MO - Des Peres neighbors vent concerns about sex offender

Mob Mentality

Original Article

03/26/2014

By Jesse Bogan

DES PERES - About 100 people showed up at a community meeting here Wednesday night to hear what can be done about registered sex offender _____ living in their upper-middle-class neighborhood.

But by the time it was over, many, including Bill England, 70, would leave with a sense of powerlessness.

“What’s very concerning to me is my grandson and his mother live next door to this guy. Next door,” England told a panel of law enforcement and city officials gathered before the crowd. “Obviously, we are scared. What advice would you give us?”
- The same info as if any other ex-felon lived next to you, tell you kid about the person, tell your kid about good touch / bad touch, etc, etc.

Kathi Alizadeh, chief of the sex crimes unit for the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office, told him she couldn't give him advice and only encouraged him to contact lawmakers in Jefferson City.

“What I can tell you is that there is nothing in the law that prohibits him from living next door to a child,” she said. “There’s nothing in the law that prohibits him from walking up to a child in the street and talking to him.”

Emotions have been high, particularly in the Royal Acres Subdivision, since _____ was released from custody in February.

_____, 49, who lives with his 85-year-old mother, was first arrested at 18, when he was caught sticking his hands in the pants of 5-year-old girl playing outside in the neighborhood. He avoided incarceration for that offense, but in 1997 he went to prison for 10 years for molesting a 7-year-old girl whose parents he’d befriended.

When his prison sentence was nearly over, he was flagged for possibly meeting the criteria of a sexually violent predator. Some officials argued that he should be held indefinitely as a patient at what is now called Sex Offender Rehabilitation and Treatment Services, a program run by the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

He was held in jail since late 2006, pending the outcome of the state’s civil commitment case against him in that matter. In February, a St. Louis County jury unanimously agreed that _____ was not a sexually violent predator, somebody with a mental abnormality that would make him more likely than not to re-offend if not held in a secure facility. Three previous trials resulted in hung juries.

Keith Krumm, director public safety in Des Peres, told the crowd Wednesday night that _____ checked in with local police the night he was released and had been in compliance ever since. But they've increased patrols around his house and at nearby bus stops.

Officials said _____ couldn't live within 1,000 feet of a school, go to a public swimming pool or give out Halloween candy. But they said laws don’t seem to forbid him from going to a pool in the subdivision because it’s privately run.

In response to questions, officials said _____ wasn’t required to have GPS monitoring or be subject to other rules such as taking polygraph tests because he was not on parole or probation.

There are hundreds of registered sex offenders in St. Louis County, an official said at the meeting. There are five in Des Peres.

Krumm said in an interview before the meeting that none of the other sex offenders in the area had raised the amount of concern that _____ has.

_____, who wasn’t at the meeting, has declined to comment since his release. His attorney said he wanted to move on with his life quietly.

But if the meeting Wednesday night was any indication, there will be a lot of eyes watching him in Des Peres.

GA - Moore asks House for second chance (Just following the crowd?)

Rep. Sam Moore

Original Article

All these people took an oath to defend the Constitution and the rights of others, but this is exactly why nobody wants to speak out on the unconstitutional issues surrounding the sex offender laws, everybody attacks them for being "soft" on sex offenders instead of defending their rights. This is basically Mob Rule!

02/26/2014

By Joshua Sharpe

State Rep. Sam Moore (R-Macedonia) has withdrawn his bill lessening restrictions on sex offenders and is asking for a second chance after the proposal caused a public backlash Friday on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Moore, who is entering his third week in office, stood before the House on Monday morning and apologized to his fellow lawmakers, the voters in his District 22 and the entire state of Georgia — though he also criticized those who publicly bashed him.

“It is unfortunate that the language in this bill has been used by my political opponents to cause fear in Georgia’s families. What happened last Friday did not move us forward as a state, and certainly did not move us forward as a party,” Moore told the House. “Although my intent was pure, and my mistakes were honest, I am ultimately responsible for all my actions.”

The 37-year-old freshman Republican’s House Bill 1033 would have decriminalized the crime of loitering and made it so some sex offenders could linger at schools and other places with children.

