Georgia State Senator Michael Williams could not even spell the word Molester properly on his "deportation bus"

If you are going to make a bold, stupid claim like Georgia State Senator Michael Williams, the least you can do is learn to spell. At least he didn't add "pedifiles," if that counts. Still, using Predator Panic as a talking point in a political campaign nets you a Shiitake Award nomination.

https://politics.myajc.com/blog/politics/trump-loyalist-flails-georgia-governor-race/iv2JzIeLE3SHWCzClPRo7M/

A 'deportation bus’ candidate screeches to last-place finish 
Michael Williams’ pro-Trump campaign slams to a standstill
May 22, 2018

From the get-go, state Sen. Michael Williams built his campaign for governor on two themes: An argument that he’s Donald Trump’s most ardent champion in Georgia, and a streak of audacious proposals meant to show he’s a “fearless conservative” and his opponents are phonies.

With his dismal showing Tuesday, the Cumming Republican showed again the limitations of an arch-conservative message that relies almost entirely on Trump. In last year’s 6th District special election, Republicans who most directly tied their message to Trump flamed out.

In the end, even as he drew national attention for a “deportation bus tour,” he was universally ignored by his GOP rivals – usually a surefire sign he’s not getting any traction. At some debates, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle wouldn’t even respond to Williams’ attacks.

His struggles started with his failure to raise significant cash to build name recognition and lack of any significant accomplishment in the Georgia Legislature. But the contest also exemplified how his rivals were able to neutralize the Trump factor.

Yes, they each conceded, Williams was the first state official to back Trump in late 2015. But they also embraced the president and talked about him on the campaign trail, pledging to support his policies while also largely staying focused on Georgia-centric issues.

Their allegiance had its limits. Only Williams supported Trump’s plan to open Georgia’s coast to offshore drilling. And while other candidates lamented Trump’s tweets or bruising rhetoric when asked what they regret about the president, Williams would say he wholeheartedly approves of all things Trump.

In the closing days of the race, Williams sharpened his attempts to paint his opponents as closeted Never Trumpers.

At an Atlanta Press Club debate, he mocked Secretary of State Brian Kemp for saying he supported Trump but was never asked to “formally” endorse him. And he tried to cast Cagle as an anti-Trump stooge, despite social media posts that showed the lieutenant governor praising the president.

But he found it harder to out-conservative his rivals, who were all intensifying their race to the right.

Late last year, he attracted national attention for raffling off a bump stock device after it was used in a mass shooting in Las Vegas. By March, the entire field was in a vicious battle for the NRA’s endorsement – and a seemingly daily test over the lengths they would go to expand Second Amendment rights.

In the end, even Williams’ “deportation bus tour” was one-upped by his opponents.

Days earlier, Kemp launched an ad featuring his pickup truck - “just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take 'em home myself.” But unlike Williams, who spent little cash on expensive TV advertising, Kemp put about $1 million behind his last spurt of broadcast and cable spots.

So while Williams’ bus tour was beset with demonstrators – and sidelined for a time by engine problems – Kemp rode his truck to a spot in the runoff.

GoFundMe fundraiser made for vigilante scumbag who attacked convicted SO in court by someone calling himself "Team Punch a Pedo"

Hard to decide who deserves the nomination more, Kevin Patrick Smith (the vigilante) or the soulless asshat calling himself "Team Punch a Pedo" (Jacob Elkin) raising money for the vigilante scumbag.

GoFundMe seems to be a hotbed of activity for vigilante scumbags raising money.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/us/oregon-man-punches-confessed-sex-offender/index.html

Oregon community raises money for man who punched pastor convicted of sex offense
Anchor Muted Background
By Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 1:25 PM ET, Mon August 27, 2018

(CNN)Three-and-a-half years' worth of emotions stirred in Kevin Patrick Smith.

The 45-year-old said he was sitting in the Medford, Oregon, federal courthouse on Wednesday for the sentencing hearing for Donald Courtney Biggs, 40, when he rushed Biggs and punched him.

Biggs, a former youth pastor at Mountain Christian Fellowship, had pleaded guilty in February to one count of transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with a minor, according to a news release from the US attorney's office for Oregon.

The release also states he had admitted recording girls and a woman while they were changing clothes at his home and on youth trips. Those charges were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea.
Smith said two of his relatives were victims and his family had been members of the church where Biggs served for 10 years.

The hearing Wednesday proved to be emotionally charged, Smith said, as victims and their family members packed the courtroom. Victims' statements were read for two hours, then it was the defense's turn.

Biggs' attorney Terry Kolkey said he submitted 26 sealed statements to the judge supporting Biggs' character. The statements, Kolkey said, came from law enforcement officers, CEOs and other pastors who knew Biggs for being a "remarkably kind, giving human being."

"They knew all of his crimes and stood with him," Kolkey said. He also added that during the three years Biggs was in jail, he called his kids every day and even wrote letters that Kolkey said amassed to about 2,000 pages. He also showed this to the judge.

Kolkey's presentation did not sit well with Smith.

"At that point, I just kind of snapped," Smith told CNN on Sunday. "I charged across the courtroom. He was sitting behind a desk. I leaped over the desk and got a punch in on his face."

Jacob Elkin, who was in the courtroom and is a relative of a victim, said Smith "was like a bolt of lightning just like Superman." Smith's courtroom actions prompted Elkin to launch a fundraising effort on his behalf.

US marshals broke up the scuffle as the courtroom was evacuated, according to CNN affiliate KTVL-TV. Proceedings continued Thursday and Biggs was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.
Smith said the 3½ years of emotion all spilled out while he was being arrested.

"I was on the ground as I was in handcuffs and I just started bawling on the ground," he said.

Smith was charged with fourth-degree assault, second-degree disorderly conduct and obstruction of judicial administration, according to CNN affiliate KDRV-TV. Biggs was taken to the hospital with a broken nose, said his attorney, Kolkey.

Smith said he was released from the Jackson County Jail the same day because of jail overcrowding. He said he is to be arraigned September 5.

Elkin spoke about the raw emotions in the courtroom that day. He said he and his wife were grateful for Smith's actions, so grateful they created a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Smith's legal fees. As of Sunday night, the page had raised $12,915, most of it coming in individual contributions of $125 or less.

"All the money will be given to the Smith family," Elkin said. "Kevin's an outstanding man. He's always been a loving father."

Elkin said although Biggs, the youth pastor, was convicted and sentenced, he feels justice has only been partially served.

According to the news release from the US Attorney's Office, the Medford County Police Department had been investigating Biggs since 2014, when he was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a young girl who worked at the church with him. Authorities said they discovered he had sent similar texts to other girls. Biggs also confessed to church administrators that he videotaped an adult changing clothes while at his home, officials said.

Police executed a search warrant on Biggs' home and found "multiple electronic devices containing videos of minors and adults undressing and getting into and out of a shower," the release said. Biggs hid a video camera in his home behind a light switch in the bathroom used by girls and women, and authorities also said he hid cameras in bathrooms during church trips to California.

Biggs confessed to recording girls and women in his home, the church and several church events. He also admitted creating activities that required youth group members to change clothes and sometimes shower, the release said.

Jacob Elkin

Elkin's GoFundMe for Smith

News outlets attempted to link Austin Bomber to registry reform

I'm not going to single any one news outlet. This info was published by numerous media outlets in the days following the Austin Bombing in March. You know who else did this shit? Florida State Senator Lauren Book. This is why nearly half a year later, this particular story still pisses me off.

https://www.ajc.com/news/national/austin-bombing-suspect-mark-conditt-proposed-ending-sex-offender-registry-blog-says/MvDjVau2mafQJYgKddPQkK/

Austin bombing suspect Mark A. Conditt proposed ending sex offender registry, blog says

March 21, 2018
By Sean Collins Walsh, Claire Osborn, Tony Plohetski, Jeremy Schwartz and Mary Huber, Austin American-Stateman

PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS —
In 2012, when he was 17 years old, Austin bombing suspect Mark Conditt laid out his political views in a series of blog posts he wrote for an Austin Community College course on the U.S. government.

No motive for the bombings has been disclosed, either by the bomber or by authorities. Four bombings in Austin over 17 days left two people dead and four injured. Another bomb exploded in a FedEx distribution facility, and one unexploded bomb was found at another distribution center, officials said. Authorities identified the 23-year-old Conditt as the bombing suspect who died in a bomb explosion during a confrontation with police early Wednesday, the American-Statesman and KVUE have reported, citing local and federal law enforcement sources.

In the blog, Conditt described himself as a conservative. It’s not clear whether politics played any role in the bombings, but the blog posts provide insight into Conditt’s thinking as he was growing up.

He wrote that he was against gay marriage and abortion and in favor of the death penalty.

He also wrote that he supported doing away with the sex offender registration system.

“So you have a guy who committed a crime. Will putting him on a (sex offender) list make it better? wouldn’t this only make people shun him, keep him from getting a job, and making friends? Just for a crime that he may have committed over 15 years ago as a adolescent? On a side note, one fifth of all rapes are committed by a juvenile,” Conditt wrote.

On abortion, he wrote: “First, if a women does not want a baby, or is incapable of taking care of one, she should not participate in activities that were made for that reason. Second, if we are going to give women free abortions, why not give men free condoms, or the like? Is it not up to the couple to take these preventive measures?”

Arguing against gay marriage, he wrote that homosexuality is “not natural.”

“Just look at the male and female bodies. They are obviously designed to couple. The natural design is apparent. It is not natural to couple male with male and female with female. It would be like trying to fit two screws together and to nuts together and then say, “See, it’s natural for them to go together,” he wrote.

Conditt attended ACC from 2010 to 2012, but never graduated, a school spokesperson told the Texas Tribune.

I guess when Asia Argento said #MeToo, she meant she's also an alleged abuser

If you paid hush money to a kid to try to hide your hypocrisy, raise your fist

Grab your popcorn, the MeToo Movement is imploding on itself LOL

https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/harvey-weinstein-scandal/metoo-activist-asia-argento-reportedly-settled-sex-assault-complaint-n902106

#MeToo activist Asia Argento reportedly had sex with underage star, settled case
The actress played accuser Jimmy Bennett's prostitute mother in a 2004 film. Bennett alleges they had sex when he was 17. Calif.'s age of consent is 18.
by Associated Press / Aug.20.2018 / 5:48 AM ET / Updated 8:37 AM ET

Italian actress Asia Argento — one of the most prominent activists of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment — recently settled a complaint filed against her by a young actor and musician who said she sexually assaulted him when he was 17, the New York Times reported.

Argento, 42, settled the notice of intent to sue filed by Jimmy Bennett, who is now 22, for $380,000 shortly after she said last October that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her, the Times reported.

Argento and Bennett co-starred in a 2004 film called "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things" in which Argento played Bennett's prostitute mother.

Bennett says in the notice that he had sex with Argento in a California hotel in 2013, two months after he turned 17. The age of consent in California is 18.

The notice says the encounter traumatized Bennett and hurt his career, the Times reported.

The newspaper said it received court documents that included a selfie of Argento and Bennett in bed. Three people familiar with the case said the documents were authentic, the Times reported.

Argento became one of the most well-known activists of the #MeToo movement after she told the New Yorker magazine that Weinstein raped her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 when she was 21. Argento told the magazine that she continued to have a relationship with Weinstein because she was afraid of angering him.

Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women, has been indicted on sex crime charges involving three women. Argento is not one of the three.

Representatives for Argento could not be immediately reached by The Associated Press for comment.

Through a representative, Bennett declined to comment to the Times.

Argento recently faced online persecution after her boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, took his own life. Online trolls began harassing her, saying that she caused his death. Numerous sexual assault and harassment survivors penned on op-ed in the Los Angeles Times supporting her.

In addition to the 2004 movie with Argento, Bennett appeared in other films, including "Daddy Day Care," and recently had a role on the TV series "Bosch." He is now working on a music career.

Female feminist professor gets suspended for sexual harassment and the #MeToo Movement is livid

Robby Soave hasn't been following the shiitake Awards blog's #MeToo moron of the Year category. We have a few contenders, trust me.

http://reason.com/blog/2018/08/14/avital-ronnell-nyu-me-too-harassment

Feminists Rally to Defense of Female Professor Accused of Sexual Harassment by Male Student
#MeToo madness: it's wrong to use Title IX, a feminist tool, "to take down a feminist."
Robby Soave
Aug. 14, 2018 2:40 pm

Avital Ronnell, a leading professor of feminist philosophy at New York University, has been forced to take a year off after NYU determined that she had sexually harassed a male student. If there's a stranger #MeToo story out there, I've yet to hear it.

Ronnell identifies as a lesbian; the student she is accused of harassing is gay, and now married to another man. Also extraordinary: many well-known feminists—including the legendary Judith Butler—came to Ronnell's defense, testifying to her "grace and keen wit" and demanding that she "receive a fair hearing." (Butler and co. taking the side of the accused in a sexual misconduct dispute would of course be unthinkable if the accused were male, as is usually the case.)

The New York Times reviewed excerpts of NYU's report on the matter. I have not seen this report, and thus I am reliant on the the Times' version. Unfortunately, I've learned not to entirely trust the Grey Lady on matters relating to Title IX, the federal statute that governs campus sexual misconduct trials. The assertions described in the story certainly sound like sexual harassment, but without knowing more I can't say whether there are mitigating contextual factors. Regardless, Ronnell's defenders are right that she was entitled to a fair hearing.

The accuser, Nimrod Reitman, claimed that Ronnell pressured him into an amorous relationship. She would visit him at his home, climb into bed with him, and force him to kiss and touch her. According to The Times:

In the semesters that followed, Mr. Reitman said he was expected to work with Professor Ronell, often at her apartment, during lengthy work sessions nearly every weekend. Professor Ronell frequently detailed her affection and longing for him, according to emails from her that Mr. Reitman provided to The New York Times.

"I woke up with a slight fever and sore throat," she wrote in an email on June 16, 2012, after the Paris trip. "I will try very hard not to kiss you — until the throat situation receives security clearance. This is not an easy deferral!" In July, she wrote a short email to him: "time for your midday kiss. my image during meditation: we're on the sofa, your head on my lap, stroking you [sic] forehead, playing softly with yr hair, soothing you, headache gone. Yes?"

In a submission to the Title IX office, Professor Ronell said she had no idea Mr. Reitman was so uncomfortable until she read the investigators' report.

NYU's Policy on Consensual Intimate Relationships prohibits "sexual, dating, or romantic relationships" between professors and graduate students who are in the same discipline or academic program, and between a faculty advisor and their advisee. The responsibility for not engaging in such behavior rests solely with the professor, according to the policy. It would seem fairly clear Ronnell is in violation of it.

Of greatest interest to me, though, is this comment from a defender of Ronnell:

Diane Davis, chair of the department of rhetoric at the University of Texas-Austin, who also signed the letter to the university supporting Professor Ronell, said she and her colleagues were particularly disturbed that, as they saw it, Mr. Reitman was using Title IX, a feminist tool, to take down a feminist.

"I am of course very supportive of what Title IX and the #MeToo movement are trying to do, of their efforts to confront and to prevent abuses, for which they also seek some sort of justice," Professor Davis wrote in an email. "But it's for that very reason that it's so disappointing when this incredible energy for justice is twisted and turned against itself, which is what many of us believe is happening in this case."

In this woman's deeply unprincipled view, it's wrong to use Title IX against a member of the feminist left. And we were supposed to believe that Gloria Steinem's "one free grope" rule had been consigned to the dustbin of history! How can it be said that Title IX is really about ending gender-based discrimination, if it's wrong to use Title IX to protect men from sexual harassment?

California officials attempted to suppress a research report showing recidivism rates for released civilly committed SOs are far lower than expected

It is shocking but not surprising.

https://thecrimereport.org/2018/08/03/did-california-authorities-suppress-research-on-sexually-violent-predators/#

Did California Authorities Suppress Research on Sexually Violent Predators?
By TCR Staff | August 3, 2018

State laws that allow sexually violent predators to be locked up even after they have served their sentences are based on questionable assumptions that they continue to pose a danger to society, according to a study published in the American Criminal Law Review.  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3202538

The study focused on California where, according to the authors, research indicating that sexually violent predators (SVPs) are less likely to re-commit crimes than other offenders was suppressed because it challenged the constitutional legitimacy of the state’s SVP laws.

The research in the mid-2000s by Dr. Jesus Padilla, a clinical psychologist at Atascadero State Hospital, a California maximum-security institution that houses mentally ill offenders, found that just 6.5 percent of untreated sexually violent predators were arrested for a new sex crime within 4.8 years of release from a locked mental facility.

But the research was halted and its findings hidden in what, in effect, was an attempt to “bury” information that might challenge the constitutional basis for the $147.4 million program operated by the California Department of Mental Health that supervised the involuntary commitment of SVPs, the study claimed.

The authors, Tamara Rice Lave of the University of Miami School of Law; and Franklin Zimring, of the University of California, Berkeley, wrote they learned about the concealed study from a former public defender who is now a Superior Court judge in San Diego, and then contacted Dr. Padilla.

“Dr. Padilla was very responsive and gave us a detailed account of what had happened,” the authors wrote. “We then submitted a FOIA request to the newly created Department of State Hospitals (DSH). But we were told that they were ‘unable to verify any study on recidivism conducted by Jesus Padilla, PhD.’

“We shared DSH’s response with Dr. Padilla, and he sent us a packet of documents pertaining to the study including internal memoranda, emails, and the signatory page granting approval for the study.”

An examination of the study, which was originally commissioned to assess the value of clinically treating SVPs, revealed the lower recidivism rates—a result that surprised researchers at the time, but also paralleled the findings of a 2003 study by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) that showed 2.5 percent of rapists were rearrested for rape within three years of release from prison, and just 3.3 percent of child molesters were arrested for another sex crime against a child during that same period.

In contrast, during that same three-year period, the BJS researchers found that 13.4 percent of robbers were rearrested for robbery, 23.4 percent of burglars were rearrested for burglary, and 41.2 percent of drug offenders were rearrested for a drug crime.

The recidivism statistics call into question the entire basis for the involuntary civil commitment of sexual offenders, wrote the authors.

Currently, 20 states and the federal government have similar SVP laws, and as of 2016, there were 5,355 persons committed as SVPs across the country, with an additional 1,001 detained pending commitment, the study said.

Because the Constitution prevents a person from being punished multiple times for the same crime in criminal cases, the courts have enforced civil commitments in the cases of many SVPs, which allow for a post-sentence detention in an effort to prevent further offenses.

“We have no way of knowing the real reason why California halted the Padilla study and then tried to bury it,” wrote the authors. “Although our FOIA request asked why the study was terminated, we never received an answer.

“Perhaps higher-ups at DMH (the California Department of Mental Health) had not initially paid attention to the study because they did not expect the results….DMH may have realized the study had to be stopped because it threatened the legitimacy of the entire SVP program.

“The only constitutional ly acceptable rationale for SVP commitment is that offenders are so dangerous that they must be locked away, and this study showed otherwise. If the SVP law were to be declared unconstitution al, it would threaten the $147.3 million annual budget DMH (and now Department of State Hospitals) receives for the civil commitment program.

“People have done far worse than bury a study for a hundred million dollars.”

The authors noted that the use of SVP laws was given the stamp of approval by a 1997 U.S. Supreme Court Case Kansas v. Hendricks, which accepted claims that SVPs are “extremely dangerous” and that their “likelihood of engaging in repeat acts of predatory sexual violence is high.”

In that case, defendant Leroy Hendricks “admitted that he was an uncured pedophile who could not control his desire to molest children.” But, as the authors argue, Hendricks does not represent the greater SVP population.

“If the Court had asked what the basis was for this conclusion, they would have been sorely disappointed,” the study says. “We searched the legislative minutes for the 1994 Kansas law and found no citations to data on prospective danger.”

The unwillingness to substantiate the claims may be be rooted in fears of inflaming public opinion, argued the authors. A 2010 national opinion poll found that 72 percent of respondents believed that at least half, if not most, of convicted sexual offenders would commit additional sex crimes later on, according to the study.

A separate study from the Washington State Institute (WSI) reported that recidivism rates were as high as 25 percent in Washington. But the authors note a variance in age demographics between WSI and Padilla’s studies, with WSI’s largely consisting of a younger demographic.

Data from the Department of Justice released in 2016 shows that recidivism rates among sex offenders for other non-sexual crimes was around 60 percent. Only 5.6 percent were re-arrested for rape or sexual assault.

“If SVPs are no different than the dangerous but typical recidivist convicted in an ordinary criminal case, then the state has no constitutionally permissible reason to continue locking them away,” the study says.

California’s use of indeterminate civil commitment means that it is unlikely that the state’s SVPs, most of whom are over 50, will ever be released, the study said—based on the presumption that the risk posed by an offender at 40 remains the same when he is 50, 60 “or even 90.”

The rediscovery of the Padilla study should spur California and other states to make it a requirement that SVPs are regularly examined to prove they are likely to recidivate—a system that California used before the onset of SVP laws, the authors wrote.

“The politics of crime and fear of sex offenders mean that someone like Mr. Hendricks, who is now 83 and confined to a wheelchair, will never prevail,” they added.

“The ironic result of allowing state governments to make up their own theories of prospective sexual danger and never to test their hunches goes beyond the wasteful and unjust incarceration of elderly men with histories of sex offenses.

“Detailed and careful empirical study could provide much better evidence of the age and other characteristic s of persons who have significant offending risks.”

The authors called on the Bureau of Justice Statistics to resurrect and continue the Padilla study.
“Until such research is conducted, we will never know whether the true legacy of Kansas v. Hendricks includes not just unjust confinement but also an allocation of limited resources with no focus on populations of maximum danger.

“Justice and community safety demand the truth.”

A complete copy of the study can be downloaded here. https://thecrimereport.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Sexual-predators-report.pdf   (it should be noted that this information within the study which I am attaching below relies heavily on rearrest rates not reconviction rates when you go back and evaluate studies that put reconviction and rearrest rates you will find that 1/3 to 1/2 of the people of rearrested are not reconvicted. so rearrest rates are not an accurate guideline for the truth in re-offense rates. another point seems to be that the study only looked at people released from mental institutions even though the studies that they cited within the study were for people released from prison. one thing that jumped out at me was the 6.5% rearrest rate for people released from mental institutions without any treatment. these would have to be considered the worst of the worst if they avoided conviction by being placed in mental and institutions.) (note I have not read the entire study I've only skimmed the surface it's like 80 pages long but I can see from just skimming that even this study is what I would call a limited study)

Idiotic PA Vigilante more than likely used actual CP to try to conduct a predator sting. Possibly coming to a registry near you...

The media doesn't want to publish the mugshot of Justin Perry, aka "Mr 17540." On the upside, since Perry is already used to referring to himself as a number, I'm sure he'll do well in prison.

https://fox43.com/2018/08/03/lancaster-vigilante-helps-with-arrest-faces-child-pornography-charges/

Lancaster vigilante helps with arrest, faces child pornography charges
POSTED 11:10 PM, AUGUST 3, 2018, BY ASHLEY PAUL

"The guy was messaging back and forth for a while, and was like, ‘Hey, I want to come meet you here, here, and here.' And you guys saw in the video what happened next.”

The video seen above captures a moment Justin Perry, or Mr. 17540, as he calls himself, has been working for.

“We have looked at everything he’s been doing in the past, and certainly we aren’t going to look over or neglect any potential criminal activity," said Brett Hambright, the Lancaster County District Attorney's spokesperson.

Police arrested 36 year-old Thomas Wise, who you can see in the video, on several counts, including statutory sexual assault.

This is the first arrest in Mr. 17540’s efforts to catch a child predator.

He lures in potential suspects online by posing as a 15 year-old girl.

He then meets them in a public place, and records the entire interaction on FaceBook live.

“These people are out here. We give our phone to our children, like, 'Hey, mommy and daddy need to go do something.' But we’re putting predators in their hands,” said Perry.

But one other arrest was made too…

“I gift wrapped this guy to you and handed it to you. And you do this to me? It shocked me,” said Perry.

