CANADA - Sex offender supports on a shoestring

Susan Love & Adina Ilea

Original Article

09/25/2014

By Erin McCracken

The day the doors to David’s prison cell slid open and he was free after spending five and a half years behind bars for sex crimes against children, he was given a one-way ticket to Ottawa and placed on a bus.

Armed only with expired identification, a little cash earned inside prison and two boxes and a bag containing his few possessions, David arrived in the city with limited prospects.

The challenges he faced reintegrating in society were enormous. There would be hurdles in finding a job and stable housing, securing money and proper identification and abiding by strict supervision rules that kicked in upon his release.

“It had been almost six years,” said David, speaking under a pseudonym to protect his identity. “It was overwhelming. Scary, because you’re coming out into society and it’s open, it’s freedom.”

“So it was difficult at first, but eventually you blend into it.”

The key to blending in, in part, proved to be two smiling women who met him at the bus stop as planned, – his first introduction to a surrogate network of friends and family who wanted to help him rebuild his life, and in the process, ensure he would not reoffend.

They are among more than 50 volunteers with Circles of Support and Accountability-Ottawa, one of 20 CoSA programs across Canada through which 500 volunteers are helping nearly 200 high-risk, high-needs sex offenders reintegrate in society after prison.

“At first I didn’t know what to do. I have no social life,” said David. “There was a bit of boredom, a bit of loneliness, but I was able to talk to CoSA about it.”

Each week, he met with his group of four volunteers to talk about his issues, and spent one-on-one time with each of them by going out for coffee, or watching a movie.

They provided him with friendship and support, referring him to services in the city that could help him.

Positive social supports, experts say, combined with sexual-behaviour counselling and treatment, are key to ensuring former offenders such as David do not fall back into their old patterns, leading to more victims.

After almost a year with CoSA, David seemed to be doing well. He had stable housing at a halfway house for ex-inmates and was taking part in a counselling program there. He had found work.

Rest of the story

CANADA - RCMP Insp. Ronald Patrick Makar and Constance Haduik charged with sex offences

Ronald Patrick Makar

Original Article

You will notice on all the articles on the Internet, they post his photo but not hers. Why is that? This happened many years ago. How would they actually prove they are guilty or innocent now? It's basically her word against theirs. Make sure you don't anger someone you knew as a child!

04/15/2014

Ronald Patrick Makar, an Alberta RCMP inspector, has been charged with two sex offences dating back to 1982.

The complainant, a woman from Saskatchewan, would have been 12 years old at the time of the alleged offences.

Makar, 54, has been charged with having sexual intercourse with a female person without her consent and having sexual intercourse with a female person who was under the age of 14.

Constance Haduik, 57, of Kyle, Sask., has also been charged with a sex offence involving the same person. RCMP say she was in a relationship with Makar in 1982 and that they were known to the alleged victim.

Haduik was arrested April 10 and charged with indecent assault of a female person.

Makar was arrested Tuesday at his workplace in Fort McMurray, where he has been in charge of the Wood Buffalo detachment.
- You could have waited until he came home instead of further embarrassing him in front of his co-workers!

He and Haduik are scheduled to appear in court in Carlyle, Sask., on June 4.

The charges were disclosed in Regina Tuesday by RCMP Supt. Alfredo Bangloy, who commended the alleged victim for her bravery in coming forward, but also noted it wasn't easy for him to speak to the media under such circumstances.

"It is very difficult to be here today," Bangloy said.

The investigation began last year after the woman told police that when she was 12, she had been sexually assaulted by a woman and a serving member of the RCMP.
- And she is now over 40 years old!

Makar has been suspended from his duties with pay pending the outcome of the charges against him.

The 34-year RCMP veteran spent most of his career working in Saskatchewan, serving in Carlyle, Fond du Lac, Milestone and Regina.

At the time of the alleged offence, Makar was in his first year as an RCMP constable, stationed at Carlyle, which is in southeast Saskatchewan.