The proposal caused a widespread public outcry of both officials and residents who called for Moore to step down from office, only weeks after he won a runoff Feb. 4 to finish out the term of the late Rep. Calvin Hill (R-Canton). On Friday, more than a dozen state lawmakers, some of them high-ranking leaders, stood before the House and, with words like “callous” and “egregious,” firmly condemned the bill.

In his speech Monday, Moore said he had received hundreds of angry emails, text messages and phone calls since then.

“Some quite threatening,” he said. “So to my political opponents: touché. You must see me as an actual threat.”

Moore called the bill a “rookie mistake” that could have been avoided if his fellow legislators would have come to him to offer guidance instead of chastising him in front of the House and in the media. He also said he never knew the media was going to be able to see the bill before a vote was approaching.
- We call it "Bowing to the mob," or "going with the flow," or "don't make waves!"

“Those who spoke publicly aired what should have been a quiet, private, constructive conversation the night before,” Moore told the House. “This controversy could have been avoided with proactive communication.”

Moore has said the purpose of the bill was initially to preserve Fifth Amendment rights to silence, because Georgia’s loitering laws made it illegal to not give police your name. Speaking to the House on Monday, Moore conceded that the controversy could have been avoided if he sought guidance from his colleagues before turning in the bill.

“In hindsight, this rookie mistake was silly,” he said. “I am mature enough to admit that … I am a passionate, driven person. But if you believe that I need to slow down, just mention a number to me: 1033.”
- You're also the type of person who bows down and follows the crowd!

Bowing to the mob?

Since news of Moore’s bill broke Friday and his statements that he didn’t think it was dangerous went public, outrage has spread even among his supporters. Others defended Moore, with some opinionated articles online alleging the statements made by House members were part of a smear campaign directed at Moore not because of the bill, but his politics in general.

Reportedly, by the time House Bill 1033 became public, Moore had already begun to raise eyebrows at the Capitol by a number of “no” votes he made. One of those votes was on the state budget, making Moore one of only four House members to vote against it. Moore explained on his website he voted against the budget because it helped implement the Affordable Care Act.

Those pushing the idea of a conspiracy pointed with suspicion to the announcement Friday that Meagan Biello, a Cherokee teacher who lost to Moore in the runoff, was running against him again in the May primary.

Several of the lawmakers who spoke against Moore’s bill Friday gave to Biello’s campaign during the runoff, according to filings with the state ethics commission. Detractors accused House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), who gave $1,300 to Biello’s campaign, of orchestrating the attacks on Moore.

Ralston, though, told reporters the condemnation of Moore’s bill had nothing to do with Biello.

“When I sent her that contribution, I had no idea he was going to introduce a bill that would repeal restrictions on pedophiles and sex offenders in Georgia, and if I would have known that I wish I could have sent her more,” Ralston said Monday. “This had nothing to do with that.”

Follow us down the rabbit hole

Ralston added Moore had been guided by leaders and given literature on how to be successful in the House days before he turned in the bill. The speaker said it was troubling that Moore didn’t outright condemn the bill during his apology.
- We'd love to see this literature.  I bet it goes along the lines of "follow the crowd and don't rock the boat!"

For Rep. Scot Turner (R-Holly Springs), who spoke out against the bill Friday but had not contributed to Biello, the bill was a problem for him — no matter who presented it.

“I have a track record of being intellectually consistent and calling out wrong when it is wrong,” Turner said Tuesday. “It doesn’t matter if it is the speaker or Rep. Moore, if I believe the source is wrong, I have shown I will speak out.”
- Really?  Well if you want to call out the wrongs, then you'd reform the unconstitutional sex offender laws!

Biello said Friday she had already made her decision to run, but Moore’s bill spurred her on.

A Facebook page was created saying Ball Ground Mayor Rick Roberts was running against Moore, because “I love cops and kids,” but Roberts said it was a hoax he had nothing to do with.

In Moore’s speech before the House on Monday, he made no specific mention of the theories of an orchestrated attack by Ralston and other leaders such as House Majority Leader Larry O’Neal (R-Bonaire), who spoke against the bill Friday and had also donated to Biello.