Police called Perry in for questioning about Wise, and that’s when they say they made a disturbing discovery on his phone.

“I go in there, they're like, 'Hey we have some concerns about pictures,' and I’m just like, 'What? What are you talking about?'”

Perry is charged with child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility.

But he says he knows nothing about the photos.

“Any picture I’ve ever sent any decoy, it was always a face shot from here up, and that was that. There was no inappropriate pictures my knowledge on that phone,” said Perry.

He says he will continue to be proud of his role in Wise’s arrest, knowing he did nothing wrong.

“The guys in jail right now. He’s in jail. That was because of me. I did that. And no matter what happens, they’re not going to take that away from me. Because I did that,” said Perry.

Despite the arrest, law enforcement officials say they do not condone Perry’s efforts to catch alleged predators, and urge people to leave that kind of work to professionals.

Perry is free awaiting his preliminary hearing.

Someone should tell the Lafayette Daily Advertiser to stop letting their food critics write advertorials for the victim industry

This is Megan Wyatt. Megan is the "Food and Drink" writer for the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. Well, instead of serving up the latest about food and booze, she's serving up a steaming plate of bovine excrement. In fact, this is her ONLY non-food/booze related article than be found online. She should stick with eating, since that's obviously her real area of expertise.

There are so many mistakes with this article, it would take me all day just to debunk the entire thing. I'll just simply stick with the highlights:

1. It is NOT ILLEGAL for registered persons to use social media. The Louisiana law, however, IS illegal.
2. The report is written in a way to lead the reader to ASS-U-ME the two dozen confirmed accounts (out of 350) and the dozens they merely suspect were registrant are all engaging in soliciting minors. The "investigation" included anyone convicted of electronic voyeurism (a small amount and ANYONE with an offense against a juvenile (since this is Louisiana, you know some of those were also juveniles at the time of the offense)
3. There is no classification called "dangerous child predator." Louisiana has three tiers and only refers to the level. Interestingly, Voyeurism is only a Tier 1 offense, while a Romeo and Juliet case can land a teen as a minimum Tier 2 since LA is an AWA state. 
4. The article uses the SMART Office (or SOMAPI, a SMART Office propaganda report) but even then, she only cherry picks what she wants readers to think. She ignores the work of David Finkelhor, whose research (the top in the internet offender field) contradicts her claim that online offenders are all hiding their identities to commit more offenses. 
5. She focused on studies showing a higher recidivism rate, including the Harris and Hanson multinational study. (You can't look at the laws of other nations and use them to determine American reoffense rates.) 
6. Pretty much all her info came from a single, biased source-- Stacie D. Rumenap, President of Stop Child Predators. You know who is currently on that group's advisory board? Mark Lunsford, a guy very familiar to the Shiitake Awards. You know, the Mark Lunsford known for blatantly using his daughter's death to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars and was so acidic that other victim groups want nothing to do with him. 

The entire article is worthless.

https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2018/08/06/despite-ban-lafayette-louisiana-sex-offenders-active-social-media/819066002/

Despite ban, Lafayette Parish sexual predators still active on social media
Megan Wyatt, Lafayette Daily Advertiser Published 6:00 a.m. CT Aug. 6, 2018 | Updated 10:55 a.m. CT Aug. 6, 2018

About 10 percent of the most dangerous sex offenders in Lafayette Parish are using social networking sites in violation of a Louisiana law meant to protect children online.

The overwhelming majority are middle-aged men, many of whom used technology to commit their crimes — from secretly videoing someone changing clothes to using the internet to convince children to perform sexual activities.

A four-month Daily Advertiser investigation found a serious lack of oversight when it comes to sex offenders on social media.

Virtually nothing is being done to enforce the state law that prohibits these kinds of sex offenders from using social media.

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office is responsible for enforcement, but the law is “not currently being enforced,” according to LPSO spokesman Lt. John Mowell.

The reason is a perceived conflict between the Louisiana law and a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that makes prosecuting violators nearly impossible.

A complication: The advanced technology and enormous time it takes police to find offenders in a constantly evolving digital environment

"Louisiana has some of the toughest laws when it comes to sex crimes online," said Stacie Rumenap, who leads the nonprofit Stop Child Predators. "But if they're not being enforced, what good are they?"

We found two dozen sex offenders are using social media illegally

Louisiana law prohibits some convicted sex offenders from accessing social-networking websites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks.

Social networking giants such as Facebook and Instagram also ban registered sex offenders from interacting with users on their platforms, but they are still found on those websites, including:

A 57-year-old Lafayette man who brands himself on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as a writer who found God while in prison — yet he’s been convicted of nine sexual offenses, including two involving juveniles, since 1987. His latest charge is for a felony obscenity that allegedly occurred in April.
A 65-year-old Carencro man whose Facebook profile says he stands for the flag and kneels at the cross. He was indicted on a child pornography charge, but was convicted in 2013 of indecent behavior with a juvenile through a plea agreement.
A 43-year-old Lafayette man who uses Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to brand his insurance company after being convicted in 2012 of using the internet to persuade a juvenile to engage in sexual conduct.
A 55-year-old Lafayette man whose Facebook profile photo is a selfie with a child. He, too, was convicted in 2012 of persuading a juvenile online to engage in sexual conduct.
At the time of our investigation, there were about 350 convicted sex offenders who lived, worked or volunteered in Lafayette Parish.

About 275, or 80 percent, are classified as dangerous child predators.

They have been convicted of any sexual offense involving a minor or video voyeurism — the videoing or photographing of someone without permission for a sexual purpose or the transferring of such images or recordings.

We found social media accounts for about two dozen of the 70 or so who were convicted after Louisiana's social media ban went into effect.

Keeping sex offenders off social media is as hard as keeping teens offline

Louisiana’s tough social media policy for most convicted sex offenders dances along the line of an acceptable restriction and an infringement of constitutional rights.

Former Rep. Ledricka Thierry, D-Opelousas, said she authored the bill to give law enforcement the ability to arrest sex offenders engaging in inappropriate online activity.

“I think it was the right thing to do,” Thierry said. “Law enforcement can only do things we need to be done when we have the laws necessary to enforce them.”

The law was drafted after a sex offender convinced a 12-year-old girl to meet him but was intercepted by Louisiana State Police at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge. Lawmakers found more than 600 Louisiana sex offenders on social media who were using their real names and photos when the bill was drafted.

The law passed unanimously in 2011, but it was thrown out a few months later by a federal judge for being too broad.

Lawmakers rewrote the law — which banned convicted sex offenders from almost any online activity — in 2012 to narrow the focus to specific internet usage.

“Slowly, other states started doing what we did,” Thierry said. “It brought awareness that there’s an issue going on.”

The problem is that other states were also challenged for violating the constitutional rights of sex offenders — primarily their right to freedom of speech.

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a convicted sex offender who faced prison time for violating a similar law in North Carolina.

Although the court opinion acknowledged that a legislature could pass "valid laws to protect children" from "a most serious crime," it called North Carolina's law "a prohibition unprecedented in the scope of First Amendment speech it burdens."

If a convicted sex offender seeks to reform and pursue a lawful and rewarding life, the court ruled, he or she could benefit from accessing the world of ideas shared on social networking sites.

"On Facebook, for example, users can debate religion and politics with their friends and neighbors or share vacation photos. On LinkedIn, users can look for work, advertise for employees, or review tips on entrepreneurship. And on Twitter, users can petition their elected representatives and otherwise engage with them in a direct manner," the court opinion said.

Lt. Jack Lightfoot, criminal intelligence supervisor for LPSO, said the ruling was unfortunate for Louisiana since North Carolina's law was broader.

"North Carolina was a blanket law," Lightfoot said. "If you were a sex offender, you couldn't touch a computer, basically, whereas Louisiana's law was somewhat specific in that the law is meant to protect children from predators who prey on children, and for that reason, Louisiana narrowed the focus to convicted sex offenders whose crimes involved a juvenile."

The Supreme Court ruling is also why a 54-year-old convicted sex offender in Acadia Parish faced no consequences after he allegedly contacted an 11-year-old girl last year through the social networking site Musical.ly.

The victim’s father reached out to the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office to report the crime.

