Deja BOO -- Butts County GA Sheriff Gary Long LOSES his fight to post Halloween lawn signs in yards of registrants

Sheriff Long was nominated for a Shiitake award on this exact date last year for misinterpreting a GA law to justify Halloween lawn signs, and this year, he tried th signs again. Well now that he chose to fight -- AND LOSE -- a battle to keep the signs posted in the yards of registered persons.

Court ruling can be found at https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Butts-County-Halloween-Sign.pdf

Media report on the ruling:

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/federal-judge-rules-partially-in-favor-of-butts-county-sex-offenders/85-d22c5d04-1b7b-4f4c-aaab-aba0630359fb

Judge issues ruling favoring sex offenders who sued Butts County sheriff over 'no trick-or-treat' signs
A federal judge heard arguments in court last week and handed back the decision, Tuesday.
Author: Adrianne M Haney
Published: 5:30 PM EDT October 29, 2019
Updated: 7:51 PM EDT October 29, 2019

ATLANTA — A federal judge has issued a ruling favoring - in part - three registered sex offenders who sued the Butts County Sheriff, calling the "no trick-or-treat" signs the sheriff placed in their yards an abuse of power.

Last year, Butts County Sheriff Gary Long had deputies place the signs in the yards of the registered sex offenders in the days leading up to Halloween, alerting parents and trick-or-treaters that they should avoid those homes.

"My office took precautions and placed signs indicating 'No Trick-or-Treat' at each registered sex offender’s residence in the County," Sheriff Long said. "This was done to ensure the safety of our children."

Georgia state law prohibits registered sex offenders from placing Halloween decorations on their property. But several of the sex offenders objected to the signs, saying it made them a target and was an overreach by the sheriff. Three of those offenders ended up filing suit, arguing that the yard signs went too far - breaking the law in the name of enforcing the law.

“State law does require him to notify the public in very specific ways, and none of those ways includes placing signs on registrants’ lawns," explained Mark Yurachek, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs.

According to the lawsuit, the offenders questioned whether the sheriff "exceeded his authority" in putting up the signs and whether deputies trespassed on their properties in doing so. The suit also says the deputies' actions caused harm, including "anxiety, embarrassment and humiliation," and damaged their ability to trust law enforcement. They sought a jury trial and damages.

A federal judge heard arguments in court last week and handed back the decision, Tuesday.

"The question the Court must answer is not whether Sheriff Long’s plan is wise or moral, or whether it makes penological sense. Rather, the question is whether Sheriff Long’s plan runs afoul of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It does," the ruling states.

In the ruling, the judge granted the named plaintiffs' motion to prevent the sheriff's office from posting the signs in the named plaintiffs' yards. However, the judge declined to offer damages. The court also declined to enter into a sweeping injunction in favor of all registered sex offender, but warned the sheriff's office "should be aware that the authority for their blanket sign posting is dubious at best and even more dubious if posted over the objection of registrants."

The court continued, saying that the ruling does not limit the sheriff's discretion "to act on specific information suggesting a risk to public safety. But he cannot post the signs over the named Plaintiffs’ objections simply because their names are on the registry."

In a statement to 11Alive following the judge's ruling, Yurachek, the attorney, said his clients were "thankful" to the court's "thoughtful and measured decision."

"There is a long way to go in this action and, although we decline further comment specifically addressing the litigation, we are hopeful that this decision indicates that, as with this preliminary issue, we will prevail in the permanent injunction action and the lawsuit in general," the statement continued. "We hope for and wish that every child in Butts County and in every community in the country enjoys a joyful and safe Halloween and note, as the Court’s opinion did, that the lack of signs in front of registrants’ homes will not affect either their joy or their safety this year or any other year."

He added that he would hope the ruling gives the sheriff "pause about putting up signs this Halloween or in the future."

11Alive reached out the sheriff's office for a comment on the ruling. They posted a response on their Facebook page saying they will continue to fight the lawsuit, but will not put up any yard signs while the suit is pending.