“I have politely declined all advice to use this speech to rouse my political opponents,” Moore told the House. “Instead, I would rather this be the first step of a second chance. Please allow me to take it, and please take it with me.”

See Also:

• Rep. Moore faces voters at town hall
• Georgia Republican stands up for sex offenders’ access to schools and playgrounds

NY - New York State Exposed Follow Up: Sex offenders in group homes

Original Article

Just another example of the media stirring the pot just to get a news story? We call it Media Vigilantism!

02/22/2014

By Amanda Ciavarri

It's a story that's gotten so much attention since News10NBC first brought it to you last week. Convicted sex offenders are quietly being moved into group homes and residential areas.

Now, one area community is fighting back.

Hundreds of people were out in force Saturday, trying to get their message across.

That message is to keep those sex offenders out of the group homes and away from neighborhoods where they could pose a threat to families that live nearby.

News10NBC was at that rally in West Seneca Saturday.

Dozens of people in West Seneca came out to protest. They brought signs to the front of a group home where the state recently re-located seven convicted sex offenders. Now the community wants to know, why they weren't told and why the state is putting them in danger.

"Everyone was blindsided by this. I think that is what everyone is the most upset about. No one knew anything and now it is a matter of, okay, we have calmed down from the lack of notification, now we want action. We want these guys out of here, we want them moved out. We aren't going to be held prisoners in our own home,” said Tony Fischione, protest organizer.
- The only person that is holding you prisoner in your own home is yourself!

About 300 people met at Sunshine Park Saturday afternoon. It is a popular playground for neighborhood children, but now it is just a few yards away from where seven sex offenders are living.

“I don't feel safe, and my kids can't come here and play in this park anymore, because the houses back right up to this park. There are running trails in those woods, and I can't run those. I don't feel safe letting my kids around town anymore,” said Teri Bebak, resident and mother.

This group then started their peaceful march down the street and to the two homes where the sex offenders are living.

The seven sex offenders, all men, previously lived in the Monroe Developmental Center in Brighton. The state closed the facility in December, and that's when those men were moved in here.

Their convictions range from attempted rape to child sex abuse.

“I think Governor Cuomo made this decision as a political move, to save money. He did it very secretly, he did it very quietly, and he did it at the expense of our children, and that's not okay,” said Bebak.

Earlier this week News10NBC asked Governor Cuomo about the relocation and told him about the concerns of this community.

“How was it that one day they were in need of that type of security, and the next day they are able to live in these types of group homes?” asked News10NBC’s Brett Davidsen.

“If a person requires a secure facility, they require a secure facility. But the problem we’re having by in large is not a person who is in a secure facility. The problem we’re having are former sex offenders while released and return to the community, and people are saying ‘I don’t want to live next to a former sex offender.’ That’s the predominance of the problem,” said Gov. Cuomo.
- The problem is the online registry, community notification and residency laws!

But this group isn't so convinced that's true, and they hope Governor Cuomo, and Albany hear their message loud and clear.

“I intend to let them know, we aren't done here. We are watching them. We aren't leaving, they are leaving,” said Fischione.

Many people plan on protesting every weekend until the state moves the sex offenders out of this community. If that doesn't happen soon, they will also take the protest to Albany in April.

GA - Georgia Republican stands up for sex offenders’ access to schools and playgrounds

Rep. Sam Moore

Original Article

02/21/2014

By David Ferguson

A Georgia Republican state House member submitted a bill to the current legislative session that would remove restrictions on convicted sex offenders and allow them to go anywhere in the state they like, including schools.

According to the Cherokee Tribune, freshman Georgia Rep. Sam Moore (R-Macedonia) said that once they satisfy the terms of their parole, sex offenders have “done their time” and should be allowed to go forth unhindered by intrusive government supervision.

Moore’s HB 1033 would overturn the crime of loitering and loosen restrictions on convicted sex offenders, enabling them to go anywhere they like, including schools, church youth functions, parks and playgrounds. Moore said that the risk of recidivism is outweighed by the increase in freedom.

“I am OK with that,” he told the Tribune. “The reason I’m OK with that is the assumption is they have done their time. If they’re still a danger to society, they should not be free.”

