On Peter Schorsch and Ron Book's DUI Arrest

Alcoholics don't need enablers excusing their bad behavior. But here is Florida's premier bought-and-sold political writer acting as Ron Book's enabler.

Ron Book has to EARN his rights back. But Ron says some people should NEVER get their rights back. Well, Ron should not earn his right to drive back.

http://floridapolitics.com/archives/289277-on-ron-books-dui-arrest

On Ron Book’s DUI arrest
There but for the grace of God go I.

About the breaking Ron Book story.

We don’t know much.

We do know that one of the state’s premier lobbyists — Florida Politics just reported that his was the top-earning governmental affairs firm during the 4th quarter of 2018 — was involved in an auto accident last night.

We know he refused to take a DUI test.

We know someone else was involved in the accident.

We know he was arrested and charged by Florida Highway Patrol officers.

We know car accidents can make people act as if they are out of their minds.

And we know that he is on medication to treat his cancer.

These things we know for sure.

We also know that those who love to hate will hate. They will spread and relish in misinformation and gossip. Some will even take a measure of glee.

But let’s hope the better angels of our nature — those angels who believe in forgiveness — compassion and understanding get the upper hand.

There but for the grace of God go I.

We all make mistakes. We all have bad days – some of us even have really bad ones. Today, one of the biggest names in The Process is having such a day.

I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but today I offer Ron Book — and anyone else involved — my thoughts and my prayers.

Ron Book's "Influence" also applies to his preferred substance he drives under

In 2002, the NISMART-2 estimated 45 worst case "stereo kidnappings" happened that year, the kind that permeates headlines and ends in death or permanently missing.

In 2017, a total of 1,147 children 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those 1,147 fatalities, 220 (19%) occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes. Out of those 220 deaths, 118 (54%) were occupants of vehicles with drivers who had BACs of .08 or higher, and another 29 children (13%) were pedestrians or pedal-cyclists struck by drivers with BACs of .08 or higher. 71 (32%) were occupants of other vehicles, and 2 (1%) were drivers.

What that means is that your child is statistically more likely to die at the hands of a drunk driver than a kidnapper, much less a registered person (which is barely 5% of sex crime arrests on average).

Imagine Ron Book, the millionaire head of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, driving around the city in an overpriced Lamborghini, drunk as a skunk, gets involved in a wreck in which the car Ron hit flipped. He failed THREE field sobriety tests. He REFUSED to take the breathalyzer.

If Ron Book is trying to claim his meds made him drive erratically, as he told one reporter, then:

1. Has Book had cancer for a decade? Other media reports found a decade worth of Book citations for reckless driving.

2. Are we honestly expectedd to believe the "most powerful lobbyist" who makes millions of dollars can't read a prescription label warning of drowsiness or not to drive while taking the meds?

3. Why would Book refuse a breathalyzer test if you are sober?

4. Why lie to the police about how he caused the accident?

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/miami-lobbyist-ron-book-arrested-for-alleged-dui-11096630

Miami Lobbyist Ron Book Arrested for Alleged DUI
JERRY IANNELLI | FEBRUARY 25, 2019 | 2:22PM

Ron Book, one of the most powerful lobbyists in Florida, was arrested Sunday for DUI, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office online arrest database. Book is one of the most influential behind-the-scenes political figures in the state. In addition to being the lobbyist for powerful private firms such as the prison giant GEO Group, Book is also the official lobbyist for Miami-Dade County.

The Sun Sentinel first reported news of Book's arrest after a car rolled over on I-595 near Nob Hill Road. According to BSO's online records, Book was slapped with two charges: driving under the influence and damaging someone else's property. He also allegedly refused to take a Breathalyzer test. Book's bail was set at $1,500. He bonded out that night.

Notably, Book spends a great deal of time admonishing others — specifically the homeless — for similar conduct. He chairs Miami-Dade County's Homeless Trust, a position he holds despite having no background in social work, addiction therapy, or any other relevant social scientific study.

He routinely fights public programs designed to make life easier for the homeless. For example, Book once argued against the addition of more public bathrooms in Miami-Dade because in his view, making life "easier" for the homeless makes it harder for the county to reform them.

Book also drew criticism in 2017 for encouraging the arrest of homeless people as a way to give them "shelter" during Hurricane Irma. He also became nationally known as the lobbyist who put sex offenders under a bridge after New Times discovered that sex-offender-residency laws he championed forced a group of Miami's homeless sex offenders to live beneath the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

It's unlikely that Book's arrest will affect his numerous Florida lobbying gigs. This is not his first run-in with the law: In 1986, he was charged with insurance fraud after he allegedly overstated by $10,000 the value of a car that had allegedly been stolen. Book pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and received no prison time.

Book then launched a volley of illegal political donations to local and state candidates. New Times columnist Jim DeFede wrote in 1995: "Having been scandalized in the Eighties, barely escaping the decade without a criminal conviction, and knowing that police and prosecutors were just waiting for him to trip up again, Ron Book chose to blatantly violate state law by funneling more than $30,000 in illegal campaign contributions to at least a dozen of his political cronies in state and county government. He did this not in a single campaign season, but year after year, over and over again."

He pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges, paid a $2,000 fine, and agreed to donate $40,000 to charity. Book, a lawyer, narrowly avoided being disbarred.

In the years since, he's become a lobbyist for Boca Raton's GEO Group, a private company that turns a profit from the arrest and incarceration of others.

That bottle beside Ron isn't cancer medicine

Why does the news media keep interviewing Wendy "I Never Met a False Rape Claim" Murphy?

As of this writing (pending the results of the 2018 Shiitake Awards), Wendy Murphy and Lauren Book are tied for most Shiitake Awards for an individual with three awards. You can even argue she's worse since Bimbo Book shares an award with her POS daddy. She's trying hard for a 4th (and maybe even a 5th) with this interview.

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/02/20/i-team-boston-registered-sex-offenders-homeless/

I-Team: More Than A Quarter Of Boston’s Registered Sex Offenders Are Homeless
By Beth GermanoFebruary 20, 2019 at 6:00 pm

BOSTON (CBS) – The purpose of the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry is to keep track of where dangerous sex offenders are, but what if they have no address? That’s the case with Lionel Braithwaite, who was arraigned Tuesday, accused of kidnapping two twelve-year-old sisters in Cambridge before they were able to break free. He’s listed on the Sex Offender Registry as “homeless” in Boston.

“These folks don’t have a place to go. They don’t have a home. They don’t have families in a lot of ways,” said Mayor Marty Walsh. “So unfortunately they end up in the system.”

The I-Team found more than a quarter of the names on the Sex Offender Registry in Boston are listed as homeless. Some say “not mappable”. Some list shelter addresses like the Pine Street Inn, and the Southampton Street Shelter. Out of a total of 674 Boston sex offenders, 176 are homeless.

“This is the type of criminal who wants to do anything but tell us where they are,” said victims’ advocate Wendy Murphy. “Yet we’re giving them the power to game the system.”

She is pushing for a solution. “If you say that you live in a place that isn’t on a map, or any one of these other tricks, then you should have to live on a bracelet, you should have a GPS device attached to your body.”