"The judge in this matter has ruled that I can NOT put signs on the right-of-way of the three offenders that filed the lawsuit. While I respectfully and strongly disagree with the judge’s ruling, I must abide by the ruling," the sheriff said.

The sheriff added that he sought advice from the Prosecuting Attorneys Council in 2018 before deputies placed the signs, who gave specific instructions on how to place them in compliance with Georgia Law.

In lieu of the signs, the sheriff said he will keep a "very strong presence" in the neighborhoods where there are known sex offenders. He also added that while some may be disappointed with the ruling, he strongly encouraged they "NOT take matters into your own hands this Halloween."

"We understand frustration with the Judge’s ruling, but we all must abide by it unless it is overturned on appeal. Unfortunately, there is no time to appeal before this Halloween," the sheriff said. "My promise to the citizens of Butts County is to protect the public, especially the children."

Volusia County FL Sheriff Mike Chitwood is angry that person convicted of sex offense out on bond while on appeal

Mike SHITWOOD is up for reelection, so it doesn't surprise me he's exploiting Predator Panic for free publicity.

https://www.wesh.com/article/florida-sheriff-chitwood-speaks-out-on-bond-granted-to-convicted-child-sex-offender/29049543

'This is not right': Sheriff Chitwood speaks out on bond granted to convicted child sex offender

Updated: 10:19 PM EDT Sep 14, 2019

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood posted on Facebook that he disagreed with the decision to grant bond to a convicted sex offender.

Mark Fugler, a convicted sex offender in Ormond Beach, was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was granted a $200,000 bond pending completion of appeals, officials said.

Fugler, a former engineering professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was convicted on three counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition, three counts of displaying obscene material to a minor and three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, according to officials.

Chitwood said he strongly disagreed with the judge's decision in the case to let the man be released.

"What I'm doing right now is bringing the light on it because somebody, somewhere is going to pick this up and say 'Holy cow, we cannot have our children be molested, and our families turned upside down," Chitwood said.

Officials said Fugler showed pornographic material to a 7-year-old girl between 2014 and 2016 and solicited the child to touch him in a sexual manner.

"This scumbag fought tooth and nail all the way through and made that little girl get up and testify in court. She's the bravest one out of all of us to do that," Chitwood said.

Officials said the girl's mother learned about what happened in 2016 when she found a diary the child kept.

"(To have) a judge carelessly say, 'Oh we are going to let the offender go because he's an educated man. He taught at Embry-Riddle University.' I don't care if he taught at Harvard. He's a criminal. That's what he is. He's a convicted child abuser," Chitwood said.

Shitwood sells these on shirts; seems to me he's implying he engages in police brutality. 

Giles Co TN Sheriff Kyle Helton and his monkey-see-monkey-do law

Why does Sheriff Kyle Helton look like Darryl's racist brother in The Walking Dead?

Tennessee recently passed a law preventing many registrants from living with their own kids. While that law might be Shiitake-worthy in itself, how it came to pass was more noteworthy.

Below is not the full article. It is long. I just wanted to focus on Sheriff Kyle Helton's role in destroying many families. He got the idea from the next state over, Alabama. In other words, monkey see, monkey do.

Hopefully THIS LAWSUIT will prevent that from happening.

https://theappeal.org/new-law-forces-dozens-on-tennessees-sex-offender-registry-from-their-homes/

NEW LAW FORCES DOZENS ON TENNESSEE’S SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY FROM THEIR HOMES
The legislation also makes it illegal for many ex-offenders to be alone with their own children.

Steven Yoder Jun 28, 2019

Last Sunday, Jason broke the news to his 7-year-old daughter: He’d be moving out. When a new Tennessee law goes into effect Monday, he will be barred from living with her. The law, Senate Bill 425, also forbids him from being alone with his daughter, meaning he can’t handle doctor’s appointments or pick her up from school, and he and his wife will need to hire childcare since she works full-time. His daughter cried when she heard but understood, Jason said, and told him she didn’t want her father to go to jail.

Seven years ago, a stepdaughter accused Jason of sexual touching, a charge he denies and attributes to discipline that he and his wife imposed. With the prosecutor threatening up to 18 years in prison, Jason says his lawyer advised him to take a plea deal that included probation, rather than risk a trial. Jason, whose name has been changed to protect his wife’s job, says the judge imposed no restrictions on him being around his daughter, and the Tennessee sex offense registry shows that he has no other criminal history.

Their predicament is likely to be felt more widely in coming months, as Tennessee implements the new law. It was spurred by Kyle Helton, sheriff of Giles County, which borders Alabama.

Alabama legislators pride themselves on making the state inhospitable to people with a sex crime in their past. Among other provisions, the state just enacted a chemical castration law and forbids adults whose offenses involved a victim younger than 12 from living with their own minor children. Helton has said that Alabama’s strict laws against former sex offenders were driving them over the border, and he wanted to put a stop to it. So he talked to his state senator, Joey Hensley, about introducing a bill that would match Alabama’s ban on living with children, according to Hensley. (The Giles County Sheriff’s Department said that Helton was not available to talk before deadline.)

Research shows relatively low reoffense rates for people convicted of sexual crimes—12 percent on average, according to a definitive 2014 study. But Helton’s lobbying paid off. Hensley introduced SB 425, which banishes people convicted of an offense involving someone under 12 from their homes if they have a child living there who’s a minor. On May 10, Governor Bill Lee signed it into law. On May 29, the Tennessee Department of Correction sent a letter to 78 people on the state sex offender registry advising them that they would need to pack up by July 1 or face arrest and prosecution...

Cleveland Co NC Sheriff Alan Norman posts registrants' faces on Facebook before warning not to harass registrants

If you are concerned about vigilantes, why use the social media outlet that probably incites the most vigilante activity?

Office Telephone: (704) 484-4817
Address: P. O. Box 1508, Shelby, NC 28151-1508

https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/cleveland-co-sheriff-s-office-to-start-posting-names-of-registered-sex-offenders-on-facebook/922401491

Cleveland Co. Sheriff's Office to start posting names of registered sex offenders on Facebook
By: Ken Lemon
Updated: Feb 18, 2019 - 6:28 PM

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. - Cleveland County’s Sheriff’s Office is taking unprecedented steps to make sure you know if a sex offender moves in near you.

It is posting on its Facebook page information about sex offenders who have changed their address or who have just become sex offenders.

Officials said there is a higher percentage of registered sex offenders in the county than in other counties of similar size, so people need extra help to stay safe.

Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman said he is fed up. "Beware," he said. "We are going to put you on social media."

Norman said that for some reason, Cleveland County has become a destination for sex offenders and he wants people to know if a sex offender has moved nearby.

"They deserve a safe environment to live in,” said Norman.

The sheriff said he has officers checking the addresses of registered sex offender two to three times more often than the state mandates because the numbers are alarming.

The sheriff said he wants registered sex offenders to understand they are being watched and to make sure they don't break the law.

"You either need to find another county to live in other than Cleveland County or you are going to be in the Cleveland County jail,” said Norman.

The Facebook posting has been met with overwhelming approval. One person thanked the Sheriff's Office for posting the information.

Some people including resident Marsha Beam, said they disagree. "I honestly think it's an invasion of privacy. If I made a mistake, I wouldn't want everybody on Facebook knowing about it," said Beam.

She said she wants to track sex offenders, but the county is already required to publish information on its website.

Channel 9 went to the home of one of the registered sex offenders to ask if the post was a problem for him, but no one answered the door.

The Sheriff's Office also added in its post that anyone who is found harassing, intimidating or threatening sex offenders can be charged.

New York State Trooper Thomas Judge lies on the stand in sex crime case but still gets a conviction

Too bad I can't find a pic of this guy anywhere online, and I looked for quite a while. What I've been able to gather is that Thomas Judge works for Troop G of the NY State Police.

https://artvoice.com/2019/01/14/albany-area-state-trooper-lies-in-court-is-caught-sex-offender-gets-10-years-shave-off-sentence/#.XD5Ais9Kjq0

Albany area State Trooper lies in court, is caught; sex offender gets 10 years shave off sentence
January 14, 2019
Frank Parlato

Because a New York State Trooper, Investigator Thomas Judge, admitted during cross-examination in Rensselaer County Court last week that he lied while testifying in the trial, sex offender, Christopher Downey, 32, will serve only 15 years instead of facing 25 years behind bars.