The offender was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a social networking site, but the case was quashed last August because of the North Carolina case.

Policymakers have yet to address potential problems with Louisiana's social media ban.

"You can't enforce something that's not enforceable," Mowell said. "So to arrest people and put them through the process would be futile. It's not going anywhere."

Even before the North Carolina ruling, Acadiana sex offenders rarely faced consequences for social media use.

Only 12 people in Lafayette Parish were arrested between 2013 and 2017 for unlawful use of a social networking site.

"The way we learn about social media issues is it's reported to us," Lightfoot said. "There are 13,000 sex offenders in the state of Louisiana and potentially 80 or 90 different prohibited sites. I just don't have the technology to research all of that."

It works the same way in Acadia Parish, according to Sheriff K.P. Gibson.

“I wish I had someone who could spend full-time on that," he said. "I’d say half to two-thirds of sex offenders are on social media. It’s just a matter of finding them and getting them off.”

Complaints that come in are investigated, and when found to have merit, law enforcement will report the profile to the social network for removal and follow up with the sex offender.

"We’re not just telling sex offenders we’re not doing anything about this," Lightfoot said. "We are taking enforcement action. And I assure you that to everyone we’ve told, 'You’d better get your butt off of social media,' we’ve said it in such a way that they get the point."

Sex offenders online are motivated by sexual interest in minors

The internet enables sex offenders to groom victims quicker and easier than ever before.

“That process used to be done in person, and it used to take months and even years,” said Elizabeth Jeglic, co-director of the Sex Offender Research Lab at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “Now, that process can be done online from your own home, and that process is accelerated so that it can happen in days or weeks.”

Those who use the internet to commit sexual crimes don’t usually create fake identities.

"'They won’t say, ‘I’m a 12-year-old boy.’ They’ll portray themselves as an adult male,” Jeglic said. “They use the technology to select individuals who are vulnerable and more likely to meet up with them, and they’ll offer them things in exchange for meeting up with them. And they’re able to groom their victims that way.”

People who use the internet to commit sexual offenses are generally motivated by a sexual interest in children and adolescents, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Sex Offender Management Assessment and Planning Initiative.

The initiative identifies these characteristics of internet-facilitated sex offenders:

1 in 8 have an official record for contact sexual offending.
55 percent admitted to a history of contact sexual offending.
Child pornography offenders are likely to be pedophiles.
Solicitation offenders are primarily interested in adolescent girls.
It breaks online sex offenses into three categories:

Child pornography (possession, distribution and production).
Sexual solicitation (online interactions with minors for sexual purposes, including plans to meet offline).
Conspiracy crimes (collaborating with others to solicit minors or produce or distribute child pornography).
It’s tough to pinpoint how many sex offenders will reoffend.

Sexual recidivism rates range from 5 percent after three years to 24 percent after 15 years, according to Department of Justice records, but the rate is likely higher.

Only a small portion of all sex offenses are reported to law enforcement, and only a fraction of those are successfully convicted.

Sex offender treatment programs can reduce sexual recidivism, especially if they’re tailored to the individual offender, but they’re still not promising.

A 2015 study published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology found that about 10.1 percent of convicted sex offenders who underwent psychosocial treatment committed another sexual offense within about 6 years.

That’s just a 3.6 percent difference from the 13.7 percent sexual recidivism rate of untreated sex offenders.

There’s a small percentage of sex offenders who will learn from their crime, move forward and “do the right thing,” according to Rumenap with Stop Child Predators.

“The problem is that most of these offenders — because the type of crime they’re committing is so unusual — can’t help themselves,” she said. “Most will say, ‘Sure,’ to staying off of social media — until they do it.”

'Nothing really works. Nothing.'

Experts who work with sex offenders and their victims have mixed opinions about the value of laws that restrict internet usage.

The goal for research psychologists like Jeglic is to rehabilitate sex offenders back into society, and social media has become an integral part of today’s society.

“Obviously, if there’s a law prohibiting it and they’re doing it, that’s not good because they have to follow the terms of their release,” Jeglic said. “But it’s hard to say if these blanket laws make sense. Video voyeurism and social media don’t necessarily go hand in hand.

“A lot of these things, they may feel better to us, but the data actually shows that they’re not evidence based.”

The goal for victim advocates like Rumenap is to restrict sex offenders so they can’t target more people, even if the restrictions seem harsh.

“When you’re talking about people who have committed these kinds of sex crimes, it’s just a matter of time before it happens again,” Rumenap said. “Or it’s a matter of time before they’re caught again, I should say.

“The reality is that nothing really works. Nothing.”

And the goal for law enforcers like Lightfoot is to use limited resources to keep pressure on the most dangerous sex offenders.

"You get a feel for who you need to worry about," Lightfoot said. "Let’s put what resources we have on the problem ones, and then we’ll just do what we need to do to keep the other ones in line. Our feel is that the more we pressure the ones we’re worried about, we find we’re more successful with our services.

"And if we can keep them from touching a child, you know what, that’s the end goal."

https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/local/2018/08/06/how-we-found-lafayette-parish-sex-offenders-social-media-illegally/826763002/

How we found Lafayette Parish sex offenders illegally using social media
Megan Wyatt, Lafayette Daily Advertiser Published 6:00 a.m. CT Aug. 6, 2018 | Updated 11:06 a.m. CT Aug. 6, 2018

It’s virtually impossible to determine how many convicted sex offenders in Lafayette Parish illegally use social-networking sites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks.

We sifted through a list of about 350 registered sex offenders in Lafayette Parish and narrowed the list to just fewer than 300 — those convicted of video voyeurism or sex offenses involving juveniles. These are the people who by law cannot have a presence on social networking sites.

We searched for the offenders on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter because of those sites' popularity and simple search functions that don’t notify the user.

Our investigation:  Despite ban, sexual predators still active on social media

We searched for offenders by their full names and variations of their names, by known aliases listed on the registry, and by nicknames and email addresses found during background searches.

We conducted searches only while logged into reporter Megan Wyatt's personal social media accounts so search results would be consistent based on her connections, affiliations and location.

We took screenshots of suspected social media accounts and recorded our findings in a spreadsheet.

We rated our confidence of what we found on each sex offender on a scale of 1 to 10.

For every 10 — that’s complete confidence of at least one social media account — there were seven searches that yielded only partial confidence and two searches that yielded no results.

To be scored as a 10, a social media account had to have a name and photo that matched the registry and at least one additional piece of identifying information visible on the user’s public profile. This could anything from a unique tattoo or scar to a post about being released from prison made on the same date as the offender’s release date listed on the registry.

We determined through this system that a few dozen had active accounts at the time of our investigation.

About two dozen of those were convicted of video voyeurism or a sexual offense involving a minor after Louisiana's social media law went into effect.

Although we found possible accounts for dozens more, we weren't able to confirm them for different reasons.

Some privacy settings were too strict to confirm an identity. Some names were so common that a Facebook search yielded thousands of results. Some accounts appear to have been inactive since the person’s conviction date.

And, of course, someone could easily use a fake name and photo to create social media accounts.

To be fair, we chose to not name only the small number of offenders whose identities we could confirm.

NY State Sen. John Flanigan believes allowing registered citizens voting rights "undermines" the integrity of the voting system

Of course this came from the New York Post, the paper so bad that using it to line birdcages should get you arrested for animal cruelty.

As a side note, if our election system had integrity, we would not have two presidents in the 21st century put in office despite losing the popular vote.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-cuomo-civil-confinement-sex-offenders-vote-pardon-20180721-story.html#

EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of locked up sex offenders among those granted conditional pardons by Gov. Cuomo so they can vote

By KENNETH LOVETT
| ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF |
JUL 23, 2018 | 4:05 AM
|

ALBANY — Dozens of convicted sexual predators deemed too dangerous to be returned to the community after their release from prison are among the thousands who received conditional pardons from Gov. Cuomo, giving them the right to vote, the Daily News has learned.

At least 77 sexual predators sent to civil confinement in state psychiatric hospitals after their prison time was up are affected by the widespread pardons, various records show.