According to the Sex Offender Registry Board, Boston Police are trying to address the problem. They currently have a federal grant to help cover overtime costs so officers can check up on homeless sex offenders. The Registry Board says it “…works closely with local and state police to provide them with accurate and timely information that helps police officers determine whether a homeless offender is in violation of their requirement to register.”

Homeless sex offenders are required to check in with the state registry to verify their information every 30 days.

The Dark Figure of South FL's US District Judge Paul C Huck(ster)

If you want to know why Miami-Dade County FloriDUH continues to be ground zero for residency restriction depravity, look no further than this US District Judge Paul C Huck crooked piece of shit. And if you're pissed off I'm cursing so much, read his recent decision, Does v Miami Dade Co., Case 1:14-cv-23933-PCH (So Dist FL, 18 Dec 2018), and I guarantee you that you'd be pissed too.

Senior Judge Paul C. Huck
Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse
400 North Miami Avenue
Room 13-2
Miami, Florida 33128

https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Does-v.-Miami-Dade-Sorr-Order-of-Judge.pdf

There is a possible tie between Paul HUCKSTER and the recent Scurich and John report. The Defendant, Miami-Dade County, used Richard McCleary as a witness. McCleary is a colleage in the same department at U. of Cal-Irvine (UCI) as Richard John, the Shiitake nominee who wrote that idiotic report on the "dark figure of recidivism." The work of these hucksters were cited in Judge Huck's decision. Huck cited the debunked Langevin and Prentky studies as well.

The ruling is 45 pages long, so I won't post the whole thing here. Below are the lowlights:

On recidivism, Huckster ruled, "lt is meaningful that while the experts disagreed as to the extent of the risk, they all acknowledged that sexual recidivism is an existential danger. Accordingly, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have not established a reliable rate of recidivism among sex offenders, but the County has a sufficient basis to determine that the risk to children 15 years old and younger is
substantial." (I've already debunked the belief of high recidivism numerous times but this judge was determined not to listen to facts.)

On effectiveness of residency restrictions: Plaintiffs also have not proven that the residency restriction is ineffective. In fact, Plaintiffs' expert Dr. Socia testified that studies show that after the imposition of residency restrictions, reoffense rates went down, although not in a statistically significant way. Moreover,Dr. Mccleary explained that to evaluate a residency restriction at the level of statistical significance, the sample size must be sufficiently large. He said that virtually all of the samples in the policy literature on residency restrictions (including those relied on by Dr. Levenson) are too small to detect their effects. Dr. Mccleary also testified that finding a residency
restriction has no statistically significant effect does not imply that the law is ineffective. Dr. Levenson cited studies to support her opinion that residency restrictions are not effective', however, these studies evaluated different laws from different states, with different outcomes. (Notice the Judge relies solely on McCleary's testimony. There is NO actual study that showed a decrease in recidivism. Instead, the judge looked solely at one state that had a decrease within a study where other states reported an increase and made the claim that residency restrictions are effective.)

Downplaying the difficulty of finding housing: Plaintiffs' expert Dr. Socia opined that after accounting for affordability and availability, there are only 338 housing rental units outside the buffer zones. The Court finds that this number is unreliable and understated. Dr. Socia did not just calculate the number of available housing limits under the Ordinance by excluding those within 2,500 feet of a school. He also added three additional criteria, only including housing that is: 1) rental in nature, 2) affordable, and 3) currently available for rent. (So the judge actually thinks a person living on disability (SSI is $770 at the moment) can afford to rent an apartment at $2500 a month. I've stretched a dollar until it hollers but I find this logic too far of a stretch.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Poissoning" the Pot: The Dark Figure of Grossly Overestimating Sex Crime Recidivism with Nicholas Scurich and Richard S. John

Today we have a grossly biased "research paper by two complete buffoons with Ph. Ds, which in this instance stands for Piled High and Deep.

Just who are these two twits, you ask? The offensive paper, "The Dark Figure of Sexual Recidivism", was written by Nicholas Scurich and Richard S. John

Richard S. John is associate professor of psychology and a research associate at the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on normative and descriptive models of human judgment and decision making and methodological issues in application of decision and probabilistic risk analysis (PRA). He has consulted on a number of large projects involving expert elicitation, including analysis of nuclear power plant risks (NUREG 1150) and analysis of cost and schedule risk for tritium supply alternatives.

Nicholas Scurich, PhD, is "a tenured professor of Psychology and Criminology at the University of California, Irvine. In 2017 he joined TAG ("Threat Assessment Group") as a consultant and lecturer in workplace misconduct mitigation. Dr. Scurich's focus on misconduct risk assessment has included scientific studies of how to assess the risk of misconduct, how to deter dangerous behavior, how to make scientifically informed decisions about risky individuals, and how to communicate risk information. He frequently consults for the Department of Homeland Security on issues related to risk assessment and security. For example, he has worked with the TSA to help develop novel approaches to allocating security resources and screening of airline passengers based on risk."

IF YOU JUST WANT THE SHORT STORY-- Scurich works for a business that pimps threat assessment tests to other big business, and John works for a hokey anti-terrorism program for USC. Both work with the second dumbest and most useless creation of the Bush Administration (the AWA being first), the Department of Homeland Security.

Tweedle Scurich and Tweedle John wrote a crappy research paper, published it on SSRN, then wrote a press release in hopes of getting some cheap publicity.

I suggest you check out the Sentencing Typepad blog to read more, and to a link to the offensive report:

https://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2019/02/the-dark-figure-of-sexual-recidivism.html

"The Dark Figure of Sexual Recidivism"

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Nicholas Scurich and Richard John now available via SSRN.  Here is its abstract:

Empirical studies of sexual offender recidivism have proliferated in recent decades. Virtually all of the studies define recidivism as a new legal charge or conviction for a sexual crime, and these studies tend to find recidivism rates on the order of 5-15% after 5 years and 10-25% after 10+ years.  It is uncontroversial that such a definition of recidivism underestimates the true rate of sexual recidivism because most sexual crime is not reported to legal authorities, the so-called “dark figure of crime.”

To estimate the magnitude of the dark figure of sexual recidivism, this paper uses a probabilistic simulation approach in conjunction with a.) victim self-report survey data about the rate of reporting sexual crime to legal authorities, b.) offender self-report data about the number of victims per offender, and c.) different assumptions about the chances of being convicted of a new sexual offense once it is reported.  Under any configuration of assumptions, the dark figure is substantial, and as a consequence, the disparity between recidivism defined as a new legal charge or conviction for a sex crime and recidivism defined as actually committing a new sexual crime is large.  These findings call into question the utility of recidivism studies that rely exclusively on official crime statistics to define sexual recidivism, and highlight the need for additional, long-term studies that use a variety of different measures to assess whether or not sexual recidivism has occurred.


My email sent to the duo that wrote this sorry excuse of a "research paper", obviously not expecting a response:

You report is a pile of bovine excrement. Your report has numerous fatal flaws:

1. You actually rely on the Prentky and Langevin studies, and you flagrantly ignore the fact both these studies were thoroughly debunked, and even Prentky himself says his study is not indicative of overall sex crime rates. The Langevin study purged non-recidivists from their study. Using two studies that utilized only high-risk previously recidivist offenders to come up with a recidivism rate for ALL SOs is stat manipulation.