Why did the sex offender get to shave 10 years of his prison sentence?

Downey was facing 25 years for felony predatory sexual assault against a child, felony first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, felony second-degree course of sexual conduct against a child and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child.

The prosecution was forced to offer him a plea deal: First-degree sexual course of action with a 6-year-old girl, rather than risk the impact the lying state police trooper might have had on the jury.

But how about State Trooper Thomas Judge? Normally perjury is charged against lying witnesses.  But don’t count on it when a New York State Trooper lies.  At least not anywhere near Albany.

“The revelation that the State Police investigator admitted to testifying falsely during the trial played a large role in the DA deciding to offer a more favorable plea agreement,” said Joseph Ahearn, the county defender assigned to represent Downey.

Ahearn said he wants to see the district attorney’s office and the State Police examine Trooper Judge’s testimony.  “We should all expect more from the State Police,” Ahearn said.

But, will it mean that the man charged with enforcing the law for others, will have the law enforced against him? Like the laws against perjury.

Likely not.

Ahearn aggressively questioned Trooper Judge last Wednesday morning in court about his interrogation of Downey and his testimony during the trial, catching Trooper Judge in obvious lies.

“So, you testified falsely in this courtroom,” Ahearn asked him, to which Trooper Judge responded, “Yes.”

Assistant District Attorney Cheryl McDermott argued that Trooper Judge merely misspoke while testifying.  McDermott said, “It doesn’t rise to perjury.”

By Wednesday afternoon, in what must have been seen by some as an attempt to intimidate the jury and Judge Young, several State Police investigators came to the courtroom for Trooper Judge’s return to the witness stand.

County Court Judge Debra Young, taking all due care to protect the lying policeman, asked Trooper Judge if he wanted an attorney present to advise him after he was accused of lying during his testimony.

Just then, high priced criminal defense attorney George E. LaMarche III, of Dreyer, Boyajian, LaMarche, Safranko of Albany arrived to advise Trooper Judge and spin the blame on the public defender.

“Joe Ahearn is a crafty cross-examiner who can confuse an officer during cross-examination. Do I think the officer lied during cross-examination? Absolutely not,” LaMarche said after court concluded.

“Tom …. was not testifying falsely,” LaMarche said after the trial.

It is not known who is paying LaMarche’s bill.

Judge Young met with attorneys for both sides and, perhaps in an unusual move, allowed Trooper Judge’s attorney LaMarche to meet in chambers with them before the plea deal was announced.

“We have conferenced this matter extensively,” Judge Young said before the plea deal was offered on the record by McDermott.

Now, none of this excuses the conduct of the pervert. Indeed, wimpy perv Downey cried and sobbed and his body shook when the plea deal was entered. His lawyer gave him a handful of tissues at one point for him to blow the excess snot dripping from his nose.

But what happens when a society regularly lets people tasked with enforcing the law have a different set of laws for their own conduct.  Imagine if you had lied in court – possibly setting up innocent people – like I suspect was done in the Nxivm case. Or making dumb defendants look guiltier than they really are.

What would happen to you?

The actions of State Trooper Thomas Judge will likely never be investigated, let alone prosecuted.

For his part, pervert Chris Downey perhaps can thank Tom Judge for lying.  Downey will now go to prison and get out – with good behavior – in his early 40s, instead of his mid 50s.

And Trooper Tom Judge will get away with lying under oath and likely no one will ever report on this story again.  If they do, or if by some miracle the DA dared to bring charges against Tom Judge, you can best believe there will be a cadre of State Troopers in the courtroom looking as menacing and intimidating as they could possibly be for the judge and jury to note.

In this instance, I think Judge Young was scared. Everyone was scared. A State trooper lied and got caught.

And only the latter was anything unusual.

