Sex Offender Issues

NY - Sex offenders - one woman's mission to separate myth from fact

2013-05-22T14:57:00.001-04:00

Original Article

We've been told more will air tonight, and if it becomes available online, we will post the info here.

05/22/2013

By Jim Kenyon

Shana Rowan (Blog) first met her fiance when they attended high school in downstate New York. She says they lost touch when he suddenly left school at the age of 16. Years later, Shana says they reconnected.

Shana says they eventually fell in love and she learned the reason why he had disappeared when he was 16. It turns out that he had been convicted of sexually abusing an underage girl and spent four years in prison. She asked that we not reveal his name for fear over his safety.

"It wasn't a violent crime. It wasn't a forcible crime. Was it a crime? Yes, and I believe he should have been punished. I'm glad he can now see the impact he had on his victim, but he's not a monster. He's not a pedophile. He's not dangerous to children," Rowan told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon.

They are now engaged to be married. When they moved to a home in Oneida County however, her fiance, a level 2 registered sex offender, failed to register his new address on time. He was arrested and faced spending three years in prison.

Though he was able to avoid jail time, the experience provided Rowan with a mission in life. Shana Rowan is the Executive Director of USA FAIR, which stands for Families Advocating an Intelligent Registry. "We do advocate for some sex offenders but our focus is actually on family members because what I found when my fiance was looking at jail time, I felt so alone."

Rowan maintains a website that features extensive research that challenges what she says are society's preconceived ideas about sex offenders. She also lobbies legislators nationwide in an attempt to reform laws regarding sex offenders.

The USA FAIR website features a wealth of information and studies Rowan says clear up the "myths" about sex offenders. Some of those same government studies are also included on the New York Sex Offender Registry under the heading of "Myths and Facts." For instance, one so called myth is that sex offenders are all likely to commit another sex crime. The registry cites one study that only 5 percent of sex offenders were re-arrested for a sex crime within three years of getting out of prison. That as a group, 43 percent of sex offenders were re-arrested for any type of crime. That compared to 68 percent of criminals who are not sex offenders.

Rowan says many of the laws regarding the thousands of sex offenders are not based on reality. "I can understand where the fear comes from because... it keeps being pumped into us by some media outlets and legislators that these are people we need to fear. That is not accurate. That is not true, save for a small minority."

If anything, sex offender laws are getting tougher, often because of high profile cases like that of [name withheld]. He is accused of murdering Liverpool librarian Lori Bresnahan and raping a 10 year old girl. The shocking crime could lead to a crackdown on the monitoring of sex offenders and legislation to open up their juvenile records.

"We're taking the example of one person and applying it to tens of thousands in New York State." Rowan says.

Rowan says society often does not take into account the impact a "broad brush approach" to sex offenders has on their families. "They're simply not all the same." she says, "They're not all out to get your children. The majority of them just want to move on with their lives with their families."

Video Link

ID - Idaho Sex Offender Laws Remain a Source of Controversy

2013-05-22T14:20:00.003-04:00

Video Description:
Nearly 30 years after his crime and decades of legal behavior, an Idaho man talks about still being listed on the sex offender registry.

Video Link

CO - Ex-GJPD cop (Eric Janusz) sentenced to prison for child sex crime

2013-05-22T14:18:00.000-04:00

Eric Janusz

Original Article

05/22/2013

Former Grand Junction police officer Eric Janusz, previously found guilty on one of four counts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust, was sentenced this morning to 8 years to life for the crime.

Janusz at times wept during the sentencing hearing this morning at the Mesa County Justice Center, in the courtroom of District Judge Valerie Robison.

The jury found in its verdict that Janusz, while employed as a police officer and on duty, had sex with a 16-year-old girl in 2000 in the gymnasium of then-Mesa State College.

See Also:

Ex-cop (Eric Janusz) accused of sex assault involving young girl that took place over nearly 11 years

Feds Push Insane New Speech Codes!

2013-05-22T05:34:00.000-04:00

Video Description:
"It is so broad that it turns every single student and every single faculty member on campus, at least arguably, into harassers," warns Greg Lukianoff, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).

He's talking about sweeping speech codes just imposed by the Departments of Justice and Education on virtually every college campus in the United States.

The new mandate was revealed in a letter from the DOJ and DOE to the University of Montana that states "sexual harassment should be more broadly defined as 'any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature," including "verbal conduct." The new rules apply to all colleges and universities receiving any sort of federal money, including Pell grants, federally backed student loans, and more. The letter contends the conduct in question need not be offensive to an "objectively reasonable person of the same gender in the same situation." That means that there is effectively no check on what might count as harassment. Course materials, overheard comments, stupid jokes - it's all potentially actionable.

Lukianoff, the author of Unlearning Liberty: Campus Censorship and the End of American Debate, hopes that "this is the last straw that causes the universities themselves to start pushing back against this ridiculous overregulation."

Video Link

NY - Senate passes legislation allowing Niagara County sex offender restrictions

2013-05-22T04:45:00.000-04:00

Original Article

05/21/2013

By jmaloni

Today, the New York State Senate passed legislation authorizing Niagara County to prohibit level two and three sex offenders from being within 1,500 feet of any school grounds or child care facility. This bill (S. 3457), sponsored by Sen. George D. Maziarz, R-C-Newfane, addresses concerns raised in Niagara County regarding the ensured safety of the children in both the school and day care setting.

Currently, laws in New York only restrict individuals who are classified as level three sex offenders from knowingly entering upon school grounds. These laws do not address level two sex offenders. Maziarz said there are insufficient restrictions in place relating to facilities that provide child day care. This legislation would allow Niagara County to include restrictions on both level two and level three sex offenders from being within 1,500 feet of either a school or any place where day care is provided.

"There is concern among the community in Niagara for the threat posed to children by convicted sex offenders," Maziarz said. "This legislation would allow Niagara County to enforce its recently passed resolution and therefore keep in place the restrictions to the sex offenders. The protection and safety of children is of utmost importance and I now call upon the Assembly to pass this legislation in order to allow Niagara County the ability to do what they think is right for their area."
- Not all sex offenders have harmed children, or even adults, so stop making it appear as if all sex offenders are child molesting, pedophile predators! They are not!

This bill has been sent to the Assembly. There is currently no Assembly sponsor.

