What is worse than running a vigilante group? Giving the vigilante group an award for their "service"

Christopher Rydgig, an Edward Jones Financial Advisor in Maryville, IL, gave an award to Kyle Swanson of KTS Predator Hunters. Feel free to share your disgust at:

Phone: (618) 223-5138

Email: christopher.rydgig@edwardjones.com

or

https://www.facebook.com/ejadvisorchristopherrydgig/photos/1574139389443146

Mr. Rydgig should vet their award recipients a lot better, because:

1. KTS Predator Hunters is currently being sued by autistic man they tried setting up: As mentioned in yesterday's article, KTS Predator Hunters has been sued, and the group is claiming the lawsuit may cause them to cease operations. (Good.) KTS is trying to raise $7500 for attorney fees but thankfully has only raised $900 on GoFundMe so far. I've reported that campaign so hopefully it will be removed soon. 

i'm amazed they weren't taken to task when members of their vigilante page made nasty remarks on the Madison County IL Sheriff's Office Facebook page. As The Telegraph notes, 

"The Sheriff’s Department made several postings in response to the incident on its Facebook page, but eventually took them down because of the confrontational nature of the group’s responses, according to Vucich."

2. KTS Predator Hunters has been in a dispute with local law enforcement agencies: The Telegraph reported in August 2020 that "KTS Predator Hunters LLC, has been in a feud with the sheriff’s department since an incident in Alton late last month. Madison County Chief Deputy Sheriff Major Jeff Connor, who also is the commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, said he believes the group has good intentions, but are going about it improperly, making it difficult for law enforcement to prosecute. That was echoed by Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons, who said he had met with representatives of the group about 18 months ago, when he told them how they needed to work with local law enforcement... Connor also said that, according to video recorded at the scene, they threatened the man and “took weed” from the man. “We don’t know what they did with it,” said Connor in reference to the alleged marijuana. “We know they didn’t turn it over to the police.” Later in the monthly county judiciary meeting, Gibbons said he had talked to representatives of the KTS group and “explained to them how the methods they were using made it virtually impossible for us to charge somebody.” Gibbons said that when someone is identified as abusing or endangering children “that is when you call 911. “Once you go and arrange a meeting with these people, the investigation is beyond where we will be able to obtain additional evidence,” he said.

3. KTS had been kicked off social media at least once already: Considering how hard it is to get these groups kicked off Facebook, they must have done something quite horrific to have had their previous account deleted. 

They are currently at risk for deletion yet again:

It may be partially because KTS also posted siome QAnon propaganda and is friends with the doucherag David Rowe from No Peace For Predators, another QAnon conspiracy crackpot:

4. Most of KTS's "cases" do not lead to arrests or convictions: Even before counties in Missouri outright banned using vigilante group data for arrests, most of KTS Predatror Hunter's "exposes" went absolutely nowhere; even when an arrest was made, cases were later dropped. Similar cases in Illinois, where KTS now operates, were also dropped due to KTS incompetence. 

5. KTS Predator Hunters doesn't mind engaging in risky behavior: KTS set up one of their entrapment opertaions in the parking lot of a grade school, which alarmed local officials. "Collinsville Unit School District 10 officials were disturbed to learn that one of these sting-like operations took place Monday night in the parking lot of Webster Elementary School. The target was a Missouri man who apparently thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl. Instead, he faced two members of the metro-east group KTS Predator Hunters. They interrogated and reprimanded him for about 10 minutes as video cameras recorded the scene. 'This group had no involvement, agreement or communication with the school district or local law enforcement before, during or after this occurred,' Superintendent Brad Skertich said Thursday. 'They were completely on their own.'"

OK, for those wondering why data from a vigilante group is generally not used in a real criminal case, look up the term "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree." In the case leading to the dispute with the Madison Co IL Sheriff's Dept, The Telegraph noted, 

"The alleged incident took place Wednesday in the parking lot of a Walgreens on State Street in Alton, but both county and city law enforcement officials said they received either no or haphazard information prior to the actual incident, and have not been contacted since." 

We don't know all of what was said during this conversation. How do we even know proper protocol was followed and the alleged predator is actually intending to meet an underage person? When vigilante groups dick with providing potential evidence, it is unusable. 

I'm sure to get plenty of nasty messages from this group for posting this, so I'll be sure to submit this to the attorney for the man suing these losers as well as posting them here. 

Michigan lawmakers decided, If at first you don't succeed, pass the same unconstitutional, draconian law

This is a reminder Democrats are no more receptive to justice reform than Republicans. Vote them ALL out! 

Just remember that this dumbassed state also willingly poisoned their own constituents in Flint and trired to cover it up. While that wasn't on Gretchen DIMWITmer's watch, she signed a bill that will destroy just as many human lives.  

Millions of dollars will be wasted once again as the lawsuits will increase. 

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/12/whitmer-bill-signings-include-tightened-sex-offender-registration-protocols-boosts-in-medical-staffing.html

Whitmer bill signings include tightened sex offender registration protocols, boosts in medical staffing

Updated Dec 30, 2020; Posted Dec 30, 2020

By Samuel Dodge | sdodge@mlive.com

LANSING, MI - Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s major signing Tuesday was the partial approval of a COVID-19 relief supplemental equaling $106 million. Later on Dec. 29, though, she inked a series of other bills.

The governor ratified more than 80 bits of legislation to immediate effect, notably the tightening of registration protocols for sex offenders and the loosening of license restrictions to boost medical staffing to fight COVID-19 surges.

The approval of changes to the state’s Sex Offender Registration Act fulfills a 4-year-old mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled that it was unconstitutional to impose new restrictions on people convicted before the Act was updated.

House Bill 5679, sponsored by Rep. James Lower, R-Greenville, addresses that problem and was approved in the Senate by a 21-17 vote during the Dec. 16 session. The Michigan House approved the bill 80-24 on Dec. 2.

The proposed amendments to SORA in House Bill 5679 are:

Giving sex offenders no more than three days to register or report status changes in person with local law enforcement.

Requiring offenders to report all email addresses, social media names or other forms of “internet identifiers.” That would not apply retroactively to offenders prior to July 1, 2011, but anyone required to register after that date must comply.

Requiring all telephone numbers and vehicles used by the offender to be reported. Previously, they didn’t need to report those used on a less regular basis.

Allowing email addresses, social media usernames and other identifiers to be published on a public sex offender registry.

Removing prohibitions for offenders from living, working or loitering near school property or “student safety zones.”

No longer requiring an offender’s tier classification to be included on the public website. Law enforcement personnel who willfully fail to periodically report on offenders would face a penalty.

The state’s ACLU chapter urged Whitmer to veto the changes, calling them unconstitutional and ineffective at stopping offenders.

“This legislation ignores the judicial rulings, rejects the science and makes Michigan communities and families less safe,” said Miriam Aukerman, senior staff attorney for ACLU Michigan, on Dec. 20. “The research is clear: registries don’t work. As the courts have pointed out, registries are counterproductive and may increase offending because they make it extremely difficult for registrants to obtain a job, find housing, and rejoin their families, sabotaging their efforts to become productive members of the community.”

House Judiciary Chair Graham Filler, R-DeWitt, called codifying SORA changes a priority of the 2020 lame-duck session, along with COVID-19 preventative measures.

Read more: Mitigating COVID-19 surge at center of lame-duck session at Michigan Capitol

“If we don’t do anything as a Legislature, we’re afraid a federal judge could invalidate the entire Sex Offender Registration Act,” he told MLive prior to the start of the lame duck. “That’s not something we want. We want to be fair and proportional, but we also want to protect the public.”

Kyle Swanson of KTS Predator Hunters sued by austistic person he bullied online

Currently, Kyle Swanson is begging for legal defense funds or his vigilante group will cease operations. 

