Changes in sex offender law expands number in registry

The issue of the child pornography requiring registration is a state issue, before this law that crime did not require registration. However, the portion of this article that mentions, folks no longer required to register, if they commit a new crime of any type then they must register again, that requirement will very likely be the thing that causes a court to declare the registry punishment. Hopefully those folks will raise the issue when they are so charged, and take it all the way to the U.S. Sup court.

10-3-2010 Maryland:

‘If they commit a crime, any crime, they can become registerable for their former offense’

Changes in Maryland’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification law took effect Friday and will add new offenses that require people to register, including possession of child pornography, and increase the number of years offenders spend on the list.

“It absolutely will expand the number of people included in the registry,” Washington County Deputy State’s Attorney Joseph Michael said Thursday.

Not only will new offenders be added to the registry, but the law allows some offenders to be added retroactively, Michael said.

Someone convicted of possession of child pornography, for example, would not have been required to register under the old law, Michael said. However, if that person is in prison, on parole or on supervised probation for an offense predating the law’s effective date of Oct. 1, they will be required to register for 15 years, he said.

Even past sexual offenders who served their sentences and no longer are on probation or parole could find themselves having to register if they commit a new crime, Michael said.

“If they commit a crime, any crime, they can become registerable for their former offense,” Michael said.

Another offense added to the list is fourth-degree sexual offense, a crime that can include a wide range of nonviolent sexual offenses, including sexual contact without the consent of the victim and statutory sexual crimes, such as sexual contact between a victim ages 14 or 15 and a perpetrator four or more years older, according to state law.

Registration periods also will last longer. Under the old law, the terms were either 10 years or life on the registry, depending on the seriousness of the offense. Now, the law has three tiers, based on the levels of offense, of 15 years, 25 years and life.

Tier I includes offenses such as possession of child pornography, fourth-degree sex offense and visual surveillance with prurient intent, according to a summary of the law. Tier II lists offenses such as distribution of child pornography and sexual solicitation of a minor, while Tier III offenses include rape, incest, kidnapping, forcible sodomy and other felonies.

After 10 years, a Tier I registrant may petition the state to have their name removed from the registry, if required conditions are met, a summary of the law states.

Some offenders have attempted to avoid the registration requirements through the courts, Michael said.

Brian Hanford Murphy, a former Maryland state trooper who was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2007, filed a motion to accelerate the hearing date on a motion to modify his sentence so that he would not have to register, according to Washington County District Court records. The motion noted that “one section of the new law requires Murphy to register as of Oct. 1, 2010,” despite the fact that he was not required to register at the time of his conviction.

“Should Murphy’s probation be terminated or switched to unsupervised as of Sept. 29, 2010, the retroactive provision of the new statute becomes inapplicable,” the petition stated.

Murphy’s hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18, court records show.

In July, former Boonsboro Middle School teacher Robert Merle Haines Jr. petitioned unsuccessfully for a declaratory judgment to have his name removed from the registry, Washington County Circuit Court records show. Haines’ petition noted the crime he pleaded guilty to in 2006, custodial child abuse, did not required him to register.

The changes bring the Maryland law into compliance with the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), which was intended to impose a more-consistent national standard for registration of sex offenders, according to a Sept. 22 letter from Maryland Sex Offender Registry Manager Elizabeth Bartholomew to Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong Jr.

Federal justice assistance grants to states were tied to complying with SORNA, the letter said. ..Source.. by DON AINES

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Mindy's Law Set To Protect Kids From Sex Offenders

ONE former offender commits a new offense, and 10,000 former offenders will pay for his crime. UNBELIEVABLE, politicians have far too much power and wield it to keep them in office and not to protect the public. This will clearly destroy lives of former offenders, and many their marriages, and many children of these offenders will suffer. I hope this politician can sleep well, if one of the former offenders' children is murdered -by some vigilante- because of his bill.

5-18-2010 Illinois:

Under Measure, No One Convicted Before Registry Took Effect Would Be Able To Skirt Requirement

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) ― The names of tens of thousands of sex offenders may soon be added to the state registry.

These are offenders who have come off the list or were never put on it because they committed their crimes prior to 1999.

New legislation to register these offenders was prompted by a Dave Savini investigation.

"What happened to me happened to me for a reason -- that I'd be the one to share my story," said former assault victim Mindy.

Mindy is both a salon owner and artist who has painted a new picture for the children of Illinois in the form of a new law to protect them from sex offenders.

"These people are dangerous and something needs to be done," Mindy said.

Mindy kept her last name private, but went public with the story of her abduction and assault, which happened 30 years ago in Niles. She was seven. The offender, James Kurtzer, served only three years but never had to be on the list of registered sex offenders because he got out before the law that tracks them went into effect. Now he's still living in Niles in the same neighborhood where he abducted Mindy.