CANADA - Privacy concerned about database listing sex offenders

Original Article

03/20/2014

By AARON BESWICK TRURO BUREAU

Canada is getting an online public database of convicted sex offenders, but it’s not being run by the government.

It’s being set up by the Sexual Abuse Network of Canada and was expected to go online Thursday night.

“We have about 260 verified names right now for the list and another 400 we are verifying right now,” Dave Mantin, director of the network, said Thursday from Saint John, N.B.

“We have contacted a legal team and they have explained to me and given me documentation on how to do this word for word.”

Mantin said the website, is a three-tier system with varying amounts of information on convicted sex offenders available to police, journalists and the public.

The general public will not require a password to access the site and will be able to get the identity and convictions of an offender. They will also be able to access “the general vicinity of where the perpetrator resides,” Mantin said.

His organization will provide log-in information to journalists from what he called “reputable media outlets” that will allow them to access all the information held by the organization except for names of victims.

Police officers will also be provided with their own log-ins that will give them full access to the information.

Mantin said data will be collected from “reputable newspapers” and confirmed with court documentation.

Online registries of convicted sex offenders have resulted in vigilantism.

In 2006, a Cape Breton man used a registry run by the Maine government to access information about two convicted sex offenders who were subsequently murdered. Twenty-year-old Stephen Marshall killed himself on a bus in Boston when he was approached by police regarding the deaths.

David Fraser, a privacy lawyer with the McInnes Cooper law firm in Halifax, said he has “grave concerns” with the registry.

“What kind of accountability is there with this database?” Fraser said.

“I have grave concerns with the accuracy and where they’re getting their information. If your information is misreported in a government database, you have a right to have that corrected. What mechanisms does this group have?”

Fraser said the group could be endangering the reputation and safety of someone with a name similar to a convicted person who lives in the same area.

“These things do tend to lead to vigilantism,” he said.

Mantin said such cases were “rare” and had to be balanced against the public’s right to know.
- They do happen and they are increasing (See here).

“I’ve spoken to both the RCMP and local police agencies, and they’ve both informed me that if a road officer wants to know if Joe Blow is on the federal sex crime registry, he can’t just go look it up.”

“He has to fill out a request form, have it authorized by his sergeant and then have the sergeant take it to the sex crime registry to be searched.”

This claim couldn't be immediately confirmed with police agencies.

Police are obligated to release the names of people deemed to be a high risk to reoffend when they are released into the community after serving their sentences. Mantin said he believes the public should be aware not only of these people but anyone who has committed a sex crime against a minor.

He called the registry “another tool for people to protect their children.”

When asked whether he might be concerned about potential legal action, Mantin said, “We’ve got lawyers.”
- But how much money do you have?

CANADA - Former RCMP officer (Alan John Davidson), minor hockey coach, charged with sexual assault of minors

Alan John Davidson

Original Article

03/07/2014

By Amy Judd

A former RCMP officer and a minor hockey and baseball coach has been charged with sexually assaulting eight minors in the late 70s and early 80s in Clearwater, B.C.

58-year-old Alan John Davidson was arrested on Thursday in Calgary, Alberta.

Insp. Brendan Fitzpatrick, operations officer for the RCMP’s BC Major Crime Section, said Davidson coached minor hockey and baseball in the Thompson and Okanagan area, starting in the late 70s.

The investigation into Davidson began in November 2012, when a man came forward to Burnaby RCMP, saying in the early 80s he was attending high school in Clearwater when he had allegedly been sexually assaulted by his minor hockey coach.

Fitzpatrick said this man indicated the possibility that others on the team may also have been similarly assaulted.

Following further investigation, another witness came forward and said he had been sexually assaulted by his baseball coach.

Eight victims have now come forward citing similar allegations of assault. All of those victims are male.

The investigation then extended into Alberta and Saskatchewan as Davidson was an RCMP officer in those provinces following the allegations of assault.

