Author: webmaster

States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021

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Louisiana once again has the highest incarceration rate in the U.S., (Rates calculated per 100,000 people) unseating Oklahoma to return to its long-held position as “the world’s prison capital.” By comparison, states like New York and Massachusetts appear progressive, but even these states lock people up at higher rates than nearly every other country on earth. Compared to the rest of the world, every U.S. state relies too heavily on prisons and jails to respond to crime. Looking at each state in the global context reveals that, in every region…

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Emily Horowitz to Speak at ACSOL Conference on September 17

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Professor and Sociologist Emily Horowitz will deliver a thought provoking presentation during the ACSOL conference on Friday, September 17, at 11 a.m. (Pacific).  Her presentation will focus upon “The Failure of Legal Responses to Sexual Violence” and will include a new perspective on how and why false claims about sex offenses have become so pervasive. “Professor Horowitz understands the daily challenges faced by registrants and their loved ones,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “Her scholarly research includes sex offenses and other crimes against children as well as the hysteria…

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Critics seek reform of Colorado sex offense laws they say can do more harm than good

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Lawmakers, researchers and even some victims seek reform of Colorado’s Sex Offense Management Board. By ALEX BURNESS | [email protected] | The Denver Post September 6, 2021 Close to 30 years ago, Mr. Bethurum was living in Wray, in his late 40s, when he groomed an underage family member and entered into what he wrongly thought of as a relationship. He says he now understands now there is no such thing as a “relationship” between a child and an adult. He completed his prison sentence for sexual assault on a child,…

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Indecent exposure charges filed against trans woman over L.A. spa incident

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Prosecutors filed multiple counts of indecent exposure this week against a transgender woman whose alleged conduct was at the center of a viral video that sparked a pair of violent protests outside a spa in Westlake this summer, officials said Thursday. ______ Merager was charged Monday with five counts of indecent exposure, relating to an incident inside the Wi Spa on June 23, according to a news release issued by the Los Angeles Police Department. The next day, a viral video emerged alleging a customer had exposed their penis in…

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Kansas Supreme Court Ruling: City Conviction Requires Sex Offender Registration

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The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a man’s municipal conviction for sexual battery requires him to register as a sex offender. The 5-2 decision comes in the case of a man, who was convicted in 2018 of sexual battery in violation of the Shawnee municipal code. At issue was whether he was required to register as a sex offender under the Kansas Offender Registration Act. The Supreme Court ruled that he did, finding that the Shawnee ordinance is identical to the state statute. Justices Melissa Standridge and Eric Rosen…

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FL: Three Disney World employees along with 17 arrested in child sex sting

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Three Walt Disney World employees in Orlando were along with 17 suspects arrested in a massive child sex sting in Florida. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests as part of ‘Operation Child Protector’ at a news conference on Tuesday. Collectively, the group was charged with 49 felony counts and two misdemeanors, including: traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted felony battery, using a computer to seduce a child, and transmission of material harmful to a child. Officials said most of the suspects had communicated with undercover agents, posing as…

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Apple to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child sexual abuse

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Apple is planning to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child sexual abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused by governments looking to surveil their citizens. Apple unveiled plans to scan U.S. iPhones for images of child sexual abuse, drawing applause from child protection groups but raising concern among some security researchers that the system could be misused, including by governments looking to surveil their citizens. The tool designed to detected known images of child sexual abuse,…

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Budget breakdown: Minnesota to review sex offense registry program 30 years after it became law

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A Minnesota group will study the laws that govern people convicted of a sex offense this year and provide a report to the Legislature in January. The state budget includes $25,000 for the creation of a Predatory Offense Statutory Framework Working Group by Sept. 1. It will examine the state’s predatory offense registration laws including “the requirements placed on people convicted of an offense, the crimes for which POR is required, the method by which POR requirements are applied to people convicted of an offense and the effectiveness of the…

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MN: OCEAN Community Conference and Rally — July 18, 2021