Sweetwater FloriDUH cops beat down innocent brother of registrant, police chief claims no wrongdoing

Police corruption is commonplace in South Florida, but Sweetwater FL might have the taken the cake. Sweetwater already has a long history of police brutality among other coverups. The short story here is that a registered person hit a police cruiser and the police chased that person, presumably to beat the person down. Instead they found the guy's brother and attacked him and the man's mother. Of course, you can rest easy knowing Chief Flaccid-O Dumbass investigated and found no evidence of wrongdoing so far.

https://www.local10.com/news/florida/miami-dade/tough-takedown-by-police-caught-on-camera-in-sweetwater

Tough takedown by police caught on camera in Sweetwater
Police seen in video punching brother of suspect for whom they'd been searching
By Christian De La Rosa - Reporter
Posted: 6:11 PM, January 10, 2019

SWEETWATER, Fla. - A tough takedown by police was caught on camera Wednesday morning in Sweetwater.

In the video, Sweetwater police officers are seen punching the brother of a suspect for whom they were searching.

The suspect's mother and brother spoke to Local 10 News on Thursday about the incident.

They shared their home surveillance video with Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa and even showed him their bruises.

The video shows one Sweetwater police officer throwing punches and pushing a woman back, while another officer is seen placing a man in a choke hold.

A second man is cuffed on the ground.

"Can you see in the video they punched me and throw me away?" Ana Schaublin asked.

Schaublin showed De La Rosa the bruises she claims she suffered from police.

"They are animals," she said.

Sweetwater police told Local 10 News they arrived at the home on Southwest 20th Terrace looking for a driver who hit an officer and who later bailed along with two other men.

The driver, identified as James Castro, is a registered sex offender and lives at the home with his family.

The man seen punched and violently restrained by officers is Castro's brother, who claims he was not in the vehicle.

"I haven't seen my brother since Dec. 26," he said.

The Sweetwater police chief said the two men arrested at the home were believed to be in the vehicle with the suspect and were charged with resisting officers.

The third suspect is still at large and his family said they have not seen him. They are demanding the officers involved in the incident be investigated for abuse of force.

https://wsvn.com/news/local/surveillance-video-appears-to-show-officer-punching-man-outside-sweetwater-home/

Surveillance video appears to show officer punching man outside Sweetwater home

SWEETWATER, FLA. (WSVN) - A doorbell security camera captured officers allegedly beating up a man outside a Sweetwater home.

Sweetwater Police arrived at the home located along Southwest 20th Terrace and 129th place, at around 3 a.m., Wednesday.

Officials said the officers were searching for a suspect who rammed an officer with his car.

When officers arrived at the home, they found a man matching the description of James Castro, the wanted suspect. Actually, he was not home at the time.

Instead, officers came across his brother, Christian Castro.

“I heard ruckus. I came outside, and next thing you know, I’m being arrested,” he said. “I’m being bullied. I’m being hit. I’m being harassed.”

In the video, his brother Gary is seen coming out of the home with his hands up.

“Grab these people!” officers are heard shouting. “Start grabbing people!”

Shortly after, both brothers were detained, and Christian was put in a choke hold by one officer.

Another officer is seen running up to him before allegedly throwing punches.

“I got hit right here. I got hit right here,” Christian told 7News while showing the bruises and lumps on his face. “I got hit right back here.”

Their mother was also seen being pushed while trying to help her son.

“I get out over here and say, ‘Please, please, please do not hurt my son,'” Ana Schaublin said.

However, the Sweetwater Police chief said the video does not show all of the facts.

“From the onset, you’re looking at a snapshot in time and not the totality of circumstances,” Placido Diaz said. “I’d like to have time to digest it. Obviously, if somebody committed an error or made a mistake, they will be held accountable. At this point, I have no reason to believe that.”

While police begin their lengthy investigation and the family recovers from the horrifying ordeal, James remains on the run.

His girlfriend is now pleading for him to return home.

“I don’t want anything to happen to him,” Yanet Portales said. “I just want him to come back home to his family. We have a family. The baby misses him. We all miss him.”

Both brothers were arrested and released. They face charges of resisting arrest.

The officers in the video remain on duty as police continue to investigate.