“Am I saying it’s not creepy?” he asked. “It’s definitely creepy,” but worth it to avoid big government’s infringement on personal liberties.

“In my 34 years of law enforcement I have never heard of such an insane law having been introduced,” said Cherokee Sheriff Roger Garrison Friday. “Sexual predators are one of this country’s most violent (type of) offenders. If there’s any equal it would be an out-and-out serial killer.”
- So what about politicians who agree to wars that kill thousands or more?  Or what about drunk drivers who kill a while family?  Not all sex offenders are as dangerous as you make them all out to be, but hey, you cannot look soft on crime we understand that, got to protect your reputation!

Garrison said that to allow sexual predators to “once again lurk around our parks, around our schools, around our swimming pools” is unacceptable.
- How many sexual crimes can you show us that occurred at ANY of these places?

Cherokee Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Petruzielo told the Tribune by email, “The School District is strongly opposed to any legislation that would allow predators the opportunity to endanger our students, which it appears this bill would do.”

Anti-loitering laws are a key law enforcement tool in keeping adult sexual predators away from children, but Moore feels that they are unconstitutional in that they compel suspects to identify themselves to the police. HB 1033 would forbid police from forcing residents to identify themselves under any circumstances.

Moore said that he is protecting the Fifth Amendment, which protects citizens’ right to remain silent.

Sheriff Garrison blasted the bill’s potential to make law enforcement impossible.
- Oh come on, really?

“It’s insane,” he said. “If you can’t check them, how are you going to know who they are? They could be wanted for murder down the street.”
- So I guess you just want to eliminate the 5th amendment and let your Gestapo search anybody, anywhere, anytime you wish?

One of Moore’s fellow Republican lawmakers unloaded on him at the state House session on Friday morning.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted Rep. John Pezold (R-Fortson) as saying, “I am shocked and appalled anyone would suggest that pedophiles should be allowed to loiter near day care centers, schools — the places where our children learn and play.”
- Not all ex-offenders are pedophiles and by saying so could be a form of defamation!

“If Mr. Moore’s mission was to come down to the state Capitol and alienate his colleagues by staking out positions that no one in their right mind could agree with,” Pezold continued, “he can now hang a ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner behind him because he has done just that.”

See Also:

• (02/28/2014) Rep. Sam Moore back tracks on his controversial bill
• (02/24/2014) Georgia lawmaker apologizes for bill scrapping sex offender loitering statute
• (02/21/2014) State representative’s sex offender bill receives fierce criticism (Video Available)

NY - Organizing Against Sex Offenders

Original Article

02/17/2014

By Dave McKinley

Two Different Western New York Communities are taking two different approaches, toward one common goal

BUFFALO - Two separate Western New York communities, are taking two different approaches, toward one common goal; to rid their neighborhoods of sex offenders, placed in group homes by the state, after it closed a secure facility near Rochester late last year.

In Newstead, a group home for persons with developmental disabilities on Rapids Road operated by People Inc. has become the object of attention, after it was discovered that one of its newest residents is a registered sex offender.

At the same time, seven other sex offenders, from the shuttered Rochester area facility, were placed at two adjoining group homes on Leydecker Road in West Seneca.

"We're not a community that is open to places being shut down in far away communities and counties and having those people with criminal records, especially a sex offender, come to our neighborhood," said Newstead Town Councilman Justin Rooney.

Rooney has organized a public meeting set for Wednesday at 7 pm, at the Newstead Town Library, where he says representatives of People Inc. and The NY State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities have agreed to appear and address community concerns.

"They were very responsive (to town officials), we asked them some pointed questions, we're going to go over those questions with the public on Wednesday and hopefully they will continue to be responsive and open to us," Rooney said.

In West Seneca meanwhile, concerns have boiled over into plans for protest marches.

"Personally I'm not stopping until they're gone," said Tony Fischione, who has organized the first of what he promises will be demonstrations every weekend this coming Saturday.

It will begin at Sunshine Park and proceed to where the group homes are located some 600 yards away.