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  OCEAN is hosting their Community Conference at Capital Mall in St. Paul, Sunday, July 18, 2021. At this gathering, a lineup of speakers will educate the public on the terrors of preventive detention in the state of Minnesota. The first speaker will be introduced at 1:00 PM. If you can, please bring your own chair. At 3:30 PM we will walk/drive to the Governor’s Mansion, where we will demand an Executive Order from Governor Tim Walz to shutdown preventive detention in Minnesota. The current conditions are ripe for mass…

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NE: James Fairbanks sentenced: 40–70 years in murder of person listed on the registry

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OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — James Fairbanks, who pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the killing of  Mattieo Condoluci last year, was sentenced in a Douglas County on Wednesday morning. 3 News Now reporter, Jon Kipper was in the courtroom where a judge sentenced him to a total of 40–70 years on two counts: second-degree murder and possessing a firearm while committing a felony. Condoluci’s daughter spoke in support of Fairbanks at the sentencing hearing and Condoluci’s son spoke against Fairbanks. On May 16, 2020, Condoluci, 64, was found dead…

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ACSOL Files Lawsuit Challenging Re-Sentencing Regulations

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ACSOL has filed a lawsuit challenging regulations issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) that categorically exclude inmates required to register from re-sentencing opportunities provided in recent legislation.  The lawsuit was filed on July 6 in Sacramento Superior Court. “The regulations being challenged repeat the same mistake made by CDCR in its regulations implementing Proposition 57,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “That is, the re-sentencing regulations create a categorical exclusion of all registrants even though the legislation does not.” The individual plaintiff in the case, Antoine…

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CA: Dad tackles person convicted of sex offense who exposed himself in front of 5-year-old daughter

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A brave dad tackled and duct-taped a person who is listed on the sex offense registry who broke into a California home and exposed himself in front of his sleeping 5-year-old daughter, according to a new report. The man started creeping around outside the home in Grayson around 5 a.m. Tuesday, KOVR reported. “He went and knocked the door, he tried to open the door, peeking through the window, trying to see and he was showing his private parts around the windows,” said the little girl’s sister, Ceci Ramirez, translating…

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Why Sex Offense Laws Do More Harm Than Good

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By Deborah Jacobs There are few crimes more heinous than child molestation. Whether violently attacked by a stranger or preyed upon by a trusted adult in the home, school or place of worship, children who survive such assaults are often left to walk a lifelong path of sorrow and pain. Unfortunately, our government has failed to take steps that will make a meaningful difference in preventing sex offenses. Megan’s Law, civil commitment, and the newest trend in anti-sex offense legislation, banishment zones, which restrict people convicted of a sex offense…

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High price for moral panic over historical sexual abuse

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Have a look at these extraordinary figures. Two years into our National Redress Scheme (NRS) for victims of institutional sexual abuse, over $500 million has been paid to 5,920 of 10,000 applicants who have so far applied – a mere blip compared to the 60,000 victims assumed to be eligible. The total cost of the scheme is estimated at an astonishing $4.01 billion, according to the Royal Commission’s report on redress. Responsible institutions, like the churches, are paying out part of this money but the Commonwealth Government has already handed out $55 million…

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MN: Victoria neighborhood protests person listed on the registry at level 3

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A group of frustrated, angry and concerned citizens is keeping a close watch on a person listed on the registry at level 3, recently released into their Victoria neighborhood. The group is hoping to have Vanhecke removed from that area. But state Department of Corrections officials believe he is not a public danger and is entitled to live at the residence in question. One DOC official believes the community group maintaining a constant vigil outside Vanhecke’s residence may be doing a disservice to him and the community. Regardless of the…

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Colorado Court Upholds Severely Limited Use of Internet, Social Media for Registrant on Probation

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A Colorado court of appeals issued a decision today upholding a condition of probation that severely limits a registrant’s use of both the internet and social media while he is on probation.  The court acknowledged in its decision that the registrant’s offense did not include use of either the internet or social media. “This decision is outrageous and must be appealed,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “This court made a huge and erroneous leap in logic that a person who commits a hands-on offense with a family member, who…

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