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 We Need Stronger Tools for Tracking Sex Offenders
Court dumps Florida's Sexual Predator Act
1,200 Arrested in British paedophile raids
High Court strikes down pornography law
Supreme Court says Internet porn law not too broad
Man accused of '60s child abuse
Disordered eating in teens linked to sexual abuse
History of sexual abuse increases risky sex in teens
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We Need Stronger Tools for Tracking Sex Offenders
Source: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), Ernie Allen, President and Chief Executive, Wednesday, September 14, 2005. Excerpts:
A recent arrest of a sex offender in California yielded his diary, which chronicled years of child molestations. He had been arrested numerous times. His diary, however, detailed more than 30,000 incidents. Perhaps he is an extreme example. Yet for a segment of the nation's sex offenders, child molestation is a lifestyle. Researchers estimate that one in five girls and one in 10 boys will be sexually victimized in some way before they reach adulthood. Yet only one in three will tell anybody about it.
Most convicted sex offenders are not in prison; they are in our communities. We know that of the nation's 563,000 registered sex offenders, at least 100,000 are unaccounted for. No matter how effective we are at improving sentencing, treatment, supervision, etc., we must know where these sex offenders are.
It is reasonable to think that an offender who is not even willing to provide an accurate address is a potential danger. (A recent) editorial said these individuals have "already paid their debt to society." But that phrasing ignores the fact that the courts have held that registration is not punishment, but regulation. Registration is a necessary, common-sense tool to protect the public.
We need a comprehensive system for sex-offender registration that includes better sharing of information between states and increased penalties for failure to register. We need stronger enforcement of these provisions. State and federal lawmakers are taking a serious approach to this problem with legislation that will improve the way we manage sex offenders in our communities.
Court Dumps Florida's Sexual Predator Act
Source: Yahoo Nat'l AP, By Tim Reynolds, Associated Press Writer, January 16, 2003. Excerpts:
MIAMI - An appeals court ruled Wednesday that the state's sexual predator act is unconstitutional because it lacks provisions allowing judges to determine a defendant's threat to the community. The ruling arose from a case involving a man who admitted to sexually assaulting a woman whose cocktail had allegedly been drugged by another man, also a suspect in the attack. By pleading guilty to sexual battery, Ferman Carlos Espindola, 23, was automatically required to register as a sexual predator, according to a circuit court ruling.
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeals overturned that decision on the grounds that the Florida Sexual Predator Act does not allow judges to hold a hearing to assess the degree of danger a sex offender poses. "We find that in the absence of a provision allowing for a hearing to determine whether the defendant presents a danger to the public sufficient to require registration and public notification, the Florida Sexual Predators Act violates procedural due process," the court wrote in its unanimous decision.
1,200 Arrested in British Paedophile Raids
Source: British News, By Stewart Tendler, Crime Correspondent, December 18, 2002. Excerpts:
MORE than 1,200 teachers, doctors, care workers and policemen have been arrested across the United Kingdom in raids against paedophiles who had used an American internet service. Forty children have been taken into care because they have been abused or there are fears that they might be at risk from parents or professional workers. The extent of Operation Ore's investigations, code-named Operation Ore, was explained yesterday as 250 detectives from Scotland Yard launched the biggest series of raids in the inquiry at addresses across London.
Operation Ore, the largest paedophile investigation to be mounted in Britain, began after the US Postal Service uncovered a subscriber website for paedophiles being operated in Texas by a couple. The American investigators found details of 75,000 subscribers around the world and passed on 7,000 credit card references to British police. The British suspects are all repeat users of the website and lists of their names have been passed to the 52 forces where they live. Forces began operations more than six months ago when the names were passed to chief constables from the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad.
High Court Strikes Down Pornography Law
Source: Reuters, By James Vicini, April 16, 2002. Excerpts:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a federal pornography law that makes it a crime to have computer-generated pictures that look like real children engaged in sexual acts, ruling the law violates free-speech rights. The high court's 6-3 ruling, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy (news - web sites), represented a stinging setback for the U.S. Justice Department (news - web sites) in an important test of the Constitution's First Amendment free-speech protections in the computer age. Kennedy wrote for the court majority that the law was too broad and violated the First Amendment by prohibiting speech despite serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.
Supreme Court Says Internet Porn Law Not Too Broad
Source: Reuters, May 13, 2002. Excerpt:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ruled on Monday that a federal law that makes it a crime to put on the Internet sexually explicit material that can be viewed by minors was not unconstitutional just because it relied on community standards.
Man Accused of '60s Child Abuse
Source: Washington Post, Tom Jackman, October 14, 2000. Excerpts:
A Springfield man was arraigned yesterday on charges that he molested three
young girls in 1964, in what is believed to be the oldest case ever brought in Fairfax County. Two women, now in their forties, came forward last year and made the allegations against a retired mail carrier.
There is no statute of limitations in Virginia, and twice this year, Fairfax has prosecuted old sex cases -- one from 1973 and one from 1968. But Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr. said he could not recall a 36-year-old case in his 32 years as county prosecutor. "I'm glad that he got charged," one of the women said yesterday, but she said that she felt Rogers should have been charged with more serious felonies. Under the the law in effect in 1964, Rogers could face a prison term of two to five years if convicted of any of the charges, prosecutors said.
Disordered Eating in Adolescents Linked to Sexual and Physical Abuse
Source: Reuters Health, October 3, 2000
Excerpts:
WESTPORT, CT -- Among both adolescent girls and boys, a history of sexual or physical abuse appears to increase the risk of disordered eating behaviors, such as self-induced vomiting or use of laxatives to avoid gaining weight, according to researchers at the University of Minneapolis. The researchers studied responses to a 225-item survey of adolescent health completed by 9943 Connecticut public school students in grades 7, 9 and 11.
Among those at increased risk for disordered eating were respondents who had experienced sexual or physical abuse and those who gave low ratings to family communication, parental caring and parental expectations. After adjustment and allowing for sexual abuse, physical abuse approximately doubled the risk of disordered eating in both girls and boys. The researchers conclude that "strong familial relationships may decrease the risk for disordered eating among youth reporting abuse experiences."
Source: International Journal of Eating Disorders 2000;28:249-258.
History of Sexual Abuse Increases Risky Sexual Behavior in Adolescents
Source: Reuters Health, September 20, 2000. Excerpts:
WESTPORT -- Adolescents with a history of sexual abuse are significantly more likely than their counterparts to engage in sexual behavior that puts them at risk for HIV infection, according to Dr. Larry K. Brown and associates, from Rhode Island Hospital, in Providence. Dr. Brown's group assessed 116 sexually active adolescents in intensive psychiatric treatment, of whom 61 had a history of sexual abuse. The researchers report their findings in the September issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Inconsistent condom use was three times more likely among youths who had been sexually abused than among the 55 who had not. A history of sexual abuse was also significantly associated with less impulse control and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases. Dr. Brown said. "It shows that sexual abuse really does have a direct influence on later risk behavior. Abused kids need adequate counseling around abuse issues. A lot of these kids keep re-experiencing the anxiety and trauma for years."
Source: American Journal of Psychiatry 2000;157:1413-1415.
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