Sex Offender News, Issues, Research and Recidivism

With no place to stay, he could go to prison

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 11:36:00 +0000

Winter is coming and folks would not want to see a repeat of last year, where Michigan's Tom Pauli froze to death because he did not have a place to stay due to residency laws.

11-29-2009 Georgia:

He’s a handy, articulate and well-dressed 27-year-old man. Friends say he’s a hard worker with his head on straight — the problem is Otto Jabar Orr is also listed as a sex offender.

The crux of the problem is Orr wants to work within the system, and while the restrictions placed upon him chafe, he’s willing to work. But with unemployment rates at more than 10 percent, jobs are scarce. For someone branded as a sex offender, they’re almost nonexistent.

No job equals no residence, and for Orr no residence equals going back to prison.

“I have to find a place by the end of this month,” Orr said. “But, right now it’s hard for me to find a place without a job.”

It’s not a matter of wishing to comply. It’s a matter of being able to comply with the stringent legal requirements in harsh economic circumstances.

“I did that for a long time. I had a job but then got laid off,” Orr said. “And now no one is hiring, especially me with a criminal record and all.”

There’s no halfway house, no homeless shelter, even the friends who would gladly take him in are bound by the legal restrictions of the registry.

He could remain at his current “temporary residence,” but it is within 1,000 feet of a church, a violation of his probation, and Roger Covington — president of a local prison ministry — agreed to let Orr live in his home, but he’s a convicted felon, and that kind of association is also a violation of his probation.

“It makes me upset. I’m trying, but the only thing that keeps me focused is God,” Orr said. “Sometimes I feel like giving up, but I feel like he won’t let me down, and I keep pushing myself every day.”

The 27-year-old said he’s been clean and arrest-free since 2005. Compliance with a job and a residence was difficult, but doable. The problem is after two years of working for a bakery, he was recently laid off.

Since then he’s been applying for jobs and hitting the pavement. But bad decisions made early in life don’t go away.

Changing times

No one is saying Orr is an angel. He’s been in and out of the courtroom — convicted of several other crimes such as drug possession, obstruction and theft by taking.

But his current entanglement with the legal system began at 18 when he pleaded guilty to a statutory rape charge filed against him when he was 17. Although the sex was consensual, the girl was underage.

When the prosecutor offered eight years of probation — he took it. At that time he didn’t have to register as a sex offender. There was some initial counseling but no registration.

A year later Orr was back in court on a drug possession charge.

This time he went to prison, and upon release in 2005 his parole officer told him the law now required him to register as a sex offender.

“I talked to them but couldn’t push the issue, I just didn’t have any money — only the $35 they gave me when I got out,” he said.

Since 2006, Orr’s particular case would be considered a misdemeanor — with no stipulation of registering in the sex offender database. But that change came too late for Orr. He, and many like him, committed what is now a misdemeanor but face a lifetime stigma of being a convicted felon and even worse — a sex offender.

“The system isn’t designed to help. I did wrong, I know I did,” Orr said. “But I’m still serving time every day. … By not knowing what I signed up for, I messed up my life.”

The law concerning statutory rape was amended July 1, 2006. It made consensual sex between teens (at least 14 years old) and a person no older than 18 a misdemeanor punishable by no more than a year in prison and no sex offender registration.

But the legislature did not make the law retroactive.

The sex offender registry is kept with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and according to Georgia law a person classified as a sexual offender must comply with the requirements of registration for life.

Those laws limit where offenders can live and work.

Those who have completed their incarceration or probation for at least 10 years can petition the Superior Court to be released from the registration requirements, according to Georgia Code 42-1-12 (g).

If the court decides the offender does not pose a substantial risk of future offenses, the court can release the person from registry. But for those in Orr’s situation, 10 years as a registered sex offender may mean a life term.

‘Ghetto pastor’

He’s not without help or friends, there are several who’ve stepped forward asking if they could help Orr. But with limited resources, time is running out.

Louise McCluskey, pastor of the Glorious New Jerusalem Church on West 12th Street, said she first met Orr through his grandmother and the self-described “ghetto pastor” said she saw injustice in his plight.

Here was a hard-working man whose faith had made a change in his life, she said, but his circumstances were dire.

That’s never mattered to McCluskey, who has run many prison ministries and is known for walking in among the convicts and making friends.

“You’ve got to love people. Jesus hung out with the thugs. Did you know that?” she said. “This church welcomes offenders regardless of what the law says. The church is a haven to set people free and help them to get to know Jesus.”

She found a residence for Orr to stay until the probation office saw a church in the area, invalidating the residence as a permanent place. His probation officer said Orr could stay there temporarily but gave an end of November deadline for him to move out.

Both McCluskey and Orr say the probation office has worked with him repeatedly, letting him stay out a little later to attend church and striving to help him stay out of prison. But the legislators made the law, and probation officers are sworn to uphold it.

“He has a good probation officer,” McCluskey said. “It’s the law that needs to change.”

But at this point what he needs is a job. He’s done house maintenance, some construction work and refurbished a home for the church on Harvey Street.

“He has worked diligently to restore that house, and it would be a good place to house others like him. But, guess what, there is a church at the corner,” McCluskey said.

He’s not picky at this point. Orr said he’d take any type of job. It’s not money or donations he needs. It’s a job and the ability to live under his current circumstances and hopefully provide for his three children.

For anyone with work available, McCluskey said they can reach her at 706-409-2908.

Although McCluskey said she has faith that God will make changes, she says people must still work for that change.

She speaks with a voice of experience and the surety of someone who has seen miracles happen.

She doesn’t expect people to make a change for the better 100 percent of the time. “When they want to change they’ll change,” she said.

“It isn’t about in here,” she said, gesturing toward the church. “It’s about out there,” she said, pointing toward the streets. ..Source..
by John Bailey

Jessica’s Law too vague to enforce?

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 09:34:00 +0000

This is what results when lawmakers refuse to represent all of their constituents and ignore constitutional protections. Lawmakers want chaos because it satisfies their individual hatreds, biases and prejudices. Lawmakers misuse their powers costing taxpayers far more than doing what is right by all constituents. Further there isn't a single piece of evidence which shows that ANY residency law enhances safety within communities.

11-29-2009 California:

Most local offenders too close to schools, parks

More than 70 percent of registered sex offenders in San Diego County are violating a state law by living too close to schools and parks.

Jessica’s Law, which was approved by California voters in November 2006, toughened sanctions against sex offenders and bars them from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. In San Diego County, 1,266 of 1,731 offenders whose addresses are made public by the state live in those restricted zones, according to an analysis by the Watchdog Institute, a nonprofit investigative journalism unit based at San Diego State University.

That finding surprises virtually no one in law enforcement. They say the law is vague and has holes, making it nearly impossible to enforce.

For example, the law doesn’t specify whether residence restrictions apply to all convicted sex offenders or only to those who were convicted or paroled after it passed. There are no penalties for violating the restrictions.

“The initiative itself was so badly written, no one knows how retroactive it is,” said Tom Tobin, a clinical psychologist and member of the state Sex Offender Management Board, an advisory group that includes law enforcement and other professionals who deal with sex crimes.

Four registered sex offenders, two of whom live in San Diego County, have challenged the residency restrictions, and their case is before the California Supreme Court.

The four men were paroled after Jessica’s Law passed, but their most recent crimes were not sex offenses. Parole officers told them they had to move from restricted areas near schools or parks or be sent back to prison.

Ernest Galvan, who represents the men, said the law is retroactive punishment. Laws that restrict a person’s rights must be based on a “compelling state interest,” he said.

Attorneys for the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation say voters intended to create “predator-free zones,” so the law applies to all registered sex offenders.

The court’s ruling is expected in February.

Dozens of municipalities across the state that have approved their own ordinances are awaiting the court’s decision before moving to enforce them. In San Diego County, six cities have enacted ordinances that restrict where convicted offenders can live or loiter: San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, La Mesa, Santee and San Marcos. The county of San Diego and the Padre Dam Municipal Water District — which oversees Santee Lakes — also have ordinances. Each makes a violation a misdemeanor.

Nearly all of those cities increased the number of restricted areas, barring convicted offenders from living or loitering near playgrounds, arcades, amusement parks and other places where children congregate. The Chula Vista City Council, however, eased the state restrictions, barring offenders convicted of crimes against children from living within 500 feet of a city park or a school that serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Leonard Miranda, a Chula Vista Police Department captain who helped craft the city ordinance, said a 2,000-foot restriction leaves only small pockets in the city where offenders could live.

“It was impractical,” he said.

More than 90 percent of convicted sex offenders listing addresses in Chula Vista are in violation of the state residence restriction, while none violate the municipal ordinance.

Glenn Isaaks, an agent in the department’s sex-offender-registration unit, said few police or sheriff’s departments have the resources to enforce a 2,000-foot restriction.

“We’re budget-strapped as it is,” he said. “It would be a burden to have to do that.”

While the legality of Jessica’s Law is debated, law enforcement experts are examining the larger question of whether residence restrictions reduce crime. About 7 percent of sex offenses against children are committed by someone already convicted of a child-sex crime, according to a 2003 study by the U.S. Department of Justice. That means that in most cases, child-sex offenses are being committed by someone who isn’t on a registry.

And while residence restrictions are aimed at keeping strangers away from children, strangers commit a small percentage of child-sex offenses. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office doesn’t track how many child molestations are committed by strangers, but the Justice Department study found that 93 percent of offenders are related to or know their victims.

“Often, we’re horrified when we hear about children snatched off the street,” said Phyllis Shess, director of sex-offender management in the District Attorney’s Office. “That is statistically very rare.”

In one aspect, Jessica’s Law has increased concerns about public safety. Since it took effect, more registered sex offenders have identified themselves as transient and are harder to track.

Among California parolees — the only population of sex offenders for whom the residence restrictions have been consistently enforced — the number listed as transient has gone from 88 in November 2006 to 1,056 in June 2008, an increase of 1,100 percent, according to a Sex Offender Management Board report in December 2008.

Tobin said sex offenders in an unstable environment, such as homelessness, are more likely to commit another crime.

“Why would we want to, with no apparent good reason, increase the risk of re-offending?” he asked. “The reality is we’re pushing people to the brink.”

In January, the Sex Offender Management Board issued recommendations, including one to “rethink residency restrictions.” It stated, “The vast majority of evidence and research conducted to date does not demonstrate a connection between where an offender lives and recidivism.”

Some officials in other states agree. Iowa legislators this year revised the state law banning convicted sex offenders from living near schools or day-care centers after law enforcement officials complained that it was difficult to enforce and increased the number of transient offenders. Now, only violent sex offenders can’t live in those areas.

State Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, who sponsored California’s initiative, said the law improves monitoring because it requires all registered felony sex offenders to wear a GPS device. However, only sex offenders on parole — about 15 percent of registered offenders statewide — are wearing the devices.

Local law enforcement agencies are supposed to take over GPS monitoring after sex offenders are off parole, but none has done that, said Lindon Lewis, a San Diego County GPS unit supervisor with the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Local officials are waiting for the state Supreme Court ruling, and they say they need funding before they can start monitoring, he said.

The law requires sex offenders to pay for GPS monitoring, but if they can’t, the state pays. For the 6,782 sex offenders on parole statewide, it cost $10.2 million to activate the devices, plus $14.9 million a year for monitoring.

Runner said the law shouldn’t be scaled back because of cost.

“How much does it cost when a child gets raped?” he asked.

Most officials who handle aspects of sex offenses say changing the law is a politically charged proposition.

“Who is going to stand up and say something that can be construed as, ‘Let’s go easier on sex offenders’?” Tobin said.

It’s not clear what may happen after the court issues its ruling, but if law enforcement agencies begin enforcing residence restrictions, that could launch another logistical challenge: where to put convicted sex offenders, especially in urban areas. A San Diego County District Attorney’s Office study in 2007 concluded that residence restrictions eliminated 72 percent of the residential parcels in the county.

The Watchdog Institute found that in San Diego, where more than one-third of the county’s convicted sex offenders list addresses, 85 percent are in violation of the state’s residence restrictions. The city ordinance adds further restrictions, barring registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of day-care centers, arcades, playgrounds, libraries and attractions that include the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld. It also bars them from loitering within 300 feet of those places.

The city hasn’t enforced its ordinance, passed in 2008, because of the pending case. Officials in the City Attorney’s Office also wouldn’t discuss enforcement plans because the case isn’t resolved, said city attorney spokeswoman Gina Coburn.