FL - Sex Offender Village

2013-05-22T04:35:00.001-04:00

Original Article

05/21/2013

By LISA F. JACKSON and DAVID FEIGE

For this Op-Doc video, we visited a small community in Florida known as “Miracle Village,” where more than 100 registered sex offenders have settled since 2009. Surrounded by sugar cane fields, the community has become a rare refuge for them as they try to rebuild their lives in one of the only communities that will have them: stringent residency requirements make it almost impossible for them to live anywhere else.

We come to this documentary from two very different perspectives. Lisa has spent years examining sex crimes from the victim’s point of view, making documentaries that try to de-stigmatize the survivors and argue for their access to justice. David spent his years as a public defender in Brooklyn, Harlem and the Bronx, defending people accused of doing the victimizing. These contrasting perspectives have made for a lively collaboration in which we have found common ground.

We live in a society that is terrified of sex offenders, sometimes with good reason. But in some cases the perpetrators, and not just the victims, are denied justice. Every high-profile sex crime spawns a rush to do something about the “predators” among us. Unfortunately, these so-called solutions are doing more harm than good. In the past 25 years, the laws governing sex offenses have gone from punitive to draconian to senseless. The term “sex offender” simply covers too wide a range now, painting the few truly heinous crimes and the many relatively innocuous ones with the same broad brush. This overly broad approach wastes resources that could be better spent, for instance, on clearing the huge and unforgivable backlog of untested rape evidence kits.

We see even deeper problems: the explosion of sex offender registries, stringent yet demonstrably ineffective residency restrictions, and the bizarre world of “civil commitment,” where we punish what someone might do rather than what he or she has done. All of this suggests that our entire approach to dealing with sex offenders has gone tragically off the rails.

Lisa F. Jackson is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker based in New York. Her last film, “Sex Crimes Unit,” chronicled prosecutors in the Manhattan district attorney’s office and “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo” won a special jury prize for documentary at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

David Feige, a television writer and former Trial Chief of the Bronx Defenders, is the co-creator of the T.N.T. series “Raising the Bar” and the author of “Indefensible: One Lawyer’s Journey Into the Inferno of American Justice.” He has written about law for The New York Times Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and Slate.

VA - Teens, technology, law: when sexting is not pornography

2013-05-22T04:14:00.000-04:00

Original Article

05/22/2013

By Justin Jouvenal

When three US high school students from Virginia made mobile phone videos of drunken sex acts with fellow teens and shared them among themselves, they ended up in court last week facing charges usually reserved for adult predators: child pornography.

The case is one of a number where teens caught "sexting" have been charged with a crime that can carry a sentence of 20 years and could require registry as a sex offender.

In many other US states, the law has not caught up with the combustible mix of teens, technology and sex that has made sexting an issue. Prosecutors must rely on a patchwork of laws created before the rise of smartphones to handle such cases.

Some parents and rights groups are calling for a new law that would distinguish sexting from child pornography, create lesser punishments and focus on educating teenagers, not punishing them. But they also acknowledge that young victims can be devastated when embarrassing photos or videos are spread to their peers.

A mother whose 15-year-old son was charged with 12 counts of child pornography for sexting called the experience a nightmare. She said the teen, who has Asperger's syndrome, was naive when he sent out a topless photo of a classmate. ''He is thinking his life was at an end. He could be labelled as a sex offender,'' she said.

Parents of two teens in Ohio and Florida say their daughters committed suicide when they were ridiculed after sexually explicit images of them were forwarded to others. And sexted images and videos can be found by child pornographers, who trade them on the internet.

The three students on trial were charged in January with possession and distribution of child pornography after they filmed themselves engaging in sex acts with at least six teenage girls. All the sex acts were consensual and the 10 videos were filmed at parties at the teenagers' homes, beginning in December 2011. Legislators say they worry a law to make sexting a misdemeanour could unintentionally open a loophole that might be exploited by pedophiles.

In addition, the circumstances of such cases vary widely. They range from a girl willingly texting a racy photo of herself to a boyfriend who does not share it to teens secretly recording sex acts and maliciously spreading the videos.

In the US, at least 20 states have passed legislation on sexting since 2009, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. States have generally moved to create more lenient punishments for sexting teens and to shield them from having to register as sex offenders. A University of New Hampshire survey found 7 per cent of young people had received a nude or nearly nude image, while 1 per cent said they had created sexually explicit images of themselves.

Bars For Life: LGBTQs and sex offender registries

2013-05-22T03:56:00.003-04:00

Original Article

05/08/2013

By Yasmin Nair

In 1977, Anita Bryant launched her crusade against a recently passed Dade County, Fla., ordinance that banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. As the leader of a coalition named "Save Our Children," Bryant and her supporters tapped into an old perception of gays as sexual predators of children.

In a now-famous statement, she declared, "As a mother, I know that homosexuals cannot biologically reproduce children; therefore, they must recruit our children." Bryant's campaign led to the repeal of the ordinance but paradoxically also became the beginning of the end of her career, alienating her from some conservatives and liberals alike.

In the years since Bryant's campaign, there has been a palpable shift in cultural responses to gay and lesbian issues, with several polls indicating greater support for issues such as marriage equality. But the figure of the gay man in particular as a sexual predator still haunts culture and continues to re-emerge.

In 1955, Boise, Idaho, erupted in a sex scandal where nearly 1,500 men were questioned about allegedly having coerced underage young men into sexual acts. There was no such sex ring, but countless lives were scarred forever.

This April, as the gay marriage debate reached the U.S. Supreme Court, two married gay men in Connecticut, George Harasz and Douglas Wirth, decided to fight charges that they had sexually abused children in their care. In a sign of how differently such cases are still treated in the mainstream press, the website Gay Star News' headline stated, "Gay couple accused of child abuse go to trial to clear their names." New York's Daily New headline ran, "Gay Connecticut couple accused of raping adopted children will face trial."

Since 1977, sex offender registries (SORs) have been instituted in every U.S. state, ostensibly to prevent sexual abuse of minors and others by tracking everyone convicted of sexual abuse.

But according to a growing number of critics across the political spectrum, SORs have also increased so much in scope, by including even acts like public urination in the category of sex crime, that they've become virtually meaningless. In addition, SORs place so many residential and vocational restrictions on offenders that larger numbers are unable to return to society with places to live and stable systems of support.

