Sex Crimes

Washington To Monitor All Potentially Violent Sex Offenders

The ABA Journal notes that Washington state plans to require all newly released sex offenders who are considered potentially violent to wear tracking bracelets, for at least the first 30 days. The Seattle Times has more:

The state of Washington plans to monitor electronically all newly released sex offenders considered potentially violent, for at least the first 30 days.

The Global Positioning System tracking bracelets that the "Level 3" convicted sex offenders will wear on their ankles allow state Department of Corrections employees to keep an eye on their whereabouts via electronic satellite transmissions, according to the Seattle Times.

"Annmarie Aylaward, who oversees the GPS monitoring program for DOC, said they have found that the first 30 days within an offender's release is when they most likely to violate conditions of their supervision," the newspaper writes.

The tracking program will be following about 200 newly released inmates at any one time, according to the Times. If they are homeless, unemployed or don't follow rules set by their community corrections officers, the GPS monitoring may continue for longer than 30 days.

I wonder what diagnostic tools and procedures the state will use to assess who is "potentially violent."

Around the Web

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that federal district Judge Samuel Kent was indicted today "on charges of abusive sexual contact and attempted aggravated sexual abuse, making him the first federal judge to be charged with federal sex crimes and the first in Texas to be indicted in recent history."  Judge Kent is alleged to have physically touched his former case manager under her clothing and and often made obscene suggestions during the period in which she worked for him. Judge Kent's attorney says Kent has no plans to resign or retire, "he's not guilty and we will go to trial."  H/T: How Appealing.

A North Carolina town has "banned a registered sex offender from the town's parks following reports he asked parents if he could push their children on swings."  The man, who was convicted in 1987 for taking indecent liberties with a minor, is not allowed on the grounds of any of the town's nine parks and recreational facilities.

A landlord in Washington state who rents rooms to sex offenders is "getting out of the business because of threats against him and his family."  In a letter to the city, the man blamed city and state officials "for not coming to his defense and for not educating the public about the need for sex-offender housing."  Property records show that the landlord rents to about 200 sex offenders in 24 houses.

Sentencing Law and Policy directs us to an article in the San Jose Mercury News entitled Feds push child-porn cases; penalty can be years in prison. The article discusses the fate of former KGO radio host Bernie Ward, who is scheduled to be sentenced federal court for distributing sexual images of young children. According to the article, "[t]he best the 57-year-old Ward can hope for is five years in prison."  The article also notes that child-porn is "becoming one of the U.S. Justice Department's fastest-growing areas of prosecution, ... with prosecutions jumping nationally from a scant 30 in 1995 to more than 2,100 last year."

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A New York Times blog is reporting that Gary Glitter, the British pop star who was convicted of sexually abusing two pre-pubescent girls in Vietnam, has "been hounded by the media, blackballed by immigration authorities, and ... told that he might be better off returning to Britain."  It has since been reported that Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, is fighting an order that will require him to register as a sex offender in Great Britian.

The Seattle Times is reporting that "a new state law is making it easier for prosecutors to bring accused sexual offenders ... to trial."   The law, which went into effect in June, makes it much easier for alleged prior victims of a defendant to testify as witnesses in a current sexual-offense case.  The article discusses the first case to use the new law where prosecutors are using testimony from some of the more than a half-dozen relatives who say a man had sexually abused them in the past 40 years.

Eugene Volokh had a post about a California law that protected children against "virtually nothing." Even reading the text of the statute makes it ambiguous as to what conduct that the legislature was really targeting.

Sentencing Law and Policy has an article about a high school senior who sent a 17-year-old buddy a cell phone video of the senior fooling around with his teenage girlfriend.  The 18-year old senior has been charged with a sex crime, telephone dissemination of obscene material to a minor.  According to the article, the teen pled guilty to a lesser offense, but the implications of the original charge have "prompted some questions about the state's sex offender laws and may serve as a warning to teens." The Des Moines Register has more.

A new study from the University of California, Davis has found that while "[a]dults are easily fooled when a child denies that an actual event took place, [adults are] somewhat better at detecting when a child makes up information about something that never happened."  The article from ScienceDaily notes that this research has "important implications for forensic child sexual abuse evaluations."  According to the study's author and UC Davis professor Gail S. Goodman, "[t]he seriousness of abuse charges and the frequency with which children's testimony provides central prosecutorial evidence makes children's eyewitness memory abilities important considerations. Arguably even more important, however, are adults' abilities to evaluate children's reports."

A man, convicted of human trafficking, will get a new trial because of ex post facto issues.  The man was convicted in the Eastern District of New York of sex trafficking and forced labor under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act for forcing a woman into beatings, sex acts and working on his bondage web site.  The acts allegedly occurred between January 1999 and October 2001, however the law was not enacted until October 2000, and prosecutors presented evidence at trial of conduct for the entire period charged in the indictment. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded the case for a new trial in a per curiam opinion.  The opinion may viewed here.