Moving the registered sex offenders who violate residence restrictions isn’t a simple solution. Finding housing for convicted sex offenders still on parole is difficult, state corrections officials say.

Residence restrictions have a “kind of intuitive appeal,” said Tobin, of the Sex Offender Management Board. “But if ‘not in my backyard,’ then where?” ..Source.. Denise Zapata and Kevin Crowe, watchdog institute

When Prisoners Phone Home

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:26:00 +0000

Corrections purpose? Recidivism is caused by? Justice means? I'm confused!

11-28-2009 New York:

New York State’s highest court has rejected the last vestiges of a lawsuit by families of inmates who claimed that the prison system overcharged them for telephone calls from their loved ones. The good news is that this suit — and an accompanying lobbying effort — has already succeeded in reforming a terribly unfair system.

New York, like many states, used the phones in its prisons as a profit center. MCI, which provided the phone service, agreed to pay the prison system 57.5 percent of the fees it charged for prisoners’ collect calls. The state then allowed MCI to charge outrageously high rates: 16 cents or more a minute plus a $3 surcharge for every call. Families paid as much as $300 to $400 a month, according to one advocacy group.

The Center for Constitutional Rights, a public interest legal organization, and prisoners’ families sued in 2004, charging that the exorbitant rates were unconstitutional. The suit rightly embarrassed New York politicians. In January 2007, Eliot Spitzer, the state’s newly elected governor, announced that rates would be substantially lowered. The Legislature later made it illegal for the Department of Correctional Services to accept revenue in excess of its reasonable costs for operating an inmate phone system.

What was left for the New York State Court of Appeals to decide was whether family members were due refunds. They contended that the excessive fees were an illegal tax that violated inmates’ equal protection rights. This week, the court, by a 5-to-1 vote, rejected the suit.

The decision is regrettable. But even the majority noted that the plaintiffs had strong arguments that the high rates were bad policy because they made it difficult for inmates to maintain family and community ties, and that released prisoners who lack these ties are more likely to return to a life of crime.

That is a message other states should heed. Prison systems may not have to subsidize these calls, but they should not be using them to balance their budgets. When prisoners cannot afford to keep in touch with their wives, husbands, parents and children, everyone pays. ..Source.. NY Times

Arrests up, monitoring down

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:24:00 +0000

11-28-2009 Nevada:

Number of freed sex offenders overwhelming agencies that supervise them

The August rescue of Jaycee Dugard from the California property of a registered sex offender is among a number of recent cases nationwide that are demonstrating the difficulties faced by parole and probation officers. Included in the recent cases is the arrest of a registered sex offender in Cleveland after a woman accused him of rape. Police found the bodies of 11 women at his home.

The Washington Post reported that both Phillip Garrido, the alleged kidnapper of Dugard, and Anthony Sowell, the Cleveland man now accused of homicide, were supervised by parole officers. Nevertheless, both suspects went years before raising suspicions. Garrido allegedly kidnapped Dugard in 1991, 18 years before being arrested.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says there are more than 716,000 registered sex offenders in the country. The Post reported this week that the number represents a 78 percent increase since 2001, when the Bush administration began a crackdown on child pornography and sex offenses — a crackdown that is continuing under the Obama administration.

Here we go again with that 716,000 factoid, find the truth here.

We fully support this initiative, but we believe it should accompany an equivalent increase in parole and probation officers. Law enforcement agencies charged with tracking the increasing number of offenders who are paroled or sentenced to probation are severely understaffed.

The Post reported that the Justice Department is hiring 81 more prosecutors for sex cases, and that federal funding for task forces that bring sexual assault charges in state courts rose this year from $16 million to $75 million.

At the same time, funding for parole and probation officers is being cut by nearly every state, including Nevada, even though the monitoring of freed sex offenders is required by law. Ernie Allen, president of the missing children’s center, told the Post: “The burden on probation and parole officers is going to explode.”

Before that happens, Congress and the states should devise new funding plans so parole and probation officers are proportionate to the number of offenders they must supervise. ..Editorial.. by The LawVegas Sun

A new standard being quoted: "Over 716,000 Registered Sex Offenders," but is it true?

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:07:00 +0000

11-28-2009 National:

There is a new comment being quoted in several news articles:

There are more than 716,000 registered sex offenders nationwide, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a 78 percent increase since 2001" SOURCE: 11-23-09 AP article "Tracking sex-crime offenders gets trickier"

However there is a problem with that number, if one reviews what is posted on NCMEC it shows 686,515 (Verified 11-28-2009). It appears someone or many are trying to develop a NEW SCARE tactic, a factoid, likely to be used to help lawmakers enact new legislation.

I guess it is possible that NCMEC has done a new TELEPHONE survey and hasn't yet posted their NEW findings, not like them though. However, the numbers being posted are BLOATED in a few ways:

1) Page one of the NCMEC source (LINK ABOVE) says "39 states provided numbers WHICH INCLUDED those still in prison." So, why does the public need to know numbers of those still in prison?

2) Most states are also showing numbers (and addresses) of those who have been deported, died, moved to another state, and duplicates galore. James Carlson, a Florida Journalist, wrote "Ghosts in the machine" which revealed the hidden truths behind the bloating of the Florida registry and that has been found to be true of other states.

3) A bit of history: When the Adam Walsh Act was being formulated, in the Senate version (S-1086 look in S-1086 RS Version, because it is not in their final version) was Section 106, which stated:
S-1086-ES SEC. 106. PARTICIPATING STATE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRIES.

(c) Publication of Number of Offenders Registered-
(1) IN GENERAL- Every 6 months, the Attorney General shall collect from each State information on the total number of covered individuals included in the registry maintained by that State.

(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND CONTENTS- The Attorney General shall--
(A) release information under paragraph (1) to the public in a manner consistent with this title; and

(B) include in such a release the number of individuals within each tier and the number of individuals who are in compliance with this title within each tier.

(3) DOUBLE-COUNTING- In reporting information collected under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall ensure, to the extent practicable, that offenders are not being double-counted.

That section was DROPPED by Congress and NOT INCLUDED in the Adam Walsh Act! Congress does not want folks to know the truth, bloated numbers MUST PREVAIL to keep fueling the hysteria!

In closing, the opposition also claims there are 100,000 missing sex offenders, well the truth about that number is here. Hummm, are there 100,000 missing OR are there really a few HUNDRED THOUSAND GHOST NUMBERS?

eAdvocate

Monitor Sex Offenders Better

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 08:32:00 +0000

Here we go again, the false belief that monitoring former offenders -now every 30 days rather than every 90 day- will (or could have) somehow PREVENT further sex crimes. Knowing where folks live (or really where they sleep a few hours of the day) in no way is PREVENTION or a deterent. Sowell was properly registered and monitored according to law, and checking on him every 30 days would not have uncovered the fact that he was (alleged to be) murdering women. Law enforcement is touting -sounds good pretexts- and not real prevention; lawmakers will follow the same path which equals NO REAL PREVENTION!

11-28-2009 Ohio:

Anthony Sowell murdered 11 women in his Cleveland home before a potential victim escaped and notified the authorities, police say. The killings went on for years. Sowell kept the bodies at his home, where decomposition generated an odor some neighbors blamed on a nearby factory.

Had more of Sowell's neighbors known he was a convicted sex offender, more questions about the odor might have been asked.

But though Sowell was on the state's sex offender registry, he was not monitored closely. He had regular contact with police, but they were not allowed to enter his home without probable cause to believe a crime had been committed.

A bill introduced in the General Assembly would provide additional safeguards against people like Sowell.

Offenders in the state's Tier III category, the most serious for sex offenders, would be monitored more closely if the bill is enacted. Instead of verifying such an offender's address every 90 days, as now required, the period would be shortened to 30 days. At least once every three months, police would have to have face-to-face contact with such offenders.

Perhaps most important, residents of communities would have to be notified if Tier III offenders move into their neighborhoods.

We do not believe sex offenders should be stereotyped or persecuted. But the frequency with which we carry reports of offenders who, after being released from prison, commit new offenses is distressing. More needs to be done to protect Ohioans from sexual predators who manage to blend into neighborhoods and continue committing crimes.

We urge Ohio lawmakers to approve the new legislation, which then should be signed into law by Gov. Ted Strickland. ..Editorial by.. The Intelligencer

San Bernardino sheriff's unit tracks registered sex offenders

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:59:00 +0000

I find it amazing that because of the Garrido case (who was properly registered while committing crimes, and monitored by many agents from different jurisdictions) that law enforcement still wants folks to believe that, knowing where registrants sleep -a few hours of the day- is MOST IMPORTANT to preventing new sex crimes.

The amount of time, money and resources that go into keeping a list of places where former offenders sleep -a few hours of the day- and ZIP into REAL PREVENTION proves this efforts real purpose is JOB SECURITY and nothing more; a stimulus program for employment of law enforcement officers.

All the justifications mentioned are nothing more than -sounds good pretexts- and will not prevent new sex offenses. In fact, non sex offenders released from prison commit 6 new sex crimes to every one committed by a previously convicted sex offender in the same time period following release. Non sex offenders released from prison are NOT MONITORED by law enforcement like sex offenders are. Source: Department of Justice. Lawmakers IGNORE this truth which proves PREVENTION is not their goal!

11-28-2009 California:

Not long ago, more than a quarter of San Bernardino County's sex offenders weren't meeting the terms of their registration.

Whether an offender's listed address was simply out of date, or he had gone completely underground, officials often lacked the time or resources to keep up.

Then came Jim Black.

Almost two years ago, the Sheriff's Department created a position for the retired San Bernardino police officer that focuses only on ensuring the area's offenders are in full compliance with their registration.

Since then, the county has trimmed its out-of-compliance registrants -- those off authorities' radar -- to well under 10 percent. That beats the state average and equals the success of Riverside County, which has an entire task force devoted to the issue.

"It's a never-ending battle," Black said. "It can be difficult to find these guys."

An up-to-date registry is important because law enforcement often makes the list one of its first stops when investigating child abductions and sexual assaults.

Working with deputies in the sheriff's Crimes Against Children detail, Black searches state and federal databases daily and coordinates collaborative sweeps and random home visits to stay ahead of a historically transient population.

The roughly 6 percent rate of sex offenders now out of compliance at any given time in either Inland county is less than half of the state average and a small fraction of those who have eluded officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

"They know they cannot rest on their haunches," said Ron Garcia, director of Riverside County's multi-agency Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement team. "We will show up at their houses to make sure they're residing where they're supposed to."

Creative adaptations

While Riverside County's team continues to be aggressive in its compliance efforts, Black and San Bernardino County's staff have adopted creative ways to bolster their effectiveness.

On days when state courts are closed because of furloughs, bailiffs have been asked to conduct sex offender checks. Black has posted fliers of the most wanted out-of-compliance sex offenders on the sheriff's Web site.

And next month, the department is expected to unveil a more detailed database for tracking the population.

Soon, Black hopes to be able to coordinate multi-agency operations that can identify sex offenders who slip through the cracks in smaller jurisdictions, such as Redlands, where detectives responsible for monitoring have many other duties.

"That way, we can make 100 or more checks at once and not have a Jaycee Dugard living in someone's backyard," Black said.

The case of Dugard, kidnapped when she was 11 and forced to live in captivity with a convicted rapist for almost 20 years, has heightened attention on the ways registered sex offenders are tracked once they are released from prison.

California's version of Jessica's Law, passed in 2006, allows local jurisdictions to enact ordinances greatly limiting where a sex offender can reside, restricting areas near parks, schools, day-care centers and bus stops.

Long-Term EFFECT

Last week, Black went over the issue with a class of deputies and officers from other departments, noting the many ways that offenders can violate their registration terms.

They include not listing every address where property is owned or not checking in every 30 days if an offender's address is listed as "transient."

The state-appointed Sex Offender Management Board issued a report last year stating the number of registrants listed as transients increased 60 percent from June 2007 to August 2008.

Jay Adams, a psychotherapist and advocate for more mental health treatment for sex offenders, said that the increased residency restrictions can result in more homelessness among offenders, and feared it would lead to increased recidivism.

"If you destroy all their contact with the community, their family relationships and their ability to get work, you're actually making them more dangerous," said Adams, a former Patton State Hospital therapist and contributor to the California Coalition on Sexual Offending.

Black, however, said that his unit has not seen any negative effects in the communities that have passed ordinances based on Jessica's Law.

"They still find places to live," he said. "I haven't seen a drastic increase in transient registrations in our county."