In Illinois, registered sex offenders cannot live within 500 feet of any school buildings or have trade licenses. Illinois also mandated in 2011 that the licenses of medical and health professionals convicted of sex offenses can be permanently revoked without a hearing. Increasingly, many offenders across the country simply end up homeless.

The term "sex offender" is rarely uttered at gay and lesbian public events, raising as it does an old and timeworn stereotype that still causes fear because of its automatic association with terms such as "pedophile" and "sodomite." To date, none of the major gay and lesbian organizations has explicitly taken a position on issues concerning sex offender registries.

But there are in fact gay sex offenders on the registry, and there have always been widely sensationalized cases of alleged and real sexual abuse of children by men who also identify as gay.

Tracing the specific effects of sex offender registries on LGBTQ people reveals that both terms, "LGBTQ" and "sex offender," are fraught with multiple tensions and definitions. For instance, not all people convicted for sex offenses are LGBTQ, but the sexual acts, such as oral and anal sex, which place them on the registries are defined as "crimes against nature" in certain states.

The circumstances in which LGBTQs find themselves on sex offender registries both challenge the applications of such terms and hark back to older and still-prevalent ideas about sexual minorities.

The fact both sex offenses and sex offenders fall into such diverse and disparate categories also explains why it has been hard to mobilize a concerted political movement against the prevalence of SORs.

Read the rest of the article

CA - Rapist and former police detective (Anthony Orban) may be sentenced - even though he's dead?

2013-05-22T03:40:00.001-04:00

Anthony Orban

Original Article

05/21/2013

By Matt Cantor

(NEWSER) - A former police detective was convicted of kidnapping and rape last year—but before he could be sentenced, he committed suicide. But he's not off the hook: A California judge could still sentence Anthony Orban despite his death. "The only reason he is not here is because he volunteered to take his own life," said Judge Shahla Shabet, per the San Jose Mercury News. "The court does have jurisdiction to complete the sentencing."

Orban's lawyer disagrees. "I can't comprehend how you can go ahead and sentence someone who is dead," James Blatt told Shabet. "This is not in the best interest of the dignity of the court system." He says the conviction should hold but the case should be removed from the calendar; Shabet argues that either a formal dismissal or sentencing is required, and Blatt says he won't seek a dismissal. Now, the sentencing hearing has been postponed to the summer so Blatt can research his position. Says the victim: "I really just want it to be over." (This isn't the first twist in Orban's case; click to read about his unusual defense strategy.)

Registry removal

2013-05-22T03:26:00.000-04:00

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

By Anonymous:
After 10 years my nightmare is finally over. I was removed from the sex offender registry today. During that time, I have read your blog daily and wanted to thank you for your hard work in keeping us informed of important issues. While I am not in a financial position at this time to make a donation, when things get better it will be a high priority.

I am having mixed emotions, however, knowing that there are so many thousands of people/families out there that will have to suffer for a lifetime. Perhaps someday facts will outweigh hysteria and people will no longer have to bear the difficult burden of being on the registry for the rest of their lives.

PA - Former Hero Officer (Richard DeCoatsworth) Accused of Rape Costs City Millions

2013-05-21T12:59:00.002-04:00

Richard DeCoatsworth

Original Article

05/21/2013

By Vince Lattanzio, David Chang and Danielle Johnson

A source tells NBC10 the former officer forced the women to use drugs and perform oral sex on him at gunpoint

Former Philadelphia police officer Richard DeCoatsworth, once honored by President Barack Obama for his heroism, remains in jail on $60 million bail for allegedly raping two women -- forcing one into prostitution.

Now, NBC10 has learned the City of Philadelphia is spending more than $1.5 million defending itself against DeCoatsworth's checkered past on the force.

Law enforcement sources say DeCoatsworth had nine citizen complaints against him over his nearly five year stint with the department. The complains, sources say, included allegations of assault, abuse and misconduct.

Issues with the 27-year-old began to arise in 2005 when he was in the Philadelphia Police Academy. DeCoatsworth allegedly injured a Girard Avenue business owner during a fight. However, he was allowed to remain a recruit despite the allegations.

In 2007 as a rookie officer, DeCoatsworth was severely injured after being shot in the face. After being shot, he managed to chase down the suspect for several blocks before collapsing. He called in enough information by radio that police were able to track down and arrest the suspect later the same day.

His actions earned him an invitation from Vice President Joe Biden to attend President Obama’s first congressional address at the U.S. Capital in February 2009. The officer sat in the gallery with First Lady Michelle Obama during the speech. He was also honored by his peers as a 2008 Top Cop.

Soon after, though, he was involved in two more dramatic incidents.

In April 2009, police say DeCoatsworth was jumped and attacked by a man when he tried to disperse a crowd at the Logan section of the city. During the struggle, sources say DeCoatsworth’s gun went off and hit the suspect who took off running. Another officer responding to the scene shot the suspect dead, according to sources.

In September 2009, DeCoatsworth and another officer stopped a man on a motorcycle in the Kensington section of the city. While they were questioning him, a second man allegedly jumped on the motorcycle and drove at the officers. Police say DeCoatsworth shot at the suspect, who sped off. The suspect was found later at the hospital where his mother had taken him to be treated for a shotgun wound.

During the incident, local witnesses claimed the two suspects did nothing wrong and that DeCoatsworth and the other officer acted recklessly -- shooting while children were nearby.

In November 2011, Internal Affairs investigated an alleged scuffle between DeCoatsworth and another officer, according to Philly.com.

DeCoatsworth retired from the police force on disability back in December 2011.

In February of 2012, an arrest warrant was issued for DeCoatsworth after he allegedly threatened a woman in Port Richmond.

The most recent incident began two weeks ago after DeCoatsworth allegedly met a woman at a bar on North Front Street. Police say the former officer forced the woman into prostitution at a Days Inn hotel along Roosevelt Boulevard in the Lawncrest section of the city.

Then, between 2 a.m. Thursday and Friday evening, DeCoatsworth went to the woman’s home along North Howard Street in the Fishtown-Kensington area, according to a law enforcement source close to the investigation.

