This should be a felony! Given that she placed a child at risk there is no doubt in my mind that she belongs on the state's "central registry" a registry of those who have placed children in harms way!
Further, look close at the pic, why does Craigslist not show the age of the POSTER of the ad? There is a place for it..
7-5-2009 New York:
A Long Island, New York, social worker is facing two misdemeanor charges after allegedly posting a sexually suggestive ad on Craigslist that gave interested parties the home phone number of a 9-year-old girl.
According to prosecutors, Margery Tannenbaum posted the ad to get revenge after an argument between her daughter and the girl, who attend the same school in Hauppauge, New York.
On Thursday, Tannenbaum was arraigned on charges of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a minor. She pleaded not guilty and will appear in court later this month.
Officials told CNN affiliate News 12 in Long Island that the Craigslist ad read "I need a little affection... I'm blond, I'm cute and I'll be waiting."
Interested parties were directed to an e-mail address where they were given the girl's name and home phone number. Callers were unaware they were trying to reach a 9-year-old.
According to Suffolk County authorities, the mother of the girl intercepted calls before her daughter answered. She said she received 22 calls in one day, in all around 40 calls from various men who saw the ad, including some seeking an escort service. After Craigslist was issued a subpoena, authorities said they were able to track the account to Tannenbaum.
In court documents read aloud by Suffolk District Attorney Tom Spota, the 9-year-old's mother described one of the phone calls she received from a man responding to the ad.
She said, "This is her mother. Can I help you?" The male replied, "Oh. Hot lady lives with foxy mamma?"
The caller hung up after the girl's mother told him the "hot girl" he was referring to was 9 years old.
When asked about the case, Tannenbaum's attorney, Tad Scharfenberg, said, "I think this has been blown out of proportion to what the actual alleged act was."
Hey, in today's world charges are based on what could have happened not what actually happened. There are hundreds of folks in jail on that basis.
He described Tannenbaum as "a well-loved woman by both family and friends," and said she was a classroom mom at her daughter's school.
"She's never been in any trouble for anything before," Scharfenberg said. "She's just really upset by the whole thing. Her biggest concern has always been that this not materially affect the victim or her child. She wants to make sure the way it's being handled doesn't make that worse."
In an interview with News 12, the victim's mother said she was "horrified."
"It's scary to think that someone would take any issue and attack your child." ..Source.. by Laurie Segall, CNN
July 5, 2009
NY- Woman accused of targeting girl, 9, with Craigslist ad
August 8, 2008
IN- Registered sex offender challenging ordinance to allow him to see his son play baseball
It appears he is being excluded, not because he is a RSO, but because of other unrelated acts (maybe criminal). The problem is the ordinance doesn't permit excluding folks based on any other acts, so there is a good likelihood the judge will rule in his favor, IF, the ordinace has a construction which has permitted him to come to court again.
8-8-2008 Indiana:
(WHAS11) - A registered sex offender is challenging an ordinance to allow him to see his son play baseball.
Eric Dowdell was found guilty in 1996 off sexual battery of a 13-year-old who is mentally disabled and because of that he can’t go to public parks in Jeffersonville.
Thursday a judge heard his plea in court.
Eric Dowdell used to coach his son’s little league team but now he’s walking into court, instead of on the little league field.
That’s because he’s a registered sex offender.
A Jeffersonville ordinance passed last year prohibits sex offenders from entering any city parks.
The city says since Dowdell has been convicted twice since that initial conviction for domestic battery charges and was arrested as recently as this March on other battery charges, he shouldn’t be exempt from the ordinance.
“It goes to someone’s ability to understand the law is the law and violating the law causes you to give up certain privileges,” says Larry Wilder, the prosecuting attorney.
The city says Dowdell can watch his son play sports just from outside the fence that surrounds the parks. But Dowdell’s attorney says some people with similar convictions can already walk inside.
“If he wanted to prohibit someone like that, he could’ve said anyone convicted of domestic violence can’t come into the parks... Anyone convicted of jaywalking or speeding cannot walk into Jeffersonville parks,” says Gavin Rose, Dowdell’s attorney.
And since none of Dowdell’s other convictions involved children, his attorney says he should be allowed on park grounds. But most local parents disagree.
“When we go to the parks, we intend it to be a safe, family friendly place to go. I think that’s the intention of the parks,” says parent Amy Preston.
A judge will make a decision in the case Friday.
A sex offender can be fined anywhere from $100 dollars to $2,500 dollars if caught in a city park. ..News Source.. by WHAS11
Sex offender renews effort to enter Jeff parks
A convicted sex offender who was turned down twice by Jeffersonville City Court when he asked to be an exception to an ordinance banning sex offenders from city parks took his case to Clark Circuit Court today.
Eric Dowdell, 36, who completed his required 10-year listing on Indiana’s sex offender registry in 2006, wants to attend his son’s baseball games at the city’s Little League complex.
Dowdell was convicted in 1996 of sexual battery.
Dowdell’s lawyer, Gavin Rose of the American Civil Liberties Union, argued this morning that Dowdell has satisfied all the conditions of the city ordinance to get an exception and is not a danger to the community.
But Jeffersonville lawyer Larry Wilder disagreed, citing domestic violence convictions against Dowdell from 1999 and 2001 as well as a pending case from this year.
The ban on sex offenders in city parks, adopted in 2006, allows offenders who have completed their legal obligations to petition the City Court for an exception. But City Court Judge Ken Pierce denied Dowdell’s petition in April, just as his predecessor R. Scott Lewis did last year.
Parties to City Court rulings may ask a state court to take a fresh look at the matter, and Dowdell did so.
Circuit Judge Abe Navarro said he will issue a ruling tomorrow. ..News Source.. by The Courier-Journal
December 28, 2007
Woolwich Man Says His Name Doesn't Belong On Sex Offender List
12-27-2007 Maine
WOOLWICH (NEWS CENTER) -- A Wiscasset woman says the state has harmed her family by putting her son on the sex offender list. Cathy Onorato and her son Daniel are trying to get the legislature to change the sex offender law.
Daniel Onorato, who lives in Woolwich, was convicted of criminal restraint against his girlfriend ten years ago. He was 18 years old at the time and she was 17.
Three years later, the Maine legislature added criminal restraint to the sex offender list. They made the new law retroactive, so that Daniel Onorato's name was added. Since then, both Onorato and his mother say being on the list has made life miserable for all of them. She says it's unfair, because his crime had nothing to do with sex.
"His close family knew he wasn't a sex offender. But outside of close family, you can't explain to somebody he's on the sex offender registry but he hasn't committed a sex offense. Cause they don't believe you," said Cathy Onorato.
"I think there are several laws that don't belong on the sex offender list. That's just one of them," said Rep. Stan Gerzofsky from Brunswick.
Rep. Gersofsky is co-chairman of the legislature's Criminal Justice Committee. He says the sex offender law needs some changes, so that some people are not unfairly labeled.
Daniel Onorato's name is scheduled to come off the list next month. ..more.. by Web Editor: Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer
