Oh, look, now Virginia has their own 666 bill! I see a trend here

When I reported on Wisconsin's SB 666, I said that ALL sex offender bills should have a similar designation. Coincidentally, it seems the state with the slogan that implies they are the state for losers also have a 666 bill. Maybe this RSO laws are 666 is finally catching on. (Okay, so the House version is HB1190, but c'mon, SB 666 just stays with you.)

So what is Virginia's SB 666? Apparently, it will ban registered citizens from buying those obnoxious "specialty license plates" that benefit children's programs. I personally can't see why a registered citizen would bother buying one, especially one that benefits a children's charity. I wouldn't buy a Lauren Book license place, for example, much less subject a car to having such a tacky piece of pressed metal. But, different strokes for different folks.

It seems another activist has already done a very detailed analysis on this stupid bill. Check out the following link

http://restoringintegritytovirginiaregistry.blogspot.com/2016/02/legislative-predator-hysteria-continues.html

Pasco County FL keystone cop Carlos Ocasio admits to us what his county's residency laws are REALLY for

I believe this guy spells his own name. I think his last name is spelled with two S's, not just one. Pasco County Florida detective Carlos OcASSio was kind enough to admit to us what we already know -- the intent of all these residency laws and compliance check operations is to encourage registrants to leave the county. Quite frankly, I'd like to see OcASSio's papers.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pasco/deputies-go-door-to-door-for-operation-predator

“We are just trying to keep the neighborhoods safe and our kids safe. Ocasio said. "If they have to go to another county, so be it, but they committed the crime.” 

In trying to find a picture of this cop, I stumbled on an older articles with MORE quotes from Ocasio.

http://m.baynews9.com/content/news/articles/bn9/2013/7/13/monitoring_pasco_s_r.html

One member of the task force, Det. Carlos Ocasio, logs hundreds of hours on the road.

His beat is the west side of Pasco County, where he knows all 260 registered sex offenders by name.

"We know them," Ocasio said. "If they're married, we know their spouse's name, their kids' names."
...
It's his business to know their business.

"The average neighbor knows that we are out there, keeping an eye on them," Ocasio said. "They have nothing to fear.

"Big brother is watching."

Finally, a SO-related bill gets the proper number it deserves-- WI's newest paedonymic bill is AB 666

Another year, another paedonymic law ("Alicia's Law) comes out of the woodwork to erode the rights of the accused even more. At least this bill gets the number all bills like this one deserve-- the MARK OF THE BEAST.

666

So anyways, this bill will allow the AG's office to issue "administrative subpoenas" against you under the guise of searching for internet predators under a lower standard of "reasonable cause."

From WisconsinWatchdog.org

http://watchdog.org/254433/constitutional-law-online/

‘Alicia’s Law’ raises serious constitutional concerns

By M.D. Kittle  /   January 19, 2016  /   News  / 

MADISON, Wis. — Alicia Kozakiewicz’s story is horrifying, heartbreaking.

A 13-year-old girl lured from her Pittsburgh home by an online predator, who kidnapped her, then raped and photographed her for four days. That is, until law enforcement was able to track the perpetrator online, crash into his home and rescue Kozakiewicz.

But the model legislation that bears her name and has been on a fast-track to passage in the Legislature raises some deep constitutional questions about how far cops and prosecutors can go in the name of protecting children from Internet criminals.

Critics of the unfortunately numbered Assembly Bill 666 fear the legislation as written would bypass judicial oversight to give law enforcement an extraordinarily powerful search and seizure tool.

“Alicia’s Law,” pushed by Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel and co-authored by state Rep. Joel Kleefisch, R-Oconomowoc, and Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, would authorize the attorney general “or his or her designee” the power to issue an administrative subpoena. The new authority, Schimel and the bill’s advocates insist, would help the state Department of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force more quickly and nimbly go after predators and other online criminals in “real time.”

As the law was originally written, an Internet service provider would be compelled to “produce documents or records helpful to an investigation of an Internet crime against a child.”

And administrative subpoenas would be issued without any judicial oversight, based on the wider standard of “reasonable cause,” not probable cause.

The Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office has raised concerns about the potentially far-reaching nature of the subpoena power, asserting at a hearing last week before the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice & Public Safety that, “no matter the worthiness of the goal,” such investigative tools would expand the “government’s ability to obtain information on people, who, at that moment, are still presumed innocent by law.”

The bill does include an amendment that removes language compelling ISPs to hand over a customer’s “records, information and documentary evidence,” but discretion on when to issue the subpoena remains in the hands of the Attorney General’s office.

That power doesn’t sit well with state Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee. Kessler, a member of the Criminal Justice Committee, said he could not understand why Internet crime investigators need to bypass the current and effective judicial oversight-based procedure.

“Why do we need an administrative subpoena when we can just walk down the hall to the duty judge and swear a witness and have an actually constitutionally protected search warrant issued?” Kessler asked Schimel at the Jan. 13 hearing.

The attorney general said what investigators seek are subpoenas, not warrants, and they would be used to track the computer addresses of those suspected of engaging in Internet crimes.

“It takes days before we have a subpoena signed and shipped to Internet service providers,” Schimel said.

The most powerful testimony came from the model legislation’s namesake, Alicia Kozakiewicz.

Now 27, Kozakiewicz described how a teen who came from a protective, supportive family met a “friend” online who turned out to be a predator.

“I was that terrified little girl who was lured from my home, taken across state lines, chained by my neck, forced into a disgusting basement dungeon and tortured, raped and photographed by a sadistic pedophile for four days and nights,” she told the committee. “I was that little 90-pound girl who cried for my mommy and daddy, who prayed for somebody, anybody to come find and save me from this hell.”

Kozakiewicz said she turned out to be that “lucky girl” because a child rescue team was able to track the predator’s online whereabouts.

“There was no other way to find me. No trail, no footprints in the snow,” she said.

But while Kozakiewicz’s case may illustrate the need for rapid law enforcement action, does such power come at the cost of civil rights?

In 2014, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes discontinued the office’s use of administrative subpoenas because of the potential for abuse, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. His investigators, in most cases, have to get clearance from a judge.

“The wholesale writing yourself a note to go after that stuff without any check is too dangerous and the potential for abuse becomes too dangerous,” Reyes told the publication. “I think we can still win, but winning the right way is more important.”

He said the only time an administrative subpoena may be in order is an “emergency situation, like an Amber Alert with a predator whose information we absolutely had to access.”

Schimel said the number of referrals to Wisconsin’s DOJ from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has jumped from 266 in 2005 to 1,300 in 2015. Meanwhile, the resources to fight online predators hasn’t kept up, the attorney general said.