2. Multinational studies don't take into account that the legal definitions of sex crimes vary greatly among nations. At the time of the writing of the Harris and Hanson study, the AoC for Canada was 14 but is 16-18 in the USA, so having agreed upon relations with a woman between 15-17 is illegal in the US depending on the state.

3. Whether you intend this or not, your article implies every sex crime must be the result of recidivists. At the least, you failed to mention anywhere in your report otherwise.

4. Ahlmeyer's reports relying on polygraphs is laughable. We all know that any reports relying on such pseudoscience is skewed. We all know polys don't work, and those studied by them were given ample incentives to "cooperate" with the study. That's why the Butner study was debunked, because they got BUSTED for that. It is a well known fact that polygraphs don't detect lies but polygraphers/ witch doctors use them to make assumptions, or worse yet, to scare people into making them say what the polygrapher wants to hear. A person who knows he's not getting out of lockup will certainly put on a show to get a favorable outcome such as a better living arrangement for complying with a program he knows is BS.

5. Abel's study is flawed, and it seems to me you don't understand the difference between paraphilic acts and pedophilic acts. Abel's study considered all manners of what was considered deviant acts, including homosexual acts between consenting parties. And, you are seeming assuming each act means one different victim every time. Even Abel concluded that most offenders who committed the same acts repeatedly had those same acts with the same one or two people. You obviously cherry-picked the highest, scariest sounding stat from that flawed study for a reason.

6. You fail to consider the fact that these studies of underreporting OVERESTIMATE something as being a crime. First, the NCVS allows for the checkmarking of incidents where a person merely "feels" or assumes that a sexual assault is imminent, even if nothing happened but this mere assumption. Actions once considered merely annoyances like looking too long at a woman or whistling at a woman's beauty can be considered sexual harassment in today's MeToo era, and many feminists consider that a form of "rape." Obviously due to no police investigation, there's NO WAY to know if a person reporting an incident is reporting an actual crime or just an annoying or an assumption. The 2004 Hanson and Harris study discussed the difficulty in addressing underreporting long before the explosion of sexual misconduct  claims in the latter half of the 2010s: “The Besserer and Trainor (2000) study showed that sexual assault had the highest percentage of incidents that were not reported to police (78%).  When respondents were asked why they did not report sexual victimization to the police, 59% of the respondents stated that the “incident was not important enough” to report.  Consequently, readers may wonder what counts as a sexual assault. The Besserer and Trainor (2000) victimization study used a very broad definition of sexual assault.  They counted all attempts at forced sexual activity, all unwanted sexual touching, grabbing, kissing, and fondling, as well as threats of sexual assault (Jennifer Tuffs, personal communication, January 15, 2003). Their broad definition undoubtedly included some behaviours that do not conform to the popular image of a sexual offence. All unwanted sexual advances are wrong, possibly criminal, and have the potential to do psychological harm to the victim.  As a society, however, we need to decide whether we wish to count an unwanted touch on the buttocks as an unreported sexual crime.  Coming to an agreement on what constitutes a sexual crime will be a difficult task.”

7. You don't seem to realize there's something called a false report. That's a pretty damned good explanation for the discrepancy between rearrest rates and reconviction rates and one that should be given greater consideration.

You cannot ASS-U-ME that the "majority" of recidivism goes unreported. It is arrogant to make that claim no matter what kind of stat manipulation you used.

You article is the shittiest excuse of research I've seen in a long time, and I'd love to know which victim advocate group funded this tripe.

ADDENDUM: A very thorough critique of this paper can be found at http://sosen.org/blog/2019/02/19/the-dark-figure-of-sex-offense-recidivism-overestimation-an-exercise-in-myth-busting.html

Go on a panty raid in Missouri, land on the registry for 15 years (If this bill passes)

Look at these potential Missouri sex offenders,
hidin their faces in shame

I'm shocked in this age of named laws we haven't named this bill the Dildo's Law or something, but whoever came up with this law is a real dildo.

https://www.senate.mo.gov/19info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=1435526

SB 244 Modifies the registration as a sex offender for certain offenses

Sponsor: Walsh

LR Number: 0844S.01I Committee: Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Last Action: 2/7/2019 - Second Read and Referred S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
Journal Page: S220 Title: Calendar Position: Effective Date: August 28, 2019
Current Bill Summary

SB 244 - This act requires anyone who has been found guilty of, or pled guilty to, certain offenses to register as a tier I sex offender if the property stolen was sexual in nature. These offenses are burglary in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, robbery in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, and stealing.

Section A. Section 589.414, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 589.414, to read as follows:

5. Tier I sexual offenders, in addition to the requirements of subsections 1 to 4 of this section, shall report in person to the chief law enforcement official annually in the month of their birth to verify the information contained in their statement made pursuant to section 589.407. Tier I sexual offenders include:

(1) Any offender who has been adjudicated for the offense of:

(p) Burglary in the first degree under section 569.160, burglary in the second degree under section 569.170, robbery in the first degree under section 570.023, robbery in the second degree under section 570.025, and stealing under section 570.030 if the property stolen was sexual in nature. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "sexual in nature" shall include any article of personal property that elicits a feeling of sexual arousal, sexual excitement, or sexual fulfillment from the person that stole the property;

If you see something, say something, so when you see Cindy McCain, tell her she's Shiitake-Worthy

I wrote a Haiku for today's Shiitake Award nominee, Cindy McNo-brain:

Cindy McCain's brain,
Spots a "trafficking victim"
But she was wrong. Derp!

https://www.azfamily.com/news/cindy-mccain-claims-she-thwarted-human-trafficking-at-sky-harbor/article_c75a62c8-2a61-11e9-8073-f7fc698f277f.html

Cindy McCain claimed she thwarted human trafficking at Sky Harbor, police say she didn't
azfamily.com News Staff

PHOENIX, AZ (3TV/CBS 5)-- Cindy McCain was heard in a radio interview on KTAR Mac & Gaydos claiming she stopped a human trafficking incident at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, but Arizona’s Family has debunked that claim.

“I came in from a trip I’d been on and I spotted—it looked odd—it was a woman of a different ethnicity than the child, this little toddler she had, and something didn’t click with me,” McCain said in the radio interview. “I went over to the police and told them what I saw, and they went over and questioned her, and, by God, she was trafficking that kid.”

McCain went on to say that she discovered the woman was waiting for the man who bought the child to arrive from his flight.

Phoenix police said Wednesday that while officers did respond to the Jan. 30 call, at McCain’s request, they were able to determine “there was no evidence of criminal conduct or child endangerment.”

Arizona’s Family reached out to McCain for a statement Wednesday afternoon, but has not received a response.

McCain has since tweeted about the incident:


Cindy McCain
✔
@cindymccain
 At Phoenix Sky Harbor, I reported an incident that I thought was trafficking. I commend the police officers for their diligence. I apologize if anything else I have said on this matter distracts from “if you see something, say something”

2,739
7:00 PM - Feb 6, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
2,453 people are talking about this

Amy Stillahn of Colorado wants all registered citizens to register for life no matter how petty the offense

Just what the world doesn't need, yet another skinny blonde professional victim who thinks she's a model advocating for more registry laws.

