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Otis      Courthouse Steps Maven since Feb 2006                                                  March 21st, 2006 06:02 PM         A new California law, Assembly Bill 488 (Nicole Parra), sponsored by the Attorney General now provides the public with Internet access to detailed information on registered sex offenders. This expanded access allows the public for the first time to use their personal computers to view information on sex offenders required to register with local law enforcement under California's Megan's Law. Previously, the information was available only by personally visiting police stations and sheriff offices or by calling a 900 toll-number. The new law was given final passage by the Legislature on August 24, 2004 and signed by the Governor on September 24, 2004. For more than 50 years, California has required sex offenders to register with their local law enforcement agencies. However, information on the whereabouts of these sex offenders was not available to the public until the implementation of the Child Molester Identification Line in July 1995. The information available was further expanded by California's Megan's Law in 1996 (Chapter 908, Stats. of 1996). California's Megan's Law provides the public with certain information on the whereabouts of sex offenders so that members of our local communities may protect themselves and their children. Megan's Law is named after seven-year-old Megan Kanka, a New Jersey girl who was raped and killed by a known child molester who had moved across the street from the family without their knowledge. In the wake of the tragedy, the Kankas sought to have local communities warned about sex offenders in the area. All states now have a form of Megan's Law. The law is not intended to punish the offender and specifically prohibits using the information to harass or commit any crime against an offender. Megan’s Law allows the States discretion to establish criteria for disclosure, but compels them to make private and personal information on registered sex offenders available to the public. Community notification: Assists law enforcement in investigations; Establishes legal grounds to hold known offenders; Deters sex offenders from committing new offenses; Offers citizens information they can use to protect children from victimization.

Antalli      Courthouse Steps Maven since Mar 2006                                                  May 6th, 2006 12:02 PM         Groundbreaking Megan's Law among weakest in U.S. in terms of warning public It's called Megan's Law. More than a decade ago, the groundbreaking New Jersey legislation was passed with a key intent: to warn citizens when dangerous but freed sex offenders moved into their neighborhoods. The law was adopted months after 7-year-old Megan Kanka, of Hamilton, was raped and murdered in 1994 by a neighbor who was a twice-convicted child molester. Many public officials and residents believe New Jersey's sex-offender registry law is one of the country's toughest. But an investigation by Gannett New Jersey Newspapers and Gannett News Service has found that New Jersey's law now stands as one of the weakest in the nation in immediately warning residents when an offender moves into their neighborhood. There are as many as 11,000 convicted sex offenders registered in New Jersey. But the state will warn you about only approximately 1,900 of them. Some other states publicly label their sex offenders' threat level the day they leave prison. In New Jersey, it can take prosecutors and judges months to tell you if a notorious rapist has moved next door — if they warn you at all. Towns and cities have gone a step further than state government. Since May, at least 113 New Jersey municipalities have barred sex offenders from living near parks, beaches, schools, day care centers or bus stops. Some call the measures prudent protection; others deem them political paranoia that offers no security. Consider the recent uproar over 40-year-old Lawrence J. Cohen, a former Brooklyn kindergarten teacher. On Jan. 9, Cohen was freed from federal prison after serving nearly nine years for distributing child pornography and attempting to engage in sexual activity with an 11-year-old boy. Cohen, who once told a judge that "I may be a danger to society," moved back to his parents' home in Manalapan. But it was Cohen's neighbors, not police, who alerted the community to his return. The legal system has yet to determine if the public should be officially notified. Still unresolved is the issue of whether Cohen may live at his parents' house near the county library headquarters. Manalapan bars sex offenders from living near libraries, schools and certain other facilities, and township resident Thomas Grande is taking notification upon himself by distributing a photograph of Cohen. "You are releasing a guy who is a known felon," Grande said. "We can't put them on an island. The only way to deal with this is to take pictures. Everyone should have a picture mailed to them."