“Many child sex offenders go undetected because they cloak themselves in the anonymity of the Internet. Alicia’s law would give law enforcement and prosecutors tools to catch predators more quickly without compromising constitutional rights,” he said.

But Schimel and other supporters of the bill attempt to make their case by arguing Internet addresses and other online information don’t belong to the individual, but to the ISPs. That’s kind of like saying a homeowner who has a mortgage on her house has to open up the contents of her home to the bank anytime it wishes.

The bill also raises some questions of basic fairness.

To pay for the increased costs to administer the initiative, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor — any misdemeanor — would be assessed a $20 surcharge. Those convicted of a felony would be assessed a $40 surcharge.

A 2012 report by the Legislative Audit Bureau found the addition of surcharges and increasing court costs and fines decreased the likelihood the state would collect the full bill.

“More recent examination of this example of the law of diminishing returns has confirmed that as the monetary penalties levied as part of a sentence increase, the amount collected decreases,” the Public Defender’s Office wrote in testimony before the Criminal Justice Committee. “Surcharge revenue is proven to be an unstable funding source for important programs such as crime victim services or court operations at the county level.”

Another amendment would assess surcharges only on those convicted of Internet and child-related crimes.

Some also have expressed concern about the speed of “Alicia’s Law” moving through the Assembly. The bill was submitted for co-sponsorship Jan. 4, introduced Jan. 11, and two days later the Criminal Justice Committee held a hearing.

A vote on the bill could have come up for Assembly debate as early as Tuesday, but it was not on the calendar as of Tuesday morning.

Adam Plotkin, legislative liaison for the Public Defender’s Office, said it has been hard to get answers on the rapidity of the legislation. Kleefisch last week said he would like to pass the bill and have the governor sign it into law quickly because it “will save people like Alecia.”

The Public Defender’s Office has not taken a public position on the bill, only testifying in an information capacity.

But Plotkin said caution on the part of lawmakers is highly recommended.

“We thank the bill’s authors for addressing some of our concerns (through the amendments),” Plotkin said. “We want to make sure the Legislature is aware of those constitutional issues.”

He added that the goal of the bill is worthwhile, but “people need to make sure constitutional rights aren’t eroded over time.”

Paul Adkison uses Predator Panic to hock Cyber-security software, assumes we are "lurking"

Paul Adkinson associates registrants with terrorists, then tells people to assume we are always lurking and trolling for kids online. Can we assume this clown is always lurking and trolling for your money?

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/special-reports/9-investigates-sex-offenders-still-social-media/nqQ9Q/

Posted: 3:23 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016
9 Investigates sex offenders still on social media

By Joe Bruno

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — More than 1,000 sex offenders live in Mecklenburg County, and the sheriff's office is responsible for keeping track of them all.

"It's an enormous job, but it is something we embrace," Maj. Dan Johnson said.
But it's more than just keeping track of where sex offenders live.

North Carolina law bans sex offenders from social media. It's the sheriff's office's job to make sure they stay off.

The law has faced legal challenges since it was enacted in 2008. It was struck down by an appeals court in 2013, then re-enacted by the state's Supreme Court last November.

"We have to rely on is information coming from outside," Johnson said.

Channel 9 learned the sheriff's office doesn't actively check to make sure sex offenders are off social media websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Johnson said there are too many websites and too many offenders to track.

"There is just no way to be able to look at each and every one of these offenders and make sure sites aren't being operated," Johnson said.

Channel 9 searched the names of random sex offenders from Mecklenburg County. Among the findings was the profile of Sadiq Abdullah.

He was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual contact in New Jersey while working at a psychiatric hospital. He went by the name Carl Ambrose at the time.

Channel 9 went to his house to ask him about his account. His most recent public post was just last month. Abdullah said he created the account for social networking.

Abdullah deleted his Facebook account after Channel 9 started investigating and said he wasn't aware that North Carolina law banned him from using one.

Cyber safety experts said it is a problem with no easy solution.

"All of these different applications are popping up from everywhere," cyber-safety expert Paul Adkison said. "Whether it is a sexual predator or teens or terrorists, all of them use these messages of communication because they are all point-to-point communications offered by private companies across the world, and they are really difficult to track."

Adkison developed software, Zabra, that allows parents to track their children's communication online.

His software monitors what children are saying and to whom, flagging conversations that may be of concern.

He said that with social media websites gaining popularity every day, keeping sex offenders off social media is only going to get more difficult.

"You have to make the assumption they are lurking," Adkison said. "You have to make the assumption that they are trying to approach kids."

According to Adkison, parents must remain engaged and warn children to use good judgment by not talking to strangers online.

Residency restrictions were restricted in Cali, so Sharon Runner wants to restrict the restrictions on the restrictions

I'm not surprised by this woman's actions, seeing as how she has drank the "sex trafficking" kool-aid.

http://runner.cssrc.us/content/sharon-runner-introduces-legislation-requiring-department-corrections-obey-jessicas-law

Sharon Runner Introduces Legislation Requiring Department of Corrections to Obey Jessica's Law
Friday, February 12, 2016

SACRAMENTO – Senator Sharon Runner (R-Antelope Valley) announced today she is authoring legislation that will stop the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from allowing convicted sex offenders to live near parks and grade schools. Senate Bill 1021 will require CDCR to enforce the voter approved sex offender residency restriction under Jessica’s Law in all counties except San Diego.

Last year the California Supreme Court held that the restriction preventing registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park could not be upheld in San Diego County because of a severe lack of compliant housing. While the Supreme Court made it abundantly clear that the ruling applied only in San Diego County, CDCR immediately refused to enforce the law in any of the other 57 counties.

“The Corrections Department’s sweeping decision to allow convicted sex offenders to live next to where our children learn and play is unacceptable,” said Runner. “Under the department’s new policy, only 24% of sex offenders are still required to live within the limits set by Jessica’s Law. This means that 76% of paroled registered sex offenders are free to live next door to parks and grade schools, even before they complete parole.”

Equally as disturbing, the Department justifies its refusal to enforce Jessica’s Law upon the advice of the California Attorney General, but has refused to release the Attorney General opinion, despite repeated requests from legislators and the press.

Specifically, SB 1021 requires CDCR to enforce the 2,000 foot residency restriction unless the law is amended by the voters or Legislature, or it is found unenforceable by courts within individual counties.

SB 1021 also gives the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of each county primary jurisdiction to hear petitions challenging the 2,000 foot residency restriction as laid out in Jessica’s Law. The Court could grant relief if it is established that there was a pervasive lack of compliant housing in the subject county.

“State agencies are not exempt from following the rule of law,” said Runner. “Jessica’s Law was approved by over 70% of California voters. SB 1021 makes it clear that California’s bureaucracy cannot just ignore statues and voter initiatives it finds inconvenient.”

Runner authored voter-approved Jessica’s Law along with her husband, Board of Equalization Vice Chair George Runner, in 2006. In addition to mandatory residency restrictions for sex offenders, the comprehensive law increased penalties for the most egregious sex offenses and provides law enforcement with more tools to impede, apprehend and incarcerate sex offenders.

Well, if IML only applies to "registered pedophiles," then this law applies to no one, because...

...because obviously there is NO SUCH THING as a "registered pedophile."

Anyone who uses the P word so lackadaisically is nominated by default. Expect to see more International Megan's Law posts in the coming days.

It seems Senator "Mark the Jerk" Kirk has a chronic case of foot-in-mouth disease.

http://www.kirk.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1619

Senators Kirk, Shelby, Mikulski, & Representative Chris Smith Applaud Passage of International Megan’s Law
Tuesday, Feb 2, 2016
 Tweet 0 Share 0 +1 0 Print

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), and U.S. Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.-04) today applauded House passage of H.R. 515, introduced by Congressman Chris Smith, which puts International Megan’s Law on the President’s desk for signature. H.R. 515 passed the Senate in December 2015. S.1867, the Senate companion bill, was introduced by Senators Kirk, Shelby and Mikulski. 

“Last year in Illinois there were 120 reported cases of human trafficking. This abuse of children must end.  International Megan’s Law will increase communication throughout law enforcement to help identify and apprehend pedophiles who prey on children for sex," said Senator Kirk.  “There is still more to do if we want to combat trafficking internationally and here at home, and as the author of the SAVE Act I will continue to lead the fight on behalf of those who are victimized.”

“It is great news for all Americans that the House passed International Megan’s Law today,”said Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). “Crimes against children are a horrible plague on our society, and this legislation takes crucial steps to eradicate them.  In addition to streamlining domestic and international communication, International Megan’s law creates new procedures to advance ongoing efforts that will help us achieve one critically important goal: preventing horrific crimes against innocent children.  I urge the President to quickly sign this legislation into law so that we can begin to proactively protect families in the U.S. and around the world.”

“We have made some amazing progress over the years, starting out with billboards and milk cartons. But as crimes have grown more sophisticated, we’ve had to become more sophisticated,” said Senator Mikulski, Vice Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee which funds the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice. “This legislation will give the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice the tools they need to protect children at home and abroad.”

“I applaud Congress, under the leadership of Senators Richard Shelby and Barbara Mikulski and Congressman Chris Smith, on the final passage of International Megan’s Law which will help ensure the effective monitoring and compliance of sex offenders who have harmed children and may pose a risk to children in the United States and abroad,”  said John F. Clark, President and CEO, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

“It is imperative that we take the lessons learned from Megan’s Law on how to protect our children from known child sex predators within our borders and expand those protections globally to prevent convicted U.S. sex offenders from harming children abroad,” said Congressman Smith, who first introduced the bill in 2008, naming it for Megan Kanka, a seven-year-old from his district who was sexually assaulted and killed in 1994 by a previously convicted sexual predator. “The reinforcing provisions of this carefully crafted legislation—advance notice of travel to countries of destination and the passport provisions championed by Sen. Shelby—will help stop those seeking to end run the registry and notification programs. This legislation is a product of effective bipartisan teamwork in both the House and Senate and we call on all agencies of the Administration for swift and faithful implementation.” 

International Megan’s Law:

Requires registered pedophiles to have a unique passport identifier to ensure that they can be identified at the border as they travel internationally in the event that advanced notification was not sent by the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of Justice. 
Establishes the “Angel Watch Center” at the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that all destination countries receive a notification that a convicted child sex predator is traveling to their country.  The Department of Homeland Security’s responsibilities at the border and their unique relationships with border officials around the world will enable Angel Watch’s charge.
 Formalizes the process for the United States Marshal’s Service Sex Offender Targeting Center to provide advanced notice of travel by all registered sex offenders to destination countries using the Interpol notification system.
Coordinates communication between the newly established Angel Watch Center and the well-established United States Marshal’s Service Sex Offender Targeting Center and streamlines the international notification system to ensure that no registered sex predators are lost in the system when leaving the United States.
Designates the Angel Watch Center as responsible for receiving notifications of convicted sex offenders entering the United States.

It isn't kiddie porn distribution when the FBI does it, apparently

So apparently the FBI is short for the Feds Bestowing Illegal images. They also distribute malware, so not only does the FBI distribute child porn pictures, they peddle computer viruses as well.

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/01/28/how-the-fbi-became-the-worlds-largest-distributor-of-child-sex-abuse-imagery/

How the FBI became the world’s largest distributor of child sex abuse imagery

Bryan Clark by BRYAN CLARK   Tweet — 5d ago in INSIDER

For 12 days between February and March, 2014, the FBI was the world’s largest peddler of images and video depicting child sexual abuse on the internet.

In an attempt to catch criminals uploading, viewing, sharing and downloading these files, the US government authorized members of the FBI to run an operation — ‘Operation Pacifier’ — of dubious legality to catch pedophiles visiting Playpen, the world’s largest child sexual abuse site.

“There is something tawdry and sick about FBI agents peddling porn,” says famed civil rights trial attorney Norm Pattis.

In speaking with attorneys about Operation Pacifier, I heard words like: “shocking,” “disgusting,” and “vile”; they weren’t talking about the pedophiles. 

Playpen
Playpen launched in August of 2014 as a dark web site only accessible by ‘The Onion Router’, commonly known as TOR. Through use of TOR, users are able to access the Deep Web while routing web traffic around the world in an attempt to anonymize their browsing.

It’s not foolproof, but it’s the best weapon a Web user has to remain anonymous online. And anonymity, when peeking into the darkest corners of the web, is paramount.

Due to the nature of the site in question, I didn’t want to dig too far, but from FBI testimony on the topic, it contained files — mainly images and video — of some of the most extreme child abuse imagery one could imagine as well as advice on how sexual abusers could perpetrate their crimes without being caught.

For all intents and purposes, Playpen was amongst the darkest of the dark corners of the web.

Operation Pacifier
February 20, 2015 was an unremarkable day for Playpen’s users. At the surface, the site was operating as usual, but behind the scenes its server had been seized by FBI agents at a web host in North Carolina and moved to a secure government-controlled facility in Virgina.