No Harassment

Black said that when he teaches deputies how to conduct compliance checks, and counsels citizens on how to deal with the public information available about sex offenders, he stresses that harassment is not part of the equation.

"If a sex offender gets harassed, threatened or terrorized, they're going to go underground and we're not going to know where they're at," he said. "And knowing where they're at is paramount."

Most San Bernardino County sex offenders found to be out of compliance have simply moved out of the area without notifying authorities, although some are found to have recently died.

Only a small fraction of the less than 10 percent not accounted for have disappeared.

When that occurs, prosecutors will issue felony arrest warrants that typically lead to more prison time. Black said he doesn't understand why anyone would take the risk.

"It's filling out a piece of paper, and it's a crime not to do so," he said. "It doesn't make sense to me." ..Source.. PAUL LAROCCO, The Press-Enterprise

Utica man, 66, shot dead after answering door

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:14:00 +0000

11-27-2009 New York:

State: Garrow also convicted sex offender

UTICA — .George Garrow and his roommate had just spent Wednesday evening baking pies and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner when they heard a knock at the door of their Dudley Avenue apartment shortly before midnight.

Having only one leg, Garrow, 66, grabbed his crutch and made his way to the door. The roommate said he next overheard Garrow talking with what sounded like a man and a woman.

The unknown visitors then demanded money from Garrow, the roommate recalled, but Garrow refused.

Suddenly, shots rang out.

Moments later at 11:53 p.m., Garrow, a previously convicted sex offender, would be found dead in his first-floor doorway, said his roommate, who asked not to be named. By Friday morning, his killer or killers remained at large, Utica police said.

When officers arrived, they said the smell of nutmeg and cinnamon still wafted through the air inside 1139 Dudley Ave.

While police officials did not dispute the roommate’s account of what happened, investigators spent the Thanksgiving holiday trying to piece together who might have killed Garrow, and for what reason.

“I do know that there was a conversation at the door, and I do know that there were gunshots,” Utica police Capt. James Watson said. “That lends itself for us to believe that the victim may know the offender.”

Garrow appeared to be shot in the head, according to the roommate, but police would not confirm where Garrow was shot on his body or how many times. Officials said an autopsy most likely will take place early next week.

Interviews conducted at the scene of the homicide earlier that morning offered few clues about the culprits, Watson said.

“Based on the people we’ve spoken to, we need to do some follow-up interviews with people before we can even come remotely close to developing suspect information,” Watson said.

Shortly after the shooting, area police agencies were put on alert for an older white jeep occupied by two men and two women that reportedly drove away from the scene north on Dudley Avenue toward Eagle Street.

‘He didn't deserve to die this way'

Several hours after Garrow was killed, his crutch remained propped up against the porch near the front door, which still was stained with blood.

For those who knew Garrow, it was those crutches and a mobilized wheelchair that they most often saw him use to move throughout the Cornhill neighborhood.

And although Garrow spent more than 15 years in prison for sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in the late 1980s in Otsego County, his status as a registered Level 3 sex offender wasn’t mentioned as they recalled their neighbor.

“I was a good friend of his,” neighbor Judith Torres said Thanksgiving Day afternoon in front of the first-floor apartment where Garrow was killed. “He didn’t deserve to die this way. God took a good man.”

Despite having only one leg, Garrow still offered to cut lawns for his neighbors, while using one hand to push the mower and the other hand to balance himself on a crutch.

He also drove a tractor that towed a small trailer throughout the neighborhood to collect scrap metal that he would sell for cash, friends said.

Garrow, they said, enjoyed bird-watching in his backyard, where a row of leafy collard greens still grew in the ground Thursday as a reminder of Garrow’s love of gardening.

“On his birthday, he would say God gave him another chance," Torres said.

Garrow did have a number of children that he hasn’t talked to for years, according to the roommate, who has lived with Garrow since July.

But shortly before Garrow was killed, he had just spoken on the phone with a son he hadn’t seen in about 14 years, the roommate said. Garrow also recently had made contact with another son living in Texas that he hasn’t seen for nearly 30 years.

After the roommate was questioned by police until about 6 a.m. Thursday, he was not immediately allowed to go back inside his apartment because it was a crime scene.

‘Like light bulbs dropping’

When police officers responded to the call, they already had been notified that multiple shots had been fired. The sound of gunfire had clearly been heard by nearby residents.

“It sounded like light bulbs dropping to the floor,” Torres said from her nearby home.

In the early morning hours after the shooting, area police agencies were put on alert for an older white jeep occupied by two men and two women that reportedly drove away from the scene south on Dudley Avenue toward Eagle Street

The city police forensic truck spent hours parked in the middle of the block with its spotlights shining on the 2-1/2 story house as evidence was collected.

As word of Garrow’s death spread, the Thanksgiving eve killing brought shock and fear to neighbors such as Jessenia Lopez, 19, who moved to the block with her three children about eight months ago.

Lopez was decorating a Christmas tree when she noticed the police activity on the street, she said.

“This is not what I want for my kids. ... Now I'm scared to even close my eyes,” Lopez said about an hour after the homicide.

This is Utica’s fourth homicide of the year.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call police at 223-3510.

All calls will be kept confidential. ..Source.. ROCCO LaDUCA, JENNIFER BOGDAN and EMERSON CLARRIDGE, Observer-Dispatch

Cops: Man kills newlywed wife, then himself

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:54:00 +0000

This is a very odd suicide, something is missing. Whatever caused this man to kill his new wife is unknown, but after doing that it is likley he -knowing what prison is like for sex offenders- decided life was not worth living. It is a good thing his wife's daughter was staying elsewhere that night.

11-27-2009 Illinois:

A West Side man apparently shot to death his newlywed wife and then turned the gun on himself, Chicago police said this morning.

Antwone Coleman's body was found first late Thursday night, in the street in the 3300 block of West Monroe Street, a couple of blocks from the couple's residence in the 3400 block of West Madison Street. He had an apparent self-inflicted bullet wound to his head, police said.

As police investigated, they found the body of his wife, Claudette Coleman, 30, in the couple's third-floor Garfield Park apartment with a gunshot wound to her head.

Police came to the apartment about 1:55 a.m.

The couple were married Oct. 10, according to police.

Police said Antwone Coleman, 28, had a criminal record that included convictions for domestic battery and aggravated battery to a police officer. He was also a registered sex offender.

The older brother of Claudette Coleman said this morning that they were shocked to learn of her new husband's lengthy criminal record and said they knew nothing of any possible violence between the couple.

"It was news to us," said a distraught Artis Wilson outside his sister's apartment building in Garfield Park.

Wilson said that the couple had just spent Thanksgiving with family Thursday and that there were no signs of any trouble.

They were as "normal as you can get," Wilson said.

The couple grew up together, but Wilson said the family did not know of Antwone Coleman's criminal history.

Claudette Coleman was the mother of a 10-year-old daughter, Wilson said.

A friend of the family said Claudette Coleman's daughter had stayed with her great grandmother last night. ..Source.. Erika Slife and staff

Sex Offender HQ

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:18:00 +0000

11-27-2009 Connecticut:

Hartford has the biggest concentration of registered sex offenders, many of them living in homeless shelters, in all of Connecticut

There are approximately four times as many registered sex offenders living on Laurel Street in Hartford as there are in the entire city of Greenwich.

Laurel has 19 offenders on one block.

Greenwich has five. Total.

At the McKinney Shelter on Huyshope Avenue, there are 29 registered sex offenders, about half of whom committed acts against minors. Seven are listed as non-compliant, meaning they've failed to verify their addresses, as required by law.

Madison Avenue has 17 registered offenders. Park Street has 26. There are similar concentrations of sex offenders throughout the city, from Albany Avenue to Wethersfield Avenue. None of this is lost on Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts. He formed a sex offender unit two years ago after noticing the number of offenders being released.

"We can't prohibit them from coming to the city, but we are responsible for keeping track of them," said police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy.

"[Hartford] is being used as a dumping ground to put people nobody else wants," she said. "I just know that 500-plus sex offenders aren't originally from Hartford."

That may be, says Bill Carbone, who oversees probation for sex offenders as executive director of the Judicial Branch's Court Support Services Division. But state officials have little choice. Homeless shelters in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport are often the only housing option for sex offenders newly released from prison.

"It's a problem," Carbone said. "The reason you have so many that initially end up in shelters is we do not have families that are willing to have them move back in."

Carbone has been pushing for the past several years for the state to build housing — on state land — specifically for sex offenders. He says about $3 million was allocated a couple of years ago, "but due to budget cutbacks, it's never been spent." And even if he could spend the money, Carbone knows it would be very hard to find a site where he wouldn't run into a storm of protest.

"I think everybody is facing the same issue with sex offenders," said Carbone. "In most states they're doing the same thing we're doing, which is using the shelter system."

Lt. Mark Tedeschi is commander of the police department's juvenile investigative division, which houses the sex offender unit that keeps tabs on the 537 offenders listed on the registry for Hartford. "We have the greatest amount of sex offenders in Connecticut, roughly 10 percent [of the total number of offenders] reside in our city," he said.

Tedeschi says police divide the city's 18 square miles into four districts: the northwest district, where Laurel Street is located, has 115 out of 537 sex offenders; the northeast district has 112; the southwest district has 157; and the southeast district has 153.

There are no restrictions in Connecticut on where registered sex offenders can live unless specified in their parole or probation, said Detective Victor Otero, commander of the sex offender unit. Offenders are required, however, to verify their addresses every three months so police know where to find them. If they don't, they're non-compliant and subject to arrest, like the seven offenders listed as living at McKinney.

"We go out and do compliance checks," said Otero, adding the majority of registered offenders are not on probation or parole, "so nobody is watching over them."

The northwest district, where Laurel Street is, has the highest compliance among registered sex offenders of any district, at 98 percent. The others have compliance percentage rates in the mid to high 80s, Tedeschi said.

City residents are often surprised that sex offenders live nearby. Gwendolyn Turner, a social worker at the Community Renewal Team at 211 Laurel St., said she had no idea 19 sex offenders lived on the street. Her center serves 75 children. But Nancy Pappas, director of external affairs for CRT, said children arrive and leave with their parents and are monitored constantly by center staff.

"CRT has programs to help folks, not specifically sex offenders, but people who've had time in prison," Pappas said. "It would be hypocritical of us to say, 'OK, well, we have 78 classrooms of Head Start and you can't be near any of them.'"

A woman living on Laurel Street, who asked not to be identified, contacted the Advocate to share an e-mail she sent on Sept. 28 to 311@hartford.gov, the city's help line: "Why are the standards in Hartford so low?" she wrote. "I live on Laurel Street, and besides all the prostitutes and drug addicts and people breaking in vehicles, there are 19 registered sex offenders within the 270-330 block, 8 of them living in one building at 270 Laurel Street, some with charges against children, some without. How is that even possible?"

Nearly a month later, on Oct. 20, the woman received a reply from 311.com, telling her the best way to address the issue was to discuss it with the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, her local community group. She decided not to bother.

"I didn't even know it existed," she said of the NRZ. "It seems like it would be a waste of time, just somewhere for people to complain."

Otero sympathizes, but says he isn't sure what could be changed. He points out residency restrictions have only driven sex offenders underground, making the situation worse.

"Every place is within 1,500 feet of a school or a playground or a church," said Otero. "Where would these people look for housing?"

That was exactly the problem for Phil Palmieri, a registered sex offender living in New Haven. Palmieri, 37, was convicted in 2006 of sexual assault in the second degree for having sex with a 14-year-old girl. He says he met her online, but not on MySpace or any of the other social networking sites. Palmieri says he was under the mistaken impression that the age of consent was 15, but as it turned out, he didn't even wait for that milestone.

"I did the typical dumb male thing. I thought with the wrong head and here I am," Palmieri said.

Released in 2008 after two years in prison, he's on probation for the next 10 years and is currently living in the Duncan Hotel on Chapel Street because he says he couldn't live anywhere else. He works as a bellhop to help pay his $200 weekly rent.

"It's a roof over my head and it's not a homeless shelter, but it's only a step above," Palmieri said. "Anywhere you're going to live has to be approved by probation, and quite frankly they don't care if you end up homeless." Parole officials wouldn't approve his moving back in with his parents because their apartment complex is near minors.

Palmieri calls his liaison with a 14-year-old girl the biggest mistake of his life, but says he can't move on, because the state won't let him.

"These people don't believe you can learn your lesson on your own," Palmieri said. "They believe they have to be monitoring you."

