Ga. sex offenders must hand over online passwords

[Ed: Another "crime" which makes convenient the Constitutional rear-guard action to imprison for a lifetime those which they were unable to do so to the first go-around. Another obstacle in a hellish obstacle course to make life quite impossible to live. And it is all being perpetrated by those who insist that it is being done in the service of "public safety", not punishment because punishment would be ex post facto and that would be illegal. They're so terribly clever, aren't they?]

ATLANTA (AP) — Privacy advocates are questioning an aggressive Georgia law set to take effect Thursday that would require sex offenders to hand over Internet passwords, screen names and e-mail addresses.
Georgia joins a small band of states complying with guidelines in a 2006 federal law requiring authorities to track Internet addresses of sex offenders, but it is among the first to take the extra step of forcing its 16,000 offenders to turn in their passwords as well.

A federal judge ruled in September that a similar law in Utah violated the privacy rights of an offender who challenged it, though the narrow ruling only applied to one offender who had a military conviction on sex offenses but was never in Utah's court or prison system.

No one in Georgia has challenged the law yet, but critics say it threatens the privacy of sex offenders and burdens cash-strapped law enforcement officials.

"There's certainly a privacy concern," said Sara Totonchi of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights. "This essentially will give law enforcement the ability to read e-mails between family members, between employers."

State Sen. Cecil Staton, who wrote the bill, said the measure is designed to keep the Internet safe for children. Authorities could use the passwords and other information to make sure offenders aren't stalking children online or chatting with them about off-limits topics.

Staton said although the measure may violate the privacy of sex offenders, the need to protect children "outweighs a lot of the rights of these individuals."

"We limit where they can live, we make their information available on the Internet. To some degree, we do invade their privacy," said Staton, a Republican from Macon. "But the feeling is, they have forfeited, to some degree, some privacy rights."

Most states already make the addresses of sex offenders available online. Georgia is one of at least 15 states that have adopted laws requiring sex offenders to detail their e-mail addresses, user names and other Internet handles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
But researcher Sarah Hammond said Georgia and Utah appear to be the only states that require sex offenders to also hand over their passwords.
The new requirements are far from watertight. While offenders who don't report their user names and passwords could face probation violations — and possibly a return to prison — supporters admit it isn't hard to skirt the law's requirements.

"My hunch is, where there's a will, there's a way," Staton said. "If people are intent on violating this law, there are many different ways. What's important is we have given law enforcement a tool."

For offenders like Kelly Piercy, convicted of child pornography charges in 1999, the password requirement is the latest example of "pre-emptive justice."

Piercy, who suffers from a degenerative disease that has left him blind, said he already struggles to keep track of the roughly dozen screen names he has created, and he doubts deputies would have much sympathy for him if he forgets to report one.

"I made a mistake and I need to pay for it. And I did. But now we're the target of pre-emptive justice — and that concerns me," he said. "How much further down the road can sex offenders be chased?"
Senate Bill 474: http://www.legis.ga.gov/

New ways to protect your family against convicted sex offenders; including e-mail and telephone alertsCorey

NEW LAWS IN EFFECT
The following provisions of the N.C. General Assembly's session laws 2008-117, 2008-118 and 2008-220 took effect Dec. 1.

- Every sex offender required to register must report to his or her local sheriff's office in person within three days after moving to a new home, receiving a verification form from the State Bureau of Investigation and to provide written notification of address changes, changes to academic status or employment status at colleges and universities and intent to move out of state.
- Registered offenders cannot access commercial social networking Web sites that permit minors to become members or maintain personal Web pages.
- Registered offenders can no longer have their names legally changed.
- Offenders whose victims were younger than 16 are prohibited from being on the premises of any place intended primarily for the use, care or supervision of minors, including, but not limited to, schools, children's museums, child care centers, nurseries and playgrounds. They also are prohibited from being within 300 feet of any such place located on other premises not intended primarily for minors, such as those located in malls, shopping centers or other places open to the general public.

New rules restricting where sex offenders can go and what Web sites they can visit will likely mean more work for Gaston County Sheriff's deputies.

Cpl. Shane Farmer doesn't mind the additional duties. He applauds the N.C. General Assembly's changes to state sex offender registration laws that took effect Dec. 1.

"I think it was definitely a big step forward in the legislation that was provided to us," he said. "I think it's fantastic."

One of two deputies assigned to keep tabs on Gaston's 340 registered sex offenders, Farmer said he expects more reports of offenders out of compliance now that requirements for registration are more stringent.

Churches closed to some
A law prohibiting sex offenders whose victims were under 16 from being within 300 feet of child care centers and playgrounds has already drawn reports of violators.

"We've fielded several complaints of that nature already," Farmer said. "Once the general public is more aware of the new law changes, that's going to increase."
Gaston County deputies asked the state Attorney General's office if the 300-foot law applied to churches, which often provide nurseries for children while their families attend worship services. The Justice Department said churches are not exempt.