Once he arrived, DeCoatsworth allegedly forced that woman and a second woman, both in their 20s, to use drugs and perform oral sex on him at gunpoint. The alleged victims reported the assault Friday only after DeCoatsworth went home, according to police.

Police raided DeCoatsworth’s house on the 2700 block of Salmon Street in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday.

He was arraigned and charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and other related offenses. Police also confiscated drugs and guns from the home, according to a source. No word yet on what kind of drugs were removed from the home.

According to court documents, bail was set at $25 million for each of the alleged victims. Another $10 million bail was set in a separate domestic violence case DeCoatsworth is now being charged with, according to investigators.

Police say he assaulted his live-in girlfriend on May 9. The $60 million bail is reportedly one of the highest set in Philadelphia history.

DeCoatsworth faces more than 32 crimes in all three cases. He is scheduled for another court appearance on June 17.

One of DeCoatsworth’s neighbors said she was relieved to hear about his arrest.

“I am scared to be saying this now but I hope he stays where he is at, he has been a thorn in the side of this neighborhood for so long,” said the woman who did not want to be identified.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter's Office says of the nine complaints lodged against DeCoatsworth -- one resulted in a lawsuit. The suit alleged DeCoatsworth used aggressive behavior while on the job.

The city settled that suit for $1.5 million. However, officials say Philadelphia has accrued other legal costs related to DeCoatsworth.

Last year, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told police he believed he failed DeCoatsworth by letting him go back to work with a stressful unit too soon after he was shot in the face.

"I think I screwed up on that," Ramsey told the Daily News. "I think I should have given him more time. He didn't want more time but I should have done that."

In light of his most recent arrest however, Ramsey had much harsher words for DeCoatsworth on Monday.

"He has to be held accountable," Ramsey said. "Just like anybody else. There should be no special consideration given simply because he once served as a police officer."

DeCoatsworth is being held on $60 million bail. A figure that is rarely seen in the U.S. criminal justice system.

Philadelphia District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Tasha Jamerson said prosecution did not request a high bail amount, rather that DeCoatsworth be held without bail.

“Being held without bail is the highest bail situation you could face as a defendant in Philadelphia," Jamerson said, “At DeCoatsworth's arraignment on Saturday, we requested that he be held without bail, but the judge instead chose to impose bail at $60 million.”

Other high-profile cases, including federal trials held in Pennsylvania, have included large sums, but none are near what the 27-year-old is held on.

While many with similarly egregious crimes are held without bail, some are held on bonds that reach into the millions of dollars.

While DeCoatsworth is listed as being represented by a public defender, family members are currently helping him acquire an attorney.

CA - LAPD Officer (Miguel Schiappapietra) Accused of Lewd Acts with 2 Young Girls

2013-05-21T12:37:00.001-04:00

Miguel Schiappapietra

Original Article

05/21/2013

By Kellan Connor

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department was expected to appear in court on Tuesday on charges of molesting two young girls.

Officer Miguel Schiappapietra, 28, was arrested on Saturday at his home in the 28000 block of Branch Road in Castaic.

He was booked on two counts of lewd acts with a child, according to Sgt. Brian Hudson, of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau.

There were at least two victims involved, both under the age of 10, Hudson said.

Schiappapietra allegedly lured the two girls into his home, police said.

He reportedly moved into the neighborhood just five weeks ago and is a father of young children himself.

Schiappapietra is a six-year veteran of the force, and was stationed most recently at the LAPD’s Foothill Station.

He was being held on $100,000 bail.

The investigation was ongoing. Anyone with information about the case was asked to call the Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Unit (877) 710-5273.

MN - What to do with 700-plus sex offenders? Pressure builds for answer

2013-05-21T06:12:00.000-04:00

Original Article

05/16/2013

By Susan Hegarty

Under court order to treat and release clients held in treatment program, DHS proposes biennial reviews and scattered-site placements.

Even sex offenders have constitutional rights.

Finished with their prison sentences, about 680 sex offenders have been civilly committed by the courts and placed in the Minnesota Sex Offender Program for an indeterminate period of time. A judge may have determined them to have a sexual psychopathic personality, be a sexually dangerous person or both.

Yet, under pressure from a federal court, Minnesota is faced with the challenge of releasing more people who were court-ordered to treatment at the MSOP facilities in Moose Lake or St. Peter. To date, only one individual has been granted a provisional release. Holding the rest of them indefinitely is unconstitutional, according to the court.

“The people who are in this program nobody wants for their neighbor. But they have constitutional rights. That means we have to set up systems that are constitutional and actually work,” said Rep. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka).

The Sex Offender Civil Commitment Advisory Task Force studied the issue and the Department of Human Services began looking at modifying the way clients move through treatment, including alternatives to moving to the Moose Lake facility. Proposed changes are contained in SF1014 (PDF) sponsored by Sen. Kathy Sheran (DFL-Mankato), which the Senate passed 44-21 on Tuesday. It now awaits action in the House, where Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester) is the sponsor.

The House Judiciary Finance and Policy Committee approved the companion bill, HF1139 (PDF), 5-3 on May 10 and referred it to the House Rules and Legislative Administration Committee.

Two options

The bill would authorize judges to commit offenders to one of two options: the MSOP facility or placement in a “Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment” program, or SIST. Each client’s placement and treatment progress, or lack of progress, would be reviewed every two years.

“We’re talking about managing a population that’s already there and continuing to grow,” Liebling said. An estimated 50 newly released sex offenders could be court-ordered into the treatment program each year, according to the Department of Human Services.

“The way to make sure that the treatment is effective is to have this independent group of examiners who review each patient’s progress at least every two years,” Liebling said.

Recognizing that newly released sex offenders may be diverted from entering MSOP, DHS has asked public and private treatment programs to submit information about whether they could provide ongoing treatment following release. The department received more than 20 responses, which could include day treatment, foster home settings, apartments and monitoring individuals by GPS with ankle bracelets. Some programs have prior experience treating sex offenders while other responders currently offer in-patient treatment services for other problems, such as alcohol and drug addictions. If legislators warm to the idea of scattered site treatment centers, the next step would be to request program proposals from the respondents.

“Obviously there are lots of places where it wouldn’t be appropriate to put this kind of facility, but if we say there is no place, then we’re really in a pickle,” Liebling said.