In fact, the new sex offender online registry launched by Gov. M. Jodi Rell makes it easier for the general public to monitor registered sex offenders. It sends e-mail alerts when offenders move to your neighborhood. Police will be able to search the database using a physical description by August 2010.

"With this registry process we know where they reside," Tedeschi said. "Any time there's a sex crime, pedophile or adult, we have a place to start and at least initiate the elimination process when we deal with sex crimes." ..Source.. Daniel D'Ambrosio

Father putting his life back together after daughters recant stories of molestation

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 06:10:00 +0000

11-27-2009 Texas:

"Paul Parks" spent almost three years in prison for molesting his two young daughters. He spent another 15 years living with the stigma of being a registered sex offender.

All because of what they now say is a lie.

Last year his now-adult daughters changed their story and he was exonerated. Such recantations are not unusual, but being declared innocent by the courts is rare.

For Parks, who requested a pseudonym as he pulls his life back together, his moment came when a Dallas judge concluded that his daughters' recantations were credible. In April, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals set the convictions aside "on actual innocence grounds."

The 54-year-old father of nine, paroled in 1994, got a call at work last spring telling him that after 25 years of hoping and praying, his name was cleared.

"It feels like I've got my life back, like I was suffocating and I came back to life," he says.

"I didn't want to die with a lie."

Once a lawyer, now a truck driver, he celebrated by asking his boss for time off to attend the wedding of one of the two daughters who accused him of molesting them.

Parks' case is every man's nightmare: to be accused of molesting your own daughters and to have no way to prove you didn't do it. Even now, he's aware that without conclusive evidence, like in the flurry of DNA exonerations in recent years, some people will always wonder if he's guilty.

Unlike the dozens of recent DNA exonerations, prosecutors fought the effort to clear Parks. They called old witnesses and questioned his daughters, because in recantation cases, proof of innocence is murky.

Assistant District Attorney Christine Womble, who handled the final hearing, says she has "mixed feelings" about the court's decision clearing Parks. "I had questions after talking to the girls prior to the hearing – and I still have questions."

Domestic difficulties

The lie began during a bitter custody battle. The primary evidence against Parks was the testimony of his daughters, backed up by his two ex-wives, "June" and "Kathy."

The two women did not return calls for comment. The daughters who testified against him declined to comment through his attorney. The Dallas Morning News examined the transcript from Parks' exoneration hearing and other court appeals related to his case.

Parks and his first wife, June, met in college. He served in the U.S. Marines and received a law degree from Western State University College of Law in California. But he and June separated after six years of marriage and three daughters.

When he dropped his wife off at school one day, he whisked away his three daughters to Dallas to start over. June claimed he kidnapped them; Parks said she refused to accompany him. They divorced in 1982, but June had no idea where he'd taken the children.

The next year, Parks married a Dallas neighbor, Kathy. They divorced 14 months later. When that union soured, court testimony indicates Kathy phoned June to tell her where the girls were. She suggested asking whether they had been abused.

June alerted authorities, who swiftly removed the girls from Parks' home.

"I just went crazy," Parks said. "I guess I told them, 'This is ridiculous. I'm not that type of person.' "

At a custody hearing in Dallas the abuse charges were deemed not credible, Parks says. Ike Vanden Eykel, one of Texas' premier divorce attorneys, remembers his client's steadfast denials, and how he offered to take any test and answer any question. "He never wavered."

But June's attorney pressed for criminal charges, which were filed in May 1985. The girls moved back to California with their mother in a joint custody agreement.

Parks moved back to California with the woman who later became his third wife, Michelle, to be closer to his daughters.

But June raised the abuse allegations again when she sued for full custody in California.

There, a psychological report stated Parks "did not present a personality profile consistent with that of a child molester" and noted that the girls may have been "coached."

Again, the abuse claims went nowhere, and Parks expected them to be dropped in criminal court. He exhausted his savings and was assigned a public defender.

To his dismay, Judge Gerry Meier, a no-nonsense jurist, decided to try the case – immediately. "We were ready for the dismissal," Parks said. "But we weren't ready for the trial."

Girls testify
From behind the defendant's table, Parks watched his life unravel.

According to court papers, Parks' first ex-wife said he talked to the girls like lovers, telling them to "give me some of your hot kisses."

His second ex-wife testified that Parks walked around in front of his daughters nude, with an erection; showered with them, French-kissed them and discussed their genitalia in crude terms. Parks said it wasn't true.

Peggy Nichols, a Texas Department of Protective Services social worker, testified about her interviews with two of his daughters – here called "Cindy" and "Nancy" – after removing them from their father's care. Parks' youngest daughter, who was 3 at the time of the alleged abuse, was not part of the case.

At first, Cindy, 6, and Nancy, 4, denied to Nichols that any inappropriate touching had occurred, court records show.

But by the time of the trial, three years later, they'd faced repeated questioning by Nichols and been shuffled from a shelter to foster homes then back to their mother, who also peppered them with questions. The girls' stories changed.

From the big wooden witness chair, Nancy said her father "molested me."

Watching his daughter, Parks wondered, "Where in the heck did they get that big word?"

Under questioning, Nancy added details in more childlike language.

Cindy said their father told them "not to tell anybody" what happened.

Parks says the girls wouldn't look at him during their testimony. "They made them into nothing but little robots there on the stand," he says.

Parks could do little. He wanted to introduce records from family court to show the allegations had been previously discredited, but says the judge didn't give him time to do so. He denied the abuse, but without evidence it was his word against theirs.

The jury believed the two little girls. And Parks didn't help himself in the sentencing phase.

He said therapy wouldn't help because he hadn't done anything wrong. When a prosecutor asked if he thought incest was normal, he said he didn't know.

He shrugs helplessly when asked about that now. "I was tired and depressed," he says. "They tripped me up ... I do not advocate [incest]."

The damage was done. Parks received two 10-year terms.

"I just wanted to sit there and die," he says.

The appeal became well known among Texas lawyers because it decided the issue of when extraneous evidence could be admitted. State courts concluded the testimony about Parks parading around naked should not have been introduced because the legal question was whether he had inappropriately touched the girls, not other conduct.

But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also ruled that the mistake was harmless because the other evidence was so strong.

In 1992, Parks went to prison.

That's when Michelle finally told their children that their father was going to prison for a crime he didn't commit. "It might be awhile before Daddy comes back," she said.

'Life dismal'

In prison, Parks worked in the leather factory, and helped inmates with their cases. He studied the Bible and sang in the choir.

Michelle found work at a day care and in other low-paying jobs. She sold the car, but lost the house when she fell behind on the mortgage. Relatives took the family in.

When he walked out of prison after 2 ½ years he found that being a registered sex offender "makes your life dismal," Parks says.

He couldn't live with his family, so Michelle arranged for him to rent a nearby duplex.

After several months, parole officials allowed him to move home. He eked out a living doing odd jobs. Then a relative helped him find factory work. When that factory closed, he became a truck driver.

Though he was prohibited from contacting his children from his first marriage, Michelle tried to locate the girls, sending letters to possible addresses. She received no response.

Then the phone rang one day in 2001. Nancy, now 21, was on the line. One of Michelle's letters had reached her. She wanted to talk to her father.

" 'No, no – I can't get on the phone,' " a panicked Parks said. "It's a violation of the rules."

Michelle says both women were puzzled by his refusal to talk. Separated from their father at an early age, they didn't even realize he'd gone to prison, Parks says.

Michelle says they thought their father had abandoned them.

"Do you not remember saying Daddy molested you?" she asked.

They remembered, but said they did it to please the adults pressing for answers. "Daddy didn't do that," they told Michelle.

'Complete lie'

According to court transcripts, the sisters – now an elementary school teacher and a child therapist – had discussed clearing their father's name before. But that's no easy task.

"It's a common misperception that all you've got to do is take their written statement, 'He didn't do it,' and Daddy walks out of jail," says Bill Allison, co-director of the Actual Innocence Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law.

But judges are skeptical of such claims. They want to preserve the finality of convictions and are suspicious of the witness's credibility, Allison says. "At some point the witness is not telling the truth – either then or now."

Some children, even as they become adults, worry that they or their other parent could face perjury charges, if they change their stories.

Parks' attorney, Gary Udashen, says he assured the daughters that their father was not interested in pursuing charges against anyone else. Kris Wise, who oversees such cases for Dallas County, said the district attorney also had no interest in further prosecutions.

Reassured, the women swore in affidavits that their father did not molest them, and in 2008 they traveled to Dallas for a hearing.

"It was glorious," Parks says of their reunion after more than a decade.

In court the next day, Cindy and Nancy testified.

"Somebody had created this story and, over time, we were just coached and coerced to saying a complete lie," Nancy said, according to the court transcript.

Cindy testified that, "After being questioned and asked about it so many times, it's kind of like you feel like just giving in ... They're not gonna listen to me, so I might as well just tell them what they want to hear."

She also denied that her father ever "walked around the house naked," saying he was "very modest."

Nancy said she didn't feel guilty for testifying against her father.

"I was a child," she replied. "And the way I looked at it, I was manipulated and taken advantage of, so I can't say that I feel guilty."

Womble didn't re-call Parks' former spouses to the stand. During his original trial, they'd never testified that they witnessed any sexual abuse. "The primary question is whether these girls lied," Womble said.

Allison, the expert on such cases, says it's unfair to call adults who recant their childhood testimony liars.

"They are giving in to pressure from adults ... it is not a lie to them. They have no idea of consequences ... they're children."

Parks' attorney also presented a new psychological report saying the testimony of the women as children was not credible, but their recantation was.

Writ master April Smith recommended Parks be cleared. Judge Susan Hawk says she "signed off on it without hesitation."

Getting reacquainted

A few weeks after charges were dropped, Parks was pulled over by a police officer while driving his younger children to school – a forbidden activity for registered sex offenders.

Luckily, he had a copy of the judgment in his car and was free to go.

Today, he's enjoying even more freedom. He can camp with his son, decorate the porch on holidays, even visit amusement parks.

Parks hopes to get a fresh start with several hundred thousand dollars in compensation money that he'll get under state law for being wrongfully convicted.

He and his two oldest daughters are getting to know one another again through weekly phone calls. To make up for the years he missed, they presented him with photographic scrapbooks of them at various stages of their lives.

Parks says he never blamed his daughters.

"I was never really angry at them for something somebody else did to them. I felt like they were raped mentally."

Prosecutor Wise says "you don't always have to have somebody to blame. Obviously a mistake was made, at some point or the other, but it wasn't a mistake that was maliciously made ... I think everybody fully believed at the time that they were telling the truth." ..Source.. DIANE JENNINGS / The Dallas Morning News

Lawmakers Scrap Physician Sex Offender Issue

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:07:00 +0000

11-25-2009 Michigan:

LANSING, MI (MPRN) - Shelli Weisberg is from the American Civil Liberties Union. She told lawmakers last week that Michigan's sex offender registry merely lists people convicted of a crime, and doesn't use judgment to determine how dangerous they may be.

She says the bill would prevent any adolescent who made a mistake that put them on the list from receiving a proper education or job in the medical field.

"And you know what," says Weisberg, "when we don't have education and we don't have jobs and we don't have treatment for these people listed as sex offenders, they have one thing left to do: Enter a life of crime."

The lawmaker who sponsored the bill says he was shocked to discover a doctor who molests or rapes a patient could still practice medicine in Michigan.

The House panel dealing with the bill is not expected to continue any discussion when lawmakers return from Thanksgiving break. ..Source.. Laura Weber

Lock 'em up and throw away the key? Some say yes

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:35:00 +0000

SOURCE: Florida Department of Corrections; Florida Department of Law Enforcement

Registered sex offenders and predators living in Florida:
Predators — 7,130
Offenders — 32,414
Total — 39,544
Incarcerated — 14,400
Living in the community — 25,144

COST OF PUNISHMENT:
Current offenders/predators GPS-monitored at $8.94 per day — 1,820
Est. cost per day if all sex offenders were monitored — $353,523
Est. cost per year — $129,036,026

Florida prisons:
Total — 55
Average inmate population — 1,300
Cost to build a new prison — $100 million
Number of new prisons needed to house all of the state’s sex offenders/predators — 19
Daily cost to house a prisoner — $44.96
Daily cost to house all sex offenders — $1,777,898
Cost per year — $648,932,843

11-25-2009 Florida:

The headlines, sometimes daily, rekindle the outcry:

"Man charged with rape of 7-year-old girl"

"Sexual predator seen with gun at school"

"Sex offender accused of trying to meet teen"

"Man charged with molesting a 4-year-old"

Some residents say their children aren't safe and lately lawmakers question if regulations are tough enough.

