source.. John Hult

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Changes to the Sex Offender Registry in SD

7-2-2010 South Dakota:

Changes to the sex offender registry go into affect today.

They are state wide requirements, that each individual county now needs to adjust to and prepare for.

KDLT's Krystle Kacner tells us what changes are taking place, and what they could mean.

South Dakota already makes it easy to check any neighborhood for sex offenders .

"The biggest thing is being on top of and being aware of where sex offenders live, what they've been charged with, and just take appropriate caution if you feel that's necessary," said Lincoln County Sheriff Dennis Johnson.

Now, the state is taking it even further. Grouping offenders into three tiers depending on the severity of their offense, the first tier being the most serious.

"Obviously this tiered system is a very large change and time will tell on how successful it is because there are still certain requirements, certain sex offenses where people still have to register for life. And the other two tiers where a person would at least be eligible after a certain amount of time to request removal," said Johnson.

If they are eligible they have to go to court to petition to get off the sex offender list. However an attorney will not be appointed for them and all of those court fees will be up to them.

"Its not just somebody can just write a piece of paper and expect to be taken off of the sex offender registry, I think it's going to be given a lot of scrutiny," said Johnson.

Lincoln County Sheriff Dennis Johnson says this could give some that perhaps do not need to be on the registry an opportunity to get off it and he says he has come across such cases in his career.

Johnson also feels confident there will be many people trying to get off the list in the next few months. In fact he says he's gotten many questions about it already.

Another change that went into affect today: Sex offenders only have three business days now to register as opposed to five.

And officials say in South Dakota, the only days that are not considered business days are Sundays and some National Holidays. ..Source.. Krystle Kacner

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Law passed to remove some sex offenders from South Dakota registry

As good as this seems, there still are some kinks: Since AWA has forced states to include folks retroactively it seems logical that, the term of registration should also be retroactive, in that, term should begin when the person was first placed in the community, not when this law was enacted.

3-30-2010 South Dakota:

VERMILLION, SD (KTIV) - Sex offender laws are to help crack down on those who commit a crime. But if you are an 18-year-old dating a 17-year-old you could find your name on the sex offender registry for life.

That's why one Siouxland state wants to take some names off the list.

Sheriff Andy Howe has his very own link to local sex offenders in Clay County, South Dakota. But, even he thinks the list is just a little too long.

"There are people on the registry who are married because things change," says Howe.

Clay County and every other county in South Dakota will soon need to change their sex offender policies. The state recently signed a bill that will place sex offenders on a three tiered registry, eventually allowing some names to come off the list.

"Previously people were on for life once they came on they stayed on and that didn't differentiate," Howe says.

The new system will allow names in tier one to come off the list in 10 years, for crimes like statutory rape in which both persons are of similar age. Tier two names will come off in twenty five years for crimes such as incest, and tier three names will never come off the list because of their likelihood to commit again or because of the severity of the crime.

And county officials like Sheriff Howe believe this is a good thing for some of those convicted.

"What we have is the ability to take out from those who really aren't likely to offend and concentrate on those that are," says Howe.

County officials say the new law will take effect on July 1st of this year, making the list's like Sheriff Howe's just a little bit shorter.

As of May 2009, there were 15 registered sex offenders in Clay County, South Dakota. ..Source.. Forrest Saunders

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House panel passes sex offender bill

3-2-2010 South Dakota:

The House Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill Monday that would allow registered sex offenders to live in halfway houses or homeless shelters in community safety zones.

Senate Bill 7 would allow sex offenders on parole to stay at halfway houses within 500 feet of parks, pools or schools as long as they are supervised.

It also allows homeless offenders to stay in shelters regardless of location. In Sioux Falls, the only homeless shelter that will accept registered sex offenders, Union Gospel Mission, is adjacent to a park.

The bill, which already passed the Senate, now moves to the full House for a vote. ..Source.. John Hult, Argus Leader

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Panel approves changes to South Dakota sex offender registry

Reporters, at times and this is one, miss the most important facts! Senate Bill 12 also says:

Sec.-4: Any person who is on the state sex offender registry on the effective date of this Act shall be deemed to have been assigned to Tier III. However, any such person may petition the court, pursuant to § 22-24B-17, for appropriate reassignment in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Right, force everyone to be the worst-of-the-worst, and if you don't like that, get an attorney (bill also says none will be appointed) to petition the court to get a CORRECT Tier Level. This is legal? Should the state be forced to pay the attorney fees & costs for every registrant who has been MIS-CLASSIFIED by the legislature? Obviously I say YES!

2-12-2010 South Dakota:

Legislation in South Dakota would give some sex offenders convicted of rape or indecent exposure a chance to remove their name from the registry after 10 years.

PIERRE, S.D. — A South Dakota Senate committee today advanced a bill that would create tiers for the state’s sex offender registry, giving some people a chance to get their names removed from the list eventually.

The measure, which now heads to the full Senate, would create three groups of sex crimes.

Those convicted of the most serious ones, including crimes against children, could never get off the offender list. Those convicted of midlevel sex crimes could ask to be removed after 25 years, and those convicted of less serious crimes such as misdemeanor indecent exposure or statutory rape when the offender is 25 or younger could ask to be removed after 10 years.