He served in the RCMP for 14 years, from February 1982 to August 1996. He completed basic training in Regina before being posted to Coronach, Sask. He was then transferred to Lloydminster, Alta. in 1983, Yorkton Saskatchewan and then North Battleford, Sask. He retired in August 1996 and moved to Alberta to pursue a personal business opportunity.

Fitzpatrick said at this time they have no information and are unaware of any alleged offences that may have occurred during Davidson’s time as an RCMP officer.

However, investigators believe there may be other victims connected to this investigation. They are appealing for any other victims to come forward.

“I would also like to commend those individuals who came forward after all these years, considering the traumatic nature of the allegations,” said Fitzpatrick. “A great deal of work has been done to date, however our investigation is ongoing and we respect that there could be other individuals out there with information connected to our investigation. It is important for you to please contact the police.”

To assist potential victims and witnesses in recalling memory, the RCMP has released a timeline of where the accused had lived and worked over the last three decades.

• 1970s to 1981 – Clearwater, BC
• August 1981 – February 1982 – Regina, Saskatchewan
• February 1982 – December 1983 – Coronach, Saskatchewan
• December 1983 – April 1986 – Lloydminster, Alberta
• April 1986 – August 1993 – Yorkton, Saskatchewan
• August 1993 – 1996 – North Battleford, Saskatchewan
• August 1996 onwards – Alberta (currently resides in Calgary)

If anyone has any information they are asked to call the toll free tip line at 1-877-687-3377.

Davidson’s next court appearance will be April 3 in Kamloops.

CANADA - Conservatives propose public sex offender registry, despite its failure in the U.S.

Peter MacKay

Original Article

03/05/2014

By Robyn Urback

The federal Conservatives have announced they are continuing their pursuit of the lowest of low-hanging fruit: registered sex offenders. The Tougher Penalties for Sexual Predators Act, which was formally tabled in the House of Commons Feb. 26, includes nine proposals for dealing with those convicted of sexual offences, including increasing prison sentences for certain child sexual offences and harsher penalties for violations of release conditions. Some of the proposals, quite appropriately, assign greater severity to a system of punishment that if often derided as far too lenient. But nestled among the fairly uncontroversial amendments is a proposal to create a public sex offender registry that would be accessible to anyone in Canada. While Canada already has a database of registered sex offenders, this proposal would make the names and personal information of high-risk sexual offenders available to anyone who wishes to seek them out.

Sex offenders are surely the easiest of targets for the Tories, who relied on the consensus of ill-will toward them in trying to push through their 2012 online surveillance bill, when then-safety minister Vic Toews foolishly suggested the bill’s critics were siding with “child pornographers.” The Tories haven’t gone that far this time, but are framing their proposal for a public sex offender registry as a child safety initiative. “This isn’t to encourage vigilantism,” said Justice Minister Peter MacKay. “It’s to encourage protecting children from past proven behaviours.” One would hope longer prison sentences and tighter release conditions — which are covered in the bill’s other proposals — would offer that protection, not mom or dad logging onto an online database. But an at-your-fingertips list of sex offenders is just gravy on an easy-win bill for the Conservatives.

There’s just one problem: public registries of sex offenders have proven to be an abject failure in the United States. While cases of extreme vigilantism are rare, they do happen. Convicted felon Patrick Drum, for example, was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 after he killed two registered sex offenders in Washington because, according to Drum, “they deserved to die.” But more often, vigilante justice takes more subtle forms including harassment and vandalism, which forces many registered sex offenders out of communities and onto the streets. Countless studies show higher rates of recidivism among homeless offenders, and one report from the Journal of Law and Economics in 2011 found slightly higher rates of sex crimes in states where sex offender registries are made public. Why? Offenders have a much harder time reintegrating into normal society and embracing rehabilitation when their name is on a public list. Thus, they become more likely to reoffend.