While the names of those in civil confinement are often shielded, a comparison of records showed the 77 predators shared one of two addresses — both of which happened to be upstate mental hospitals that house the civilly confined. One of the predators is Hector Aviles, 61, who was known as the “voodoo rapist.” Aviles was convicted of second-degree rape in Westchester County in 2008 after telling three of his victims — the oldest of whom was 16 — that if they participated in a sexual “ritual” with him, he could help them with their problems. If they didn’t, he said, bad things would happen to them and their families.

The rest of the list of 77 is littered with ***** and rapists and other violent sexual abusers. All were granted conditional pardons from Cuomo under a new policy designed to give back the right to vote to those who leave prison.

“This is hands-down the most egregious public policy misstep Andrew Cuomo has made in his eight years as governor, and it shows that he will do virtually anything for a few extra votes,” said Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County).

“This policy rewards the worst of the worst sexual predators and lowlifes in our society and undermines the integrity of our voting system in every way, shape and form,” Flanagan added.

 

The governor announced in May that more than 24,000 parolees in the first round were issued the conditional pardons.

The Daily News reported at the time that one beneficiary was convicted cop killer Herman Bell, who was granted parole earlier this year over the objections of the law enforcement community, some state lawmakers and the slain officer’s family.

Cuomo aides have argued that the wholesale pardons are automatic once someone is paroled or released from prison and they are in good standing.

“The order was straightforward and put New York on par with Washington, D.C., and 18 other states — including such liberal bastions as Utah” that either never take away voting rights from convicts or restore them upon their release from prison, Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said with some sarcasm.

He noted that all other conditions of parole or release are upheld.

“It’s unfortunate that some are using the issue of restoring voting rights to fearmonger,” Azzopardi said.

Monica Lewinsky decides 20 years later to don the victim crown

I think she blew her chance at being the MeToo mouthpiece years ago. And now, the pun wasn't intended.

https://ethicsalarms.com/2018/03/02/now-monica-lewinsky-says-she-was-abused-and-sexually-harassed/

MARCH 2, 2018 · 2:10 PM ↓ Jump to Comments
NOW Monica Lewinsky Says She Was Abused And Sexually Harassed




I called it!

Remember in December when I had this exchange on NPR during a panel about sexual harassment and political figures in the early states of #MeToo?

ME : A hostile work environment means that the recipient of this has to feel hostility. They don’t like it. So, for example, if somebody – I have a hypothetical that I’m sure has happened, where someone is grabbed by Donald Trump back when he’s a celebrity, and she comes home. And she’s kissed, and she tells her roommate, “That was cool! Donald Trump kissed me.” And then when everybody she knows detests Donald Trump, she suddenly says …”I was harassed.”

BUTLER: COME ON!

HOST MICHEL MARTIN: OK. Yeah, I think we’re going to go to a different…All right. All right, Jack, you’ve had your say on that. And I think there are a lot of people who would want to argue with – I’m going to let Paul speak his piece on this. What do you say to that?

But the professor didn’t go beyond his interjected cheap shot, and went on to his own agenda, leaving the impression that my exposition on the strangeness of sexual harassment law was off-the-wall. It wasn’t, though. I was 100% correct, and NPR listeners, thanks to a grandstanding law professor whom I suspect wasn’t up on sexual harassment (he’s a criminal law professor who concentrates on race issues), were left less-informed than when they tuned in.

My point was and is valid: nothing stops an object of sexual attention in questionable propriety and taste from treating it as welcome at the time, then choosing, months, years or decades later, when there are non-ethical motivations to vilify or harm her one-time suitor, to withdraw her consent and “welcome,” and claim, retroactively, that she was harassed and abused.

This is exactly what Monica Lewinsky has done.

From the moment the scandal broke, Lewinsky  insisted that her relationship with President Bill Clinton was fully consensual and welcome despite the disparity in their position and age. This assisted the defense of the President’s unethical conduct “To Lewinsky’s credit, she never portrayed herself as any kind of victim of Clinton’s advances,” Jeffrey Toobin wrote in his 2000 book, “A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President.” Later, in a much-ballyhooed  piece for Vanity Fair in 2014, Lewinsky again asserted that she felt abused by special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, but not by sexy Bill. “Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: It was a consensual relationship.”

Suddenly, however, Monica woke up “woke.”  In a new Vanity Fair essay, she writes, “Now, at 44, I’m beginning . . . to consider the implications of the power differentials that were so vast between a President and a White House intern…in such a circumstance the idea of consent might well be rendered moot.” She now believes the affair was “a gross abuse of power,” and is claiming her “#MeToo badge as a victim.

Had I chosen Bill Clinton as my example rather than Donald Trump—I admit, on NPR I was reluctant to be that provocative—this would have been my hypothetical come true.

Legally, Lewinsky was not sexually harassed, and no, she cannot fairly turn it into sexual harassment now to get another 15 minutes of fame. However Clinton had such power over her as her employer and President—the hypothetical I raised on NPR did not involve the workplace—that it was not a consensual relationship, and Clinton did engage in an abusive relationship based on his misuse of power and position.

Convenient retroactive decisions that what once were welcome sexual advances are welcome no longer after a decade or two has marked the #MeToo witch hunt from the start, with Al Franken being the most obvious victim. It’s no surprise that Monica Lewinsky figured out which way the metaphorical wind was blowing.

Danielle Bregoli, aka the "Cash Me Outside" girl, gives us a truly Bhad video promoting vigilante violence

I know most of you are wondering what this trashy thing is on my website. This idiot is known by a few names, including Danielle Bregoli (presumably her real name), Bhad Bhabie (her trashy stage name), but is mostly known as the "Cash me ousside girl" (based on her lispy trash talk on the Dr Phil show). When not getting continuing to get in trouble with the law for fighting and drugs, she claims to be a rapper.

This video (which also includes other scumbags like TY dollar sign and misandrist Bella Thorne) promotes vigilante violence as they set up an online sting to attack someone.

Sadly, I had to subject myself to three minutes of this filth just to make sure it is real. With vigilante violence against registered persons being real, even celebrity bullshit promoting vigilante violence should be blasted for being allowed to exist.

The scumbag who wrote the article below is worthy of a Shiitake mention for the disgusting article she wrote.

https://hollywoodlife.com/pics/danielle-bregoli-pictures-cash-me-outside-photos/#!8/bhad-bhabie-4

Danielle Bregoli & Bella Thorne Catfish A Child Predator In Shocking New Music Video – Watch

By Courteney Larocca

Bhad Bhabie’s latest music video will give you chills. The 15-year-old rapper dropped a visual for her track ‘Trust Me’ which shows her and Bella Thorne trying to catch a pedophile.

Danielle Bregoli won’t end up on an episode of Catfish. The 15-year-old, who goes by the stage name Bhad Bhabie, dropped a new music video on July 26 for her song, “Trust Me.” It’s definitely not your typical visual, though. The plot starts out with Bregoli being catfished by an older sexual predator, but it’s soon revealed that the rapper knows exactly who the man texting her is.

She then sets up a meeting at a park, where the pedophile finds Bella Thorne disguised as the teenager. Bregoli then jumps out and drugs the creep, and then ties him up in some secret lair where he inevitably gets exactly what was coming for him. Oh yeah, and Ty Dolla $ign also has a verse on the song. So, yeah, it’s quite a wild ride from start to finish, and you’ll just need to check it out yourself.

The video certainly focuses on a dark subject matter, but TMZ learned that Bregoli chose the concept because she saw it as a way to connect with her young fans while informing them about the dangers of online sexual predators. Honestly, as many goosebumps as this vid gave us, we’re kinda digging the whole Criminal Minds vibe that it’s got going on. Seriously you just need to watch it already – trust us.

___________________

If you really want to see the video, I suggest you mute it while playing, the song is an assault on the ears.

House Judiciary Committee falsely credits FOSTA/ SESTA for reducing sex trafficking

This article does such a great job debunking the House Judiciary's bullcrap that I don't even have to do anything but copy-paste and share.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180723/17225540294/house-judiciary-committee-falsely-claims-credit-stopping-90-all-sex-trafficking-because-fosta.shtml

House Judiciary Committee Falsely Claims Credit For Stopping 90% Of All Sex Trafficking Because Of FOSTA

from the where-did-they-pull-that-stat-from dept

Say That Again
by Mike Masnick

Tue, Jul 24th 2018 9:39am

For no clear reason at all, the Republicans* on the House Judiciary Committee released a video on YouTube earlier this week praising themselves for stopping online sex trafficking via FOSTA/SESTA. It's... quite something.

