10-10-2009 California:
Los Angeles County prosecutors have declined to file charges against a former high-ranking Los Angeles city official who was under police investigation for allegedly raping a woman at his downtown condominium, authorities said.
Andrew Adelman, former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, was placed on administrative leave in August by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa when the allegation became public. Several weeks ago, Adelman tendered his resignation.
"My client and his family are truly appreciative of the dispassionate and measured analysis by the D.A. that resulted in my client's vindication," said Adelman's attorney, Mark Geragos. "It's truly unfortunate that the city of L.A. has lost a dedicated public servant because of these unfounded allegations."
In a July 28 search warrant, Los Angeles Police Department investigators said they were told that the woman who made the allegations had gone out with friends on a pub-crawl July 10 in the downtown area. She told police she was drugged and that she awoke the next morning as she was being sexually assaulted by a man she later identified as Adelman, according to the affidavit.
Prosecutors cited several factors for their decision not to seek charges. They included a surveillance video and an interview with a cab driver who drove the pair to Adelman's car that evening. Neither the video nor the cab driver suggested that the woman appeared drugged. Authorities also said a drug test came up negative for a variety of substances. However, the test did not screen for typical date rape drugs such as Rohypnol, which disappear from the body quickly, and prosecutors noted that the test was not done until 42 hours after the time when the woman said she had been drugged.
Also, police surreptitiously recorded telephone calls between Adelman and the woman after the alleged drugging. Adelman "eventually acknowledged sexual acts took place, but did not admit to drugging her. He maintained that the victim had too much to drink," court papers said.
The victim told police she did consume alcohol, but not to the point of intoxication.
"Without some corroboration to support the allegation that the victim was drugged, this office cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a sexual assault occurred," prosecutors said in court papers. ..Source.. by Andrew Blankstein
October 10, 2009
CA- Prosecutors decline to file rape charge against former high-ranking city official
July 12, 2009
TX- Unlikely Voices: Families of sex offender registrants organizing
From our friends at >>>>>>
7-12-2009 Texas:
I was pleased yesterday to get to spend a little time with Mary Sue Molnar and the folks at Texas Voices (a group made up of families of registered sex offenders) at their statewide conference here in Austin. By the time I showed up in the late morning there were perhaps 60-70 folks there; I walked in just in time to hear most of their legislative update.
They were, of course, all devastated at Governor Perry's veto of legislation to allow defendants to petition judges in Romeo and Juliet cases to be taken off the registry. But this was the first legislative session they'd even been involved as a newly formed group and that same bill could probably pass again whenever it's somebody else's turn to be Governor. In the meantime, about 100 new people per month are being placed on Texas' sex offender registry, Molnar reported to the group.
I enjoyed meeting quite a few readers and appreciated the invitation.
For a variety of reasons, despite the fact that they theoretically represent a lot of folks, inmate family groups have enjoyed notoriously little success pushing their interests at the Texas state capitol, much less families of sex offenders. But Texas sex offender registration laws are now so over the top - to the point where a registered sex offender can't legally drive across town for fear of passing a school or community center and violating parole - that I sense a growing bipartisan consensus at the Legislature that this is an area ripe for reform.
Though being tuff on sex offenders is all the rage among politicians at election time, a lot of folks around the Texas capitol from both parties will agree with you in private that the registry fails to adequately distinguish between dangerous rapists and pedophiles and people who committed less serious offenses. Indeed, this year's vetoed legislation to allow judges to approve de-registration in Romeo and Juliet cases was filed by Republican Todd Smith, an indication that concerns about overreach in this area don't necessarily fall along party lines.
The group at Texas Voices have a tough row to hoe, and for the family members it's not one they've chosen. I'm glad to see them getting organized. Nobody else is going to fight these battles for them and the issue deserves more focused advocacy than its heretofore received. ..Source.. by Grits for Breakfast