I hope he loses big. Here's why KTS Predator Hunters should be taken down:

1. KTS Predator Hunters is currently being sued by autistic man they tried setting up: As mentioned in yesterday's article, KTS Predator Hunters has been sued, and the group is claiming the lawsuit may cause them to cease operations. (Good.) KTS is trying to raise $7500 for attorney fees but thankfully has only raised $900 on GoFundMe so far. I've reported that campaign so hopefully it will be removed soon. I'm amazed they weren't taken to task when members of their vigilante page made nasty remarks on the Madison County IL Sheriff's Office Facebook page. As The Telegraph notes, "The Sheriff’s Department made several postings in response to the incident on its Facebook page, but eventually took them down because of the confrontational nature of the group’s responses, according to Vucich."

2. KTS Predator Hunters has been in a dispute with local law enforcement agencies: The Telegraph reported in August 2020 that "KTS Predator Hunters LLC, has been in a feud with the sheriff’s department since an incident in Alton late last month. Madison County Chief Deputy Sheriff Major Jeff Connor, who also is the commander of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, said he believes the group has good intentions, but are going about it improperly, making it difficult for law enforcement to prosecute. That was echoed by Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons, who said he had met with representatives of the group about 18 months ago, when he told them how they needed to work with local law enforcement... Connor also said that, according to video recorded at the scene, they threatened the man and “took weed” from the man. “We don’t know what they did with it,” said Connor in reference to the alleged marijuana. “We know they didn’t turn it over to the police.” Later in the monthly county judiciary meeting, Gibbons said he had talked to representatives of the KTS group and “explained to them how the methods they were using made it virtually impossible for us to charge somebody.” Gibbons said that when someone is identified as abusing or endangering children “that is when you call 911. “Once you go and arrange a meeting with these people, the investigation is beyond where we will be able to obtain additional evidence,” he said.

3. KTS had been kicked off social media at least once already: Considering how hard it is to get these groups kicked off Facebook, they must have done something quite horrific to have had their previous account deleted. They are currently at risk for deletion yet again. It may be partially because KTS also posted siome QAnon propaganda and is friends with the doucherag David Rowe from No Peace For Predators, another QAnon conspiracy crackpot.

4. Most of KTS's "cases" do not lead to arrests or convictions: Even before counties in Missouri outright banned using vigilante group data for arrests, most of KTS Predatror Hunter's "exposes" went absolutely nowhere; even when an arrest was made, cases were later dropped. Similar cases in Illinois, where KTS now operates, were also dropped due to KTS incompetence. 

5. KTS Predator Hunters doesn't mind engaging in risky behavior: KTS set up one of their entrapment opertaions in the parking lot of a grade school, which alarmed local officials. "Collinsville Unit School District 10 officials were disturbed to learn that one of these sting-like operations took place Monday night in the parking lot of Webster Elementary School. The target was a Missouri man who apparently thought he was meeting a 13-year-old girl. Instead, he faced two members of the metro-east group KTS Predator Hunters. They interrogated and reprimanded him for about 10 minutes as video cameras recorded the scene. 'This group had no involvement, agreement or communication with the school district or local law enforcement before, during or after this occurred,' Superintendent Brad Skertich said Thursday. 'They were completely on their own.'"

https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article246480085.html

Former security guard sues sex ‘predator hunters’ for defamation in Randolph County

BY TERI MADDOX

OCTOBER 16, 2020 07:30 AM, 

A metro-east group that posts photos, videos and other information on social media to expose and shame suspected pedophiles is being sued for defamation by a Randolph County man.

Adrian Collins filed a lawsuit in Randolph County Circuit Court last month against KTS Predator Hunters and its founder, Kyle Swanson, of Belleville.

In his complaint, Collins maintains that Swanson posted a Facebook conversation between Collins and someone identified as “Jordan Lane” in June on the KTS Facebook page and falsely called it a “sex trafficking situation,” insinuated that Collins was “grooming” a 14-year-old girl and referred to Collins as “very creepy.”

