Sex Offender Records Permanent in Kansas

Kansas just passed bill HB 2568 that rules any convictions for the following crimes will be listed permanently on the Kansas sex offender registry:

"The attempt, conspiracy, or criminal solicitation to commit aggravated trafficking, rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, aggravated criminal sodomy, promoting prostitution if the prostitute is less than 14 years of age, and sexual exploitation of a child."

"Sex offenders commit some of the most heinous acts in our society to many times the most vulnerable. It is critical that these offenders remain registered for the rest of their life in order to better protect Kansas families, and i appreciate the swift work of the legislature in getting this bill passed," said KS Governor, Mark Parkinson.

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States Reconsider Sex Offender Laws for Teens who "Sext"

It's national news now, when teens use their built in cell phone cameras and send explicit photographs of each other to other teens. It becomes national criminal news when those teens responsible are labeled as felony level sex offenders for distributing child pornography.

Phillip Alpert, 18, was one such teen charged with distribution of child pornography for mass texting photographs of his 16-year-old girlfriend after they had a fight.

A growing consensus of lawyers and legislators are starting to believe that child pornography laws are too blunt an instrument to deal with the new wave of adolescent cyberculture.

Last year, Nebraska, Utah, and Vermont reduced the penalties for teens who engage in "sexting" and in 2010, it is thought that 14 other states will consider such legislation as well.

"There is a lot of confusion about how to regulate cellphones and sex and 16-year-olds," Amy Adler, a law professor at New York University stated. "We're in this cultural shift, not only because of technology, but because of what's happening in terms of the representation of teen sexuality as you can see on 'Gossip Girl'."

Lawyers say that these cases are not what the harsh child pornography laws were intended for, however, some state supreme courts uphold the laws and penalties faced by the offenders, though young people are rarely, if ever, jailed for the practice.

One survey reports 1 in 5 teens engages in "sexting."

The laws themselves may be harsh, but some might argue that these teens don't truly understand the consequences of mass distribution of the private images of underage children. Their intentions, fueled by adolescent passions, could fall into the wrong hands, and the teens could be exploited unknowingly. The issue won't be going away anytime soon, and Liberty will be sure to keep you updated here at our blog.

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In 2000, a man named John Gardner plead guilty to molesting his 13 year-old-neighbor. His psychiatrist testified that Gardner was "a continued danger to underage girls" and he recommended a 30 year sentence. But, in an effort to protect the victim, Gardner was given just 5 years jail time.

When 17 year-old Chelsea King disappeared outside her San Diego home last week, police say she was abducted and raped by Gardner. He later dumped her body nearby.

Though Gardner was forced to wear a GPS monitoring device until 2008, investigators believe he may have been involved in the disappearance of another teen and a 22 year-old-woman.

Jake Goldenflame spoke out as a convicted sex offender, "It's wishful thinking to believe that simply by locking someone up for a number of years that it's going to magically transform him when he comes out."

It's reminiscent of the Jaycee Dugard case in which, though Phillip Garrido was monitored for heinous sex crimes, Dugard went undetected for 18 years.

John Gardner will spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted in the Chelsea King case.

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Teen Registers as "Sext" Offender

Philip Alpert made a big mistake. He got angry at his girlfriend.

At the age of 18, he took sexually explicit pictures she sent him and forwarded them to his entire contact list.

Alpert was quickly arrested on child pornography charges. Albert had to register as a sex offender, which in all likelihood could ruin his life.

Alpert's lawyer, Lawrence Walters claims, "Society is starting to recognize that maybe this is something different, a phenomenon we haven't dealt with before, but currently they're doing it in the worst way possible, by lumping these kids in with pedophiles and molesters."

While it may be true that the punishment far outweighs the crime, Albert can't live with his father - too close to a school - and can't pursue his dream of computer animation due to restrictions on the Internet, Albert did break the law and his actions should be punishable.

Albert is a sex offender whether he'd like to be categorized as one or not. And whether or not he realizes it, he broke a serious law and committed a serious crime. The law does not discriminate toward an angry adult man and a man who is not angry, but disturbed. They both distribute sexually explicit photographs of underage teens. The motivation is not necessarily relevant, and if the judge is making an example of Albert, I say, so be it.

These laws are developed to protect the innocent and underaged, not the adult men who knowingly break them.

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Religious Groups Refuse to Ordain Sex Offenders

A man from Indiana became an ordained minister through an independent church earlier this month. While that in itself is not headline new, the fact that he is a sex offender is. The church defended the action citing that the man has been reformed.

Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Assemblies of God and the Jehovah's Witnesses are all churches that refuse to ordain sex offenders, reformed or not. They concluded the risk of a repeat offense is serious enough that they deny the offenders the ability to access their denominations.

“If the candidate has committed a sex-related crime, he or she should be permanently disqualified” for ministry, according to United Methodist guidelines, which cite “the massive legal exposure,” as well as “the awareness that currently available treatments for such offenses are of limited utility, with high rates of recidivism.”

“My question to the church would be — why?” Fortune said in a phone interview. “If this person has been in treatment and served their time and so forth, that's fine and that's good. But as a registered sex offender, part of what they're supposed to understand about themselves is that they remain at risk to reoffend.”

She said ordaining such a person is also hurtful to people who have been sexually abused as children, particularly by clergy.

“Repentance, redemption and restoration do not mean that that person is lifted into a position of public leadership,” she said. “There are many other ways they can serve in their community and in their church that would not put them in that kind of role.”

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Violent Sex Offenders Re-Evaluated

The discovery of Jaycee Dugard, the woman who was abducted when she was 11 from a bus stop in Lake Tahoe, NV, has raised many questions about the monitoring and sentencing of men like the one who kidnapped her, Phillip Garrido. Garrido was a convicted, violent sex offender at the time of Dugard's abduction. On parole, officers visited the Garrido home on several occasions and never discovered Dugard and her children living in the backyard. A neighbor even alerted the police that children were there. Police knocked on the front door, but never searched the home or yard.

Many experts believe violent sex offenders can never be rehabilitated and that the likelihood of them offending again is so high that there should be different standards to which they are held. Garrido's first documented offense in 1976 involved an elaborate hideout in Reno, NV where he assaulted a woman for hours after handcuffing and binding her with a leather strap.

Garrido was sentenced to 50 years in prison, but was released after just 10 on parole. Recent laws have made sentences tougher, violent offender's mandatory sentencing was raised from just 5 years to 35. However, advocates of tougher laws are pushing imprisonment and then treatment "for as long as it takes to rehabilitate" the violent offenders. And in some cases, they will never be rehabilitated, which mean, simply, they would never be released.

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New Hampshire Representative Seeks Looser Laws for Sex Offenders

Charged with two felonies, the 20 year old son of New Hampshire state Representative Jennifer Brown, plead his crimes down to misdemeanors and registered as a sex offender. His attempts to lure a 14 year old girl to a meeting place to have sex were recorded by undercover police officers.

Brown connected with the girl in an Internet chat room. When she agreed to meet him, he drove to the designated spot, waited for a few minutes and left. He was arrested on felony charges, attempted 2nd degree assault and the misdemeanor offense of attempted sexual assault.

He received suspended sentence and was required to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.

His state representative mother has now introduced a bill that would remove her son's name from the list of registered sex offenders.

"He didn't meet anyone," Brown said. "He got there, turned around and left so fast. . . . He went to the meeting, then said, 'I'm just leaving,' and that's what our state calls a criminal. What happens when you're young derails your career," Brown went on, "You have none. Being on the list is an onerous responsibility."

Brown's proposed change would exempt Tier 1 sex offenders, which includes only those convicted of misdemeanors, from the public list. Those who were exempted would still need to register on a private list with the police department. A Tier 1 sex offender can currently petition to come off the public list five years after he or she completes his or her sentence.

The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union has given their support to the bill. "To put all individuals who have committed an offense in a very broad category in the same pot is absurd," said Claire Ebel, executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union.

But state law enforcement are in stiff opposition. Federal funding could be jeopardized if the bill passes. Also, the law enforcement community is adamant that the Tier 1 offenders are more dangerous than the bill allows. Offenses listed under Tier 1 offenders include:

• Sexual contact with a person age 13 to 18 under aggravating circumstances, which could include using physical force, touching a victim who is physically unable to resist, or coercion by a person in authority.
• Sexual contact with a person aged 13 to 15, with an age difference of five years or more.
• Sexual penetration with a person who is incarcerated, on probation or parole by a person in a position of authority.
• Violation of privacy, including sending out photographs or recordings of private body parts.
• A second or subsequent incident of indecent exposure.
• Sexual penetration or contact in the presence of a child.

Tom Reid, deputy county attorney said, "A defendant who could be any age overcomes a victim through application of physical force or violence, holds a person down and grabs their sexual parts . . . that's a Tier 1 sex offender who the bill would exempt." Reid said. "You could have a 60-year-old man who fondles a 13-year-old child for sexual gratification. This bill would exempt that person."

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