Read the rest of the article

CANADA - Masseuse taking Toronto cop (Mandip Sandhu) convicted of sex assault to civil court

Mandip Sandhu

Original Article

03/04/2014

By MICHELE MANDEL

TORONTO - How the tables have turned on the once powerful Toronto cop who used his gun and his position of power to demand sex.

Thanks to her compelling testimony, the vulnerable masseuse forced to perform oral sex on Const. Mandip Sandhu saw him convicted and sentenced last year in criminal court. And now she is dragging him into civil court where she is suing him and the Toronto Police Service Board for more than $1 million.

Who’s wielding all the power now?

Sandhu, 37, was convicted last year of sexually assault after a judge rejected his ridiculous defence that he was the victim and the petite Chinese immigrant forced herself on him during his “inspection” of the North York spa where she worked in June 2010.

His undoing was his DNA — she had spit into a washcloth that was handed over for testing.

Sandhu was sentenced in June to 15 months in jail — an unusually harsh term for a police officer — and though free on bail pending his appeal, he can no longer count on that cushy police salary he had for three years while he was under suspension and awaiting trial.

As a convicted cop sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the Police Services Act allows him to be suspended without pay. And now his troubles have further increased with this civil lawsuit.

In her claim, his 46-year-old victim said she was happily married and the mother of a five-year-old daughter when Sandhu entered her workplace that morning, showed his badge, and demanded oral sex. “During the assault, (she) could feel Sandhu’s gun pressing against her head,” her lawsuit contends.

The trauma, shame and terror that followed the attack, she said, led to the break-up of her marriage and her decision to flee the province and leave her child behind.

“She has lived and continues to live in a constant state of fear that Sandhu will exact revenge on her because she did not stay silent and she cooperated with the criminal process against him,” the lawsuit claims.

Unlike two recent sex assault victims of Dr. George Doodnaught who have criticized the automatic, court-ordered publication ban on their names, she clings to it.

“(She) was and is deeply ashamed of what Sandhu did to her, and feels guilty and as though she was and is to blame and was and is unable to tell even close family members of friends what Sandhu did to her for fear of being disbelieved or shunned.”

In her lawsuit, she also blames the police services board for allowing Sandhu to work alone when he came into her workplace and for not having a rigorous inspection policy in place so officers “would not be tempted to abuse and exploit their privileged access to such establishments.”

The allegations in her claim have not been proven in court and no statement of defence has yet been filed. A spokesman for the Toronto Police board would not comment about an ongoing matter. Lawyer Elizabeth Grace said she has been unable to find and serve Sandhu.

“It’s a tragic case of a police officer exploiting the authority of his badge for his own sexual gratification — and he was given that badge by the Toronto Police Services Board,” argues Grace. “We’re concerned that this isn’t an isolated case and there may be more victims out there and if so, I encourage them to come forward.”

In her lawsuit, the victim alleges her co-worker “recognized Sandhu as the man who had regularly attended at another North York spa where she had worked and where he sexually assaulted other estheticians. However, the other victims had been too afraid and ashamed to report Sandhu’s sexual assaults on them.”

When Sandhu left the spa, she said he warned her not to say anything. And the 11-year veteran likely assumed he was safe and that his victim’s cultural shame would preserve her silence.

“It speaks to the vulnerable population that he may have been picking on, the kind of person unlikely to speak out, and that’s really concerning,” her lawyer alleged.

The irony is that Sandhu picked on the wrong woman. And no badge or gun can protect him now.

See Also:

• (02/19/2013) Toronto police officer (Mandip Sandhu) convicted of sexual assault in massage parlour

CANADA - Offender re-integration program losing funding

Original Article

03/03/2014

By Galen Eagle

UPDATE: Prison service reverses funding cut to sex-offender program

Those who keep a tight watch on sex offenders in Peterborough while providing supports to ensure they don’t re-offend say they’ll no longer be equipped to do their jobs come September.