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The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that Washington residents now have the option of receiving e-mail notifications when sex offenders move nearby.  The move is "part of an overhaul of the state's sex offender registry, [which] includes real-time updates for newly registered offenders."  Estimates are that the Internet registry and notification system will be operating in two to three months.

There has been a lot of great blogging at SL&P lately about sex crimes. Unfortunately, with my current schedule, I just haven't had time to respond. I recommend you check out all of the posts for yourself.

Sentencing Law and Policy notes that, despite Justice Kennedy's opinion for the Court in Roper v. Simmons, "the Kennedy opinion says nary a word about international laws and views concerning the death penalty for non-homicide offenses."  From Roper: "at least from the time of the Court's decision in Trop, the Court has referred to the laws of other countries and to international authorities as instructive for its interpretation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of 'cruel and unusual punishments.'" Roper, slip op. at 21.  I think this is more of a case that there is no clear international trend, but the omission is notable.

Sentencing Law and Policy also has a post discussing "the upcoming sentencing of ex-diplomat Gons Gutierrez Nachman on federal child porn charges, [who] has already generated controversy [for] request[ing] to get married before his sentencing to his 21-year-old Brazilian fiancee in the same federal courtroom where he admitted having sex with three underage girls while posted overseas."  The AP has more.  Sentencing Law and Policy also has a related post from last month. The cultural defense seems like a complete loser argument in American courts.

Sentencing Law and Policy has yet another post discussing a new Kennedy-related argument in a post entitled: Dodging the Death Penalty Bullet for Child Rape. The post argues that Kennedy "managed to reach the correct result of saving the state and the country from a major, and almost certainly harmful, expansion in the use of capital punishment." I recommend reading both the post at Balkinization and at SL&P. Even though I largely agree with the opinion in Kennedy, I think Berman is largely right in his criticisms of the Balkinization post supporting the Kennedy opinion.

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The Seattle Post-Intelligencer has an interesting op-ed article discussing the difficulties juvenile sex offenders face as adults.  In Washington state  more than 3,500 children in the state have been charged and convicted as felony sex offenders, a mark that remains on their records forever, barring them from careers in medicine, teaching, and a host of other professions.

Many blogs are reporting that "[a] lawyer for a pornographic website operator plans to use statistics from Google to establish community standards in Florida."  The attorney plans to introduce evidence that the local community is more likely to search for words like "orgy" than for "apple pie" or "water melon."  For more, check out CrimProf Blog, Feminist Law Professors, WSJ Law Blog and the New York Times article.

Crime and Consequences points us to an LA Times article which mentions that the state of Georgia has "the most restrictive laws for registered sex offenders in the country, including bans on living within a certain radius of school bus stops and volunteering at church."  Five Georgia sex offenders argue that the restrictions limit their ability to practice their faith under the First Amendment. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that a local women is accused of beating her neighbor (a 7'3" sex offender) with an aluminum baseball bat in a trailer park.  The woman remains in jail as does the sex offender who failed to register at his most recent address.  Though the article notes that there is a movement to collect money to bail her out of jail, the County Sheriff's Office notes that the woman "has no less than a dozen arrests over the last few years, for assault, drugs, driving crimes -- you name it."

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that "[t]he winner of last week's $57 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot is a registered sex offender who also pleaded guilty to two breaking and entering charges in the 1980s."  The man was discharged from Michigan Department of Correction in late 2006.  The man chose to take the prize as a $34 million lump sum payment, before taxes.

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A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that sex offenders reclassified under the state's Adam Walsh Act can file legal challenges beyond the 60-day deadline.

Sentencing Law and Policy reports that a convicted Level 3 sex offender has won a $10 million lottery.  The man could now face charges because he did not notify authorities in Connecticut that he had moved.  My bet is that he thinks that is worth the $10 million.

Wisconsin legislators are considering a change to the state's sex offender disclosure law which would require convicted sex offenders to report their profession.  The move comes after authorities learned that a convicted sex offender was running a pornography and drug paraphernalia store which had become a magnet for teens.  When I heard the idea, I assumed the job was at a school or daycare, not at a head shop.

Some newspapers are running an editorial suggesting that sex offender laws do more harm than good.  Here is an editorial from Virginia and one from Washington.  Despite the different locations, though, it is actually the same editorial.  At least it is getting widespread attention.

The SCOTUSblog notes that the Petitioner's merits brief in Kennedy v. Louisiana (07-343) is due this Thursday.  I'm looking forward to reading it and I'll post it as soon as I get it.  The amicus briefs for the petitioner are due the following week.