The video makes a number of blatantly false claims from various members of the House Judiciary, but let's focus mainly on the claims of Ann Wagner, whose original bill kicked off the process that became FOSTA/SESTA. She's been spreading moral panic nonsense about sex trafficking and the internet for ages, so it's no surprise that she continues to do so. But, at one point in the video she states:

"We have shut down nearly 90% of the online sex trafficking business and ads."

She kind of swallows that last "and ads" bit so you could miss it, but either way it's utter and complete nonsense. I looked all over for any evidence of the claim that 90% of online sex trafficking has been stopped and there doesn't appear to be an iota of support for that. The only stat I could find that is possibly being twisted to make this argument is that when Backpage was seized earlier this year -- notably before FOSTA/SESTA was signed into law -- a Reuters report claimed that 90% of Backpage's ads were for "adult ads."

But, that in no way translates to Wagner's nutty claim for a whole long list of reasons:

1. Backpage was not the entire online market for sex trafficking ads (amusingly, Wagner admits this earlier in the same video, in which she falsely claims that there were "hundreds and hundreds of websites selling our children with impunity" < -- narrator: "there were not, in fact, hundreds and hundreds of websites doing so, and they were not doing it with impunity."
2. Many of the adult ads on Backpage were not for sex trafficking at all
3. Backpage stopped hosting adult ads a year and a half ago in January of 2017, over a year before SESTA/FOSTA became law and over a year before the site was seized by the feds.
4. And, again, Backpage was seized before SESTA/FOSTA was even signed into law.

So, where, exactly is Wagner getting this stat of having shut down 90% of online sex trafficking and ads because of FOSTA/SESTA?
There's other nonsense in the video as well. Wagner's other whopper was:

"If it's a crime offline, by golly, it's a crime online!"

Uh, yes. But that's always been the case. FOSTA/SESTA didn't change that. All it did was create a series of new crimes for third party tools and services used by not just sex traffickers, but sex workers. Sex trafficking was already illegal and this bill did absolutely nothing to change that. It is simply wrong to imply that FOSTA/SESTA suddenly made something illegal online that had been legal online before but illegal offline. It's not true.

Then there's Mimi Walters' who brought the amendment that combined FOSTA and SESTA, making both bills worse. Her credibility on this whole thing is already suspect, given that after the feds took down Backpage, she took credit for it falsely saying it was because of FOSTA/SESTA even though that bill was not law yet. But, here she is in the video spewing more nonsense:

"This legislation will now make it illegal to sell people online and give those survivors the opportunity to seek justice."

Except it was always illegal to sell people online (and offline!) and nothing in FOSTA/SESTA changed that. All it did was create a new crime in which tools and services used by traffickers could also be found to be criminal in addition to the people who were doing the actual selling of people (while also making it harder for law enforcement to find those people -- but we'll get there). She continues:

"Websites that knowingly facilitate sex trafficking are no longer immune from legal action."

Except they were never immune from legal action. Facilitating sex trafficking is a federal crime and nothing in CDA 230 contained immunity for federal crimes. It really makes you wonder why the primary "authors" of the bill seem to feel so hard pressed to flat out lie about what their own bill does. Why would they do that?

The video also has Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte with more of his nonsense as well.

"The provisions of this law are already making the internet safer."

[Citation needed] Amusingly, right after Goodlatte says that, the video in an effort to support this claim flips to a news report about the shutdown of Backpage... which (and I know I'm repeating myself here) was taken down without the helps of FOSTA/SESTA since it wasn't even signed into law.

Also, the evidence to date leans heavily against the claim that it has made the internet safer. Indeed, already we've seen reports about sex workers being killed and pimps being empowered now that sex workers can't use sites like Backpage to screen clients. And a big study has highlighted how a lack of such services likely leads to a massive uptick in murder of women (not just sex workers, but women in general). And, lest we forget, police departments themselves are now complaining that they can no longer find sex traffickers thanks to the law.

Notice that the video addresses none of those effects (all of which were widely predicted). It just insists that the internet is safer. This is legislative fantasyland.

Of course, there's another oddity here. Why the hell is the House Judiciary Committee Republicans suddenly putting out such a video? The bill has already passed and it's already doing lots of damage. So why is Congress spending taxpayer money on a professionally edited video talking up a bunch of nonsense? Perhaps, as many have suggested, a key part of FOSTA/SESTA was always about grandstanding about how these politicians are "tough on sex trafficking" even if that's not accurate at all. And now that we're heading towards election season, I guess they have to milk that grandstanding bullshit for all its worth. Go spend your constituents hard-earned tax money by lying to them! What a job!

Of course, another reason for all of this may be the recent lawsuit claiming that FOSTA/SESTA is unconstitutional. While we've written about it already, the stories of some of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit tell the real story of how FOSTA/SESTA is harming people. Among those suing are a national alliance of Asian massage stores, who note that, thanks to FOSTA/SESTA their completely legitimate businesses are now being blocked from advertising, because some falsely assume that any Asian massage stores must be engaged in the sex trade.

...many Internet sites and review platforms flatly refuse content from or about Asian massage providers, DiBenedetto indicated. “Since it’s assumed we’re in the sex trade because we have Asian women offering Asian massage, platforms that used to run our ads and carry our reviews all the time now want nothing to do with us.”

The loss of those online outlets is devastating to providers of Asian massage services, said DiBenedetto. “They are unfairly cutting our stores off from the consumers we need to attract in order to stay viable. The business model of the typical Asian massage store requires a continual inflow of new customers. That inflow is heavily disrupted by us being profiled.”

DiBenedetto said Asian massage studio owners and masseuses now, “go to work every morning wondering if today will be the day their livelihoods vanish because all the doors have been slammed in their faces. This is so demoralizing, not to mention dehumanizing.”

So, to summarize, the House Judiciary Committee appears to be spending taxpayer money on a video celebrating a law that doesn't do what they claim it does, taking credit for a site takedown that wasn't because of the law, making up stats that have no basis in reality, ignoring the fact that their law has put many lives in real danger while making it more difficult for law enforcement to do their job, not to mention harming small business owners at the same time.

And people wonder why Congress' approval rating is so low.

* Our standard practice is not to name the party of politicians unless that's central to the story. In this case, the video is literally coming from a YouTube account that is apparently run by the Republicans on the House Judiciary. And this is not a "Republican v. Democrat" thing, because the Democrats on the Committee also supported FOSTA/SESTA. It was bipartisan nonsense, so if you happen to support the blue team or the red team, stupid generalizing comments about one party or the other will just make you look silly and tribal, rather than insightful or intelligent.

Just Google "Elon Musk Getting sued for calling rescuer a pedo guy," You'll Thank Me Later

I think the pic speaks for itself. (Bonus points if you get the rather obscure headline reference.)

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/07/elon-musk-could-face-lawsuit-for-calling-cave-rescuer-a-pedo-guy/

Elon Musk could face lawsuit for calling cave rescuer a “pedo guy”
Musk lobs baseless charge at rescuer who said his submarine idea was "PR stunt."
JON BRODKIN - 7/16/2018, 12:38 PM

A diver who helped rescue boys trapped in a Thailand cave may sue Elon Musk after the tech billionaire called the rescuer a "pedo guy."

Diver Vernon Unsworth was instrumental in the rescue, and he said that Musk's attempt to build a small submarine for the rescue effort was a "PR stunt" that had no chance of working. Musk soon promised to prove Unsworth wrong—and lobbed a baseless charge of pedophilia at the rescuer.

In a series of tweets yesterday, Musk initially challenged Unsworth to "show [the] final rescue video" before writing, "You know what, don't bother showing the video. We will make one of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo. Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it."

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, offered no evidence or justification for his claim that Unsworth is a pedophile. When another person on Twitter pointed out that Musk is "calling the guy who found the children a pedo," Musk responded, "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true." Musk has since deleted the tweets.