No one noticed. And really, how could they?

For fear of raising suspicions amongst Playpen’s users, the FBI left the site fully operational while they sought a warrant to track users through what it refers to as “network investigative techniques” or NIT.

NIT, is a vague term for an exploit the FBI uses to gain access to a network or device. In this case, malware.

To be clear, ‘fully operational’ means just that. For two weeks, users had the ability to upload new files, view existing images or video and communicate with other pedophiles. Basically, it was business as usual, only the FBI was piloting the ship.

From February 20 until March 4, 2015, the FBI continued to operate Playpen while infecting users computers with malware in hopes that it would lead to identifying information, such as an internet protocol (IP) address.

During its 12 day reign as the king of all child sexual abuse sites, the FBI garnered some 1,300 of these IP addresses.

Sting operations featuring Deep Web honeypots aren’t new to the FBI.

In 2011, the bureau used NIT — albeit a different type of exploit — on three hidden services (Deep Web websites) hosting lewd images of minors. Users of these services were targeted through a Flash application that would ping a users real IP address back to an FBI-controlled server rather than routing the traffic through TOR, as intended.

But this operation, in comparison, was small potatoes in comparison to Pacifier. The FBI was only able to collect 25 IP addresses.

With Pacifier, the FBI went bigger. To catch a criminal, it seems, you have to become one. And that’s exactly what the FBI did, at least according to the legal professionals involved in the case.

Was the operation legal?
First, it’s important to understand that what the FBI did resides very much in the grey area of our legal system. As much as I tried, securing a conclusive and concrete answer to the legality of the FBI running this type of site proved elusive.

New York attorney Joseph Potashnik informed me that in federal cases this kind of conduct by law enforcment is legal. He wasn’t alone.

An attorney who preferred not to be named remarked that it was not only legal, but it was “abused by the government on a regular basis” in other cases he’s tried, citing an officer that committed a sex act with a prostitute and then charged her with prostitution.

Oddly enough, he wasn’t the only attorney to use that reference.

Others, like attorneys Mark McBride and Norm Pattis disagreed. According to McBride, who has defended these types of cases before, “It’s definitely not legal.”

Attorney Christopher Eskew noted that it wasn’t legal, but it wouldn’t be a case the US government would prosecute.

In short, there isn’t a clear answer as to the legality of what the FBI did. The agency did secure a warrant, but the warrant was strictly for the usage of the NIT, not running a lewd site disseminating explicit images and video of children.

It’s not even clear if the federal judge that signed the warrant understood the scope of what he was authorizing.

A Motherboard piece detailed this exchange between Judge Robert J. Bryan and defense attorney Colin Fieman, who is representing one of the accused, Jay Michaud:

“Do the FBI experts have any way to look at the NIT information other than going to the server?” Judge Bryan asked.

“Your Honor, they don’t go to the server,” Colin Fieman, replied.

“Where do they go? How do they get the information?”

“They get it from Mr. Michaud’s computer.”

“They don’t have his computer.”

“That’s what the NIT is for,” Fieman explained.

While Judge Bryan didn’t sign the warrant used to charge Michaud, it speaks to the complicated nature of understanding the scope of the malware under broad and vauge guidelines within its request.

There are several additional pages of transcripts that show Judge Bryan attempting to figure out just what this NIT is, and how it was going to be used.

All told, the court spent more than two hours on definitions and descriptions of NIT.

Lack of understanding aside, there are also issues with the warrant itself, most notably, jurisdiction.

Fieman, and Michaud’s other attorney, Linda Sullivan, argue that the warrant “is limited to persons and property in the Eastern District of Virginia.”

Keith Becker, an attorney for the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a hearing, that the warrant, “clearly requested the authorities to deploy to computers wherever located.”

Michaud’s attorneys then proceeded to call into question the legality of the sting operation itself, stating:

There is no law enforcement exemption, or statutory exemption for the distribution of child pornography.

In this case, it’s easy to see that the need to catch a criminal overshadowed the FBI’s desire to stop the flow of information, which arguably, is more important.  Sullivan and Fieman argued that the harm caused by the dissemination of child sexual abuse images is summed up on the DOJs own website:

Once an image is on the Internet, it is irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever

The defense used these arguments in a motion to dismiss and a motion to suppress the government’s evidence that they feel was illegally gathered.

Update: Both motions were denied. 

At this point, the only thing we can be clear about in terms of legality was that we’re really not sure, but it doesn’t seem as if it matters whether the FBI broke any laws.

As Eskew put it, it’s highly unlikely the government would prosecute FBI agents.

Do the ends justify the means?
Leaving the attorneys and judges to decide legality, it’s much easier to debate whether the methods the FBI used to catch pedophiles justified the means.

No one would argue the benefit of apprehending those that are creating and distributing child sexual abuse images and video, but is it ever appropriate to display these images to pedophiles in an attempt to catch them?

Pattis eloquently states:

They claim they do so to draw out defendants, and defeat the market for prohibited images, yet the demand for the images remains the same. Lawmen can’t stamp out desire; they can only join the fray, becoming as twisted as the folks they prosecute.

I spoke with both the FBI and DOJ regarding this matter. According to DOJ spokesperson, Peter Carr:

While [shutting Playpen down] would end the trafficking of child pornography taking place on that one website, it would do nothing to prevent those same users from disseminating child pornography through other means … At no time in an operation like this does the FBI post any images, videos, or links to images of child pornography. Any posting of child pornography images and links are done by users of the website, not by the FBI.

While it wasn’t actively contributing to the cache of images, videos or links, the FBI was facilitating the practice for others who were doing just that. No matter where you stand on legality, this has to bring questions of morality to the table. Is “not actively contributing” enough to negate government responsibility in Operation Pacifier?

McBride doesn’t think so, “taking down 10 perverts does not outweigh the damages of even one image being disseminated.”

It’s hard to argue his logic. If capturing and releasing a sexually explicit image of a child is a crime against the victim, every time it’s viewed and passed on is akin to recommitting the crime, only this time with a new offender. McBride was unwavering in this belief.

In other sting operations, investigations have revolved around enticing users into registration through use of suggestive, but not explicit, images of minors.

Let’s attempt to quantify the success of this operation.

Playpen had a total of 215,000 members. Operation Pacifier collected 1,300 unique IP addresses and led to 137 users charged, meaning, nearly 90 percent of those tracked were never charged with a crime nearly a year after the investigation concluded.

What’s not quantifiable is the reach of these images and just how much the government’s operation, or the facilitation of pedophilia, did to benefit — or damage — child sexual abuse rings.