She says she wants it to "be over" and to have her "life" back yet she obsesses over this issue and wants to harm others in the process. That's not how moving on works.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/contact7/hundreds-of-sex-offenders-get-their-names-taken-off-the-sex-offender-registry-every-year-in-colorado

Hundreds of sex offenders get their names taken off the sex offender registry every year in Colorado
Sex offender gets off registry, despite victim's plea
Posted: 3:13 PM, Feb 04, 2019  Updated: 5:20 PM, Feb 04, 2019

By: Jaclyn Allen

A Contact7 investigation found that in the state of Colorado, hundreds of sex offenders are getting off the sex offender registry every year. In one case, a felony sex offender's motion was granted even after his victim pleaded against it.

While Denver7 generally doesn't identify victims of sex crimes, Amy Stillahn wants her story told and wants people to know what she has been through.

"He stole something from me, absolutely," she said, speaking for the first time publicly about the then-21-year-old lacrosse coach at Arapahoe High School, Matthew Buck, who she first met in an AOL chat room in 2000 when she was only 14 years old.

"It was on the playground," she said. "That pea gravel, I remember it sticking to my skin on my bottom, and I was just like, 'I don't want to do this.' It's destroyed and shattered my life."

That year, Buck pleaded guilty to attempted sex assault on a child by a person in a position of trust for the crime.

After the charges became public, Stillahn said she went from popular cheerleader at Arapahoe High School to social outcast — overnight.

"Kids put together the crying girl in the counseling office was the one on the news, and I was being called a slut," she said, the emotions still raw almost two decades later. "I had no friends; it was so hurtful."

In the fallout, she tried to end her life for the first time, and a lifelong battle with anorexia and depression began. She dropped out of the high school and was home schooled, never going to college.

"I think about dying every day," she said. "So often, I just want it to be over."

In stark contrast, Buck's story also takes a dramatic turn after the criminal charge.

After he went to prison in 2005 on a probation violation, the son of an attorney went to law school, passed the Colorado bar and now practices law in Denver, focusing on marijuana and criminal defense, according to his firm's web site.

"It is not common [for felons to practice law in Colorado], but it does occasionally happen," said Jessica Yates, Colorado's attorney regulation counsel, who said attorneys must meet character and fitness standards.

Records obtained by Denver7 from a recent court transcript show prosecutors said Buck downplayed his conviction to the bar, stating he "was involved in a romantic relationship with a high school student."

"I met him twice and he raped me. No. We did not have a romantic relationship," Stillahn said. Stillahn added that at 14, no sexual relationship with an adult in a position of trust could be considered consensual.

John Gleason was the attorney regulation counsel for Colorado in 2011 and said the bar admission system then was dramatically different. His office took over shortly afterwards, he said, implementing a more thorough investigative process.

"To say that Mr. Buck would not be admitted under the current character and fitness evaluation process is pure speculation," Gleason said. "What I would say is that based on my experience, his application would receive a much different evaluation, a much more thorough evaluation...I’m not aware of any other case that is as significant a crime as this."

Buck became an attorney, but he was still a registered sex offender, until he filed a motion to de-register last year.

"This was the last thing I was expecting, and didn't know it was possible," Stillahn said.

Under Colorado law, certain sex offenses must stay on the sex offender registry for life, but Buck pleaded down to attempted child sex assault by a person in a position of trust, which is eligible for de-registration after ten years.

"I just think it was probably a loophole that was inadvertently created by the legislature," said former Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. Morrissey said he believed attempted sex crimes should be included on the list of crimes not allowed to be de-registered. "I think somebody could take this up and should take this up because again, I think it’s a loophole that they did not intend to have. "

Denver7 found hundreds of sex offenders de-register every year in Colorado, and while Morrissey speculated that many are deferred sentences or misdemeanor sex crimes, he said some may be "attempted" crime felony offenders who should be monitored.

"Also, I don’t think people should use the registry as gospel on whether someone is a sex offender or not because an awful lot of of sex offenders get off the registry," he said.

Buck said he did not wish to comment, stating that he had two daughters, and court transcripts show he stated they were the reason he filed to de-register.

Christopher Decker, a criminal defense attorney in Denver, said many sex offenders have been targeted because of registries.

"They have been assaulted. Their houses have been burned down. Their children have been ostracized in schools," said Decker, who has worked with the Colorado Criminal Defense Institute Project offering free legal services around the state for those who qualify to de-register. "I think what's going here is society is beginning to look more carefully at how and why and when we should require someone to register and what are we really getting from this registration."

Decker said the constitutionality of registries is now being challenged in federal court, and many states are looking a modifying them.

"When you have a system that treats everybody the same, bad things happen and some good people get caught up and some bad people don’t get caught up enough," Decker said.

Under Colorado's Victim's Rights Act, a petition to discontinue registration is defined as a critical stage, so victims have a right to be informed of and present for the criminal justice process. Also, to find out if a sex offender has filed a motion, the criminal case number associated with the defendant's conviction is the same case number for the petition to de-register.

So, Stillahn faced Buck for the first time to fight his motion to de-register, speaking out in court and telling her story.

However, Judge Phillip Douglass eventually granted the request , citing Buck's law license as a factor in his decision. Denver7 tried to reach Douglass by phone several times, with no response. He was voted off the bench last year, but he granted the request last month before his term ended.

We checked, and in the 18th Judicial District, where this happened, the majority of de-registration motions were granted last year. In 2018, of the 23 motions to de-register that were filed, 14 were granted, seven were denied and two are still waiting for hearings.

Stillahn wants the law allowing felony sex offenders to de-register changed and wants to warn others about sex offenders no longer on the registry. Really, though, she just wants her life back.

"Everything that has happened all stems back to Matthew Buck," Stillahn said. "What if that had never happened?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Likely not.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What would happen to you?

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

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

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

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

And only the latter was anything unusual.

Thomas Checci from Staton Island Live and his slimy Op-Ed proposes registering low level registrants for life

This yellow journalist uses an anecdotal example to attempt to promote lifetime public registration of low risk registrants. Furthermore, he is promoting lifetime treatment where it is typically unnecessary; he erroneously assumes all registrants have sex addictions.

This is what happens when Staten Island hires the village idiot to write an OpEd.

https://www.silive.com/news/2019/01/sex-offenders-need-more-supervision-follow-up-programs-commentary.html

Sex offenders need more supervision, follow-up programs (commentary)

By Thomas Checchi | checchi@siadvance.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- One of the nearly 400 sex offenders living on Staten Island has done it again, this time for showing a photo of his genitals to his granddaughter.

His prior offense was molesting a 12-year-old girl. He served a state prison term from 2009 until he was paroled in 2011. He went on the New York State Sex Offender Registry as a Level 1 offender.

Even though the mother of this most recent victim made it clear to the Island’s Family Court that her daughter was not to be left alone with her paternal grandparents, and the court acknowledged he was registered sex offender, according to court documents obtained by the Advance. But the young girl was placed there anyway.

Six months later the offender showed her the photo and was arrested again.

While it’s clear the courts and law enforcement agencies that handle cases like this are caught in the complex web of regulations and protocols, a few simple changes would go a long way toward protecting the innocent from predators.