Dan Haley has been overseeing Peterborough’s Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) for 20 years. It’s a program in which regular citizens, supported by local professionals, volunteer their time to accompany high-risk sex offenders as they re-integrate from prison life back into the community.

Public Safety Canada has been funding the programs in 18 communities across Canada as part of a five-year project, but that funding is set to expire in September.

In Peterborough, that will leave some 17 sex offenders without the supports they have come to depend upon, Haley said.

“This program works and for the federal government to just pull the plug, our communities aren’t safe,” he said. “This means we are going to have sex offenders that have no support. Can you imagine if they had absolutely nobody working with them, no supports, no accountability whatsoever?”

The program in Peterborough has a near perfect record. Haley could only recall a single client who committed a crime while under his watch and no client has ever re-offended sexually in the past 20 years, he said.

It requires a fleet of nearly 100 volunteers, an average of five volunteers per offender, to keep the circles functioning locally. The Parole Board of Canada holds many high-risk sexual offenders beyond their statutory release date to the very last date of their sentence. That means such offenders are typically released back into society without access to follow-up services or support and without the need to abide by any parole conditions.

“We have a 20-year history in working in this field. Our numbers are really good. Nobody has re-offended sexually,” he said.

Combined, the programs across Canada have proven to be highly effective at reducing recidivism rates of high-risk sexual offenders, Haley said.

“It’ll be devastating across the country. This is about keeping our communities safe. As long as we are going to be releasing people into the community, there needs to be checks and balances,” he said.

Haley’s group receives about $91,000 annually in federal funding to run the program, he said.

Public Safety Canada did not respond to a request for an interview but did provide some background information in an email.

The National Crime Prevention Strategy, which funded the Circles of Support and Accountability project, offers programs that are time-limited designed to determine what programs are effective and cost-efficient interventions, Public Safety Canada said.

From the outset, all partners are made aware that funding is time limited, and in order to continue, alternative funding sources would need to be found, Public Safety Canada said.

The Circles of Support and Accountability project began in fall 2009 and is scheduled to end on Sept. 30. Public Safety Canada contributed a total of $7,412,971 to the project which “demonstrates the government’s commitment to preventing crime and making Canadian streets safe,” it stated in the email.

The expiration of the COSA funding comes as the Conservative government promises to get tougher on sexual offenders before the courts.

Justice Minister Peter MacKay tabled a bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday that would toughen mandatory minimum and maximum jail sentences for a range of sexual offences against children, toughen penalties for repeat offenders who breach probation or court orders and require offenders who harm multiple victims to serve prison terms consecutively.

City police Staff Sgt. Lynne Buehler said the loss of Peterborough’s Circles of Support and Accountability would be a huge blow to the community.

“It’s a pretty major loss to our community. They provide an excellent service helping offenders reintegrate into our community and provide them with support that isn’t offered anywhere else,” she said. “They work very closely with us and provide that supervision that is just going to be lost without the funding.”

See Also:

• Community circles help sex offenders break cycle of abuse

CANADA - Proposed sex-offender registry will not deter crime, criminal lawyer warns

Michael Spratt

Original Article (Videos Available)

They say it's for child sex offenders but we can guarantee you it will not just be those offenders, it will be all ex-offenders. And vigilantism WILL be an issue!

02/28/2014

The Conservative government’s plan to create a publicly-accessible database of child sex offenders will do little if anything to deter sex crimes and could actually lead to an increase in offences, an Ottawa-based defence lawyer warns.

Michael Spratt, who has testified at numerous parliamentary committees on criminal legislation, says the sex registry is being sold as a way to protect children and assist parents, but it is nothing more than “false advertising.”

The Conservative government’s legislation, introduced Wednesday, would create a publicly-accessible database of high-risk child sex offenders. It would also require registered sex offenders to provide more information when they travel abroad and permit more sharing of information between federal agencies.