At the end of the day, you have to weigh the ends, 137 men charged, against the means, being complicit in the dissemination of sexually explicit imagery, and attempt to make a judgement call as to whether becoming a criminal is worth catching one.

You've already gotten an 825 year sentence. Why not tack on five more years, just in case?

It's FloriDUH. Need I say more?

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jan/27/judge-tacks-5-more-years-on-florida-sex-offenders-/

Judge tacks 5 more years on Florida sex offender’s sentence

By - Associated Press - Wednesday, January 27, 2016
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A judge sentenced a central Florida man to five years in prison for failure to register as a sex offender.

But the Daytona Beach News-Journal (http://bit.ly/1lRwYRL ) reports 41-year-old David Allan Hall has bigger problems. He was already sentenced last summer to 825 years after being found guilty of 55 counts of possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors sought to have the additional five years tacked onto the 825 years because there’s always the chance that a sentence could be overturned on appeal. Hall has already appealed the longer sentence.

It took jurors just 10 minutes to find Hall guilty after a three-hour trial.

State Attorney R.J. Larizza called Hall a “dangerous sexual predator with a history of targeting children.”

Is Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman even a real name? I doubt he's even a real journalist

Just one look at this clown and you have to wonder if this Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman is really a journalist. Maybe he just trolled The Trentonian because they published his writing.

Is it just me, or does Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman look just like the Genie from Peewee's Playhouse?

http://www.trentonian.com/social-affairs/20160201/congressman-chris-smiths-international-megans-law-bill-will-finally-reach-obamas-desk

Congressman Chris Smith’s International Megan’s Law bill will finally reach Obama’s desk

This is an undated family photo of the late Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old Hamilton Township, N.J., girl who was found murdered Saturday, July 30, 1994, in a nearby West Windsor, N.J, park. A neighbor Jesse Timmendequas, 33, a convicted sex offender was charged with the murder. AP Photo
By Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman, Sulaiman@21st-centurymedia.com, @sabdurr on Twitter
POSTED: 02/01/16, 6:58 PM EST | UPDATED: 2 HRS AGO 3 COMMENTS

Republican Congressman Chris Smith of Hamilton, New Jersey. 
HAMILTON >> American pedophiles will have a harder time raping children overseas.

After eight years of political legwork, the International Megan’s Law bill that was sponsored by Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) has finally cleared both chambers of Congress effective Monday and will soon arrive on President Barack Obama’s desk to be signed into law.

The International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking, also known as H.R. 515, is inspired by the domestic Megan’s Laws across the 50 states that require public notification of convicted sex offenders living in the community.

The international version authorizes U.S. authorities to notify other countries when a high-risk American child molester travels abroad. The international version also is intended to encourage other countries to notify the United States when foreign sex offenders seek to travel to America.

“It is imperative — and long overdue — that the United States take the child protection lessons it has learned domestically with the successful notification systems first created by Megan’s Laws and expand them globally to prevent convicted U.S. sex offenders from harming children abroad,” Smith said Monday in a prepared statement. “International Megan’s Law will ensure that potential predators are on the radar of U.S. and foreign law enforcement.”

Megan’s Law and Smith’s international version are named after Megan Kanka, a Hamilton 7-year-old who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 1994 by a notorious sex offender, Jesse Timmendequas, who lived across the street, unbeknownst to residents in the neighborhood.

Before the International Megan’s Law bill passed Congress without any opposition, Smith on Monday afternoon gave a U.S House floor speech praising the “the extraordinary work by Megan’s courageous parents — Maureen and Richard Kanka” for them inspiring every U.S. state and territory to enact Megan’s Law.

“Because of this law, parents, guardians, school officials, sport coaches, law enforcement and the public at large are now empowered with the critical information they need to mitigate harm to children,” Smith said in his floor speech about the benefits of Megan’s Law.

In terms of his push for an international Megan’s Law, “We know from law enforcement and media documentation that Americans on U.S. sex offender registries are caught sexually abusing children in Asia, Central and South America, Europe — everywhere,” Smith said on the House floor.

Congressman Smith, who has represented the Central Jersey area since 1981, has been a longtime champion of human rights, having pioneered the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000 to clamp down on what he refers to as “modern-day slavery” — that is, children forced into prostitution.

Nancy Grace has been bashed here so often, she needed something REALLY off the wall to get another nomination

It was going to take something really off-the-wall before I'd feature Shiitake-Worthy regular Nancy Disgrace back on this blog again, but here she is. It's Nancy Grace being Nancy Grace, but this rant was so unbelievable, even fellow victim industry blowhard Mark "The Ass" Klaas pretty much felt she was full of shit. 

This is Nancy Disgrace at her finest. This is over-the-top even by Nancy Grace standards. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/nancy-grace-features-missing-toddler-noah-chamberlin-focuses-on-sex-offenders

Nancy Grace features missing toddler Noah Chamberlin: Focuses on sex offenders 

Use your key for the next article

Next: ‘The Curse of Oak Island’: Nearing the end

January 20, 2016

3:35 PM MST

Nancy Grace, desperation edging her voice, asked rhetorically Tuesday night, "Where is Noah Chamberlin?" She featured the ongoing investigation and search for the missing toddler for half of her HLN show, pointing out that conditions were well below freezing in the Tennessee mountains where the child went missing, making it imperative that the child be found, and soon. Perhaps just as worrisome, Grace noted that there are 28 registered sex offenders within ten miles of his grandmother's Pinson, Tennessee, home -- the place where he was last seen.

The Noah Chamberlin story went national Tuesday night (January 19) on "Nancy Grace" as the former Georgia prosecutor featured the 2-year-old's plight on her eponymous current affairs show on HLN. And although it was noted that the focus was on a list of sex offenders in the area, she would later acknowledge that the chances of the toddler being kidnapped and taken from the Tennessee woods behind his grandmother's house were minimal.

As it turns out, the primary focus has been on finding the 2-year-old. As the incident is still being treated as a search and rescue effort, checking and investigating the registered sex offenders in the area had been standard procedure. However, as Grace discovered when talking with reporter Michael Quander of WREG in Memphis that the terrain where Noah Chamberlin disappeared is not only heavily wooded but contains various drop-offs, ravines, gullies, streams, and caves where the little boy could have wandered. Add to this that the area is also timber country, where stumps and rotting remnants of old trees can produce sinkholes with just the slightest bit of pressure and the scenarios for a missing toddler multiply.