In the case the Advance exposed, following the most recent arrest, a temporary order of protection was issued and the grandfather was released on his own recognizance and is no longer living in the home.

When the grandfather went on the sex offender registry in 2011, he initially was not supposed to have any contact with children under 18 years old unless under the supervision of another adult. But once his supervision ended in 2013, those stipulations ended.

That’s a problem.

That regulation, for the even the lowest level sex offender, must remain in place for good.

Once a sex offender of any level is no longer under any form of supervision, parole or probation, the Sex Offender Registry Act does not say where they can or cannot live. It’s up to specific localities to deal with that through legislation.

Here’s something for Staten Island elected officials to consider: A local law that prohibits a convicted sex offender from living under the same roof as a minor.

MANDATED FOLLOW-UP THERAPY

Like alcoholism or drug addiction, sex offenders act out an anti-social, illegal and destructive behavior that’s part of their mental makeup.

Just as substance abusers enter and remain in recovery by attending therapy and 12-step programs, why can’t sex offenders be mandated to do something similar?

There are groups such as Sex Addicts Anonymous that would be appropriate for people like this grandfather. Why can’t sex offenders be required to attend?

Also, Level 1 offenders are considered “low-risk” of re-offending, and in New York, their names cannot be seen on the public registry. Instead, you have to call a hotline to confirm they are on it.

Level 1 offenders should be on the public registry along with those at Levels 2 and 3. Simple.

Once sex offenders are off supervision, local police agencies step in to monitor offenders to ensure they are in compliance with the law.

But the registry only serves as a source of information to make the public aware of offenders and has no role in actually monitoring them.

Ongoing monitoring and a required treatment program of some kind could prevent someone like this grandfather from committing a sex offense again.

For progress to be made, the courts, the Administration for Children’s Services, the Sex Offender Registry and other agencies involved must coordinate and reshape their efforts.

Arkansas isn't waiting until Halloween to scare the public with an unnecessary Halloween Bill (SB 10)

Arkansas SB 10 is on the fast track to pass and the bill is completely idiotic. The bill prohibits Level 3 and 4 RCs from distributing candy or other items to minors as part of a Halloween-related event. The bill would also prohibit RCs from wearing a costume or mask at a Halloween-related event with minors.

The bill would not prevent offenders from giving a child candy if they're the child's parent or guardian, or from wearing a costume if they're a parent or guardian of all the children present.

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2019/2019R/Pages/BillInformation.aspx?measureno=SB10

State of Arkansas
92nd General Assembly A Bill
Regular Session, 2019 SENATE BILL 10

By: Senator T. Garner
By: Representative Petty

For An Act To Be Entitled
AN ACT PROHIBITING A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER FROM PARTICIPATING IN CERTAIN HALLOWEEN-RELATED ACTIVITIES; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

PROHIBITING A REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER FROM PARTICIPATING IN CERTAIN HALLOWEEN17 RELATED ACTIVITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 5, Chapter 14, Subchapter 1, is amended
to add an additional section to read as follows:

5-14-135. Registered offender prohibited from participating in certain Halloween-related activities.

(a) It is unlawful for a person who is required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1997, § 12-12-901 et seq., and who has been assessed as a Level 3 or Level 4 offender to knowingly:
(1) Distribute candy or any item to a minor as part of a Halloween-related event; or
(2) Wear a mask or other costume as part of a Halloween-related event if a minor is present at the Halloween-related event.
(b) It is not an offense under:
(1) Subsection (a)(1) of this section if the person is a parent
35 or guardian of a minor to whom the candy or item is distributed; or
(2) Subsection (a)(2) of this section if the person is a parent or guardian of all minors present at the Halloween-related event.
(c) A violation of this section is a Class D felony.

Captain Mike Merkel of the Lincoln Co MO Sheriff’s Dept thinks Registered Citizens go around teaching

This sweeps week fluff piece was already under consideration for dumbest article, but Captain Mike Merkel of the Lincoln Co MO Sheriff’s Dept's comment is the icing on this turd cake of a report.

https://fox2now.com/2019/01/21/lincoln-county-trying-to-keep-track-of-growing-number-of-sex-crime-cases/

Lincoln County trying to keep track of growing number of sex crime cases
POSTED 10:26 PM, JANUARY 21, 2019, BY CHRIS REGNIER

TROY, Mo. – It is the number one case for detectives at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department: sex crimes – especially those involving children.

Investigators say it’s a growing problem in Lincoln County and they’re concerned that the problem could get worse.

Captain Mike Merkel, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, says 70 to 75 percent of the department’s criminal investigations are sex crimes. And in 90 percent of those cases, Merkel says the victims are children.

“The majority of our kids that are victimized are victimized by a close family friend or a family member,” he said.

“I think this is a black eye in the dark underbelly of society that nobody wants to talk about, nobody wants to address. If you turn your head, it’s not there but it’s there. It’s absolutely there. It’s present in our community; it’s present in every community across the United States.”

Merkel says there are several reasons for the amount of child sex crime cases in Lincoln County: more reporting of suspected cases, more aggressive investigations, and access to technology for predators.

But there is another issue – the number of sex offenders living in Lincoln County.

Authorities say there are 180 registered sex offenders who call Lincoln County home. That’s one offender per 312 residents.

In fact, we’re told Lincoln County has more sex offenders per capita than at least six other counties in our area.

“It worries me professionally,” said Detective Sean Flynn, who helps to track the sex offenders in Lincoln County.

Flynn says more offenders are coming to the county because of restrictions on how close they can live to things like schools and daycares.

“It’s harder and harder for them because of what the laws are to find places to live in the more densely populated areas like St. Charles County and St. Louis County, so it’s pushing them out farther to more rural areas,” he said.

Flynn and Merkel say that increase could contribute to the sex crime case numbers.

“There is a percentage of them who have re-offended,” Flynn said. “There are some that are currently under investigation.”

“If you put registered sex offenders in an area and there’s already non-registered sex offenders there, well then they can work together and figure out how to victimize more children.” (Editor's Note: You have to watch the video embedded in the article to realize that it was Captain Merkel's voice making this statement, NOT Flynn. That is why he gets the nomination over Flynn)

And here is the troubling bottom line.

“As time goes on, there are more people being convicted of sex offenses, so we’re going to see an increase in the number of sex offenders every year,” Flynn said. “The number is not going to decrease.”

'Know who your kids are hanging out with, know where your kids are going, know the offenders that reside in your area.'

Flynn says investigators conduct surprise checks on Lincoln County sex offenders to make sure they are complying with the law. He and Merkel say sheriff's department detectives are doing all they can to keep residents safe.

Chris Hansen's ego is writing checks his body can't cash...

Hansen's MUGSHOT LOL

...nor can his bank account cover the costs, apparently. Take a seat, Chrissy!

Apparently, Chrissy's gig at Crime Watch Daily wasn't very profitable.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/%E2%80%98to-catch-a-predator%E2%80%99-host-chris-hansen-charged-with-bouncing-checks/ar-BBSkBLm?li=BBnb7Kz

‘To Catch a Predator’ Host Chris Hansen Charged With Bouncing Checks

To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen was arrested and charged on Monday, January 14, after being accused of issuing bad checks, the Stamford Police Department in Connecticut confirms to Us Weekly.