Florida prohibits sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, parks and other places that attract children, but state Rep. Luis Garcia Jr., D-Miami Beach, said recently he'd like to see "a study of longer incarceration, just putting them away and throwing the key away."

Is it even feasible -- if laws were changed to make sex offenders "lifers" -- to lock 'em all away?

Florida is home to about 40,000 sexual offenders and predators, and about one third of them are currently incarcerated, according to data provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Department of Corrections. The incarcerated sex offenders use enough beds to fill one-fifth of the state's prisons.

"We would definitely have to build more prisons if the sex offenders on the street were to be locked up," she said.

Florida law requires that prisons never reach full capacity, Plessinger said. At least 19 prisons, at a cost of $100 million per prison, would have to be built to house the remaining offenders living out in the community.

"That's just the building cost," Plessinger said. "That doesn't include the costs to staff and run a prison."

Even if the lock-them-all-up strategy won't fly, lawmakers are likely to consider tighter controls.

Marti Harkness, a specialist in criminal justice issues for the Florida Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability, said he expects a request will come next session for him to research longer prison terms or the possibility of electronic monitoring for all offenders.

Monitoring is the far less expensive option, but it's not cheap.

At nearly $9 per day, it would cost about $130 million per year to monitor all of Florida's sex offenders. The cost to incarcerate them would be $649 million per year, plus the $1.9 billion to build all the prisons, based on numbers provided by the Department of Corrections.

And, of course, these numbers don't take into account the sex offenders who either haven't been caught or are otherwise not yet in the system.

"There just aren't any easy answers," Harkness said. ..Source.. JULIE MURPHY, Staff Writer

Computer program helps the state keep tabs on sex offenders' online browsing

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:43:00 +0000

RemoteCom is rather interesting because they do not charge the local jurisdiction anything for performing this monitoring service (article claims there is some kind of contract between RemoteCom and the State). However, they do charge the probationer $35.00 a month. This arrangement is bothersome and may implicate rights of probationers, as there doesn't seem to be any court order to allow violation of the private rights of the probationer. Especially since the computer is within the home, and the monitoring is NOT DONE by the supervising agent. This needs to be investigated by the ACLU. It appears this service is REAL-TIME capture, but, not REAL-TIME alerting of supervising agents; weird.

11-25-2009 Georgia:

The state renews its contract with RemoteCOM to monitor ex-convicts' online activity.

ATLANTA - Keeping convicted sex offenders from getting into trouble over the Internet once they're released can be a difficult task, but Georgia's Department of Corrections is using technology to help.

Probation officers, each with 50 or so felons to supervise, would have a chore to manually screen all the online activity during their monthly surprise inspections of the ex-convict's homes. The special conditions sex offenders agree to when they are granted probation permits the inspections, and a new state law requires the offenders to turn over their user names and passwords, but enforcing the conditions can be tricky.

So, the Corrections Department just renewed its contract with a Texas company, RemoteCOM, that monitors the online activity electronically at no cost to taxpayers. The offenders who get permission to use the Internet agree to pay RemoteCOM $35 per month and to put a company software program on their home computer.

The software blocks access to prohibited pornographic Web sites and chat rooms. It also scans permitted applications, such as e-mail, for key words that could suggest a violation.

RemoteCOM hires off-duty police officers to manually inspect the activity their software alerts them to. For example, a reply to an e-mail that wasn't originally sent from the monitored computer would be a clue that the offender had used another computer in violation of the rules.

RemoteCOM estimates 10 percent of convicted sex offenders get sent back to prison for violating their online rules.

The Corrections Department oversees 6,200 sex offenders on probation, but only about 20 are monitored, according to department spokeswoman Sharmelle Brooks.

"There have been no violations from locations that use the system," she said.

One reason is because the offenders know they're being watched and don't do anything online that they wouldn't want to do in public, according to RemoteCOM President Robert Rosenbusch.

"We are trying to create a perception of containment on their computer," he said. "We want to put them out into the public. This is not something they would want to do in the public library."

RemoteCOM agrees to send its experts to testify for free in the case of a violation to any of the multiple states and counties it works with. Rosenbusch said it's never had to testify in the company's five years because defense attorneys always have recommended a guilty plea once they've seen the evidence the company's computer compiles.

The Corrections Department isn't the only state agency supervising convicted sex offenders. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles oversees 365 sex offenders who have been released early and are serving the balance of their sentences on parole. It doesn't use a monitoring service, relying instead on regular polygraphs, therapy sessions and inspections by parole officers, said Richard Oleson, program manager for sex offender and electronic monitoring.

"If there's something we're not seeing, the polygrapher and the therapist might advise us," he said. "Our procedures are pretty good." ..Source.. Walter C. Jones

Huelett's Mother Wants to Know Why Son Remains Jailed

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:04:00 +0000

11-24-2009 Vermont:

A Vermont sex offender whose case attracted national attention is still behind bars nearly one year after he became eligible for release and his mother says it's unfair.

Corrections officials say Mark Hulett is still behind bars because he refuses to co-operate with prison policy, but his mother doesn't believe it.

"It's hard thing, a very hard thing to take,you know. But they gotta give him a chance," said Carol Hulett.

It's hard for Carol Hulett to control her emotions when she talks about why her son Mark remains behind bars when he is eligible for release.

"You know. Other people have been given a second chance. He needs that. Not just for him. But for me,too," she said.

Mark Hulett's prison problems began four years ago when he was sentenced for sexually molesting an eight-year-old girl. Prosecutors wanted a minimum of eight years. But Judge Edward Cashman instead imposed a 60-day prison sentence. The judge wanted Hulett in and out of of prison quickly so Hulett could take part in sex offender treatment that was not available behind bars.

The 60-day sentence triggered a storm of of controversy and scathing criticism, much of it from Fox cable host Bill O'Reilly.

The Governor ordered a prison policy change to make sex offender treatment available behind bars. In response, Judge Cashman re-sentenced Hulett to serve at least 3 years in prison. Hulett completed the therapy program and became eligible for prison release more than a year ago. But he remains behind bars.

"He needs to be able to get out there and show people he's going to do the right thing cause I know he will," said his mother.

Carol Hulett believes her son has been singled out so the state can show the nation that Vermont is tough on child molesters.

"This offender is being treated no differently that any other offender in our system," said Vermont Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito.

Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito says Hulett is one more than 700 of Vermont's 2,200 inmates who continue to be held beyond their minimum release for a host of reasons. Pallito says 165 of them, including Hulett, continue to be held because they have not secured acceptable housing.

Is it any wonder why state budgets are going out of sight. Vermont should be implementing a reentry program to help offenders find appropriate housing, rather then making offenders find housing from BEHIND BARS! Talk about a system DESIGNED to cause folks to fail, here it is!

Pallito says Hulett insists on returning to the Williston home he co-owns with his mother where he lived when he committed his crimes and that's unacceptable.

"You're setting up the same circumstances that were in place before the offender committed the crimes in the first place. So one of the things we looked to do is find a more appropriate residence than where they came from, particularly one they weren't in before when they were acting in a criminal way," said Pallito.

"Why are they not looking into the potential that he's here with his mother? Someone who could direct him a little bit. I mean he does have a mind of his own, but I'd be willing to do what it takes to get him down the right path," said Carol Hulett.

Corrections Commisioner Pallito says living with his mother is simply too risky because Hulett's Williston home is next to a church school and just a few miles from his victim's home. They say if Hullett remains unwilling to help them help him find an acceptable residence they are prepared to keep him behind bars for his maximum sentence of ten years. ..Source.. Brian Joyce - WCAX News

OF MYTHS AND MONSTERS: THE PLAGUE OF SEX OFFENDER PANIC

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:20:00 +0000

11-24-2009 National:

Ignorance is not always bliss, nor is knowledge power. Even in this so-called “Age of Information,” we rely on Mass Media to think for us, reminiscent of the scene from the film “Wall-E,” where we let computers do everything for us. We forget Mass Media is a big business, and relies on sensational stories for ratings and advertising dollars. One of the most tragic stories we can think of is a murdered child, and every one of these tragedies keep us glued to the televisions in fear and anger. Fear sells, sex sells, and sex offenders sell.

The media reports covering the Somer Thompson case stated they were “interviewing 160+ nearby sex offenders” (interviews of registrants are typically standard operating procedure for Law Enforcement, as it was the original intent of the sex offender registry). Then the Mass Media suggested we check the maps at Family Watchdog; after all, if Oprah endorses it, it must be good. Alarmed by “blood red” dots and statistics with huge numbers implying a global epidemic, the average reader comes to the conclusion to be hyper-vigilant while watching the red blips on the radar. After all, they’re “always on the verge of re-offending” and “we’re powerless to stop them,” Mass Media says.

“Knowledge” brings “fear," but not always “rational fear.” It depends on what you find in your search for answers. In our fear and anger, we search for a solution to what bothers us; after all, our myriad of laws aimed at registered former sex offenders were birthed from reactions to tragedies. Every law in place targeting sex offenders, from publicly accessible registries, to laws dictating where registrants live and work, to laws dictating who a person can date, came on the heels of one of these high profile but rare tragedies. These tragedies spark public outrage, which in turn calls for a demand for some new panacea for our fears; politicians are pressed into action, creating new laws or expanding existing laws to cater to their constituents; without a single debate or “nay” vote, the new “panacea” passes and the world is at ease. At least until the next high profile tragedy hits the national airwaves.

When I was a child (as young as age 8 as I had an older brother), it was not uncommon to walk down to a friend’s house down the street to play, or go into the woods to play “War,” or to even be home alone while mommy and daddy went to town to run errands. We were taught to do chores around the house, how to answer the phone and take messages, and what to do in emergencies (like how to call 911). Those responsibilities I was taught as a child is now called “child abuse and neglect,” which will land you on a registry under the Adam Walsh Act.

I watched society slowly change over the years, beginning with the death of Adam Walsh in 1981. At first the changes were small; we were taught “secret passwords,” “don’t talk to strangers,” “walk with a buddy.” Then the sensational media reports of “Satanic ritual abuse” in America’s daycares began (which eventually turned out to be false), followed by the high-profile disappearances of Jacob Wetterling and Megan Kanka, which led to a public registry of persons convicted of “dangerous sex crimes.” Rather than grant us the “rational knowledge” to protect ourselves, we became even more fearful. Helicopter moms and dads hover over the child’s every move; only under the watchful eye of the parent can the child surf the web, play in the yard, or attend public social events. Now, little Johnny cannot go play by himself, lest he be kidnapped or molested.

Fear tends to hide the truth from us. Most of what our society believes about sex offenders is not true. Below are just a few of the beliefs we were taught that are either misleading or completely untrue:

• Epidemic of rape-murders: The Somer Renee Thompson case is a tragedy indeed, but is a very rare tragedy. In the NISMART-2 study from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, only 115 “stereotypical kidnappings” occurred in the year of the study, with only 45 of those cases ended in death or were permanently missing [1]. Your child has a far greater chance winning a multi-million dollar lottery or dying of Swine Flu than dying at the hands of a registered sex offender.

• All registered sex offenders are pedophiles: Pedophilia is a mental disorder and is exceedingly rare; only a very minute portion of sex offenders are “true pedophiles.” To make matters worse, our zeal to fight this “epidemic” has led to some other tragedies—Teens landing on registries for consensual sexual relations with their peers or “sexting” (sending naughty pictures of themselves to their boyfriends). The Dallas Morning News recently complied a list of over 4000 Texas registrants who landed on the registry as juveniles, some as young as age 10 [2]. Another recent case in Utah involved a 12 year old boy and 13 year old girl on the registry for “sexually assaulting” each other [3].

• Sex offenders are highly likely to re-offend: Studies have consistently shown sex offenders, as a whole, have a far lower rate of re-offending than any other crime type. Even long-term studies by reputable researchers found low rates of recidivism (between 2%-10% in most studies as long as 15 years) [4]. For every ultra-rare tragedy like Somer’s, there are thousands of “blood red dots” on that registry who have no involvement with that case, or another case, for that matter.

• Most sex crimes are committed by sex offenders: The registry leads people to believe sex offenders are the only ones committing sex crimes, but stats show the vast majority of sex crimes (between 87% and 96%) are committed by someone not on a publicly accessible registry [5]. Furthermore, the people most likely to molest a child are the immediate family members or closest acquaintances of the child, nearly all of them are likely not on a public registry, either [6].