At one point Grace asked where the grandmother lost sight of her grandson. Recounting the story that the grandmother had turned her attention to her 4-year-old granddaughter for a minute, Grace questioned the length of time that the grandmother may have become distracted. Perhaps it was a bit longer than a minute? At first confused by information that authorities might not know the exact location where the grandmother last saw the child, that was later cleared up, as Keith Sherley, news director of WNWS in Jackson (Tennessee), noted that investigators did have a specific location, not to mention search dogs had picked up the child's scent through the woods and around the area he was last seen. (However, it is uncertain how well the dogs can pick up scent in cold weather, and use of the dogs has not appeared to have been much help.)

As for the registered sex offenders, Mark Klaas of the KlaasKids Foundation (a missing person resources organization), was brought in to provide his expert opinion on kidnappings and missing children cases. Speaking to the 28 sex offenders found in the Pinson, Tennessee area (within a ten mile radius of the grandmother's house), Klaas noted that the chances were "far-fetched" that a little boy would have been kidnapped while out on a random hike with his grandmother and sister. But Nancy Grace, who talked of her own fear when she lost sight of her own kids, pointed out that, even so, it happened. She reference the 2005 kidnapping of the Groene children, where the perpetrator killed all the adults at a house in a remote area in Idaho, then made off with two children, one of which he later murdered. Klaas admitted to the possibility but stressed that it was unlikely, given the details.

Tracy Sargent, a search, rescue, and recovery expert, further explained that a small child like Noah Chamberlin would not put off much of a scent -- because of his size and because of the cold weather. She noted that scent wears thinner as time goes by as well, so the tracking dogs brought in, depending on when they were placed to track, could also determine how well they were able to pick of the child's scent.

Nancy Grace repeatedly made note of the plunging temperatures in western Tennessee during the segment. Weather forecasts were predicting temperatures to be as low as 8 degrees, far below freezing level. She brought in forensic expert and certified death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan, who detailed the risk of hypothermia in such conditions. He explained that the severe cold could produce disorientation, lethargy, and that those suffering its symptoms tended to want to lay down and sleep. Doing so, however, only hastens the body succumbing to the effects of the cold.

Nancy Grace ended the segment by noting that she was in no way trying to place blame on the grandmother or the family with her questioning. The most important thing, she acknowledged, was finding the missing child.

Noah Chamberlin has been missing since Thursday, January 14, when he and his 4-year-old sister were taking a hike through the woods with his grandmother. The grandmother says she lost sight of the little boy after paying attention to her granddaughter for a minute. After a quick search, she reported the child missing at 1:19 p.m. (CST).

Since then, hundreds of law enforcement, military, and first responders, not to mention thousands of volunteers from a handful of southern states have scoured the Tennessee woods behind the grandmother's house. Tracking and cadaver dogs, as well as helicopters and individuals outfitted with thermal and night-vision devices have been implemented in the search -- all to no avail.

Airheaded mASSachusetts State Rep. Shaunna O'Connell gets the first nomination for Dumbest quote of 2016

Here is Massachusetts Rep. Shaunna O'Connell showing off her reading level. It must be the case, since it is obvious that she is your stereotypical airheaded blonde. O'Dumbell must be trying to be the Lauren "The Bimbo" Book of the north, since she is also willing to lie about the sex offender legal issue. The article was in response to a recent ruling allowing registered citizens a chance to appeal their wrongful designation on the state's registry scheme.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/news/mass-court-decision-removes-sex-offender-info-from-public/13701168

A decision made in the state's highest court is causing information of hundreds of sex offenders to no longer be available to the public. 

"I'm not going to say that there's no public safety concern whatsoever, but we're going to do the best we can to honor the courts' decision," said Kevin Hayden, chairman of the Sex Offender Registry Board. 

The ruling will allow for some sex offenders to challenge their classification as either level two or level three sex offenders. During the challenge, information about where they work and live will no longer be made public. 

"The reason we have a sex offender registry is so that victims and parents can find out where sex offenders live and where they work, where they go to school...so that they can keep themselves safe," said State Rep. Shaunna O'Connell.

O'Connell said reducing access to that information on the state's sex offender registers puts victims and families at risk.

In December, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decided sex offender classification needed to be proven to a  “high degree of probability.”

So all pending sex offender cases and cases under the appeals process will get the benefit of that higher burden of proof. Information about level two and level three sex offenders, or high risk offenders, is currently available online.

"The sex offender registry is constantly attacked so that sex offenders can hide," said O'Connell. 

"We're talking about 500 cases possibly more that have to be given new hearings," said Hayden.

Sex Offender Registry Board will conduct all the new hearings and Harden explained that once they're given new hearings, those offenses will enter into an unclassified status. At that point, the individual is taken offline. 

"What we actually have today is not a fair and accurate representation of who actually a high risk, moderate risk or a low risk," said Eric Tennen, a criminal defense attorney. 

It isn't enough this braindead idiot was interviewed, she took her stupidity to social media:

The registry needs to be abolished, and bimbos like O'Connell make a compelling reason why.

Among other stupid things in Florida's HB 1179, this bill could require visiting registrants to pay up to $300

You can always count on the land of 'Duh to find new and stupider ways to mess with registered citizens annually. So this year, they're already pushing the latest round of BS. Lets look at HB 1179

HB 1179: Criminal Offenders

GENERAL BILL by Raulerson

Criminal Offenders; Provides additional mandatory term of incarceration for specified offenses committed by sexual offenders & predators; authorizes sheriffs to assess fees for registering & reregistering specified types of offenders subject to registration requirements; specifies maximum fees; provides requirements for use of fees; provides for relocation of registrants; provides enhanced criminal penalties for repeat violations of provisions prohibiting forcing another into prostitution; requires persons convicted of specified prostitution related offenses to register as sexual offenders; prohibits failure to pay required fees; provides additional conditions for sex offender probation & community control for certain offenders & controllees who commit qualifying offenses after specified date; provides that such conditions do not need to be pronounced orally at time of sentencing; provides that such conditions may be applied to other relevant offenders; requires supervision by DOC officers who have specified training & limited caseloads.

There are a few things here that makes this bill Shiitake-Worthy. 

First, the bill creates a confusing fee scale. "The sheriff of each county may charge criminal registration fees for sexual predators, sexual offenders, career offenders, and convicted felons for the initial registration, reregistration, and registration updates with that sheriff. Annual fees during a registration year, excluding the initial registration fee of a nonresident of this state, may not exceed $200 per sexual predator, $100 per sexual offender, $50 per career offender, or $25 per felony offender." But get this, "When an offender from another jurisdiction who meets the criteria under this section and is not a resident of this state registers for the first time, a $300 initial registration fee shall be assessed and collected by the sheriff." So, if you visit FloriDUH long enough to have to register (the state says 5 days but I've heard registration periods as short as 12 hours in some places), you might be expected to pay up to $300 just for visiting the land of 'Duh!