According to police, the 59-year-old asked Promotional Sales Limited owner Peter Psichopaidas for 355 ceramic mugs, 288 T-shirts and 650 vinyl decals to use at marketing events. Psichopaidas said the merchandise was delivered in 2017, but Hansen failed to pay the bill of $12,998.05.

An arrest affidavit obtained by The Advocate claimed that the store received a check for the entire amount, but it bounced. Hansen apologized to Psichopaidas and attempted to make a partial payment. By April 2018, the store owner still had not received the money so he filed a complaint with police.

An investigator reportedly called Hansen, but the TV host never showed up at the police station. The newspaper reported that Hansen later promised Psichopaidas that his wife would drop off a check, but she never came either.

Investigator Sean Coughlin said in the affidavit: “I told Chris that I understood that he may have trouble, but that nearly $13,000 is a lot of money to a ‘mom-and-pop’ business and it is not fair that he accepted the material but hasn’t paid for it.”

Psichopaidas received a personal check from Hansen for $13,200 later that April, but it bounced three days after, according to The Advocate. The business owner then fired off an email to Hansen that read: “Peter … I truly thought I had this covered. I am scrambling to get it done. Please give me till the end of the day. I sold a boat to cover the rest of this and need to pick up the payment this afternoon.”

Hansen never sent another check. He turned himself in to police on Monday and was charged with issuing a bad check. He was released without bond after signing a written promise to appear in court.

The journalist hosted To Catch a Predator on MSNBC from 2004 to 2007. He now hosts Investigation Discovery’s Killer Instinct and the syndicated show Crime Watch Daily.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A second man is cuffed on the ground.

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

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

"They are animals," she said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Surveillance video appears to show officer punching man outside Sweetwater home

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

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

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

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

Instead, officers came across his brother, Christian Castro.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

His girlfriend is now pleading for him to return home.

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

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

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

Elizabeth Smart gets the first nomination for a 2019 Shiitake Award for supporting residency restrictions

I love to start off the annual Shiitake Award nominations each year with a bang, so for the 2019 awards, who better to get the first nomination for the new year than a famous professional victim?

I get it, Smart holds a grudge against this woman, but Smart comes out as a proponent of idiotic residency restrictions, and that makes her Shiitake-worthy.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/elizabeth-smart-wanda-barzee-elementary-school_us_5c2bc8bde4b05c88b70373bd

Elizabeth Smart Unhappy Her Kidnapper Is Living Near An Elementary School
Registered sex offender Wanda Barzee was released from a Utah prison in September.
headshot
By David Lohr

lizabeth Smart is upset the registered sex offender who helped abduct her when she was a teenager is living near a Utah elementary school.

“Whether a person is deemed a current threat or if they have a history of child abuse, neglect, sexual violence, etc., prudent measures should be taken, including housing them as far away as possible from schools, families and community centers,” Smart said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.

According to Utah’s sex offender registry, Wanda Barzee, 73, is living in a Salt Lake City apartment located about one-tenth of a mile from Parkview Elementary School. The school has students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Smart was 14 in June 2002, when she was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home by Barzee and her then-husband, Brian Mitchell. Smart was held captive for nine months, during which time she was threatened and sexually abused. Her ordeal ended in March 2003 when a viewer of “America’s Most Wanted” spotted the trio in Sandy, Utah, and notified police.

Mitchell is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and raping Smart. Barzee was paroled in September after serving less than a decade behind bars. She was released despite refusing to take a psychological exam while incarcerated.

“It is incomprehensible how someone who has not cooperated with her mental health evaluations or risk assessments and someone who did not show up to her own parole hearing can be released into our community,” Smart said at the time.

Barzee, who is required to be under federal supervision for the next five years, does not appear to be violating any laws with her current living arrangements. The conditions of her release do not specify how close she can live to a school, according to The Associated Press.

Utah state law does require registered sex offenders whose victims were 18 or younger not to live within 500 feet of schools. However, Mapquest indicates the shortest route from Barzee’s apartment to the elementary school is roughly 528 feet.

Still, Smart, now 31 and married with three children, would like to see individuals such as Barzee kept farther away from places frequented by children.

“Every possible caution and protection should be taken when it comes to protecting our children,” Smart told the AP.

Rachel DePompa and NBC12 Virginia is seriously doing their readers "hard" with their sweeps week scare story

This sweeps-week article in itself is Shiitake -worthy, but that typo "do them HARD" is the best screw-up I've seen for a while. To make matters worse, the article was updated two days later and the typo is still there!

http://www.nbc12.com/2018/12/12/sex-offenders-find-ways-skirt-facebooks-ban/

Sex offenders find ways to ‘skirt’ Facebook’s ban
Social network launches investigation, responds to findings

By Rachel DePompa | December 12, 2018 at 4:00 PM EST - Updated December 14 at 7:57 AM

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - One-and-a-half billion users are on Facebook every day. And among those profiles are people who are not allowed to be on the platform, according to Facebook.

Those are people like 56-year-old Robert Gale Wojda, of Richmond’s Northside. Wojda has been convicted of child exploitation offenses in Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

“Part of his probation was that he was no supposed to be on social media of any kinds, whatsoever," said Richmond Police detective Mary Gary Ford. And yet there he was using Facebook to engage in sexually explicit conversations with minors. “Thankfully his probation officer just checked and she found a Facebook profile for him with his photo and you could tell he was actively like posts."

According to Ford, court filings and the Virginia Attorney General’s office, Wojda admitted to sending explicit photographs through Facebook. Ford actually spoke with Wojda and got his consent to search his phone. On it she found sexual conversations with a 14-year-old girl in Georgia.

“It was a very traumatic experience for her and she was isolated and alone and kind of containing all this inside herself for along time,” added Ford. She says Wodja is far from the only predator using social media.

“The frightening part is the number of people doing what they’re doing and that’s just what’s being reported,” said Ford.

Facebook has a specific policy that bans convicted sex offenders, but in less than two hours NBC12′s investigation easily tracked down 16 different registered sex offenders in Virginia with what appeared to be active Facebook profiles. NBC12 only searched halfway through the letter "c" in the alphabet on the sex offender registry.

NBC12 found offenders of all races and of varying ages all with profiles active within the last year. Some of their criminal records included labels like “sexually violent offender.”

The investigation found offenders convicted of “rape” in Henrico County. Others convicted of “carnal knowledge of children as young as 13” and even a person accused of “enticing a minor to perform in pornography.”

Facebook immediately launched an investigation and disabled the accounts after NBC12 reported the findings.

A spokesperson said, “Facebook’s Terms of Service explain that we prohibit convicted sex offenders from using Facebook and disable accounts that violate this policy as soon as we’re aware. We respond to reports from our community but also take action and disable these accounts when we identify them ourselves. We disabled the accounts you shared as soon as we confirmed they were in violation of our terms of service.”

“You never know who you’re talking to on the other side of the computer,” said Briana Valentino, a forensic interviewer with Greater Richmond SCAN (Stop Child Abuse Now). “Kids are very accessible to people who mean do them hard.”