“Online registries, they’re seductive, they sound like a good idea and they’re easy to sell to the public and they’re an easy position to advertise,” Spratt told CTV’s Canada AM on Friday.

“But if you look at the criminological evidence that has dealt with public registries … that evidence has found that there isn’t a reduce in offence because of the registry, there isn’t a detection in crime because of the registry.”

Spratt says that some studies have actually found that public registries make reintegration of an offender back into society, increasing the chances of a person reoffending.

Spratt, who runs a legal blog, turns to several studies that show what he calls are flaws with registries.

One study that looked at New York’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Law concluded the registry had little to no impact on reducing sex crimes because most offences are committed by those who have not previously been convicted of one.

Because of these “false assumptions” regarding sex offenders and sexual offences, the study said, “attention and resources are diverted from those most common types of sex offences -- those committed by first-time sex offenders and those who have a pre-established relationship with the victim.”

Spratt cites several other studies that come to a similar conclusion.

He says the sex registry being proposed by the Conservatives is simply another example of the government ignoring established evidence when drafting legislation.

“These things don’t make the public safer, they don’t deter crimes, they don’t top people from committing crimes, and they certainly don’t assist in rehabilitation,” Spratt said.

Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney said Wednesday that "Parents have the right to know if there is a dangerous pedophile in their neighbourhood."
- Sex offender does not equal pedophile, but clearly this person thinks they are the same thing?

The legislation will also increase sentences for certain child sex offences as well as penalties for violating conditions of supervision orders.

See Also:

• Public child sex offender database planned

CANADA - Public child sex offender database planned

Don't be a hoser!

Original Article

02/26/2014

By Jim Bronskill

OTTAWA - The federal government plans to create a publicly accessible database of high-risk child sex offenders as part of a bill that takes aim at those who prey on young people.

The legislation introduced Wednesday would also require registered sex offenders to provide more information when they travel abroad and permit more sharing of information between federal agencies.

In addition, the bill proposes making those convicted of child sex crimes against multiple children to serve their sentences consecutively.

“Make no mistake about it,” said Justice Minister Peter MacKay. “If you sexually assault children in this country, you’re going to jail.”
- Going to jail / prison for committing a crime is understandable, but public humiliation is not the solution and is a different issue.  It will only open people up to vigilantism, homelessness and joblessness.

The government promised in the October throne speech to get tougher on pedophiles, the latest in a series of Conservative justice measures to boost penalties or create new offences.

The legislation would increase sentences for certain child sex offences as well as penalties for violating conditions of supervision orders.

Spouses could be compelled to testify in child pornography cases.

The most contentious element of the package could be the plan for a public database, which some warn can lead to vigilante-style attacks against sex offenders released from prison.
- Oh it will, there are already vigilantes in Canada doing just that.  Click the link above for more info.  It is nothing more than an online hit-list disguised as a public service.

Public Safety Minister Stephen Blaney said the government would make no apologies for the approach.

“Parents have the right to know if there is a dangerous pedophile in their neighbourhood,” he said.
- What about their right to know about all the other criminals in their neighborhood?

The bill would allow the RCMP to begin discussions with provincial and municipal authorities to establish the national database using existing information on high-risk child sex offenders who have been the subject of a notice to the public.

“What this national database will do is to make sure that this information is available throughout the country in a standardized manner,” Blaney said.

Under the bill, registered sex offenders will have to report every address or location at which they expect to stay, as well as specific travel dates for any trip of seven days or longer outside Canada, he said.

Better information sharing will allow the Canada Border Service Agency to flag high-risk offenders in their lookout system and help police ensure compliance with travel identification requirements, Blaney added.

MacKay said the sentencing provisions better reflect the serious nature of the crimes and the harm and hurt they cause.

“Each day, sadly in Canada, there are far too many children who become victims of sexual assault. These crimes cause unimaginable devastation in the lives of children, in the lives of their loved ones.”