"We're trying to get as many people out here as possible with signs, flags, banners, …whatever we can think of ," said Fischione. "We're sick of it and we're not going to put up with it," he said.

UT - Utah group homes fight paranoia and stigmas

Original Article

02/16/2014

By Mark Saal

MORGAN - Last summer, when Alpha Counseling & Treatment went before the city council here, seeking to put a youth group home into a residential neighborhood, you'd have thought they were asking to open a meth lab.

Mace Warren, clinical director for ACT, was seeking to house up to 12 boys in a six-bedroom home at 535 Derrick Circle. These were boys, according to Warren, exhibiting "moderate male behavioral disorder," including Asperger's syndrome, autism and other developmental disabilities.

Neighbors packed the small city council chambers, worried that the proposed home would bring violence, drugs, sex offenders and other troubles to their small community. When the city council finally -- reluctantly -- approved a conditional-use permit for the group home, tearful, angry residents in the neighborhood talked of selling their homes.

So, do they? Sell their homes, that is?

As it turns out: not usually.

There are plenty of residential group homes in Northern Utah -- some have been operating here for years. And generally, once the initial fuss dies down, neighbors are fairly accepting of group homes.

"I did worry at first, because I didn't know what to expect," said Paul Rohde, who lives next door to a group home in North Ogden. "But it was more a concern out of not knowing what it would be like."

The Rohdes have lived in their current home for seven years; the group home has been there about three. He says the residents of the group home have been no more trouble in the neighborhood than his own three children.

"They've been fine, we've had no issues," he said. "The first year they were here, they picked up all our leaves, and we've got a ton of trees. They raked our leaves again this year."

Rebecca Ostler, who lives on the other side of the group home, says the only problem she's had is that it was a bit of a disappointment to her own children.

"At first, it was kind of hard for my boys, because they saw boys there at the house and wanted to play with them," she said. But, Ostler says, the boys at the group home aren't allowed to interact with neighborhood children.

"They're kept away from the neighborhood, and have strict rules," she said. "They're friendly, they say hello, but they don't interact."

Other neighbors of this group home at 1217 E. 3100 North, in North Ogden, operated by Crossroads Academy, have similar tales to tell.

"I didn't know they were in until they were in," said neighbor Judy Howard. "But we've never had any problems with them."

A year ago, as the Howards were cleaning up following a windstorm, two young men from the house stopped by and asked, "Can we help you pick that up?"

"We've never had any cop cars there, or anything like that," Howard said. "And none of the neighbors say they've seen increased break-ins. They're very quiet, and the house is well-maintained."

And neighbor Betty King said: "They've not been any problem at all. I see them come sliding down the street on skateboard sometimes. But they're just like anybody else."

Read the rest of the article

NY - Town boards of Newstead, West Seneca hear concerns about sex offenders at group homes

Original Article

This is pure hysteria! Ex-offenders get old as well and they need a place to stay when they cannot take care of themselves.

02/10/2014

By Janice Habuda

Two town boards – Newstead and West Seneca – addressed concerns Monday night about newly opened group homes where registered sex offenders are among the residents.

In West Seneca, town officials said Monday night at least seven convicted sex offenders who had been living in the Monroe Developmental Center in suburban Rochester have turned up in group homes in a West Seneca neighborhood.

“It is extremely concerning to me,” Town Supervisor Sheila M. Meegan said at Monday’s West Seneca Town Board meeting.

“The predators are from Monroe County and they brought them here; they did it at night,” said Meegan, who noted that she’s been in contact with State Sen. Patrick M. Gallivan, R-Elma, about the lack of notification to public officials and the fact the men are being housed in unsecured facilities.

“I immediately reached out to the senator and he agrees 100 percent,” Meegan said.

According to public records, the men are living at two addresses on Leydecker Road, on the former site of the West Seneca Developmental Center, which closed in 2011.

Classified as moderate- or high-risk offenders, four of the men were convicted of sexual crimes involving children younger than 10 years old. Six were convicted of crimes in Niagara, Erie or Chautauqua counties; the seventh was convicted in Monroe County.

The men were placed in the homes after the state closed the Monroe facility at the end of December, as part of a statewide effort to save money and de-institutionalize those with severe developmental disabilities.