She often interviews the children abused by predators. And more often than ever before, she finds the abuse started online.

“What we tend to see for kids who’s experienced trauma online, it’s a lot of internalized behavior. Feelings of guilt, feelings of shame. That they are the one’s that have done something wrong,” said Valentino.

Ford often works with SCAN and is investigating multiple active cases in Central Virginia. She has the unenviable job of talking to child predators like Wojda.

“He indicated that looking at adult pornography just doesn’t do it for him," Ford said.

Wodja ultimately pleaded no contest to electronic solicitation of a minor and is now serving 20 years in a Virginia prison. His capture is a victory for investigators like Detective Ford.

But she knows there are more predators out there. That’s why she needs parents to help and have age-appropriate, non-judgmental conversations with their children and teens.

“They this is something that could happen. If it does, just stop what you’re doing, come to me. Talk to me. we’ll work it out together. You’re not in trouble," said Ford.

Ford says there are steps you can take to be proactive.

First, don’t let children have their phones in their bedrooms at night. And consider this rule: tablets and computers should only be used in open areas of the house.

Also parents should research and know the apps that are out there and what’s currently popular with teens.

To report a sex offender on Facebook click on this link. The site says you’ll need to provide one of the following types of information with your report:

A link to a listing in a national or state sex offender registry.
A link to an online news article.
A link to a court document. 

Cyrano's Theatre Co. in Anchorage AK set to fire RC after Internet trolls stir up controversy

It is a shame to see anyone give a second chance to someone but then buckle to social media backlash. Social media is a mental illness.

https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Cyranos-Theatre-drops-actor-who-is-a-registered-sex-offender-social-media-backlash-502520071.html

Cyrano's Theatre Co. will drop an actor who is a registered sex offender after social media backlash

By Rebecca Palsha | Posted: Tue 3:52 PM, Dec 11, 2018  |  Updated: Tue 4:48 PM, Dec 11, 2018
         
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - A registered sex offender who performs with Cyrano's Theatre Co. will no longer be acting with the company.

Jenson Seifert lists Cyrano's as his employer on the state's sex offender registry.

He is a former teacher at Birchwood Christian School who was charged, and later served time, for sexually abusing a minor.

At the time, police accused him of molesting a 14-year-old boy repeatedly, including while he was a chaperoning a youth outing.

Cyrano's says Seifert has been a performer with the company for about a year and that it was encouraged to work with him after he successfully performed at other places in Anchorage.

"He was doing all that was asked of him, which does not negate or condone his crime in any way, and we were very clear in our communications with him, and he also with us, but he has made all of the steps to work toward rehabilitation and second chances," Teresa Pond, the Producing Artistic Director at Cyrano's said. "And we felt that warranted an opportunity, again based on the fact that he had already had success working in theaters and being successful, with a second chance."

But on the theatre's Facebook page a debate ignited about how transparent Cyrano's was and if Seifert should be able to perform with the company.

Alaska Theater of Youth, which had a pop-up camp last week at Cyrano's, says it was unaware of his involvement. ATY says it was assured that Seifert had no contact with any of the children at the camp.

"That was my main concern. The children's safety, was my first priority," Hanna Bankston with ATY said.

Tuesday afternoon, Cyrano's updated its Facebook page and said registered sex offenders will be prevented from working at Cyrano's in any capacity.

"We know the community would prefer that we don't have someone who is on the sexual offender registry in our shows, and that is absolutely fine," Pond said. "We support all of those people those who have been victims, anybody who has found this to be difficult and upsetting, and that's far more important to us."

Seifert is in a production with Cryano's that will run two more weeks. Pond said he will continue in those plays but they will be his final performances.

If you want to post your disapproval of the Theater's decision, the link is here:

https://www.facebook.com/cyranosAK/posts/10156969629078658

Thank you to the many community members who have reached out to engage with us in direct dialogue over the past few days. The voices we have heard from our community of artists makes it clear that a change going forward is warranted.

We remain committed to our mission, which includes ensuring that we provide a safe and trusting place for our community to create and experience art. We neglected to communicate clearly to some members of our Cyrano’s community and their families, that an individual, previously convicted of a sex offense, was serving as an actor in a Cyrano’s production. Of the voices we heard during this process, some had concerns for the safety of their families, and the ability of Cyrano’s to maintain that safe and trusting environment. We are deeply sorry.

After a thorough review, we have identified a need for change. For future productions, the Board has implemented a policy which will prevent anyone listed on Alaska’s sex offender registry from working at Cyrano’s in any capacity. This is not the end of our work on this matter, and we will continue to engage in dialogue on the best ways to forward our mission and serve the community we all love.

Cyrano’s Theatre Company

Floridiot Edward Bowman wants legislation to ban registrants from hospitals

What is it with Floridiots talking long walks to pass bad legislation. You want to take a long walk? Take it on a short pier.

https://floridaactioncommittee.org/man-pushes-for-laws-to-keep-sexual-predators-out-of-hospitals/

Man pushes for laws to keep sexual predators out of hospitals
Dec 7, 2018 | 31 comments

75-year-old Edward Bowman is pushing legislators to create a law, “Clara’s Law”, to be named after his late wife Clara Mae, that would ban sexual predators (not sure whether the term “predator” is used to distinguish the different classification or if it’s used by him synonymously with “offender”) from nursing homes, hospitals and medical facilities all over the country.

In 2006, Edward’s late wife was sexually assaulted by a male nurse and he has been on a crusade since to get a law passed in her memory. This year, he is going to walk 237 miles from Mount Dora to Tallahassee, to meet with Florida lawmakers.

While Mr. Bowman has a sad and compelling story, he’s missing the mark on some facts.

Firstly, the nurse who assaulted his wife was not on the registry. Therefore, “Clara’s Law”, had a version been in effect back then, would have done nothing to protect Clara.

Secondly, the overwhelming majority of sexual assaults are committed by first time offenders. If another patient is assaulted by a healthcare worker, there’s a 97% base chance that it would be by someone not on the registry, further reduced by the fact that it’s unlikely that a hospital worker with such a criminal history would be working in a capacity where they could assault a patient, making the odds negligible.

Third, the unintended negative consequences of a law that would ban registrants from hospitals, would be that they would be prevented from visiting with loved ones, including their own children (see: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/wi-registrant-father-wins-right-to-visit-sick-son-in-hospital/, https://floridaactioncommittee.org/registrant-denied-access-to-hospital-for-sons-surgery/, https://floridaactioncommittee.org/sex-offenders-banned-from-florida-hospital/).

Bowman has been pushing for a “Clara’s Law”, in one form or another, for over a decade. Prior versions would have required healthcare facilities to report incidents of sexual misconduct (not convictions, but reports) to the state Health Department and potentially a national clearinghouse, but those measures failed.

We can understand Mr. Bowman’s desire to memorialize his wife, but banning an entire class of former offenders from hospitals – the effect of which could be to prevent children facing scary medical procedures from the comfort of their parent – is not going to do Clara any justice.