"There is no exception within North Carolina law that would allow them to attend church if that church is within 300 feet of a nursery," Farmer said.

Sex offenders are now required to register with their local sheriff's office within three business days of moving to a new home. They receive two address verification letters per year from the State Bureau of Investigation and must present them to deputies in person within three business days.

Formerly, offenders had 10 days to verify their addresses and to notify the sheriff's office of a move.

"It puts more restrictions on the actual offenders and makes them held more accountable," Farmer said. "It does help our records. What I forsee happening is it making us a lot busier."

About half of the county's registered sex offenders have failed to notify the sheriff's office when they changed their addresses, Farmer said. When offenders don't show up within the three-day window and can't be located at their homes, deputies obtain warrants for their arrest.

No more MySpace
Two new laws restrict sex offenders' activity online. It's now illegal for registered offenders to access social networking Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook that allow minors to sign up.

Farmer said offenders who created personal profiles on such Web sites before the law took effect and those who did so in other states can no longer visit the sites.

Effective May 9, registered offenders must provide their local sheriff's office with all e-mail addresses, instant messenger screen names and other online identifiers. Those who get new identifiers will be required to notify the sheriff's office in person within 10 days.

Finally, registered offenders are now forbidden from having their names legally changed.

"They were figuring out if they changed their name and changed their appearance a little bit, they could kind of escape their past, so to speak," Farmer said.

Of North Carolina's 100 counties, Farmer estimated that Gaston ranks in the top 10 in sex offender population. The county is also unique in its approach to keeping track of offenders. Sheriff's deputies visit each registered offender's home four times per year.

"Sheriff (Alan) Cloninger takes a very proactive appraoch to that, and I think it's a good thing," Farmer said. "We actually go above the statute."

Deputies divide the list of resident offenders by ZIP code and make "knock and talk" visits to every one within a three-month period. Farmer said the offenders are usually cooperative.

"They know what we're there for," he said. "They'll come out on the porch or they'll even invite us in briefly. Generally, unless they're in violation and they know they're in violation, they won't avoid us at all."

Farmer said the home visits provide a deterrent to those who may commit repeat offenses. Offenders are more likely to follow the law if they know deputies will be checking up on them regularly, he said.

The tougher sex offender laws may result in fewer offenders moving to the Tar Heel State.

"I've had people calling to get clarification on some of the laws, and if they were easier, they would move here," Farmer said. "I think some of the new laws might slow that down, and that's a good thing for North Carolina and Gaston County."

Naked Jogging Priest Must Register As Sex Offender

Robert Whipkey Given Five Years Probation, Must Register As Sex Offender For Life

GREELEY, Colo. -- A former Catholic priest, who was caught jogging naked in the small Weld County town of Frederick, was given five years probation Thursday and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

Robert Whipkey was also ordered not to have contact with any children younger than 18, including family members. He must also serve 100 hours of community service and pay various court fees.

Whipkey's attorney has filed an appeal so the sentencing has been stayed until the appeal is heard, the Weld County District Attorney's Office said. No date has been set on the appeal.

Weld County Judge Timothy Kerns could have sentenced Whipkey up to 18 months in prison.

Whipkey, who was ordained in 1983, was the pastor of St. Theresa Catholic Church in Frederick when he was arrested June 22, 2007 by an off-duty police officer who saw him walking nude along one of the main streets in Frederick just before daybreak.

The priest told the police officer that he was nude because he "sweats a lot" when he exercises. He said he had been jogging on the track at nearby Frederick High School.

Whipkey told Kerns before sentencing that the indecent exposure conviction had ruined his life.

"This conviction has cost me my career and my life," Whipkey is quoted as saying by the Greeley Tribune.

The case attracted nationwide attention.

[Ed: while the advisability of running around a track naked in the predawn hours as a means of controlling perspiration might be questioned given today's climate of hysteria, that this "offense" rises to the level of a sex offense is quite preposterous. When one compares the widescale acceptance of nudity in much of Europe (for example, in Germany, nudity in public parks is quite commonplace), it should surprise no one that America is regarded by Europeans as extremely puritanical. But leaving aside comparisons to other countries, in our own country, a mere thirty years ago, "streaking"was a phenomenon that played out across the nation. Streaking, in which (mostly) adolescents ran around town, their school auditoriums, across the football field during a game, etc. completely nude was seen as a kind of exuberant display of personal courage and audacity.  Everyone (except for the most humorless prudes) laughed and maybe blushed but got over it very quickly. The "streakers" were not imprisoned nor did they face lifetime registration as sex offenders, nor were they otherwise "pathologized" and permanently castigated.  What the hell has happened to this country??]

Georgia's sex offender law blocks religious redemption

PERSONA NON GRATA: Omar Howard's parole officer told him he shouldn't give testimony during church services.