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The Miami-Herald is reporting that homeless sex offenders living under a bridge in Miami are being forced to leave.  And, yes, this is the same group of homeless sex offenders that received national attention a while back.

The Boston Globe has an article which mentions that between July 2006 and June 2007, Massachusetts judges and juries have released 37 convicted sex offenders over the objections of prosecutors.  One judge released a convicted sex offender even though prosecutors and two court-appointed psychologists argued that he posed a threat to children. 

The Wisconsin Radio Network spoke to a psychologist who said "efforts by local governments to restrict where they [sex offenders] can live are misguided."  According to Dr. Salter, these laws are "based on the faulty premise the proximity to a victim will increase the chances of recidivism."  You can also listen to the story here (mp3).

Elsewhere in Wisconsin, state officials are looking to close a loophole that "allowed a sex offender living in a state-run treatment facility to wrongly receive financial aid for room and board."

A Florida fugitive has been wrongly reported as a sex offender.  As the man states, "I am not wanted for sexual assault on a victim under 12 years of age. I am wanted for violation of probation because of a cocaine possession arrest."  Given the stigma of the "sex offender" label, states really need to do their best to make sure they apply it properly (and this is especially true for the registries).

Crime and Consequences reports that Washington lawmakers are proposing new legislation targeting sex offenders.  One law would make it criminal to view (even accidentally) child pornography.  Apparently, people who do accidentally view the child pornography are urged to report it to authorities in the hopes of being granted immunity.  The Seattle Post–Intelligencer has more information.  I'd have to see the bill, but this bizarre strict liability standard for viewing child pornography seems crazy.

The Story of Jerramy Stevens

The is the first (and probably the last) time that my reading of Sports Guy at ESPN will turn up something relevant to this blog.  In his recent links post, Sports Guy included a link to a really solid piece of investigative journalism.  This story in the Seattle Times about former University of Washington football story Jerramy Stevens is horrific in details and subsequent handling by authorities.  The article is lengthy (and I recommend reading the whole thing), but this is a notable excerpt:

Stevens spent that Thursday night in jail.

The next day, about 15 of Stevens' teammates showed up to support him at a scheduled bail hearing. But prosecutors said they needed more time to review the evidence and released Stevens without charges. Some of Stevens' teammates cheered when told the news.

King County's elected prosecutor, Norm Maleng, didn't know beforehand that Stevens was going to be arrested. He and two top deputies — Dan Satterberg and Mark Larson — were "livid," Parker says.

"They were mad that we had arrested him, because they had to deal with the media fallout," Parker says. "After all, he was going to be a superstar."

That Friday afternoon, a faceoff took place at the prosecutors' offices. Parker said a meeting was called — "for me to explain my actions."

Four of her superiors accompanied Parker: an assistant chief, a lieutenant and two sergeants. Six prosecutors attended, including Satterberg and Larson. Satterberg, the office's No. 2, reported straight to Maleng. Larson ran the criminal division.

Satterberg sat across from Parker. Why did you arrest him? she said he asked.

One of Parker's bosses told Satterberg: We don't need your permission to arrest someone. All we need is probable cause.

The whole story of the alleged rape by Stevens reads like a roadmap in how not to handle a rape case.  The story shows the double standard that sometimes emerges when star athletes are involved. 

Around the Web

Sentencing Law and Policy has the story of a man in Georgia whose case resembled Genarlow Wilson's, but the Georgia Supreme Court upheld his 10 year sentence.

Washington state is cracking down on dozens of sex offenders who have not registered with authorities.

The Los Angeles Times has an article discussing the viability of a ballot initiative requiring GPS tracking of sex offenders in California.  The article is also mentioned on Sentencing Law and Policy.

CNN has an article about a man known as "Papa Pilgrim" who pleaded no contest to sexual assault, incest and coercion involving the sexual assault on one of his adult daughters.  Family members said he beat that daughter, his wife, and many of his other children, refused to allow his children to learn how to read and persuaded them that they would be condemned to hell if they questioned his interpretation of the Bible.

Around the Web

Feminist Law Professors blog is reporting that the U.S. Senate has introduced the International Violence Against Women Act.

TalkLeft is covering the story that MTV actor Vincent Margera is currently on a suicide watch in a Colorado jail after being convicted of sexual assault on a child for fondling the breasts and buttocks of two teens.

A Public Defender blog has some good news on the sex offender front from Connecticut.  Lawmakers want to streamline the sex offender registry in order to provide more relevant information on those who have the highest risk of re-offending.

The Associated Press is reporting that a federal grand jury is investigating magician David Copperfield because of allegations that he raped and threatened a Washington woman at his Bahamanian estate.  TalkLeft also followup has the story.

A new sex offender program run by the Missouri Department of Mental Health has impressive results with treating sex offenders.