Musk's outburst came just a week after he said in a Bloomberg interview that he would try to be less combative on Twitter. "I should probably say nothing more often," Musk said at the time.

Unsworth, 63, is British and lives in Thailand for part of the year. He could sue Musk for libel in a British court. As The Guardian reported:

Unsworth told journalists at the cave site, where a cleanup operation is under way, that the remarks about him were an attack on the entire rescue crew.

"I believe he's called me a pedophile," he said. "I think people realize what sort of guy [Musk] is."

Asked if he would consider taking legal action against Musk, he told reporters: "Yes, it's not finished."

A lawyer who spoke to The Guardian called it "a cast-iron case of libel."

"The caver told AFP he would make a decision when he flies back to the UK this week, but said the episode with Musk 'ain't finished,'" the news agency reported.

"He's just a PR stunt merchant—that's all he is," Unsworth added.

Divers completed the rescue of 12 boys last week while saying that Musk's submarine was "not practical for this mission." Unsworth's knowledge of the cave system's layout reportedly was crucial in the rescue.

Musk made his "pedo guy" comment in a tweet to Zeynep Tufekci, a University of North Carolina professor who recently wrote a New York Times op-ed titled, "What Elon Musk Should Learn From the Thailand Cave Rescue."

Tufekci was surprised by Musk's tweet. "I’m dumbfounded by this," Tufekci wrote on Twitter. "I’d understand getting mad at me... but Vern Unsworth is, by all accounts I saw, a key hero of the miraculous rescue. The kids certainly—and many more divers likely—would be dead if not for him."

What do you do if your state high court declared 2500 foot residency residency laws unconstitutional? Try to pass a 5000 foot restriction

Residency restriction laws were declared invalid back in 2011, albeit per striking of a local ordinance under a pre-preemption clause. That does not mean the legislature can simply reinstate residency laws, but that's not going to stop pandering Republican PA State Rep Tom Mehaffie from trying.

Not only is he trying to reinstate a stricken law, he's trying to double the distance.

(I forgot about this article as it came up around conference time, but NARSOL discussed this today to remind me)

http://www.pressandjournal.com/stories/we-must-strengthen-laws-involving-sexual-predators-tom-mehaffie,34836

We must strengthen laws involving sexual predators: Tom Mehaffie

Posted Wednesday, June 6, 2018 10:57 am

As precious members of our society, our children and grandchildren are the future of our country with the promise of a bright future.

Unfortunately, there are adults within our population who prey upon them with sick intent regardless of the harm they inflict or the lifelong effects.

To assist parents in the responsibility of raising their children, Pennsylvania has maintained a law on its books since 1996 to target those who harm kids. Megan’s Law, named after a young girl who was brutally raped and murdered in New Jersey in 1994, is a state law that requires sexual offenders to register their whereabouts, employers, addresses and offenses on a publicly accessible Internet database.

For more than 20 years, families have relied upon information on this website to protect their children from sexual offenders who may reside in their neighborhood.

While we know that the enactment of Megan’s Law has greatly assisted law enforcement and our communities, it’s imperative, as lawmakers, that we revisit the law frequently to ensure no gaps in protections exist.

In response to two state appellate court cases, legislation was passed by the General Assembly and will be before the governor to ensure certain sexual offenders continue to be required to register their whereabouts.

House Bill 1952 seeks to expand upon Act 10 of 2018, which re-implemented the Adam Walsh Act, commonly known as Megan’s Law. Both House Bill 1952 and Act 10 were needed to close any loopholes that may have allowed sexual offenders who were convicted before 2012 to skip the registration process.

The legislation seeks to put back in place the important safety net to protect Pennsylvania’s children from dangerous sex offenders. This legislation is a crucial step in the safety and security of our communities and our children, but I believe we should take Megan’s Law one step further.

Statistics overwhelmingly show that people who commit sex crimes against children do not respond well to treatment programs and will likely continue to offend. Perpetrators of these crimes must not be permitted to roam freely near children. The risk is too great.

Therefore, I recently drafted legislation in the House of Representatives which would establish a residency restriction for sexual offenders registered under Megan’s Law.

My legislation would prohibit Megan’s Law registrants from residing within 5,000 feet of any public school, private school, parochial school or preschool.

Currently, under Pennsylvania law, there are no residency restrictions for sexual offenders other than the requirement to notify the school district that a sexual predator resides within a one-mile radius.

We have an obligation to ensure our children are protected from those who wish them harm. I am committed to moving this legislation forward. It is my hope that with the signing of House Bill 1952 into law and the passage of basic residency requirements, we can provide a stronger safety net for our children.

State Rep. Tom Mehaffie, R-Lower Swatara Township, represents the 106th House District. Reach him at 717-534-1323 or tmehaffie@pahousegop.com.

WSB-2 I(diot) Team Investigation is a no-Winne sutuation

I don't have to do much to make fun of a backwater reporter most known for reporting out of both sets of cheeks, but this is as close as I can get to having NARSOL guest host the Shiitakes, since they posted a lengthy report on why this article is completely Shiitake-worthy. So you can just CLICK THIS LINK then come back and read this Shiitake-level reporting.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/2-investigates/this-is-absolutely-ridiculous-20-convicted-sex-offenders-removed-from-georgia-registry/784742828

‘This is absolutely ridiculous': 20+ convicted sex offenders removed from Georgia registry
By: Mark Winne

Updated: Jul 10, 2018 - 8:40 AM

ATLANTA - Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan says 21 sex offenders who were on Georgia’s sex offender registry just weeks ago have now been removed from it.

Documents from the GBI indicate at least 15 of the cases involve child molestation or other crimes involving kids.

Keenan says his agency maintains the registry with input from Georgia sheriffs.

He says all 21 had previously received pardons or "restoration of civil and political rights" from the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, and not because they were innocent.

“They’re still guilty,” Keenan said.

Court ruling removes offenders from registry

Keenan says the 21 have been removed because of a ruling in May by the Georgia Supreme Court involving a man who pleaded guilty to aggravated sodomy of his 6-year-old daughter. The court basically found that because he obtained a pardon in 2013, he should no longer be on the sex offender registry. Keenan disagreed.

“These are sex offenders that should be on the sex offender registry so that the public can protect themselves,” Keenan said.

Pardons and Paroles spokesman Steve Hayes says in each of the 21 cases, a past board determined the offender had been rehabilitated and had served all his sentence.

“A pardon doesn’t expunge a criminal record,” Hayes said. “A pardon is an act of forgiveness by the state. It is a statement that gives that offender, in most cases, employment opportunities to go forward in life.”

Parole board toughens application process

Hayes says no registered sex offenders have been pardoned since 2013 and the board has toughened up the application process. Starting in July 2015, Hayes says, they now have one pardon application for registered sex offenders and one for everyone else.

The application process now requires a polygraph, a psychosexual evaluation, a 10-year wait from end of sentence and opportunity for input from the DA and victim, among other things.

“The board recognized that it wanted as much information as possible,” Hayes said.

Hayes says, in total, 132 sex offenders have come off the sex offender registry in the past 11 months or so as a result of actions taken by judges across the state.

Victim says she wasn’t notified

A victim of one of the 21 men says she was never notified by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles.

She was just 3 years old when she was molested by Tommy Hill Jones. She is now in her 30s, living in a shelter and still coping with what happened to her all those years ago.

“I was walking up and down the streets of Rome, Georgia, on drugs and alcohol wondering what man’s house I was going to sleep at next trying to heal that hurt,” she told Channel 2’s Mark Winne.

Six months ago, she moved into Cobb Street Ministries.

“I’m finally, at this point, being able to turn everything loose to God,” she said.

“When did you find out that he had been granted a restoration in 2012 of civil and political rights by the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles?” Winne asked.

“When I spoke to you,” she said.

She says she was horrified when she found out.

“I don’t think a sex offender's name ever needs to come off the list,” she said.

One offender already back in jail

Keenan confirmed the number of offenders would be 22, except the GBI discovered one of the men, Andrew Johnson, was convicted again on child molestation and will stay on the registry.

A local district attorney says he doesn’t believe child molesters can be rehabilitated.

“Based on 35 years of experience and a lot of knowledge about research in that area, I don’t believe that is possible,” Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said.