In Newstead, a large crowd of residents living near two homes run by People Inc. attended the town board meeting.

Mark Outten, who lives across from the home on Rapids Road, asked board members why they never gave the public notice of the homes when People Inc. first let the board know that they were looking at two sites in Newstead in May 2013.

Supervisor David Cummings apologized and took responsibility for the board not notifying the public, but said that they did not have the information they have now.

“We went with the information we had at that point in time,” he said. “We went with the mentality of what we had dealt with in the past and shame on us for that. We can’t change the past, but we can move forward and make as many corrections to what’s there as we can legally going forward.”

Councilwoman Marybeth Whiting, who serves with Councilman Justin Rooney on the committee set up to look into the two recently opened group homes, said it was important to deal with reality when trying to figure out a solution to the issues surrounding the homes.

“We really, really want to deal with facts,” she said. “Not what you’ve heard, and not what you’re thinking, but facts…Really try to focus on facts.”
- Really?  Then you will know that sex offenders have one of the lowest recidivism rates of all other ex-criminals and that most who sexually abuse someone, it's someone in their own family, not some stranger!

The committee was set to meet with officials from People Inc. and the state on Wednesday.

Rhonda I. Frederick, chief operating officer of People Inc. and Kevin Penberthy, a deputy director from the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, were scheduled to meet with the group at 6 p.m. at Newstead Town Hall.

A meeting with the community is planned at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19 with Frederick and a director from the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. That meeting is slated to be held in the new Cultural Center, located in the basement of the Newstead Public Library, 33 Main St. in the Village of Akron.

The committee met Monday night before the Town Board meeting, and developed a list of questions for Frederick and Penberthy, said Newstead resident Kevin Borth, who is one of six residents serving on the committee.

“We’re trying to figure out who’s responsible for what,” he said. “Who’s responsible for the sex offender in there? Who does oversight?”

The committee is trying to get as much information as possible from the people who make decisions regarding the group homes on Rapids Road and Buckwheat Road, Borth said.

“Knowledge is power on this,” he said.

Woody Allen - Innocent until proven guilty not guilty until proven innocent!

Woody Allen

Where did we as a society go wrong?

Was it shows like Jerry Springer, Steve Wilkos, Nancy Grace (to name a few) that is causing our morals to decay? These shows exploit people for their own gain and don't solve anything. They only make themselves richer while society declines. They are distractions so we forget, or aren't aware of, the real problems in this world.

Why are we so quick to condemn someone these days?

What happened to the Golden Rule?

Remember, judge not lest ye be judged yourselves!

Remember back when you were growing up? Did you steal anything? Do drugs? Rob someone? Murder someone? Have sex with someone you shouldn't have? How would you like it if you could never live down your past and were always seen as that past? So why is it so easy for us to do it to others and not expect the same done to us?

Should we just skip all the nonsense and put everybody's past crimes on an online sinners registry? Wouldn't you like to know all the ex-criminals who live around you so that you can "protect" yourself from them? Or would that cause you to be paranoid, never to leave your home, or suspect everyone to be a criminal, or you yourself to be on an online registry?

Do you remember the McCarthyism era?

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it!" - George Santayana

Are we repeating history? Yes we think we are!

In the good-ole-days we were all innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, now we are automatically guilty, by the mob, and must prove our innocence, which is almost impossible to do!

If someone accused you of a sexual crime 30 years ago, how would you prove you didn't do it? That is why we have statute of limitations law, and courts to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, and based on evidence and facts, not hearsay, that we are indeed guilty or not.

People are wrongly accused of crimes, especially sexual crimes, all the time. Just think about it the next time you make your ex angry at you for some reason. All it would take is for them to accuse you of molesting a child or sexually abusing them, and your life is pretty much over, or your reputation is beyond repair!

Now, Woody Allen may be guilty, but we have laws and courts for a reason. If he did indeed sexually abuse his daughter, then he should've been punished for it then, not many years later. Why would the accuser take it public (all over the news) instead of filing a lawsuit?

When did we start throwing our morals out the door and ourselves over the cliff to hell?