“Plaintiff did not inquire as to (Jordan Lane’s) age at the time of his conversation with her,” according to the complaint, which states that Collins has Asperger syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder.

The complaint also states that Collins received threats online after KTS posted his conversation, lost his job as a security guard at Red Bud Regional Hospital and hasn’t been able to find other employment.

The lawsuit asks for in excess of $50,000 for compensatory damages and in excess of $50,000 for punitive damages.

“Defendants maliciously and intentionally caused the publication of the false statements to a Facebook page with thousands of followers for the purpose of harming the Plaintiff’s good reputation,” the complaint states.

Collins is represented by Belleville attorney Megan Gilbreth, who filed the lawsuit on Sept. 4. Swanson later motioned for dismissal. An attorney wasn’t listed in his motion.

“Plaintiff was well aware of the age of the decoy,” it stated.

Randolph County Circuit Court Judge Richard Brown denied the motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Sept. 25. Swanson has 30 days from that date to answer the complaint.

KTS announced the lawsuit Wednesday on the Facebook page of its non-profit organization, KTS: Stop Sexual Assault. The group is asking its more than 47,000 followers to donate money for legal fees.

“Wondering why we haven’t been doing live meet ups lately?” the post asked, using the term “meet ups” to describe videotaped confrontations with suspected pedophiles that are sometimes streamed live on Facebook or YouTube.

“We are currently in a head to head battle with a former person we exposed and going to court with them. They’re attempting to sue ourselves and our owner personally. Our lawyers fees have added up and we’re looking for help. The down payment alone is $7,500.

“Please take a second share this. We can’t continue operations till this is over and may shut down KTS completely if we don’t raise enough money for an attorney.”

Group leaders didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Predator-hunting groups can be found all over the country. Some were inspired by “To Catch a Predator,” a reality TV series that was part of NBC’s “Dateline” from 2004 to 2007. Police were involved in most of its episodes.

KTS members communicate with suspected pedophiles on the internet and sometimes lure the adult men to locations in Illinois and Missouri under the pretense that they are minor girls willing to meet and presumably have sex.

Then KTS members show up at the locations, confront suspects, videotape confrontations and post videos on Facebook or YouTube. The idea is to shame and perhaps scare the adult men into stopping their activities, as KTS has no legal authority to arrest them.

As of Thursday afternoon, nearly 150 followers had offered support on the KTS: Stop Sexual Assault Facebook page in response to news of the Randolph County lawsuit. Some suggested legal strategies or reported that they had donated money. Others called for protests at Swanson’s court appearances.

“With the mission y’all have I would think you should be able to find an amazing lawyer pro bono because who doesn’t want these monsters called out?” one commenter wrote.

KTS made headlines last month, when one of its sting-like operations involving a Missouri man took place in the parking lot of Webster Elementary School in Collinsville after school hours.

Brad Skertich, superintendent of Collinsville Unit School District 10, sent an email to parents and guardians of students, assuring them that no actual children were involved.

“This group had no involvement, agreement or communication with the school district or local law enforcement before, during or after this occurred,” he told the BND. “They were completely on their own.”

In his letter, Skertich called the incident “alarming” and noted that the district had contacted Collinsville Police Department to help it determine how to move forward in light of the Missouri man’s actions and the KTS group’s decision to lure a “potentially dangerous adult” onto school property.

Skertich also urged parental guidance.

“The situation serves as a harsh reminder that we must regularly monitor our children’s internet and phone usage, discuss safe and unsafe practices, and have regular conversations about who they communicate with throughout the day,” he wrote.

Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons has reportedly met with KTS members and asked them to start telling police about contacts with suspected pedophiles instead of taking matters into their own hands so proper investigations could lead to criminal charges.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in 2019 that a handful of men had been arrested after being confronted by KTS Predator Hunters or members of a St. Louis group called Truckers Against Predators, but most of those cases were dropped.

“Some local law enforcement officials (said the groups) create volatile situations that should be left to trained professionals, and unleash a form of mob justice that’s hard to control,” the Post reported.