But some committee members were reluctant to vote on the bill, saying it wasn’t “ready for prime time.”

“I don’t want to be in a position of learning what this does after I vote on it,” said Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa).

Not willing to wait

But Abeler wasn’t willing to wait until the 2014 legislative session to act.

“I don’t know how we as legislators, sworn to uphold the constitution, do nothing with the threat of (federal) action or otherwise. We have a job to do. Is this a scary bunch of people to deal with? Could one of these people re-offend? Absolutely. There are ways to set aside who is high risk and who is low risk. We’re not even doing that,” he said.

Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Vernon Center) predicted that cities and counties will pass ordinances prohibiting the location of the treatment centers in their communities. “Basically we’re going to have to shove this down their throat.”

His approach would be further upstream in the court system. He suggested creating a new class of criminal called a “predatory sex offender” which calls for a 60-year prison sentence.

“That stops the flow to the sex offender program. With incarceration, you don’t run into the constitutional problem because you don’t have to treat them when they’re incarcerated,” Cornish said.

There is also the political consequence to consider. No member wants to be labeled soft on crime. “Is there political peril in this? Absolutely,” said Abeler.

For others, the cost of operating MSOP is the driving force behind their support. It costs the state about $120,000 a year for each person in treatment. Keeping them in prison is about one-third of the cost.

“The trend that we’re on is unsustainable,” said Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul). He called the bill a “good first step. I think we have to give this a chance.”

Rep. Debra Hillstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center), chair of the committee, puts her faith in the courts knowing when to commit someone into the program and when to discharge them back into society.

“It is court in and court out. And all of the evaluations about what level of care, security and treatment is going to be determined through the courts, and I have a high amount of regard for the court and their ability to assess,” Hillstrom said.

TX - Sex offender list closer to stripping job details

2013-05-21T05:32:00.000-04:00

Original Article

05/20/2013

AUSTIN - An online registry of convicted sex offenders in Texas would no longer include employer information under a bill inching closer to Gov. Rick Perry's desk.

The House on Monday night gave tentative approval to what advocates say would mark a minor but extraordinary softening of the state's sex offender laws.

More than 72,000 convicted sex offenders are registered in Texas. Supporters of the bill say keeping employer details on the public database intimidates companies from hiring offenders, thereby impeding their rehabilitation into society.

Businesses group leaders were among those backing the measure. They told lawmakers their bottom line suffers when the public discovers who's on the payroll.

The bill needs to clear a final, procedural House vote before being sent to Perry.

FL - Orlando sex offender ordinance passes unanimously

2013-05-21T05:19:00.002-04:00

Original Article

05/20/2013

ORLANDO - City Council has unanimously passed a new ordinance to keep registered sex offenders even farther away from children.

Under the new ordinance, sex offenders living within the Orlando city limits may not live within 1,500 feet of a school, park, playground or daycare. The previous limit was 1,000 feet.

However, the ordinance only applies to sex offenders whose victims were under the age of 16.

Opponents of the law said they believe it will push more sex offenders into being homeless (Video, More videos).

"Then, they are just going to fall of the grid. Then we're not going to know where they're at," argued Julio Rodriguez with Offender Housing, a local real estate company specializing in finding housing for sex offenders. "Right now, by having all these people live in one area, it's easier for the Sheriff's Office, or probation and parole to come and check on them in one area where they're all living together."

"You can't totally prohibit these individuals from living in your city," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. "So, we set what we thought was an appropriate boundary that could with stand any constitutional challenges."

Mayor Dyer said the city will re-evaluate the effectiveness of the ordinance within the next 12 months.

See Also:

VIDEO - Orlando Mayor Dyer discusses new sex offender ordinance

Why Current Child Porn Laws Imprison the Wrong People

2013-05-21T05:02:00.002-04:00

Original Article

05/20/2013

By Macie Melendez

Growing up, I was taught that prison was a place where people went when they did bad things. It was simple then: There were good people and there were bad people.

As I got older, the picture grew more complicated. I saw good people do bad things, and I saw bad people do good things. But recently, when one of the best people in my world did something that landed him in prison, my beliefs about the justice system and how it punishes American citizens were completely upended.

My friend was sentenced to five years in a federal prison for obtaining five pornographic images and one video that featured a minor. (This number is minuscule compared to the hundreds of thousands of images and videos that are collected by serious offenders.) He obtained these images through a peer-to-peer file sharing program. He was intentionally downloading porn, but he was not seeking out child porn. Once he knew the images and video file existed, he deleted them.

Unfortunately for him, there was a member of the FBI searching the Internet for child pornography offenders. That FBI agent was able to track his computer's IP address, find out who he was and where he lived. In that process, the FBI learned that he was a young man who held a full-time job, had earned a Master's degree and had never been convicted of a crime -- in fact, he had never been arrested for anything at all. In spite of those facts, the FBI felt it necessary to send about a dozen agents to his apartment, armed with guns and dressed like they were going into a war zone. They had a search warrant and used it to raid his apartment. When they didn't find anything, they left.

The FBI continued to monitor him while he went about his normal, crime-free life. After eight months of investigating, the FBI still found nothing more than that first unintentional download. Regardless, several FBI agents came back to his apartment, put him in handcuffs and took him to jail.

I now see that laws simply aren't black and white. Instead, they come with a lot of grey matter. Within that grey matter is emotion -- a powerful fuel that charges people to action. But emotion can be dangerous as it often clouds logic and critical thinking. For this reason, our laws dictate that courtrooms be presided over by emotionless judges; lawmakers, however, aren't given these same emotional restrictions.

Congress' repeated escalations of penalties for child pornography offenses are an example of emotion getting in the way of logic. What voter wouldn't support severe punishments for those supporting or distributing films with underage sex and nudity? Especially when they are explained as a means to catch the worst of the worst. But in reality, in practice, these laws have formed the basis of a modern-day witch-hunt that thrives on the vagaries of the Internet and too often captures individuals who make relatively simple errors online, rather than those who produce such material or directly abuse children.

In late February 2013, the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) released a report to Congress that examined the cases of offenders that have been sentenced under current federal sentencing guidelines for child pornography offenses. This report was conducted for a number of reasons, including the fact that "an increasing number of courts believe that penalties are overly severe for at least some non-production offenders" and that "there has been a growing disconnect between the existing sentencing scheme and the continuing evolution in the technology used by offenders."