• Sex offenders cannot be cured: Many treatment programs are available, and studies show treatment works, reducing recidivism rates by at least half or more [7]. Unfortunately, treatment programs for sex offenders are rarer than the tragedies which spawn sex offender legislation.

• Sex Offenders have 117 victims on average: The stat is a misinterpretation of a result from a study with relied on self-reporting and polygraph examinations, which came on the heels of the ill-fated Daycare Abuse scare of the late 1980s/ early 1990s [8]. Again, while some pedophiles have had many victims, the vast majority of sex offenders have had one victim, not counting the cases involving streaking, public urination, or consensual teen relations.

Actually the "117 victims" is a stat not from the study mentioned above (Self-Reported Sex Crimes of Nonincarcerated Paraphiliacs), instead it is from one cited by virtually all law enforcement, law makers and public speakers. It is Abel, Gene G. The Evaluation of Child Molesters: Final Report to the Center on Antisocial and Violent Behavior. Rockville, Maryland: National Institute of Mental Health, 1985. NIMH Grant MH33678-01, "The Evaluation of Child Molesters," May 1, 1980 - April 30, 1983 (extended to July 31, 1985). Principal Investigator.

• Tougher sex offender laws are the solution: Sex offender laws come with a heavy price; vigilante violence, homelessness and unemployment, social ostracism, and stress are just a few of the negative consequences facing not only those forced to register, but also those loved ones who support the registrant [9]. The city of Miami recently made international headlines for forcing recently released former offenders to live under the The Julia Tuttle Causeway, with powerful lobbyist and head of the homeless trust Ron Book spearheading the movement to keep them there [10].

Our society is so plagued by myths, mistruths, and misconceptions, I could write a book about it. Actually, I did write a book, entitled “Once Fallen,” a look at the “other side” of this issue, along with a free fact based site on sex offender laws and issues (www.oncefallen.com). Over the course of my research, I found we have forsaken programs that work in favor of fear-based and anger-based legislation. Even Patty Wetterling, who lobbied for a national sex offender registry, has stated we have gone too far with our laws and are in serious need of reform [11]. Exploitation of children goes far beyond abuse, as many organizations are selling fear and anger to the masses while reaping the benefits. There is no incentive to offer a rational solution to this crisis, because a solution means loss of business.

Sadly, many churches and “Christians” also jump on the bandwagon; many churches deny services to sex offenders, who are also in need of God’s giving grace and salvation. Recently, the Jefferson Hills Christian Church in Imperial, Missouri sponsored a series of billboards asking, “What’s Forgivable?” The general consensus in the local media was only sex offenders were unforgivable [12]. Some even stated sex offenders deserve “The Mark of Cain.”

But the Bible is very clear on forgiveness, on God’s giving grace, on repentance, and penance. With the exception of Christ, virtually every great Biblical hero fell short and committed great sins. Even mighty King David had one of his most faithful servants killed to hide the fact he impregnated his servant’s wife. God gave punishment, but after David repented God granted mercy and favor upon him. God even granted mercy to the first biblical villain, Cain; the “Mark of Cain” was not a scarlet letter, but a mark of protection from would-be vigilantes exacting revenge for his crimes. Cain was also allowed a wife and founded a city.

Few people, Christian or otherwise, have given much thought to dealing with sex offenders in the community outside of fear and loathing. In 2006, a man used the Maine registry to execute two registrants, one of whom was a 19 year old who had consensual relations with a 16 year old. Across the country, in Washington, a similar double murder of registrants had occurred in 2005 [13]. The wife of a man accused of possessing child porn died in a fire set by the man’s neighbors in Tennessee in 2007 [14]. In 2008, a Washington woman with a decade long history of violent assaults and drug crimes was canonized for an unprovoked assault with a baseball bat on a registrant, who was age 14 when he was listed on the state registry. People across the country sent this woman money and protested the woman’s meager 90 day sentence for assault with a deadly weapon [15]. Message boards are filled with death threats and hatred, even on Christian sites, even this very site. None of these acts have helped to solve the issue, instead, giving more incentive for registrants to disobey the laws.

If we want to address sex crimes in America, we need an honest approach. We need to seriously consider what truly works, not what simply feeds our anger and fear and makes us “feel good.” We forget sex offenders are also human beings, capable of remorse and redemption. We forget how easily we can fall into our own sins, all of which is the same in the eyes of God.

There are ways to address this issue from a realistic standpoint. We may not be able to stop every tragedy from happening, but we prevent much more sexual abuse by looking at the issue honestly. We must put aside our preconceived notions and our emotions and stick with what works. The right knowledge is power. Prevention and education programs do indeed exist, which addresses sexual abuse from a realistic and rational standpoint (such as the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center and Stop It Now!). We need to educate our youth on sexual responsibility and accountability, and not just from a fear mongering perspective. Sex education must include discussions on sex crime laws. We also need to have a balanced and healthy view of sex, meaning we can teach sexual responsibility in a tasteful manner without simply saying, “Don’t have sex or you’ll go to hell or jail.” Remember, we are a culture that needs disclaimers on coffee cups lest we burn our laps. We also need to actually talk about sex; these days when a person is struggling with sexual idolatry, they have almost nowhere to turn. Our society shuns sexual deviancy so much, even mental health professionals who work with sex offenders or deviants are shunned.

Prevention is only part of the solution; proper rehabilitation of the sex offender is a must. Of those who do re-offend, two-thirds of them will do so within the first two years of release. Thus, transitional homes and support networks (such as www.sosen.org) are keys to reducing already low recidivism rates. Social ostracism and denial of services, housing, employment, and support has already proven disastrous for our society; all those approaches achieve is reinforcing faulty belief systems of those struggling with sexual idolatry and giving ample incentive to disobey the law. A Rand Corporation study has shown every dollar spent on prevention and rehabilitation programs save up seven dollars that would otherwise be spent on running offenders through the justice system [16].

Most importantly, we need to honor victims by helping victims of sex crimes overcome the crimes committed against them. These days, if a victim forgives his or her attacker, many people look at them like they are crazy. What good does keeping victims thinking about what happened to them and the guilt and anger they feel rather than dealing with those feelings? The result is many more lives remain broken rather than healed, making them lifelong victims rather than “Thrivers.”

In our narrow focus on the “Registered Sex Offender,” we tend to forget the big picture. Appeals to emotion rather than reason helped create a legal system of perpetual brokenness for victims, offenders, and the community alike. So has the illusion of “innocence.” Your child is innocent until he is thrust into the criminal justice system for crossing a line he or she never addressed or even knew about. Ignorance is not bliss, nor is it an excuse for breaking the law. McDonald’s will give you a disclaimer for hot coffee in a cup. Yet no one is giving your child disclaimers on our legal system. If you don’t learn to be honest with your children about sexual issues, who will? ..Source.. by Derek Warren Logue, Civil Rights Advocate, Author of “Once Fallen” and Website OnceFallen

References
1. http://hawaii.gov/ag/mcch/main/faqs/files/nismart2_overview.pdf

2. http://www.dallasnews.com/database/2009/sexoffenders.html

3. http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4783650

4. http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/Reports/Ten_Year_Recidivism.pdf; http://www.oncefallen.com/Recidivism101.html

5. Jeffrey C. Sandler, Naomi J. Freeman, and Kelly M. Socia, “Does a Watched Pot Boil? A Time-Series Analysis of New York State’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law.” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol. 14, No. 4, Nov. 2008; http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/rsorp94.pdf, page 11

6. Janus ES: Failure to Protect: America's Sexual Predator Laws and the Rise of the Preventive State. Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 2006

7. http://www.drc.state.oh.us/web/Reports/Ten_Year_Recidivism.pdf; http://www.vcsc.state.va.us/sex_off_report.pdf

8. See http://www.oncefallen.com/SOMyths.html, Myth #7

9. John Q. La Fond, "Preventing Sexual Violence." APA 2005; http://ccoso.org/Vilification.pdf

10. See http://www.oncefallen.com/juliatuttlecauseway.html

11. http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/06/11/sexoffender1/

12. http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=183424&catid=3

13. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/04/17/national/main1501271.shtml

14. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/14/national/main3262871.shtml

15. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/40457662.html#idc-container

16. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/closetohome/policy/html/treatwork.html

New Smyrna Beach explores sex-offender laws

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:32:00 +0000

Police Chief Ron Pagano comments: "There is also the issue of identifying pedophiles, who are not always registered sex offenders; just as not all sex offenders are pedophiles. You can't just go up to a person and ask if they are a sex offender." Unfortunately the general public has been brainwashed to believe that, ONLY former offenders will harm their children. So sayeth Public Officials and Lawmakers, no one recognizes that, 95% of New sex crimes are by FIRST TIME OFFENDERS and they come from the general public! The public simply does not want to live near a former sex offender and it has nothing to do with safety of children.

11-24-2009 Florida:

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- If Dolores Maylone had her way, New Smyrna Beach's welcome mat would read: "No pedophiles allowed."

She recently came before the City Commission demanding it adopt an ordinance limiting where such sexual offenders can live, or even walk.

"If we make life difficult for them maybe they will move on before another child's life is ruined or another child dies," the New Smyrna Beach resident said.

Maylone voices concern that New Smyrna Beach trails other cities in enacting local rules tougher than state restrictions prohibiting sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of parks, recreation centers and around schools or any other place children might congregate.

Documents provided by the New Smyrna Beach Police Department indicate 10 cities in Volusia County have more restrictive conditions than the state. Nine of the 10, including Deltona, DeLand, Ormond Beach and Pierson, prohibit such offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, park or playground. Oak Hill adopted a 1,500-foot limitation.

Enacting and enforcing such restrictions are two different things, New Smyrna Beach Police Chief Ron Pagano said, but that hasn't stopped him and the city attorney from complying with commission direction to research what it would take to create a workable ordinance.

"We are exploring all possibilities," Pagano said.

Currently, New Smyrna Beach police officers conduct monthly checks on offenders to ensure they are following the laws governing their residences and movements.

Pagano said, at best, violation of any new city laws would be a misdemeanor charge. In some cases, the law might be impossible to enforce, such as distance restrictions on unmarked places where children gather, including school bus stops.

"This is not simple," the chief said. A law can be well intended but not practical to enforce.

There is also the issue of identifying pedophiles, who are not always registered sex offenders; just as not all sex offenders are pedophiles.

"You can't just go up to a person and ask if they are a sex offender," the chief said.

Some experts question if the restrictions already in place even work.

Marti Harkness, a specialist in criminal justice issues for the Florida Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability, said during a recent report before a state House panel that his research showed laws limiting where offenders live are not connected to new crimes they commit.

"The literature is not real solid," he said by phone from his Tallahassee office.

A better deterrent would be "loitering zones" that prevent offenders from hanging out in a particular area, or electronic monitoring, Harkness said. However, that tends to be expensive and has technical drawbacks.

Professor Jill Levenson of Lynn University in Boca Raton, who believes there is no correlation between recidivism and where a sex offender lives, developed one of the studies Harkness used for his presentation.

"If all you are concerned about is abuse, then you are barking up the wrong tree," she said.

She said most pedophiles build relationships of trust and familiarity with their victims, which current laws don't address with restrictions on where such offenders can sleep.

"The current (state) law does nothing to restrict pedophiles from going anywhere during the day, just where they live," Levenson said. However, she does believe loitering zones make sense. "They restrict their ability to hang around an area and develop a relationship with children."

Maylone's ire surfaced after the September arrest of a registered sexual predator who walked onto the campus of Chisholm Elementary School armed with a BB pistol, telling everyone he was an agent with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

School officials said Kareen W. McNeal, 28, New Smyrna Beach, had no court-ordered restrictions prohibiting him from being on campus and had permission from a student's mother to pick up her son.

McNeal received his predator designation after a 1999 conviction for kidnapping and sexual battery with a weapon of a juvenile in Miami-Dade County. Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show he was confined in the North Florida Reception Medical Center. He was released in May 2007.

"I am upset, appalled, shocked and frustrated," Maylone said.

However, school officials said as soon as they were aware of McNeal's status, they kept him under surveillance while he was on campus.

Maylone said allowing McNeal on the school grounds endangered the children, which she believes is inexcusable. Her solution would ban pedophiles permanently from such locations, no matter what the courts said.