Removing the veil of stupidity from the Mount Pleasant PD with Detective Kenny Clark

The last thing we need is fearmongering in the media, but local level police agencies are frequently cited as authoritites on crime statistics even when most beat cops and detectives need little more than a high school diploma to be employed. Thus, local police are prone to say the dumbest thinfs, like Kenny Clark of the Mount Pleasant PD in SC. 

There's more to the article that is bad, especially ICAC using junk science like polygraphs to intimidate suspects, but this quote is especially noteworthy for 

https://www.postandcourier.com/moultrie-news/news/removing-the-veil-of-secrecy-from-sexual-crimes-against-children/article_0059c3f8-3c9d-11eb-893e-a7376a7bfc31.html

“Anywhere a child is, there’s a predator. If there’s a child (internet) platform where children are known to be, then you can bet someone is hunting them,” said Detective Kenny Clark of the Mount Pleasant Police Department.

“None of us want to think our neighbor would do anything to harm our kids or anything like that, but in all actuality it happens,” Clark said. “If we put something in the media, of an arrest this week, next week nobody’s thinking about it until the next one.”

The Art of the Steal: Broward County FL sex crimes persecutor Stacey Honowitz doesn't want Anti-Registry Activists mentioning her shoplifting arrest

Considering the author's arrest for shoplifting, I feel a sequel to her children's book is needed, we  can call it "Don't Steal, It's a Big Deal." it could be a story about a Broward County S*x Crimes prosecutor who slipped $42.93 worth of cosmetics into her purse in a Publix, got busted, then used her position to get off. While she writes books telling people hands off, she doesn't apply "hands off" principles to her own behavior. She obviously can't be held to the same standards as the rest of us since the prosecutor's office refused to pursue it, so did she truly learn a lesson? 

Or, maybe she can call it "The Art of the Steal", a lesson on saving money using the ol' five finger discount. 

You want to hear something funny? I would not have even known about this had she (or rather, her attorney) not sent a letter to Florida Action Committee requesting they take down a post about her 2018 arrest:

https://floridaactioncommittee.org/prosecutor-stacey-honowitz-wants-her-arrest-post-removed/

Prosecutor Stacey Honowitz wants her arrest post removed

Dec 11, 2020 | 22 comments

We received an email from an attorney requesting we remove a certain post from our website. The post concerned Broward Sex Crimes Prosecutor Stacey Honowitz’s arrest for shoplifting at a Publix Supermarket in 2018. The removal request appears below:

Good Day,

I hope this message finds you well in these trying times. I am writing on behalf of Stacey Honowitz to kindly request the removal of the article published to the above-copied link. The incident, a misunderstanding, is a most embarrassing blemish on Ms. Honowitz’s otherwise pristine record and career. The charge was readily nolle prossed (please see attached). As you can certainly appreciate, the continued publication has caused and continues to cause Ms. Honowitz great distress and damage to her reputation.

Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions. We thank you in advance for your time dedicated to this sensitive matter.

Cordially Yours,

Vanessa McGill

Stacey Honowitz is a sex crimes prosecutor and an advocate for harsher sex offender restrictions. To quote Ms. Honowitz, “Tougher laws [are] needed to protect our kids from sex offenders.”

While we agree with Ms. Honowitz that sexual abuse needs to be prevented, we strongly disagree that tougher laws are needed to protect anyone from persons forced to register as “sex offenders”. The overwhelming majority (95%+) of people on the registry will not re-offend and are trying to live productive lives, yet the continued publication of their information on a public registry prevents them from obtaining employment, housing and other basic needs for themselves and their families.

For most registrants, their crime was a one-time offense and a complete aberration in an otherwise law abiding life. Surely most were guilty, but many were not. Some were wrongfully accused, baited and switched in a sting, or a misunderstanding for which they took a plea decades ago out of convenience and to avoid the risk of jail time without knowing what was to come as far as the registry. Arguably their incidents are also a “most embarrassing blemish” in an “otherwise pristine record” and “the continued publication” of their information on a sex offender registry “has caused and continues to cause” them “great distress and damage”.