“I think it’s a good bill,” Attorney General Marty Jackley told the committee.

The bill is a product of a summer study by a special legislative committee. It advanced out of the Judiciary Committee on a 7-0 vote Thursday after several debate sessions and a half-dozen amendments during the past month.

Lawmakers have said for years that it’s unfair to treat those convicted of less serious sex crimes the same as those convicted of rape and other more serious crimes.

Sen. Craig Tieszen, R-Rapid City, called the bill a good compromise that might need some tweaking later.

“I think in the big picture that we have made progress on this. We’ve addressed the issue,” he said. “We’ve shined a bright light on the registry.”

Convicted sex offenders are required to register with local law enforcement. Their names, addresses and crimes are available on a state Internet site.

Committee members killed a separate bill asking the attorney general to study and report on possible improvements to the Internet site after Jackley said his office would begin working on the changes immediately and report back to the committee next year. ..Source.. Dirk Lammers

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Panel approves changes to sex offender registry

Reporters, at times and this is one, miss the most important facts! Senate Bill 12 also says:

Sec.-4: Any person who is on the state sex offender registry on the effective date of this Act shall be deemed to have been assigned to Tier III. However, any such person may petition the court, pursuant to § 22-24B-17, for appropriate reassignment in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

Right, force everyone to be the worst-of-the-worst, and if you don't like that, get an attorney (bill also says none will be appointed) to petition the court to get a CORRECT Tier Level. This is legal? Should the state be forced to pay the attorney fees & costs for every registrant who has been MIS-CLASSIFIED by the legislature? Obviously I say YES!

2-11-2010 South Dakota:

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A South Dakota Senate committee has advanced a bill that would create tiers for the state's sex offender registry, giving some people a chance to get their names removed.

The bill, approved 7-0 by the Judiciary Committee on Thursday, would create three groups of sex crimes.

Those convicted of serious crimes could never get off the offender list.

Those convicted of a middle group could ask to be removed after 25 years, and those convicted of less-serious crimes such as misdemeanor indecent exposure could ask to be removed after 10 years.

The bill now heads to the full Senate. ..Source.. KTIV.com

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Plan to change registry altered

1-29-2010 South Dakota:

AG proposal means sex offenders must petition to move to lower tier

A state Senate committee Thursday accepted an amendment proposed by the attorney general on the much-debated sex offender registry bill.

The amendment now will become the base for Senate Bill 12, which would create a three-tiered system to classify sex offenders and give those convicted of lesser crimes an opportunity to get their names removed from the list.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to move forward with Attorney General Marty Jackley's amendment, which among other changes does not automatically assign offenders to a specific tier, but makes it the offender's responsibility to petition the court to be assigned to a lower tier.

"So the burden is really on the sex offender," Jackley said.

More amendments are expected, which is why committee chairman Sen. Gene Abdallah delayed the final committee vote on the bill for a week.
"I'm really, really happy how it went today. I think all parties are in agreement," Abdallah said.

"What I'm seeing in this proposed amendment is relatively pleasing, at least from our perspective," testified Cheri Scharffenberg, legislative coordinator for the South Dakota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Abdallah led a legislative study committee made up of House and Senate members who met several times before the session, producing eight bills that seek to change the state's sex offender laws. But it is the bill that contains the tiered setup that has gained the most attention.

Under the tier system, those convicted of rape or other severe crimes would be placed on Tier III of the registry for life. Those on Tier II would have to be on the list for at least 25 years before they could petition for removal. People convicted of less severe crimes, such as statutory rape, could end up on Tier I for at least 10 years.

Jackley's amendment puts misdemeanor indecent exposure, which the study committee had proposed removing from the registry, back on it.
Abdallah didn't state whether that's a provision he wants deleted.

"That's something we will be discussing," he said.

The amendment also moved offenders who intentionally expose someone to HIV from Tier II to Tier III.

There still are details that need to be ironed out, such as whether the bill would be retroactive.

It's been more than a decade since half of the offenders on the registry were convicted of their crimes, according to an Argus Leader analysis of December sex offender registry data.
About 130 of those offenders were convicted more than 25 years ago, and for a handful, it's been half a century.

But the registry was created in 1994, so the committee must decide whether the minimum number of years on the list in Tiers I and II start when offenders were convicted, when they were released from jail or when the registry was started.

The Judiciary Committee also unanimously passed four bills regarding sex offender registry laws, including allowing offenders to live in homeless shelters and halfway houses that are within 500 feet of schools or parks. The other three reduce the grace period for certain sex offenders to register from five to three days; apply out-of-state registry laws to those offenders not convicted in South Dakota; and add convictions of conspiracy or solicitation of sex crimes as registerable offenses.

Legislators and Jackley have been working for several weeks to come to an agreement.

Two weeks ago, Jackley's objections to the summer study committee's tier proposal caught members off-guard.

Jackley was pleased with Thursday's developments "I remain positive that between the summer study and the leadership shown in the Senate Judiciary Committee that everyone is working hard to improve the sex offender registry," he said.

The four remaining bills regarding sex offender registry laws will be addressed by the Senate Judiciary Committee next Thursday. ..Source.. Megan Luther

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