Al­le­gheny Co PA Com­mon Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel gets booted from resentencing hearing of SO

An appeals courts rules against your court ruling and remands the case for resentencing. What do you do? If you're Donna Jo McDaniel, you respond by making the same ruling in defiance. This worthless excuse of a judge needs to be removed from the bench.

https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2018/11/28/allegheny-county-judge-donna-jo-mcdaniel-sex-offender-superior-court-remand/stories/201811280162

Superior Court removes Allegheny County judge from sex offender's resentencing 

PAULA REED WARD
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
pward@post-gazette.com
 NOV 28, 2018

The state Su­pe­rior Court, in a rare move Wed­nes­day, or­dered Al­le­gheny County Com­mon Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel to be re­moved from a case, find­ing that there was “sub­stan­tial ev­i­dence” that she “demon­strated bias and per­sonal an­i­mus” against both the de­fen­dant and the pub­lic de­fender’s of­fice rep­re­sent­ing him.

The three-judge panel of the ap­pel­late court wrote a blis­ter­ing 13-page opin­ion that also or­dered that An­thony McCau­ley be sen­tenced again by a new judge. It is one of a se­ries of opin­ions by the Su­pe­rior Court dat­ing to Jan­u­ary 2017 in which Judge McDaniel has been ques­tioned for her sen­tenc­ing of sex of­fend­ers.

“The trial court’s an­i­mus and hos­til­ity to ap­pel­lant’s coun­sel and the [Al­le­gheny County] Pub­lic De­fender’s of­fice ap­pears to be deep, un­wav­er­ing and dem­on­strates an un­jus­ti­fied bias against the Pub­lic De­fender’s of­fice,” wrote Su­pe­rior Court Judge Alice Beck Dubow.

The Su­pe­rior Court also crit­i­cized Judge McDaniel for us­ing in­ap­pro­pri­ate sar­casm in her writ­ten opin­ion; for de­ny­ing McCau­ley a fair and con­sti­tu­tional sen­tenc­ing hear­ing; and for fail­ing to fol­low pre­vi­ous Su­pe­rior Court or­ders, there­fore wast­ing ju­di­cial re­sources.

Ordered to redo an 'unreasonable' sentence, judge responds by imposing the exact same punishment. In a foot­note, the ap­pel­late court also chas­tised her for in­clud­ing the full name of the child vic­tim in McCau­ley’s case in her opin­ion.

“Not only do we dis­ap­prove of this prac­tice, but it is also con­trary to [Penn­syl­va­nia law], which makes it a crim­i­nal of­fense for an of­fi­cer or em­ployee of the court to re­veal the name of a mi­nor vic­tim of sex­ual abuse in doc­u­ments avail­able to the pub­lic,” Judge Dubow wrote.

Although the pros­pect of re­fer­ring Judge McDaniel to the Ju­di­cial Con­duct Board was raised by the pros­e­cu­tion dur­ing oral ar­gu­ment on McCau­ley’s case in April, the Su­pe­rior Court opin­ion does not men­tion the dis­ci­plin­ary or­ga­ni­za­tion.

Judge McDaniel could not be reached for com­ment.

Amie Downs, the county’s spokes­woman, de­clined com­ment on be­half of the pub­lic de­fender’s of­fice.

The most re­cent case to bring scorn from the Su­pe­rior Court was an ap­peal of a sec­ond sen­tenc­ing pro­ceed­ing for McCau­ley, 45. He was con­victed in 2014 of rape and years-long abuse of a girl.

Ini­tially, Judge McDaniel sen­tenced McCau­ley to 20 to 40 years in prison. On ap­peal, McCau­ley’s de­fense at­tor­ney ques­tioned whether that pen­alty was man­da­tory or dis­cre­tion­ary.

The Su­pe­rior Court sent the case back to Judge McDaniel in Oc­to­ber 2016 and told her to clar­ify that ques­tion.
At re­sen­tenc­ing in Decem­ber 2016, she did not ad­dress that is­sue, the court found, and in­stead changed the pen­alty only slightly — to 20 years less two days to 40 years less four days.

Judge McDaniel did not al­low McCau­ley to speak, did not re­view a new pre-sen­tence re­port for him, and did not pro­vide any of the due pro­cess that is re­quired for a crim­i­nal sen­tenc­ing, the Su­pe­rior Court con­cluded.

That prompted new ap­peals from the pub­lic de­fender’s of­fice, which rep­re­sented McCau­ley, and a re­quest that Judge McDaniel re­cuse her­self.

She re­fused.

In its opin­ion Wed­nes­day, Su­pe­rior Court wrote that it did not like Judge McDaniel’s be­hav­ior in the case.

“In par­tic­u­lar, the trial court’s opin­ion is filled with gra­tu­itous com­ments den­i­grat­ing ap­pel­lant’s coun­sel and the Pub­lic De­fender’s of­fice,” the panel wrote.

The three judges said they be­lieve she made a “veiled threat” ques­tion­ing the at­tor­ney’s and of­fice’s cred­i­bil­ity and im­plied that their con­tin­ued ap­peal of her sen­tence could be “harm­ful to other crim­i­nal de­fen­dants who may ac­tu­ally have mer­i­to­ri­ous claims.”

The panel also crit­i­cized Judge McDaniel for sar­casm it said she used in her opin­ion.

“This sar­casm is dis­re­spect­ful to ap­pel­lant, coun­sel and the se­ri­ous­ness of the sen­tenc­ing pro­cess,” they wrote.

Four times in the opin­ion, the panel said it was ei­ther “trou­bled” by Judge McDaniel’s ac­tions or found them “trou­bling.”

The court cited her fail­ure to fol­low its in­struc­tions on re­mand, in­clud­ing on two sex of­fender cases in which she was or­dered to re­sen­tence the de­fen­dants and gave them the same pen­al­ties she’d pre­vi­ously im­posed.

“This has re­sulted in an ex­ten­sive de­ploy­ment of ju­di­cial re­sources to re­view, an­a­lyze, and rec­tify the court’s de­fi­cient sen­tenc­ing hear­ings,” the panel wrote.

In both of those cases, Judge McDaniel sen­tenced the de­fen­dants to twice what guide­lines rec­om­mended.

At both hear­ings, Judge McDaniel said from the bench that she con­ducted a statis­ti­cal anal­y­sis of her cases from 2012 to 2016, claim­ing that her sen­tences for sex of­fend­ers were com­pa­ra­ble to those of other judges.

In its opin­ion Wed­nes­day, the Su­pe­rior Court noted that Judge McDaniel did not in­clude any of her anal­y­ses in the cer­ti­fied record, mak­ing it im­pos­sible for the panel to con­sider her con­clu­sions.

Still, it con­tin­ued, “a statis­ti­cal anal­y­sis would not com­pel a dif­fer­ent re­sult.”

Pres­i­dent Judge Jef­frey A. Man­ning said late Wed­nes­day that he had not seen the opin­ion and could not com­ment on it.

“Judge McDaniel is an ex­tremely bright and ded­i­cated judge who has for many years pro­tected the rights of the ac­cused and at the same time guarded the rights of the vic­tims and wit­nesses in very se­ri­ous, of­ten vi­cious, sex of­fender cases which can spark sig­nifi­cant dis­agree­ment be­tween coun­sel and the court,” Judge Man­ning said.

“I will re­view the opin­ion and abide by the law­ful or­ders of the ap­pel­late court.”