In 2012-13, more than 3,900 sexual offences occurred in Canada against children, an increase over the previous year, MacKay said.

“These are the reported statistics and many, we know, go unreported.”

See Also:

• Proposed sex-offender registry will not deter crime, criminal lawyer warns
• Conservatives set to introduce tougher child sex offender legislation (Video Available)
• Tories plan to create public database of child sex offenders (Video Available)
• Public sex offender registry coming soon, says Peter MacKay

International travel - All RSOs banned from Canada and Mexico at request of US?

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

By MT:
Apparently the US government is expanding its ex-post facto punishment scope by advising other countries to not accept US citizens that have ever been RSOs. From what I've read, even after being removed from registry, this does not fix the problem.

I was just refused entry into Mexico despite having been there at least a dozen times in the last 10 years. Nearly two decades ago I plead Alford to “possession of a visual depiction of a minor under the age of 16″, which at that time in my state was the lowest level felony and for which I received a couple years of probation. As it turns out, the girl was over 16 – and a stripper at a local strip club, but I’d already taken the plea once we found this out. I completed probation and haven’t been in any trouble at all since then.

I was very recently (2014) traveling with my family including my in-laws, my mom, my wife, and daughter. When the plane arrived and before anyone got off the plane, they announced over the speaker that I needed to get off the plane first. I was escorted off and taken to a room an interviewed by about 5 gentlemen – all taking notes. Three of them had camera phones. The lead guy (who was the only one that spoke) asked if I’d ever had trouble with the law. I told him that he must know that already or I wouldn’t be there. I told them of my conviction, that it was nearly two decades ago, and that there was no physical contact with the alleged victim. The lead guy wrote this all down and faxed it back to Mexico City. Within 10 minutes it was determined that I would not be allowed to stay in the country.

This was highly embarrassing. Here I have my in-laws and my mom. We spent about $15,000 just on hotel. They were all allowed to stay in the country, but I was put on the next plane back to the US 40 minutes later (which was the same plane I flew in on). In retrospect from what I’ve read elsewhere, I was very lucky I didn’t sit in the airport for days.

Upon realizing I was there with my family, the lead immigration guy at my destination was very sympathetic. I feel that were it were up to him personally, I would have been able to stay. He told me that “the US State Department had contacted Mexico City and told them that I was coming” – Those are the exact words he used. He showed me the paper he received from his Mexico City office, but it was in spanish, so I couldn’t read it. There was one line that said something like “sexual” that he pointed at. I did not see a photo with it though these guys probably took 5 photos of me while I was there. These guys were very nice and professional and treated me well.

When I returned to the US, I went through US Customs and went through the usual extended screening BS that all RSOs get to enjoy. The US Customs agent said that “in the past few months”, that this was happening every single day multiple times and that “something must be going on.”

I told my family to go ahead and enjoy the vacation since it was paid for but this sucks for me. If they came back with me, it would be even worse for me since I’d have the guilt of that on top of all the money lost. At first I thought this was politically motivated as punishment for being outspoken and donating to the wrong candidates, but reading this here, obviously there are other forces at work. I am going to look into other (legal) avenues to get permission to enter the country if possible. Again, I’ve been to Mexico a dozen times in the past decade – and I’d been to this particular city three times. I do feel that the US is trying to create a defacto prison from which we cannot escape.

I read somewhere else online today that there was a law signed by the president of Mexico December 3 barring all RSOs from entering the country but wasn’t able to find any other verification of that.

From what I've found online, there is as of now a COMPLETE and TOTAL lockout of travel to either Canada or Mexico for US RSOs - even if you have family living there - and this is a culmination of the "International Tracking of Sex Offenders Working Group" (PDF)

It is amazing to me that there is ZERO information on this being made available to RSOs.

See Also:

• International Travel – Mexico
• GAO - Sharing More Information Will Enable Federal Agencies to Improve Notifications of Sex Offenders' International Travel