Milo      Courthouse Steps Maven since Feb 2006                                                  May 7th, 2006 01:24 AM         'Megan's Law Report Card' fails nearly half of U.S. Nearly half the country, including California, is failing to adequately inform the public about registered sex offenders, according to a national survey on Megan's Law. The "Megan's Law Report Card'' was released this week by the New York-based watchdog group Parents for Megan's Law. It compared sex offender registries and community notification programs of all 50 states. Twenty-four states earned an "F'' based on the survey answers each state provided. ‘‘I think where you live shouldn't determine how well you can protect your children from sex offenders,'' said Laura Ahearn, executive director of Parents for Megan's Law. ‘‘This survey demonstrates that we need a more uniform Megan's Law across the nation.'' The state Department of Justice completed the survey in California. Survey questions ranged from the availability of phone access to sex offender databases to whether law enforcement agencies engage in door-to-door notification about high-risk offenders. Florida earned the top grade of A+, and Wisconsin came in second with an A. Oklahoma, Arizona and Alabama earned B's. Thirteen states received a C grade and nine received D's in the survey. California earned some points for having a lifetime registration requirement for offenders, but lost points for not providing telephone access to the sex-offender registry. The state previously had telephone access, but there was a fee to use the service. Methods vary from agency to agency regarding how police notify the community of high-risk sex offenders moving into neighborhoods. Some agencies post fliers in station lobbies while others notify people door-to-door. But because there is no uniform policy requiring officers to notify the public about high-risk sex offenders, the state did not earn points in the survey for that issue. ‘‘There's always room for improvement on Megan's Law,'' said San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Kathy Oros, who tracks Rancho Cucamonga's sex offenders and investigates sex crimes. ‘‘I think it's come a long way, but there's privacy laws out there that need to be updated.'' That's an issue Oros faces when residents call her with questions about registrants they see on the Megan's Law database. Oros can't tell people what kind of car a sex offender drives or certain details about the crime the offender committed. She is bound by privacy laws. Some registrants simply have their ZIP codes listed, while others have no information available on their crimes or whereabouts. Some may fill out a form to be excluded from the database entirely, said San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Roberto Lomeli, of the Crimes Against Children Unit. ‘‘In my opinion, the public has the right to know as much information as we can get them,'' Lomeli said. But deputies do try to keep the database updated by visiting offenders monthly, and that helps the public stay informed. On Tuesday, Rancho Cucamonga deputies arrested two men on suspicion of failing to register as sex offenders. Deputies arrested Jason Willits at the Rancho Cucamonga station when he came to update his address. He had failed to register with law enforcement every 60 days, a requirement for what officers call ‘‘transient registrants'' or registrants who move frequently, Oros said. The second man, Randall Lee Wilson, 53, was arrested after deputies discovered he was using his business address as his residential address, deputies said. Both were booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. The county also formed the Sex Offender Containment and Enforcement Team, which meets quarterly to improve communication between law enforcement and other agencies. Because many sex offenders are constantly moving from place to place, keeping communication open between agencies will help officers better protect the public. Parents for Megan's Law have been lobbying for a more uniform Megan's Law, and some legislation has been proposed, Ahearn said. Lomeli said Jessica's Law, which would impose stringent penalties to sex offenders and create ‘‘predator-free'' zones, would also increase safety. Megan's Law Report Card A survey released this week by Parents for Megan's Law compared sex offender registries and community notification programs in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The group issued the following letter grades: A+ - Florida A - Wisconsin B - Arizona, Alabama, Oklahoma C - Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas and Washington. D - Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. F - Alaska, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/

100      Courthouse Steps Maven since Oct 2006                                                  July 7th, 2008 09:33 PM         Appeal: Sex Offender Law Makes Homelessness a Crime Associated Press July 07, 2008 ATLANTA — A strict new Georgia law is designed to keep sex offenders away from children by monitoring how close they live to schools, parks and other spots where kids gather -- and threatens them with strict penalties if they fail to register. But what about the offenders who don't have an address? Georgia's Supreme Court on Monday considered whether the law unfairly subjects homeless offenders to a life sentence if they fail register a home address. The case involves William James Santos, a homeless man and convicted sex offender who was kicked out of a Gainesville homeless shelter in July 2006 and was arrested three months later on charges he failed to register with Georgia's sex offender list. His lawyers say the law creates a guessing game for Santos and other homeless offenders because it bars them from giving a post office box or simply saying they are homeless. They also argue that homeless offenders will become a prime target for the measure's tough criminal penalties, which call for a mandatory life in prison sentence for offenders who fail to register their address for a second time. "These sex offenders, unfortunate enough to have no street address, are subject to life in prison," said Adam Levin, an attorney for Santos. "This gives Mr. Santos and every other sex offender with no address no other right but to fail to comply with the law." Prosecutors warn that allowing offenders to mark themselves as homeless risks defeating the purpose of the measure. It could "invite sex offenders to not enter a lease, not purchase a property, to declare themselves homeless," said assistant district attorney Vanessa Sykes. Sykes also contended the law can be interpreted to give the homeless some leeway to mark down a temporary address, such as a shelter. But that can lead to a cumbersome process. The homeless offenders who move from spot to spot every night would have to notify the local sheriff's department each time, she said. "I guess, practically, sex offenders who are homeless should find places that are near sheriff's offices," offered Justice Carol Hunstein. "Yes, and I'm sure sheriff's officers would appreciate that," Sykes responded. The Santos challenge is among a growing number of cases targeting Georgia's sex offender law, which sponsors declared one of the toughest in the nation when it was adopted in 2006. It bans sex offenders from living, working or loitering within 1,000 feet of just about anywhere children gather. That includes schools, churches, parks, gyms, swimming pools or one of the state's 150,000 school bus stops. Since it was adopted, though, it has been under attack. The Georgia Supreme Court last week heard arguments targeting the section that mandates a life prison sentence for sex offenders who twice fail to register. A federal lawsuit filed last month claims that a provision banning sex offenders from volunteering at churches is illegal. And federal courts are already considering challenges to provisions that would evict offenders who live near churches and school bus stops. Santos' attorneys asked the court to declare the law illegal because it amounts to "cruel and unusual punishment." But they told the justices they hope the court's decision will at least give the homeless a "safety valve" to put down a general location, such as a street or a park. "We're not asking for specific special treatment for the homeless," said Brett Willis, another Santos attorney. "We're just looking for a way to comply." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,377581,00.html

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