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NY - Sex offenders challenge Suffolk law

2013-05-21T04:33:00.000-04:00

Original Article

See the video at the link above. The videos below are from older articles.

05/20/2013

WOODBURY - Two registered sex offenders are challenging a Suffolk law that calls for closely watching the online activity of convicted offenders.

The Community Protection Act (PDF) allows Parents for Megan's Law to act for police by monitoring offenders' online activity.

According to Newsday, offenders say the law violates their civil rights.

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Glitch in widely used polygraph can skew results

2013-05-21T04:16:00.002-04:00

Original Article

Polygraphs are junk science and why are they used to convict people when they are not admissible in courts?

05/20/2013

By Marisa Taylor

WASHINGTON - Police departments and federal agencies across the country are using a type of polygraph despite evidence of a technical problem that could label truthful people as liars or the guilty as innocent, McClatchy has found.

As a result, innocent people might have been labeled criminal suspects, faced greater scrutiny while on probation or lost out on jobs. Or, just as alarming, spies and criminals may have escaped detection.

The technical glitch produced errors in the computerized measurements of sweat in one of the most popular polygraphs, the LX4000. Although polygraphers first noticed the problem a decade ago, many government agencies hadn’t known about the risk of inaccurate measurements until McClatchy recently raised questions about it.

The manufacturer, Lafayette Instrument Co. Inc., described the phenomenon as “occasional” and “minor,” but it couldn’t say exactly how often it occurs. Even after one federal agency became concerned and stopped using the measurement and a veteran polygrapher at another witnessed it repeatedly change test results, the extent and the source of the problem weren’t independently studied nor openly debated. In the meantime, tens of thousands of Americans were polygraphed on the LX4000.

The controversy casts new doubt on the reliability and usefulness of polygraphs, which are popularly known as lie detectors and whose tests are banned for use as evidence by most U.S. courts. Scientists have long questioned whether polygraphers can accurately identify liars by interpreting measurements of blood pressure, sweat activity and respiration. But polygraphers themselves say they rely on the measurements to be accurate for their daily, high-stakes decisions about people’s lives.

“We’re talking about using a procedure that has a very weak scientific foundation and making it worse,” said William Iacono, a University of Minnesota psychology professor who’s researched polygraph testing. “I already don’t have very much confidence in how government agencies conduct these tests. Now, they might as well be flipping a coin.”

Despite the scientific skepticism, intelligence and law enforcement agencies see polygraph as useful in obtaining confessions to wrongdoing that wouldn’t otherwise be uncovered. Fifteen federal agencies and many police departments across the country rely on polygraph testing to help make hiring or firing decisions. Sex offenders and other felons often undergo testing to comply with probation or court-ordered psychological treatment. Police detectives and prosecutors rule out criminal suspects who pass and scrutinize those who don’t.

In its ongoing series about polygraph use by government agencies, McClatchy found that such testing has flourished despite being banned for use by most private employers 25 years ago. For federal jobs alone, more than 70,000 people are polygraphed each year, and most can’t challenge the results in court or allege abusive tactics. While supporters say accuracy can be 85 to 95 percent, polygraphs aren’t required to meet any independent testing standards to verify the accuracy of their measurements, unlike medical or other computerized equipment.

The concerns about the LX4000 only add to the criticism.

“If you buy all of the propositions that the physiological measurements are a reliable proxy for truth telling or deception, then the whole premise depends upon a machine that can precisely record those measurements,” said Gene Iredale, a San Diego attorney. “If you don’t have that, then you have a hope piled on a speculation, and on top of it all an error-filled system.”

In the absence of an independent assessment, polygraphers depend on the federal government, the manufacturer or one another to be notified of a problem with the technology. Many polygraphers, however, told McClatchy they didn’t know about the possibility of inaccurate measurements or that they could occur in other polygraphs that use the same technology.

“If this was being debated, I would have liked to have known about it,” said Danny Fields, the supervisor of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department’s polygraph section, which used the LX4000 for years before replacing it with a newer Lafayette model. “I believe in polygraph 100 percent, but I want to make sure it’s working like it’s supposed to be working.”

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CO - Angry Mob Pelts Man Thought to Be Sex Attacker

2013-05-21T03:55:00.000-04:00

Original Article

05/20/2013

By STEVEN K. PAULSON

Residents angry that police had not warned them about sex assaults of children took matters into their own hands, chasing down a man they thought was the attacker, pelting him with rocks and leaving him with a bloody face in Colorado, authorities said Monday.

Pueblo police later released the man because of lack of evidence, The Pueblo Chieftain reported.

Neighborhood residents were looking for a man suspected of two separate sexual acts when they got word that a man matching the description had been spotted, said Alex Pacheco, one of the pursuers.

The group confronted the man and he ran.

Pursuers surrounded him and punched him in the face, police Capt. Tom Rummel said. Arriving officers shoved the man into a police car and whisked him to the station for questioning. He was not seriously injured.

"The primary officer on the scene said get him out of here," Rummel said.
- So tell me, why didn't the police arrest the people who attacked him? Why is Alex Pacheco and the others not in jail? They are basically telling the mob that it's okay to harm others you think might be responsible. They are basically condoning vigilante violence, in our opinion.

Pacheco told the newspaper that residents were canvassing the area looking for the man who committed the sex crimes during the past few months.

One incident involved the sexual assault of a girl in her home. In the other, authorities said a man with the same description exposed himself to another child.

Police said the mob grew to about a half-dozen people as residents learned of the chase and joined in.

"We went through the right channels in contacting the police but there hasn't been much response," Pacheco said. "We can't wait around any longer without doing something. These are children that this man is after and we can't let any more children get hurt by him."

Rummel said police had notified the media and posted warnings on social media about the attacks, but authorities are not required by law to notify residents because no one had been arrested.

Rummel said police only had a vague description of the suspect because he wore a bandanna over his face.

The 54-year-old man accosted by the mob did not want to file charges against his pursuers, the chief said.

"He said folks were reacting to a bad situation and he told the officer, 'I don't want to go that route,'" Rummel said. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The name of the man was not released because no charges were filed. He agreed to give investigators a DNA sample so he could be ruled out as a suspect.