"If that is stepping on people's rights, we have to do it," she said. "It is time we protect our children." ..Source.. MARK I. JOHNSON, Staff Writer

FBI Publishes 2008 Hate Crime Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:01:00 +0000

11-24-2009 National:

Congress mandates the collection of hate crime data

On April 23, 1990, Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act, which required the Attorney General to collect data “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.” The Attorney General delegated the responsibilities of developing the procedures for implementing, collecting, and managing hate crime data to the Director of the FBI, who in turn, assigned the tasks to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. Under the direction of the Attorney General and with the cooperation and assistance of many local and state law enforcement agencies, the UCR Program created a hate crime data collection to comply with the congressional mandate.

The first hate crime publications

The UCR Program’s first publication on the subject was Hate Crime Statistics, 1990: A Resource Book, which was a compilation of hate crime data reported by 11 states that had collected the information under state authority in 1990 and were willing to offer their data as a prototype. The UCR Program continued to work with agencies familiar with investigating hate crimes and collecting related information so that it could develop and implement a more uniform method of data collection on a nationwide scale. Hate Crime Statistics, 1992, presented the first published data reported by law enforcement agencies across the country that participated in the UCR Hate Crime Statistics Program.

For the 2008 Hate Crimes Report: by FBI

KTVB investigation: Sex offenders living too close to schools; who is checking?

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:40:00 +0000

Please take notice that, NOT ONE mention of any crime occurring related to proximity to schools, even those offenders who had lived for years in close proximity to a school. Further, where they mention an offender whose history was a crime against a child, NOT ONE of them is shown to be a crime where proximity to a school was a factor. Proximity laws are FEEL-GOOD laws as to offenders who may live near local schools.

11-24-2009 Idaho:

In Idaho, people convicted of sex crimes are required to register their address. But they can't live just anywhere. A law passed in 2006 established that convicted sex offenders cannot live within 500 feet of a school. But nowhere in the law does it say who is supposed to monitor those boundaries.

In a month-long investigation, NewsChannel 7 did our own measuring and found sex offenders living inside that boundary and law enforcement agencies unclear on who exactly is responsible.

We started with a random list of 80 sex offenders in the Treasure Valley. We wanted to see if any of them were living too close to schools.

We checked records, drove to each address and then measured the distance from the closest school's property line to 30 homes where registered sex offenders resided.

We found eight offenders breaking the law in Canyon, Elmore and Ada County.

"It makes you feel like maybe things aren't as safe as they could possibly be," said Sarah Gossi, a parent.

School officials were surprised to find out just who their neighbors were.

"I know about the statute but I didn't know we have someone that close," said Ludee Vermaas, principal of Parkview Early Childhood Center in Nampa.

In Mountain Home, we learned a convicted child molester lived for two years within 500 feet of two schools: Mountain Home High and Hacker Middle School. He moved out this month but it was not because police asked.

Officers also did not tell the offender in a Boise apartment to leave. He left before anyone caught him. No measuring was necessary in this example: from his window, the man could look down on Jefferson Elementary’s schoolyard.

In Nampa, we found a sex offender living 350 feet from Parkview Childhood Center.

Also in Nampa, a woman convicted of sexually abusing a child is living 400 feet from West Middle School.

In Middleton, a sex offender's address was 390 feet from Mill Creek Elementary. The Canyon County Sheriff's Office told her to move. She complied, but her new address is near another school.

The law is clear: offenders cannot live within 500 feet of schools. What is not clear is who is supposed to monitor the law.

So who's responsible? KTVB asked that question and got different answers.

The State Police and the Governor's Office say it's up to the individual counties to monitor where sex offenders are living. The counties KTVB spoke to say they're not required to.

A researcher at the state legislature says if the offender is in the county, it's up to the county sheriff. If offender is in the city, then it is up to city police to monitor where they live.

When asked if Boise Police measure the distance between sex offenders' addresses and schools, a spokesman told us that's not the police department's job - it's the county's.

Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney says this isn't so.

"There's no requirement in the law for us to go out and validate that every sex offender doesn't live within 500 feet of a school," Raney said.

State legislator Rich Wills voted for the 500-foot bill in 2006.

"All of those law enforcement agencies that you're referring to, every one of them today in Idaho are understaffed, their workload is incredible," Wills said. "Where do we draw the line of saying, insisting, that you always have to make sure every law is in compliance, every person?"

Whatever the law says or does not say, Raney decided to hire retired Captain Roy Holloway to verify offenders' addresses and their proximity to schools.

"It's something that should be done," Holloway said. "And just because Ada County has so many relative to the rest of the state, we need to put a little more resource into that. And I think we do it fairly well."

The Canyon County Sheriff also uses an officer to verify addresses. The officer has identified violations before and told offenders to move.

This past week, we gave Canyon County a list of offenders who, through our investigation, were found to be living within 500 feet of schools.

Now, three of those offenders have one month to get out.

The others were grandfathered in: if they lived there before July 2006, they can stay.

Even when a county sheriff relies on special officers as monitors, offenders are not always caught.

Here’s an example: A man living in a Garden City trailer is a registered sex offender. The home is less than 200 feet from Anser Charter School. Garden City Police, the Ada County Sheriff's Office and the State Department of Corrections all knew he was there, but did not realize he was breaking the law. It was only when we contacted state authorities and informed them of the violator that he was finally told to move.

Suzanne Burton is the administrator for Anser Charter School.

"We believe in that state statute and we think that legislators passed it for a purpose and that was really to provide extra protection for children who are in school," Burton said. "And so it's disappointing that nobody happened to pick up on this and it had to be the media who notices that he lives within the 500-foot radius."

Remember the guy in Elmore County who was living between two schools? It got the attention of Elmore County Sheriff Rick Layher, who is changing policy after our investigation.

"We went out today because you brought up a pretty good point," Layher said. "About every six months we'll set up a system where we go out and check.”

"Clearly some system needs to be created that it's easy for law enforcement agencies to tell this area is within 500 feet of a school," Burton said.

"Perhaps this law isn't working," Wills said. "I don't know what else we would do though if this law is on the books. It's up to the interpretation of the prosecutor or the law enforcement to enforce those rules."

"I want them to answer it because I want them to take responsibility,” said Anser Charter School parent Victoria Nolan. “I want them to say 'well, if we're going to have a law that says that they can't be that close to a school, then enforce it.' Don't let it happen."

Violation of the 500-foot law is a misdemeanor.

The sex offenders who were told to move by police as a result of our story now have cases pending with prosecutors.

And there are other cases already in the courts, filed by officers who caught offenders within 500 feet.

The Ada County and Canyon County Sheriff's Offices and Garden City Police all have their own sex offender monitoring programs. They have the programs because they feel it's important, not because it's required by law.

Something that jumped out during this story's investigation was that sex offenders who live in halfway houses are exempt from the law and can live near schools.

We learned of this exemption when we found a sex offender living 200 feet from Madison Early Childhood Center in Boise. It turns out, he's not breaking the law. One state legislator told us one reason for the exemption is because people living in halfway houses are already being supervised and are in the company of other people. He said there is a belief that offenders in this environment are unlikely to re-offend.

Still, it doesn't sit well with one parent we spoke with.

"I guess there's always a loophole," Nolan said. "It's tragic, it really is tragic. I think it's going back on what they said they were going to do."

A nurse at the halfway house told us the offender is old, and that he's not a danger to anybody.

The 59-year-old man was convicted in 1990 of sexually abusing a child. ..Source.. Nishi Gupta

Hundreds mourn Mich. boy allegedly slain by father

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

See earlier story: "Detroit man accused of marching naked 15-year-old son into lot, killing him over dispute"

11-24-2009 Michigan:

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich. (AP) -- An impromptu memorial of artificial flowers and dozens of stuffed animals remained Monday near strands of yellow crime-scene tape in a vacant lot where relatives say 15-year-old Jamar Pinkney Jr.'s father shot him in the head while he begged for mercy.

The lot is next to the two-story brick home where Jamar lived with his mother in the impoverished Detroit enclave of Highland Park, a once-prosperous city of 16,000, where decay, abandonment, fires and demolition have eaten away at the community.

Around the neighborhood, Jamar was remembered as a humble and generous boy who grew up tossing the football and worried about keep his grades up. Since his death a week ago, friends, family and the community have struggled with making sense of his slaying and his father's arrest.

Relatives say Jamar's father, Jamar Pinkney Sr., was irate over allegations that his son had sexual contact with a 3-year-old girl and made him strip at gunpoint, marched him to the lot and shot him as he begged for his life. Prosecutors have charged him with first-degree murder and jailed him without bond.

Police say the sexual misconduct accusation isn't part of the their investigation, and for many who knew Jamar, that allegation hasn't tempered the grief and outrage that another young life has been cut short.

"Most people feel that no 15-year-old, no matter what the circumstances or no matter had transpired, was deserving of this kind of fate," said Bishop Edgar L. Vann II, who delivered the eulogy before about 1,600 people gathered for Jamar's funeral on Monday at Second Ebenezer Church in Detroit.

Jamar's family said he was known for his entertaining personality and selfless kindness. He had competed as a wrestler since age four and played football since he was six.

"He was generous, he was kind," said Deborah Jenkins, principal of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, where Jamar was a sophomore. "Many of the children claimed him as their best friend. They said anytime that they had a down moment it was Jamar that came up to them, giving them a hug and making them feel better."

Photos of Jamar with a smile on his face were projected onto two large screens above the pulpit as mourners filed past his open casket. Many of the photos on screen and a program passed out to mourners showed Jamar with his mother, Lazette Cherry, who gave the account of her son's death.

Cherry has said her son told her he had improper sexual contact with the girl and she called his father. Cherry said the elder Pinkney arrived Nov. 16 with a gun, ordered his son to strip and marched him outside.

"He is in a better place," said Ardis Flowers, a 49-year-old who has lived in the area for about four years but didn't know Jamar's family. She said she hopped his death would inspire change.

"This is hell on Earth, if you ask me," she said.

A representative of Michigan's governor joined other state lawmakers in offering condolences to Jamar's family during the service. U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., told the crowd that he planned to discuss Jamar's death when he meets Tuesday with President Barack Obama.

"It's our responsibility to turn this tragedy into something meaningful not just for Detroit but for the United States of America," Conyers said. "This violence ... is going on in every state and every city of the United States of America."

On the day of his son's funeral, Pinkney Sr., 37, was in jail and had been getting mental health treatment, said defense attorney Corbett O'Meara. A hearing to determine whether there's enough evidence for the Detroit man to stand trial on murder and assault charges is Dec. 1. O'Meara said Pinkney Sr. is "devastated."

"He was immediately prior to this act presented with information of an unforgivable act committed by his son, and actions which are attributed to him could only be a response to this sort of provocation," O'Meara said.

At Second Ebenezer, where Cherry and other relatives are members, the focus was on Jamar's life - and the hope a way to end such violence could be found. Vann, the church's pastor, called on those at the service to help "take our community back, our cities back, our streets back" from evil.

Before leading the service, Vann said in an interview that the allegations against the boy didn't change the sadness.

"We know that whatever is done or is said today, or whatever comfort I give to the family today, it's against that landscape," Vann said "But it does not eradicate the fact that a young man's life has been snuffed out." ..Source.. DAVID RUNK

Georgia Monitors Sex Offenders' Internet Activities by Using RemoteCOM

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:30:00 +0000

Lets see, is it at all possible to own two computers, or have more than one Internet service provider? Also could someone use a neighbors' computer? Law enforcement keep getting taken in by these companies that want to make money off sex offenders. It would be smarter to put money into PREVENTION programs (i.e., therapy for one, helping folks get jobs, find housing etc. Getting them reestablished after a sentence.), but smart on crime is not on the agenda of law enforcement. Sounds good is their agenda.

11-23-2009 Georgia:

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- On 11-19-2009 the State of Georgia Department of Corrections renewed a contract with RemoteCOM to monitor the Internet and computer activities of sex offenders on probation. As part of the new Georgia SB 474 it requires registered sex offenders to submit to computer monitoring and limitations of Internet access.

RemoteCOM is a computer monitoring company that specializes in the monitoring of the computers of offenders that are on parole or probation. CEO/President Robert Rosenbusch writes, "Everything is based on needs, and we have realized there is a tremendous need to keep our children safe as they surf the Internet. We have found that several courts have ruled that denying the sex offender access to the Internet is much like denying them access to a phone, and feel that this is overbearing given today's dependence on computers and computer-related technologies. Therefore they have put the burden on the probation departments to find ways to manage the offender's computer use, to ensure that they do not violate the conditions of their probation. The Georgia Department of Corrections has taken a tremendous step forward in trying to protect their communities and children by providing this type of monitoring."