I'd like to add the probation conditions added to this bill are outlandish, such as polygraphs, prohibitions against having a PO box (why?), and most importantly, the court does not even have to notify the defendant of these guidelines. That is ridiculous. 

But that $300 fee for visiting FloriDUH stands out. That is definitely worthy of a Shiitake Award. 

Feel free to read this shit for yourself:

https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2016/1179

Virginia wants to remind us Virginia is indeed for losers as they add over 5000 names to the registry overnight!

It is 2016, and just like last year, the New Year began with a nomination right off the bat (it should have been up yesterday, but I was having a Football binge). If you live in Virginia and your conviction was between 1980 and 1994, your life was just made worse.
http://www.dailyprogress.com/starexponent/approximately-names-added-to-virginia-sex-offender-registry/article_74e33d82-b09b-11e5-aad7-7773eb9c218d.html

Approximately 5,604 names added to Virginia Sex Offender Registry

Posted: Friday, January 1, 2016 10:22 am
STAR-EXPONENT STAFF
The Virgina State Police recently added approximately 5,604 names to the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry.
The so-called "Supplement" to the list includes information on individuals not previously listed who were convicted of certain sexual offenses on or after July 1, 1980, and before July 1, 1994, according to a state police news release.
The public can view the names at ********
Creating the additional list complies with “Robby’s Rule,” legislation passed in 2015 by the Virginia General Assembly. State legislators also amended an existing law, Code Section 9.1-918 Misuse of registry or supplement information; penalty, to include the additional names.
The Virginia State Police Sex Offender Investigative Unit and Criminal Justice Information Services Division (CJIS) spent the past six months researching and verifying names and personal information required by law to be included on the Supplement, according to the news release. State law requires the name of each convicted offender to include their “year of birth, date of the conviction, the jurisdiction in which the conviction occurred, the person's age on the date of the conviction, the offense of which he was convicted, and the Code of Virginia section of the conviction.”
The Supplement differs from the full Sex Offender Registry, established in 1994, as it does not provide convicted offenders’ photographs nor are those listed “subject to the registration requirements" of other previously listed convicted sex offenders.
State law permits those listed on the Supplement to “petition the circuit court in which he was convicted or the circuit court where he then resides for removal of his name and conviction information from the Supplement if the offense he was convicted of would qualify for removal from the Registry under Code Section 9.1-910, according to the state police.

Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board can harass registrants but not keep up with Christmas toys

Well here is a little Christmas present for Shiitake award readers-- the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board loses over a thousand bucks worth of toys they collected when someone just comes in and asks for them! What a bunch of idiots! 

Then again, what do you expect from a state that defends that cheatin' ass Tom Brady?

http://www.whdh.com/story/30827772/couple-steals-donated-toys-from-mass-sex-offender-registry-board-office

Couple steals donated toys from Mass. sex offender registry board office

Posted: Dec 24, 2015 4:31 PM
Updated: Dec 25, 2015 6:26 AM

Reported by John Cuoco

SALEM, Mass. (WHDH) -

A holiday heist in Salem left a number of children without gifts for Christmas. 

According to police, a couple walked into the Sex Offender Registry Board and stole $1,000 worth of toys. 

Now, police are asking the public to help them find the suspects. 

According to Salem Police, last week a man and a woman walked into the officer on Congress Street, claiming to be there to pick up toys. 

They were not asked for their ID’s or asked to sign in. They were buzzed in and shown where all of the toys were. 

The two then gathered up the would-be gifts collected from a toy drive, and walked out the front door. 

The case was reported to Salem police on Monday. 

According to the building’s security company, there is no surveillance video near the office. 

In true holiday spirit, the employees there rallied and re-donated what was stolen and ended up giving far above and beyond that which had originally been donated. 

Chairman Kevin Hayden sent a statement in response, saying, “We believed that it was vitally important to make a meaningful impact to those in need in our community, despite the challenge and obstacles brought by the thoughtlessness of others.”

According to police, they have no suspects in the case. 

(Copyright (c) 2015 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Chris "The Pool Boy" Vogt from Mesa AZ threatens to commit a crime against registered citizens on live TV

The Arizona public registry states the following:

"THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS SITE IS INTENDED FOR COMMUNITY SAFETY PURPOSES ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE USED TO THREATEN, INTIMIDATE, OR HARASS. MISUSE OF THIS INFORMATION MAY RESULT IN CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. "

Chris Vogt just made a threat on live TV. He should be scrubbing jail showers instead of pools.

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/neighbors-plan-to-protest-sex-offender-house-in-mesa

Neighbors plan to protest sex offender house in Mesa
Kim Tobin
10:57 PM, Dec 10, 2015

MESA, AZ - People in one Mesa neighborhood are up in arms, ready to protest, after a halfway house for sex offenders opened up next door. The couple who owns the home says they are doing God's work, and they want to give the men a second chance. 

The home opened for business on November 21, off the Loop 202 and Power Road. It is located in the Desert Uplands neighborhood at 80th and Willetta streets.

Three sex offenders currently reside in the home. And the owners, Deborah and Steve Schmidt said they want more.

"We love them, we love them like family," said Deborah. "God doesn't draw the line there. He forgives all sins."

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office told ABC15 they did a check on the home to make sure the sex offenders are registered to live there, but that's the only involvement they've had in the whole process. 

The battle began when the Schmidt's sent out an invitation, inviting the neighborhood for a meet-and-greet to get to know the residents.

The whole situation has neighbors scared for their children and angry the home could even open up. 

"My daughter can't ride to her friend's house anymore because I don't know what’s going to happen here," said neighbor Chris Vogt. 

"I have two grandkids, a four year old and a one a half year old," said Joe Alsworth. "And I'm not going to have them over here anymore."

The Schmidt's claim they have experienced harassment, but they still plan to move forward.

"People are threatening to kill us, burn our house down, torture us and mutilate us," said Deborah. "It's amazing what good people will do."

Of the three men, Travis Deen Owens was convicted of sex abuse. And Michael Maurer is a convicted child molester. 

The men have served their time, but for neighbors like Vogt, she says having them next door is making her relive her nightmare. 

"We wish they would come over and get to know us and not just make a blanket judgment that everyone who has committed a sex crime is a horrible monster," said Deborah. 

The invite for the Saturday party will have some unwanted guests, as neighbors say they plan to protest in front of the home. 