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Residents of Colorado neighborhood chase down man they thought sexually assaulted children

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FL - Florida funds sex offender database search by school

2013-05-20T10:08:00.003-04:00

Original Article

And you can bet that once this is live, these people will lose their jobs as well, which we believe is the intent of the action.

05/18/2013

By Jeff Weinsier

Florida Legislature allocates $18K to update FDLE's Sex Offender, Predator database search

MIAMI - Change is coming to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Sex Offender and Predator database following a Local 10 investigation.

You will soon be able to search for registered sex offenders and predators listed by the college or university they attend or work at. Currently, you can only search the database by name or neighborhood.

The Florida Legislature allocated $18,000 to update FDLE's computer program.

State records show more than 100 registered sex offenders attend or work on campuses in South Florida.

It took Local 10 weeks to get a list, and only after we requested it.

Students who Local 10 interviewed said they had no idea the information even existed.

"I really appreciate you bringing this to my attention," said State Senator Eleanor Sobel. "You do not know who is on your college campus, you do not know who is in your class, you do not know who is in your study group, you do not know who you are having a drink with."

The Texas Department of Public Safety has a link on their website that allows users to search for sex offenders by campus.

Because the Florida Department of Law Enforcement already tracks that information, Sobel and Local 10 wanted to know why it couldn't be done here.

"We met with the FDLE -- they didn't need a law, they didn't need statutory changes," said Sobel. "All they needed was a little bit of money to put it on their website."

The money becomes available July 1.

The Florida Sheriff's Association and Florida Police Chief's Association supported the measure brought to their attention by Sobel.

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OK - Lawmakers benefit from private prison donations

2013-05-20T09:57:00.001-04:00

Original Article

As we've said many times before, prison is a business.

05/19/2013

By CURTIS KILLMAN & BARBARA HOBEROCK

OKLAHOMA CITY - Private prison interests have given nearly $200,000 in campaign dollars and gifts to 79 of the 149 members of the state Legislature since 2004, a Tulsa World analysis shows.

From a meal valued at $3.87 for one lawmaker to $22,500 toward T.W. Shannon's Speaker's Ball, private prison and halfway house influence has become well entrenched at the state Capitol.

As the state's prison population has climbed, so has spending on private prisons, which was nearly $73 million last fiscal year, up from slightly more than $57 million in fiscal year 2004.

Halfway-house expenditures were nearly $14 million in fiscal year 2012, up slightly from more than $12 million in fiscal year 2004.

Since 2004, lobbyists, private prison and halfway house employees have given $375,425 to 165 elected officials and candidates for office.

The contributions and gifts come from lobbyists and others affiliated with Avalon Correctional Services, The GEO Group Inc. and Corrections Corporation of America. All three have operations in the state. The lobbyists' representation is not limited to one private prison or halfway house company. They have contracts to represent dozens of far-ranging interests.

House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, is the top recipient of private prison-linked dollars. Shannon has received $34,950. The sum includes $22,500 donated by three private prison companies to fund the 2013 Speaker's Ball.

People make donations to the speaker's campaign because of his ideals, not to buy a spot for theirs, said Joe Griffin, a Shannon spokesman.

"This office makes decisions based on what is best for Oklahoma," Griffin said.

Gov. Mary Fallin ranks No. 2 in private prison dollars. Private prison interests, which include employees, political action committees and lobbyists employed by the companies, have donated $33,608 to her campaigns.

"Campaign donations do not affect the way Gov. Fallin makes policy decisions, period," said Alex Weintz, a Fallin spokesman.

Because she ran a large statewide campaign, it is not surprising that she has large amounts of contributions from any particular group of donors, he said.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Clark Jolley, R-Edmond, is the top recipient of private prison and halfway house dollars in the Senate and No. 3 recipient among elected officials overall. Jolley has reported receipts totaling $30,450 toward his campaigns.

Jolley said employees of Avalon live in his district, which could account for his ranking.

Jolley said people are going to believe what they want about politicians and donations.

"But my vote is not for sale," Jolley said. "It never has been. It never will be."

State Treasurer Ken Miller received the bulk of his contributions in his current position but collected $2,250 as a member of the Oklahoma House.

Political action committees representing CCA and The GEO Group also have donated nearly $100,000 since 2004 to candidates.

In 2012, private prison interests donated nearly $50,000 to campaigns.

Private prison interests donated $72,900 to 2010 campaigns, records show.

In 2008 and 2006, private prison interests donated a respective $72,900 and $71,395 to political campaigns.

Republicans, who control houses of the Legislature and all elected state offices, have received about 83 percent of the contributions from private prisons since 2004.

Since 2010, The GEO Group and Avalon Correctional Services both reported gifts to various lawmakers and legislative staff.

Most of the gifts were given while the Legislature was in session.

Cooper "Brett" Robinson, a lobbyist on behalf of Geo Group, paid for $865.71 in meals and a "movie night" for lawmakers and their spouses during 2010 and 2011. His clients range from Bank of Oklahoma to the City of Oklahoma City, according to a filing with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.

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Open Letter to the Corrections Corporation of America after 30 Years of Locking People Up for Profit

WI - High-risk rent: Renting homes to Wisconsin sex offenders

2013-05-20T09:41:00.000-04:00

Original Article

05/19/2013

By Brad Hicks

FOND DU LAC COUNTY (WITI) - FOX6′s Brad Hicks set out to do a story on taxpayer money, and how the state is spending it. However, sometimes stories take an unexpected turn — which is what happened in this instance.

Kirk Everson is proud to promote his Fond du Lac County compost company. He’s not afraid of being in the limelight as a lawyer — and he’s even a bit of a ham, appearing in the popular Chad Vader spoofs.

However, there is one thing Everson doesn’t want to talk about — not at his home, at his office, over the phone, or after his court appearance.

Steve Troscan wishes he had heard about Everson when he moved his mom from the family home into an assisted living facility. He says the house wasn’t selling until someone swooped in with a cash offer.

“From what I understood, the man was a lawyer from Fond du Lac. My sister and I would have never sold the house if we would have known this,” Troscan said.

The Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Juneau treats the worst sex offenders in Wisconsin — men who, after their prison terms, are still too dangerous to set free. They are committed to Sand Ridge to be treated, and most will never get out.