Mindy said her goal was to be a "voice for all the children who never made it home and for all the innocent children that can't protect themselves."

The 2 Investigators tracked down Kurtzer and told Mindy's story six months ago. Kurtzer represents thousands of offenders not on the public registry because they were released prior to 1999.

Kurtzer had no comment for CBS 2, except to say he didn't want to be on any list. All that is about to change, because state lawmakers passed what they called "Mindy's Bill" this month.

State Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago.) created the bill based on Mindy's story. Martinez doesn't think there should be any grandfather clause when it comes to sex offenders.

Mindy's testimony in Springfield led to new proposed rules that will require a staggering number of offenders to now register their whereabouts -- no matter how old the crime.

"I think the victims need to know this at all times. Families need to know this at all times," Martinez said.

Just this month, another sex offender, Martin Weis, not on the registry because his crime was old, moved into a new neighborhood where he allegedly molested a child. He even got a job at a carnival. The new law would track offenders like him and Kurtzer for life.

"It meant a lot to me to take something so terrible and turn the whole thing into something positive for others," Mindy said.

The legislation would require all adult sex offenders to be registered no later than five days after the bill goes into law. The bill -- which was also sponsored by State Rep. Deb Mell -- is now headed to the governor's office. ..Source.. Dave Savini

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Opponents: New sex offender laws won’t help

5-13-2010 Illinois:

Bills would ban sex offenders from parks, require lifetime registration

Two state bills beefing up Illinois’ sex offender laws await only the governor’s signature to become law. But some groups say the legislation would waste money and fail to prevent future sex crimes.

Senate Bill 3084, known as the retroactive sex offender registration bill, would require lifetime registration for certain sex crimes committed more than 15 years ago. Under the new law, certain sex crimes committed at any time in the past would require registration, which could create as many as 10,000 new sex offenders, according to Laurie Jo Reynolds, a Chicago-based corrections reform advocate. Reynolds organized Tamms Year Ten, a coalition of groups advocating reform at the Tamms supermax prison in southern Illinois, and was recently named a Soros Justice Fellow by the Open Society Institute for her work on the unintended consequences of sex offender legislation.

Reynolds says the proposed law would put an enormous financial burden on the Illinois State Police, who monitor sex offender registration, requiring them to analyze old records to see who is required to register and then track down previous offenders. Meanwhile, Reynolds says the law would likely not prevent future crimes.

“It would take a tremendous commitment of state police resources to enact this law, and many of the people targeted are low-risk and have been law-abiding for decades,” she explains. “If someone had committed a new sex offense in the last 15 years, they would already be on the registry. We need a smarter registry, not a bigger one.”

Becky Palmer, senior vice president of clinical programs at Alternative Behavior Treatment Centers in Mundelein says the law would force newly-registered child sex offenders to move because Illinois bans child sex offenders from living within 500 feet of schools, playgrounds or certain other areas.

“Because of the housing restrictions many incarcerated sex offenders cannot find adequate or law-compliant housing, therefore, many are serving their parole behind bars and are being released into the community unsupervised and not receiving the necessary mental health services,” Palmer says, adding that between 93 and 97 percent of sex crimes are incest or are committed by someone the victim knows.

Note: Given that fact, it means the new law would affect VICTIMS where the offender has been reintegrated into the family. This is nothing more than insanity by money hungry politicians!

“Housing restrictions clearly would not have prevented these sexual assaults or increased public safety,” she says.

Senate Bill 2824 would ban registered sex offenders from forest preserves, conservation areas and public parks. Craig A., a registered sex offender who asked that his full name not be used to protect his employment, says he was forced to register as a sex offender after downloading inappropriate photographs of underage girls. Craig, who is a musician and sports enthusiast, says he could no longer perform concerts at public grandstands or play tennis at public parks if the bill passes, and it would instead remove the support network that keeps many offenders from reoffending.

“Therapy ordered by probation teaches us to get involved in things like park district leagues to create a support group of friends and give us more positive things in our lives,” he says. “This law will separate registered sex offenders from their supportive friends and place them into more isolation.”

Laurie Jo Reynolds says current laws and the proposed changes waste state resources on tracking low-risk offenders, such as high school kids caught having consensual sex with an underage partner.

“If we want true harm reduction, we should support risk-assessment, treatment, supervised release and other evidence-based practices which are smart on crime,” Reynolds says. “You just can’t expect reasoned sex offender policies from legislators in an election year.”

Annie Thompson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Pat Quinn, says the legislation will be reviewed when it is received by his office. ..Source.. Patrick Yeagle

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