"We are going to make them as uncomfortable as possible," said Vogt.

Maricopa County officials said the home is required to have a special use permit. As of Thursday night, they could not confirm if the Schmidt's have one. 

The neighbors have started a complaint with the zoning department. And zoning official said they will inspect the area and see if the home is in violation of zoning laws.

They expect to inspect in the neighborhood within the next 30 days. 

Copyright 2015 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Scott Parker of the U.S. Marshals Services, E Dist of NC, wants to be a "voice for the victims"

There is something uniquely disturbing about a cop who is using his job as a political platform, especially while conducting harassment campaigns against Registered Citizens. This pig is already conducting an illegal operation, as US Marshals don't have the authority to do compliance checks. But claiming to be a "voice for the victims?" Re minds me of that idiot Petra Luna.

http://wncn.com/2015/12/04/multiple-agencies-hold-operation-to-round-up-sex-offenders-criminals-in-johnston-co/

Multiple agencies hold operation to round up sex offenders, criminals in Johnston Co.
By Steve Sbraccia, WNCN News
Published: December 4, 2015, 10:30 am  Updated: December 4, 2015, 2:14 pm

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (WNCN) – For the last three days, federal and state agents, along with Johnston County deputies, have been engaged in what they’re calling a multi-pronged effort to make Johnston County a safer place by locating wanted criminals.

On Friday morning, scores of law enforcement personnel assembled on the steps of the Johnston County Courthouse to announce the conclusion of their round-up operations.

WNCN was invited to take part in a ride-along during an operation to see the teams in action as they tried locating sex offenders and other criminals.

The operation was a big one that required U.S. Marshals, probation officers and Johnston County deputies. They scoured the county from the back roads to apartment complexes checking on over 200 sex offenders who live in the county to make sure they are living where they claim to be living.

“We want sex offenders to know we are working 24/7 to make sure they are held accountable. In addition, we want to be the voice for the victims,” said Scott Parker with the U.S. Marshals Services, Eastern District of North Carolina.

The teams weren’t just checking the addresses of sex offenders, they were also searching for scores of people who have outstanding warrants.

“We are out on the streets trying to round up those individuals that have been evading law enforcement,” said Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell.

One of those arrested in the operation – a 42-year-old woman accused of taking indecent liberties with a child under the age of 16. She was taken to jail to appear before a magistrate on the felony charges.

Officials said the round-up makes the sex offender registry more useful than ever.

“This operation strengthens and improves the information freely available in the state’s sex offender registry, public protection app and our online registry,” said Wyatt Pettengill with the North Carolina SBI.

The sweeps resulted in the arrest of 28 people sought on warrants for murder, drugs and robbery, among other charges.

Carson City, CA councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes deserts her post as her "war on sex offenders" ends in defeat

How's that war coming along, Lula-Davis Holmes? What? Over already? Lula-Davis Holmes already went AWOL while her squad threw up the white flag? I think the voters should give our not-so-brave soldier a dishonorable discharge by voting her out of office next time her seat is up for election.

She didn't even have the guts to attend the meeting in Carson City to overturn the park bans.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/government-and-politics/20151202/carson-backs-off-war-against-sex-offenders

Carson backs off ‘war’ against sex offenders
By Sandy Mazza, Daily Breeze
POSTED: 12/02/15, 8:03 PM PST | UPDATED: 5 HRS AGO 4 COMMENTS

A year after Carson officials vowed to “go to war” to maintain stricter local laws than those imposed by the state to keep sex offenders away from places where children gather, they backed off this week to defuse civil rights lawsuits.

The City Council voted 3-0 Tuesday night to revoke its law prohibiting convicted sex offenders from loitering within 300 feet of places where children congregate.

Instead, Carson will join all other California cities by following the state decisions on matters such as where to house and how to regulate paroled sex offenders.

Sex offenders and their advocates have protested in Carson since the city refused to rescind its ordinance in August 2014, after a state court ruled that municipalities must follow the state’s less restrictive Jessica’s Law. Under that law, registered sex offenders cannot live within 2,000 feet of schools and parks.

“We have to go to war,” Councilwoman Lula-Davis Holmes said in September 2014, when the council voted 5-0 to maintain its strict prohibitions. “This is going to be a big fight. We want to keep this at the forefront.”

On Tuesday, Davis-Holmes abstained from voting to rescind that policy and Councilman Elito Santarina was absent from the discussion. The rest of the council voted to annul the laws after City Attorney Sunny Soltani explained that there has been no movement from other cities to back Carson’s stance.

“It’s time for the city to look at what it wants to do with its ordinance,” Soltani told council members. “Other cities put their hands up and rescinded their ordinances but you are still dealing with it. You have two pending lawsuits and we’re trying to make (city law) more consistent with state law.”

Since last year, California Reform Sex Offender Laws sued Carson on behalf of two sex-offender registrants, claiming the city violated their constitutional rights by refusing to let them near its parks and other public places.

At public protests in March and July near Carson City Hall, sex-offender registrants held signs reading: “Carson Law Hurts Families” and “Protect the U.S. Constitution.”

Protestors said they served their time and shouldn’t be further persecuted by having their rights restricted by cities, along with the state and federal rules that already govern their behavior.

“We should not be making law out of emotion or just for politicians to get votes,” said Frank Lindsay, who was convicted in 1979 for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor.

Janice Bellucci, the attorney who sued Carson on behalf of Lindsay and another sex-offender registrant, said she will drop the suits as long as the city agrees to settle for attorneys’ fees and other costs. They tried to settle with Carson in July 2014, but the city instead chose to fight the matter.

“We are pleased that the Carson City Council has decided at long last to comply with state law by significantly modifying its sex offender ordinance,” Bellucci said in an e-mail. “The language in the modified ordinance is also consistent with terms of the (proposed July 2014 settlement), which the City Council has refused to honor.”

----------

TIMELINE

July 2014: Attorney Janice Bellucci, who represents two registered sex offenders, sought a settlement with Carson over its sex offender law. Carson city leaders instead chose to fight Bellucci’s complaint in court.

August 2014: A state court ruled that California’s cities must comply with the state’s Jessica’s Law, which bans registered sex offenders from going 2,000 feet near schools and parks.

September 2014: The Carson City Council voted 5-0 to maintain a law that requires sex offenders to stay at least 2,000 feet away from schools and parks and not loiter within 300 feet of places where children gather.

Tuesday: The Carson City Council voted 3-0 to revoke its policy. Councilwoman Lula Davis-Holmes abstained and Councilman Elito Santarina was absent.