However, each year, a handful make enough progress that the state orders they be returned to the community, where they will be supervised and under tight restrictions.

Currently, there are 33 sexually violent offenders under supervised release.

The Department of Health Services returns them to the county from which they came. There is usually outrage and concern when a sex offender is placed in a neighborhood, but the law says they have to be placed.

These sex offenders live in rented homes that the state pays for with taxpayer dollars at prices that are nothing like what neighbors pay.

In one Milwaukee neighborhood, the state pays $1,900 a month to house a sex offender, which is about $1,000 more than neighbors pay in monthly rent.

Lydia Nichols rents a new two-bedroom in Manitowoc. Next door is a one-bedroom and home to a sex offender. The state pays $1,600 a month for the one-bedroom, while Nichols pays just $650.

The state says the rent is so high because it is hard to find suitable housing for these sex offenders. For starters, not a lot of people want to rent to the violent sex offender program. It can be risky for a landlord’s reputation. Also, places like Racine are tightening the reigns on where sex offenders can live.

Bob Peterson is a lawyer who represents many of the sex offenders at Sand Ridge and has seen how hard it can be to place them. Peterson says if more people were willing or able to rent, rent for sex offenders would go down.

“If there’s an individual that’s willing to do that, I look at is as they’re doing a public service,” Peterson said.

From that perspective, no one is providing a bigger “public service” than a company called Ervin J. Fenske. The Milwaukee home renting for $1,900 and the Manitowoc home renting for $1,600 are both Fenske properties. The company also owns a home Wisconsin rents for a sex offender in Wheatland, one in Beloit, one in Eau Claire and one in Marathon County.

In fact, Fenske owns 20% of the 30 homes the state rents for sexually violent offenders.

So who is behind this company?

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FL - Teen arrested, expelled for alleged same-sex relationship

2013-05-20T01:20:00.000-04:00

Original Article

This type of thing happens all the time. The child should've been given a warning, not jail / prison and ruined for life! The laws are suppose to protect children, not ruin them! You know what is ironic though? If this were two males, or even a older male and female, this outrage would not be occurring. But we have a double standard when it comes to pretty white females.

05/20/2013

By Angela Cruz

SEBASTIAN - [mother name withheld] said it's been a nightmare since her daughter, 18-year-old [name withheld], was arrested on a charge of "lewd and lascivious battery of a child 12 to 16 years old."

"She's scared to death, she can't sleep," said [mother name withheld], from her and [name withheld]'s home on Sunday night.

[mother name withheld] said [name withheld] became friends with an underaged female student at Sebastian River High School at the beginning of the school year.

"They began a dating relationship," [mother name withheld] recalled. "Never in my mind did I consider what that meant."

[name withheld], a former cheerleader and basketball player, was expelled from school after the arrest. [mother name withheld] hopes what she calls the "overwhelming" online support could somehow help get [name withheld]'s charge dropped.

Their family's "Free Kate" Facebook page has more than 14,000 members, and their change.org petition has more than 40,000 signatures.

"I just put our story out there on Friday," said [mother name withheld] "I wanted people to know what was going on. Within thirty minutes, I had so many outpouring support. On Saturday evening, we crashed the change.org website. The president of change.org contacted us personally."

"She is the sweetest girl," [mother name withheld] continued. "I wondered if I was crazy, if it was only because I'm a mom. But I wondered if anyone else thought, like me, that this was wrong and unjust. Apparently, they do."

The family also created an online account to assist with their $50,000 legal fees incurred, according to [mother name withheld].

[mother name withheld] spent all Sunday morning passing out 1,000 "STOP THE HATE, SAVE KATE" green bracelets. She is hoping the attention could help to avoid a trial.

"It's not something I want for my daughter, and it's not something I want for the other girl," said [mother name withheld].

[mother name withheld] said the relationship was consensual. She questions why the parents of [name withheld]'s girlfriend chose to press charges.

"You get with me, and say, hey, as a mom, this is going on and I don't like this, let's talk about this," said [mother name withheld] "I would have sat down with her, I would have sat down with our children, and I would have nipped it in the bud, and I would have respected her."

The state attorney's office has offered [name withheld] a plea deal, which would include two years of house arrest.

[mother name withheld] doesn't feel [name withheld] deserves the penalty if they don't accept, and they lose her case. She denies her daughter's actions were criminal.

"She would have a lifetime sexual offender on her record," said [mother name withheld] "She would not be able to, we think we all know what that means. It's a death sentence for her, her life would be over at 18."

"[name withheld] would not hurt a fly," said [mother name withheld] "She didn't know what she was doing was quote, unquote 'wrong' or illegal. There was no intent to hurt anybody or commit a crime. I know that's not an excuse for the letter of the law, but it's reality."

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DUBAI - Sharia Court Jails Australian Gang Rape Victim

2013-05-19T04:59:00.000-04:00

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CA - Los Angeles news Mom Speaks Out About Irvine-aposs Proposed Sex Offender Law

2013-05-18T04:10:00.000-04:00

Video Description:
Erin Runnion founder of The Joyful Child Foundation lost her beautiful young daughter Samantha to a sex offender. She talks to Colleen Williams on Nonstop News LA about Irvine-aposs proposed ban on sex offenders near parks...

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We are so sick of the media and others making it appear as if all ex-sex offenders are out hiding behind bushes in parks, drooling, just waiting for some kid to snatch. It's pure fear mongering that is not backed by the facts.

You will notice how most news agencies queue up some playground or park scene near the beginning or during the video to make it seem as if all ex-sex offenders are child molesting, pedophile predators, which is pure BS!

When are you going to report all sides other the story and all facts, instead of the usual BS to help you get ratings and viewers?

You continue to put all ex-sex offenders into the child molesting, pedophile predators category, which is simply not true. That would be like saying all ex-felons are serial killers because a couple are.

Not all ex-sex offenders enter parks to "leer" at children! Many ex-sex offenders have children of their own and are simply taking them there for the same reasons you do, to play and have fun. Not all offenders have harmed children, or even adults.

This is the type of mentality that is keeping the hysteria alive, instead of solving problems.

Are ex-sex offenders going to get a tax break because they cannot use the parks they are paying taxes for? They should!