So what to do about this request to remove the article? Since the letter came from an attorney who lists one of her areas of practice as defamation cases, the implication is that if we chose not to take down the article we might face a lawsuit. However, the Miami Herald’s story, Veteran Sex-Crimes Prosecutor Accused of Shoplifting is still up. So is the Sun-Sentinel’s coverage. The surveillance footage of her sticking the cosmetic items in her purse and leaving the store has not been taken down. So why should we remove our post?

We did update the story to state that the charges were nolle prossed, but do we need to take down the entire article? Even if the shoplifting incident was unintentional and she simply forgot to pay for the items or mindlessly put them in her purse without realizing, she prosecutes people who unknowingly or unintentionally violate a technical registration rule all the time and even if decades have passed without incident, her office still vigorously opposes petitions for removal from the registry.

It’s very possible that the arrest has given Ms. Honowitz a different perspective and greater empathy for people who “as [she] can certainly appreciate” are suffering great distress and damage from their continued publication on the registry. Or, it’s possible she could care less. We’d like to see where she stands in light of the fact that she’s “kindly requesting” we take down a post.

Frankly we’re impressed that our little forum would even concern her enough to retain an attorney to contact us. But, before we act on the request, we’d really like to hear the thoughts of our membership, so please feel free to share them in the comments below. We’d also love to hear from Ms.Honowitz herself, given the ironic nature of her request. If she would like to be a guest on a future member call, consider this a public invitation.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article218555925.html

Broward sex-crimes prosecutor accused of shoplifting at Aventura Publix

BY DAVID OVALLE

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 04:12 PM, 

Stacey Honowitz, a Broward prosecutor and author of “Genius with a Penis, Don’t Touch!” HANDOUT

A high-profile Broward prosecutor who supervises cases against child molesters and rapists is facing a misdemeanor shoplifting charge after police said she swiped $42.93 worth of beauty products from an Aventura Publix.

Stacey Honowitz, 56, was charged with retail theft on Saturday. She was not booked into a jail. Instead, she signed a notice promising to appear in Miami-Dade court, which is not unusual in minor cases.

According to an arrest report, Honowitz slipped the three “beauty products” into her purse but was spotted by a manager via closed-circuit television. The manager confronted Honowitz, who handed over the stolen goods, according to the Aventura police report.

She has been suspended and will take vacation time until the case is sorted out, a Broward State Attorney’s spokeswoman told reporters in a statement.

“We have been made aware of the incident by the prosecutor. She has been suspended pending an administrative review. She will be utilizing her vacation time until we complete the investigation,” said spokeswoman Constance Simmons.

Her defense attorney, Jayne Weintraub, called the Publix incident an “honest mistake.”

“She inadvertently did not pay for the cosmetics when she checked out and paid for her $130.00 groceries,” Weintraub said in a statement. “She did not even leave the store after she paid. She then purchased lottery tickets and was chatting with another customer. There was no intent to commit a crime at all.”

Honowitz is the author of two children’s books on sexual abuse and frequently appears on cable television news networks as a legal analyst. One book is called “My Privates are Private”; the other is “Genius with a Penis, Don’t Touch!” Both are designed to teach kids about recognizing inappropriate advances.

“When she isn’t putting bad guys behind bars, Honowitz works to educate parents and children about child molestation and the importance of reporting abuse as the first step to healing,” according to her website.

Honowitz could not be reached for comment.

Five years ago, Honowitz appeared at Miami-Dade bond court when her brother was arrested on allegations he was wanted in Colorado on theft and forgery charges. During the hearing, Honowitz mentioned her job several times before the judge let her brother free from jail.

She insisted her appearance in Miami court was appropriate. “I went down there as a loving sister,” Honowitz told the Miami Herald at the time. “I just happen to be a prosecutor. This is a terrible ordeal.”