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
June 17, 2011
37 South Dakotans have names removed from sex offender registry
Charges for man removed from sex registry a first
6-19-2011 Maine:
PORTLAND -- A 66-year-old man charged this week with having child porn on his computer is believed to be the first person to face such allegations after being removed from Maine's sex offender registry, law enforcement officials said Thursday.
Larry Smart is one of 304 people who have successfully petitioned to be removed from the sex offender registry since a new law went into effect in September allowing some offenders to be taken off the list, said Matthew Ruel, director of the state bureau of identification.
"This is the first case that we know of in which someone has allegedly re-offended," Ruel said.
Smart, from the western town of Mexico, was charged Tuesday night with possession of sexually explicit material showing a child under the age of 12, said Sgt. Glenn Lang of the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
Smart, who remained at the Oxford County Jail on Thursday, was convicted of gross sexual misconduct with a teenage girl in 1985. He was removed from the sex offender registry last October.
Maine's sex offender registry drew national attention in 2006 when a 20-year-old Canadian man killed two men at random after selecting their names from the state's online registry.
Last year, lawmakers allowed some registered sex offenders to be removed from the registry upon their request, provided they complete their sentences, commit no additional crimes and meet other standards.
Since then, 709 sex offenders who committed crimes between 1982 and 1992 have petitioned to be removed from the list. Only 304 of them have met the necessary requirements, Ruel said.
Once removed from the list, offenders' names no longer appear on the registry and they no longer have to meet other requirements like registering with local police.
If Smart is convicted, he'll be put back on the sex offender registry. Smart, who could not be reached at the jail, has petitioned for a public defender.
Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, sponsored the legislation allowing certain offenders to petition to be removed from the list. Those with multiple offenses, or egregious offenses, are kept on the registry, along with those who went on to commit other felonies, whether or not they were sex offenses.
"We still feel we're being aggressive and holding people accountable," he said Thursday.
The Maine Legislature faces a March 31 deadline to further tweak the sex offender registry law in response to a December state Supreme Court ruling that said the original 1999 law requiring some offenders to be placed on a sex offender registry for life cannot be applied retroactively. ..Source.. by DAVID SHARP
Man removed from predator registry
6-17-2011 Florida:
Editor's note: A previous version of this story misstated the number of people who have been removed from the sexual predator list.
DELTONA -- The rented house on Adirondack Street where Gregory M. Allen last lived with his family as a registered sexual predator is now empty.
No longer listed as a predator, Allen's whereabouts are private. Since a clemency board granted Allen a full pardon three months ago, that is his right.
"We just want to move forward," Allen said back in December, after the state's clemency board granted the request, which removed him from the state registry as a sexual predator.
He'd been on the list since 2002, even though he was not convicted of a crime.
In mid-January, Allen became one of fewer than 10 people to be removed from the registry by the action of a clemency board since the list was created in 1997, Heather Smith, a spokeswoman with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, said.
The board, which was led by then-Gov. Charlie Crist and three members of the Cabinet, considered words from Allen's therapists and wishes of his family. They said it was a rare instance in which removal from the sex offender list was warranted.
Allen and his wife, with whom he has seven children, have stuck together since his arrest on a charge accusing him of molesting a 12-year-old girl in 2001. They lost their home to foreclosure and had to move frequently because of laws that regulate where sexual offenders and predators can live.
Clemency board members in general said they are strict when it comes to sex crimes. But Allen was a special case.
"I will move we grant a pardon," Crist said during the meeting on Dec. 9.
Outgoing Attorney General Bill McCollum, who was on the board before his replacement by Pam Bondi, said he was troubled by Allen's case. If the pardon was not granted for a man who had continued to be punished in spite of doing everything he could to reform, McCollum said, he had concern Allen's children would suffer.
Alex Sink, the chief financial officer at the time, said the "public interest has to be protected," while weighing the fact that Allen had not repeated an offense for nearly 10 years. "I'm pretty strict, like the attorney general," she said. "This man has a family to provide for. I also want his children to be protected."
McCollum, saying he would support the pardon, expressed an interest in reforming the process, referring to the law which requires a pardon to remove someone from the registry, which can be a long and difficult process.
"There needs to be another remedy the Legislature and our successors need to address," he said.
There are now 781 registered sexual offenders and predators living in Volusia County. Allen, 51, was living in Brevard County and working as a technician for Lockheed Martin when he was charged with sexual molestation of a child under 16.
"I did a terrible thing, we talked about getting counseling to make this right," Allen said.
Allen had reported his own conduct to people at work, hoping to get treatment, but the admission led to his arrest. In court a year later, he pleaded no contest. Adjudication of guilt was withheld, meaning Allen was never convicted of the crime.
His 10-year sentence of probation was terminated early because of recommendations from mental health therapists and his wife, records show.
But Allen was judged every day as a registered sexual predator, he told the clemency board.
He lost his job and subsequent jobs and had to move frequently, which hurt his wife and children. "My wife has been with me through this illness," he said.
"We've learned to make it through this. To this day, we are a strong family. We don't go anywhere without each other."
During the clemency hearing, Jackie Allen asked for mercy for her husband of 17 years.
"He's been laid off," she said, describing how it's been difficult for the hard-working father to find and keep work. "Once his picture came up, they'd release him."
One voice opposed her request. Assistant State Attorney Bill Respess, a prosecutor from the office in Brevard County that prosecuted Allen, requested he remain on the registry.
The list, Respess said, was created in 1997 to alert and protect the public from people charged with sex crimes.
"The reason for the registry is to protect the rest of us," Respess said.
According to court records, Allen served in both the U.S. Marine Corp. and Air Force before working in the aerospace industry. He was designated as a low risk to offend again. Since his arrest, he'd lost numerous jobs and had trouble getting others.
Allen could not be reached for this story. Messages left with neighbors seeking comment were not returned. Although he does not need to tell authorities where he lives, Allen's criminal records remain open to the public.
In the court file in Titusville, Allen's completion of sexual offender treatment since 2001 is documented. "No further therapy is needed at this time," therapist Duncan Bowen wrote in June 2007.
Another doctor, Kay May, described Allen the same year as a responsible man, deserving of a second chance.
"Who is Greg Allen, besides being a registered sex offender?" she wrote. "He is honest and conscientious, ethical, responsible. He is a caring and kind individual who works well with others. He is also a person who is desperately trying to redeem himself."
An FDLE spokeswoman said the pardon that removed Allen from the registry would not remove all trace of his record. In spite of the fact that Allen's adjudication of guilt was withheld, and he has lost no civil rights because he was not convicted, there are still records of the case. ..Source.. by JAY STAPLETON, Staff Writer