One of the main focuses of RemoteCOM's services is to keep our children safe online. The second is to provide both technical and human resources to our probation and parole departments as they manage these offenders in our society. It has become apparent over the years that these departments are stretched thin with personnel and they carry a heavy case load. They are extremely limited in the time and resources they have, and would not have time to monitor these individuals' computer data on a daily basis. That is why RemoteCOM provides the assistance of doing the monitoring for them, and provides them with up-to-date alerts when monitors encounter something that may be a part of the offenders' grooming cycle or if they continue with any illegal activity. ..Source..

OFF TOPIC: Bank robber eats ransom note during arrest

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:22:00 +0000

11-23-2009 Ohio:

John Ford was so eager to avoid arrest that he may have eaten the evidence that would help convict him.

Ford was suspected in a bank robbery during which he reportedly passed a note to one of the tellers demanding money. After police matched his car to a witness’ description, the police pulled Ford over and discovered a bag of money in his car. Afterwords while emptying his pockets, Ford grabbed a piece of paper in his mouth and proceeded to eat it. Police believe that the piece of paper may have been the ransom note he showed to the teller.

The dashboard camera in the police vehicle captured everything as Ford was pressed upon the hood of the car eating a large piece of white paper. Despite his best efforts it seems that Ford will be unable to avoid his jail time. At least in jail he won’t go hungry. ..Source..

Georgia Supreme Court says Calhoun sex offender's rights not violated

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:11:00 +0000

11-23-2009 Georgia:

The Georgia Supreme court voted to reject a Gordon County man’s challenge of state’s sex offender registry law. The law requires all sex offenders to register within 72 hours of a change of address; a measure the man says is unconstitutional.

Derrick Todd Dunn was convicted of statutory rape on Dec. 11, 1996.

In January of 2009 Dunn moved into the Calhoun Lodge on South Line Street in Calhoun, before moving into a new residence six days later on Jan. 23. On Jan. 26 Dunn registered his new address with the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office where he was promptly arrested for failing to register the address of the Calhoun Lodge.

Failing to register an address of a sex offender is a felony, and after his arrest the state filed a motion to revoke his probation and return him to prison. Dunn had also failed to gain permission to move from his parole officer.

According to documents filed with the Supreme Court of Georgia, Dunn's lawyer argued that the current laws violate Dunn's rights because the requirements for notification are vague.

The opinion filed by the Supreme Court states the law specifically requires registration of any change of address and states that the information must include any current temporary residence. ..Source.. by Calhoun Times

The Record: Respecting Megan

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:11:00 +0000

Inherent here is a public misconception that, sex offenders are so dangerous to the community that they should be kept incarcerated. So Prosecutors and Judges should do that, however, prosecutors and judges do not feel that offenders are so dangerous, as they have given them a sentence according to law, and returned them to the community. The hysterical belief of dangerousness is constantly fueled by the media, political speakers and several other stakeholders who profit from the hysteria they generate.

11-23-2009 New Jersey:

WEST MILFORD is the latest town to repeal a local law that limits where sex offenders can live.

The ordinance restricted offenders from living within 2,500 feet of a school, playground or day care center. The Township Council, fearful of a costly legal challenge, followed an attorney's advice and reluctantly voted to remove the law from its books.

The about-face comes in the wake of a May ruling by the state Supreme Court, which established that municipalities should not alter or add to Megan's Law. That law requires released sex offenders to register with local police, who must notify neighbors of their presence.

More than 100 New Jersey towns had adopted additional local laws, restricting where registered sex offenders could live. Since the high court's ruling, many have rescinded them. Fair Lawn repealed its law in June, but Paramus and Wanaque still have theirs in place.

Proposals that would allow additional restrictions are currently winding through the Legislature.

As currently written, bill A-641 would allow municipalities to create their own 500-foot limits. Those ordinances would prohibit offenders from living near schools, parks, playgrounds, public libraries or day care centers. It would apply only to offenders over the age of 21, but not to those whose risk of reoffending was deemed low. A similar bill in the Senate, S-2138, has won the support of the New Jersey Prosecutor's Association. The proposals have been criticized by the state Office of the Public Defender.

As Staff Writer Barbara Williams reported, representatives from the League of Municipalities are working with Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt, D-Camden, to modify the bill to establish a 500-foot rule statewide. Individual ordinances, they believe, could be more vulnerable to legal challenges.

There are several problems with residency restrictions.

They prevent released offenders from being "rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community," according to the Public Defender's Office. They do nothing to keep predators from targeting children where many spend most afternoons: on the Internet. And no matter where they live, sex offenders can easily visit sites where children congregate.

In addition, many New Jersey municipalities are so small, such restrictions would leave no neighborhood where sex offenders could live.

Plenty of their potential neighbors have no problem with that. But if these offenders are so dangerous that they cannot legally live anywhere, then prosecutors, judges and parole officers should ensure they remain in jail. If treatment and support are the most promising ways to prevent further offense, the isolation that restrictions could potentially impose could do more harm than good.

A promising state program tracks released offenders by a global positioning system, a powerful deterrent. If they don't wear the device, they can be arrested. While wearing it, their movements are recorded and can be used in a sex crime investigation. A 2007 report found that only one of 225 wearers was implicated in a new sex crime.

That's a better way to prevent released sex offenders from striking again. ..Source.. North Jersey.com

Tracking sex-crime offenders gets trickier

noreply@blogger.com (A Voice) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

The examples show here are not typical of the entire class even though the Journalist would have us to believe.

11-23-2009 National:

The pursuit of Lee Shelton began the moment the convicted sex offender was released from prison.

It ended months later with a U.S. Marshals Service helicopter hovering near a D.C. junior high school as Shelton kissed a 14-year-old boy. In between, authorities used two Global Positioning System devices to help track him, learned he was online at the library and seized a secret laptop with a power source in the trunk of his car. His parole was revoked, and he is back in jail.

Shelton, who originally was convicted of molesting boys at the National Air and Space Museum and on the grounds of the Washington Monument, is one of thousands of sex offenders accused of similar crimes after their release from prison or while on probation. His parole violation illustrates the challenges of monitoring hundreds of thousands of offenders.

The nationwide crackdown on child pornography and other sex offenses has created severe manpower shortages and technology challenges for probation officers, police and federal agents struggling to track offenders who are jumping online with cellphones and portable game systems and flocking to social networking and other sites, where children or pornography can easily be found.

There are more than 716,000 registered sex offenders nationwide, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a 78 percent increase since 2001, and that does not include all offenders because some crimes do not require registration. Sex-offender registries have grown even faster in the Washington area, with more than 24,000 people listed. Not all receive the scrutiny given to such offenders as Shelton.

716,000 really? Funny, the chart at NCMEC shows 686,515 (11-23-09). I guess a little sensationalizing is OK..

The focus on crimes against children that began in the Bush administration shows no sign of abating under President Obama. Federal child sexual exploitation prosecutions are up 147 percent since 2002, and the Justice Department is hiring 81 more prosecutors for these cases. Funding for task forces that bring charges in state courts rose this year from $16 million to $75 million.

But many of those offenders are now leaving prison, even as revenue-strapped states are cutting the budgets of probation departments. In Virginia, probation and parole cuts this year totaled nearly $10 million, including $500,000 for electronic monitoring of sexually violent predators. Maryland also has cut its budget.

"The burden on probation and parole officers is going to explode," said Ernie Allen, the national center's president.

The monitoring of virtually all sex offenders is required by law when they are on probation or parole.

The problem has gained national attention with the discovery of 10 bodies and a skull at a registered sex offender's home in Cleveland and revelations that Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped at age 11 in 1991 and allegedly held captive at a California sex offender's house until her reappearance in August. Officers had visited both homes and noticed nothing wrong.

Those cases underscore a troubled registry system that has been the public face of sex-offender monitoring. An estimated 100,000 offenders do not comply with registration requirements. Law enforcement doesn't know where many of them are.

But the most alarming development for officers is proliferating electronic gadgets and the temptations they pose to sex offenders. A man on probation in Iowa for molesting a 9-year-old girl, for example, was recently caught downloading pornographic images of a young girl on his PlayStation Portable -- while walking to his probation appointment.

Sometimes, offenders cannot be monitored even while in custody. David L. Franklin, a church deacon, pleaded guilty in federal court to sending child pornography to an undercover D.C. police detective. While awaiting sentencing, Franklin struck up another online conversation with the same detective, who traced the defendant to an unusual address -- the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility.

was on his bunk, online, when guards grabbed it, sources familiar with the case said. He was sentenced last month to 135 months in prison. Franklin's attorney, Dani Jahn, declined to comment.

"When a sex offender has access to hundreds of tools, how we can possibly keep up with this explosion is beyond me," said Leonard Sipes, spokesman for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency in the District, which helped capture Shelton and supervises about 650 other sex offenders convicted in D.C. Superior Court. An attorney for Shelton could not be located.

Sipes said officers are especially worried about social networking sites frequented by children, such as MySpace, which this year said it banned 90,000 registered sex offenders. Facebook has said it is also actively trying to prevent sex offenders from joining its site.

One example: A Virginia man on probation in the District for having sex with a 16-year-old girl as two younger girls watched told officers that he kissed a 15-year-old female runaway he had picked up. Because he was prohibited from contact with minors, authorities searched his computer, which revealed that he was chatting extensively with teen girls on MySpace and stalking a 17-year-old girl in person, law enforcement officials said. His probation was revoked.

Probation and parole officers use GPS devices, polygraph tests, home visits and treatment to track sex offenders, but those tools can be used only during periods of supervision, which often end after three to five years. Parole is post-prison, while probation is generally a sentence in lieu of prison, but the terms are often used interchangeably.

The newest trend in sex-offender management is computer monitoring, which experts said is being done by a majority of state agencies. Maryland began using monitoring software for sex offenders last month; Virginia is researching it. Most federal districts monitor computers in some form.

A monitoring program installed on an offender's computer is designed to capture every keystroke, Internet site and program, including chat and e-mail. Officials can monitor the computer remotely by logging onto a Web site or getting an e-mail if the offender does anything troublesome.

"Anything they shouldn't be doing is going to leap off the page at you," said Jim Tanner, a former probation officer in Colorado and a leading proponent of monitoring. Violations are punished with warnings, harsher parole or probation conditions, parole or probation revocation or new charges if the action constitutes a crime.

Yet even this new tool is flawed. The software won't stop an offender from sneaking a laptop, using a family member's computer or logging on at the library. There is virtually no monitoring equipment for cellphones, BlackBerries or children's gaming devices, which require a time-consuming and expensive forensic analysis.

The monitoring equipment is expensive, so many agencies can't afford it or use a free program that can't retrieve deleted files.

Despite the limitations, proponents say computer monitoring is catching increasing numbers of violations and new crimes. But in the cat-and-mouse game officers play with offenders, old-fashioned police work often wins out.

D.C. probation officers learned, by questioning a man on probation for trying to rape a 9-year-old boy, that he was viewing child pornography on the computer at his mother's home, court records said. Federal agents and police searched his home.

An analysis showed the man, John Anthony, had deleted nearly 3,000 files of what the government called "sadistic and masochistic" child pornography up to an hour before the search, and officials said he was chatting on Yahoo as agents entered the house. Anthony pleaded guilty in D.C. federal court to possessing child pornography and was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison.

Aprille Cole, a nine-year veteran of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, relies on home visits, hard work and instinct in tracking sex offenders. "They're very smart and manipulative," said Cole. "We get to know their family members, friends and co-workers. We know their girlfriends and whether they have children."

On a recent visit to the Southeast D.C. apartment of a man on parole for molesting his 10-year-old daughter, Cole began firing questions the moment she and her partner, Kevin Jones, walked through the door.

"What's in that box?" she asked as she looked in the closet.

"Who is Sean?" she said as she spotted an unfamiliar name on the kitchen calendar.

"What's up with your girlfriend?"

"I'm not into girlfriends right now," the man answered.

"Then why is there a ponytail holder in your bathroom?" Cole said.

"I know he's lying about the girlfriend," she later told a reporter.

Officers would not disclose the man's name, citing privacy laws. He is not on computer monitoring because he says he doesn't have a computer.

In the man's bedroom, more than 30 stuffed animals were lined up on a table, including an oversize Elmo doll.

He said they belong to a former girlfriend. ..Source.. Jerry Markon, Washington Post Staff Writer