Lori Collins, an ordained minister from Henry County who found religion in prison, is no longer allowed to work with church groups that perform prison outreach.
Andrew Norton of Cobb County has been told he can't sing in his church choir or help set up for church events. Steven Lee Williams of Polk County is forbidden from playing drums at services.

Churches frequently invite College Park's Omar Howard to offer testimony about how God rescued him from a life of violent crime. Eventually, he hopes to join the ministry. For the time being, however, Howard risks a mandatory 10-year term if he so much as performs a Bible reading before a congregation.
This past Thursday, lawyers with the Southern Center for Human Rights argued in federal court that a new law unconstitutionally criminalizes religious practice by making it illegal for people on Georgia's sex offender registry to volunteer at a church. A judge's ruling is expected within weeks.
It was the latest challenge to a controversial law that targets registered sex offenders with wide-ranging restrictions and stiff punishments. Initially authored by state House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons, and adopted in 2006, the law was overhauled by the Legislature this year after large chunks of it had been thrown out by various courts.
Even so, the chipping away continus. Last month, the state Supreme Court struck down a provision to send homeless sex offenders to prison for being unable to register a valid address with their county sheriff's office. The plaintiff in that suit, William James Santos, had spent a year in a Hall County jail and was facing a life sentence for failing to register his address – even though he didn't have an address.

If you think aspects of the sex offender law seem to defy common sense, welcome to the club.

"My parole officer doesn't understand it," says Howard, the would-be minister. "He told me it's safer just to stay away from church."

Howard, 34, admits he used to be a rough character. He spent 14 years behind bars for voluntary manslaughter, armed robbery and false imprisonment of a minor during a 1993 home invasion. That last charge landed him on the sex offender registry despite not having been convicted of a sex crime.

During his long incarceration, Howard got religion; he led Bible study and became a chaplain's aide. "My goal is to do full-time ministry," he says. "That was the only hope I had that got me through my time."
After entering probation last year, he devoted much of his time talking at churches about his experiences in an effort to warn at-risk young men away from the thug life. He's even spoken at the invitation of the Georgia Department of Corrections and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

But as of July 1, when the newest incarnation of the sex offender law went into effect, Howard had to give up most of his church-related activities. The law offers no guidance as to what constitutes volunteering; His parole officer has told him to no longer sing in the choir or take part in revivals, seminars or prayer vigils. Howard still accepts invitations to visit churches, but he's limited to sitting in the congregation. Offering testimony is off-limits.

In a court brief, Howard complains that the law "interferes with my religious freedom and prohibits me from expressing my strongly held religious beliefs." He adds that none of his previous church activities involved being around minors unsupervised.
Also testifying, Andrea Shelton, founder and president of Heartbound Ministries, a prison outreach program, told Judge Clarence Cooper that "religion makes recidivism less likely" for all convicts. Shelton explained that most churches routinely perform background checks on would-be volunteers before giving them positions of responsibility. The chance that a church would give a registered sex offender free access to children is fairly slim, she said.

Permitting Howard, who volunteered at Heartbound in the past, to continue work with churches will allow others to "see that redemption is possible," added Shelton, her voice choking with tears. "Rehabilitation rarely takes place without redemption."
Ironically, Rep. Keen, whose law criminalizes religious volunteerism for sex offenders, is the former head of the Georgia Christian Coalition.

Collins, the Henry County woman, also took the witness stand to explain that, although she's ordained, her parole officer told her she can't even lead an adult prayer group in her home. Said Collins, who served three years in prison for sleeping with an underage boy: "I don't know what I can and cannot do."

That's the problem with the law, argued Southern Center attorney Gerry Weber: It's too vague.
"The law prevents 'volunteering,' but doesn't define what that is," Weber told the judge. "Law enforcement is making up the rules as it goes along."

The result is that enforcement is likely to vary greatly, depending on how each county's sheriff interprets the volunteering provision. In one Georgia county, a sex offender was prosecuted for playing the piano during services, Weber said.

It's no surprise that the revamped law lacks well-articulated guidelines for determining what behavior is illegal. Keen was never much interested in clarity or even enforceability. Back in 2006, he indicated that his goal was to make life so difficult, costly and perilous for sex offenders that they'd be forced to leave Georgia. Speaking at a Senate hearing, he said, "Candidly, senators, they will in many cases have to move to another state."

Certainly, Keen's law has succeeded in harrassing Wendy Whitaker, a Columbia County woman who was the subject of a CL cover story in July 2006 when she was ordered to leave her house because it was within 1,000 feet of a church-based child-care facility. That provision eventually was struck down.

Whitaker, lead plaintiff in the Southern Center constitutional challenge, was back in court last week. trying to keep her home. She'd moved back after the state Supreme Court struck down the law late last year, ruling the restrictions made it practically impossible for sex offenders to remain in their homes.

This time, Cooper ruled her lawyers failed to establish that the restrictions barring her from occupying her home rose to the level of banishment from the county. The judge appeared to be swayed by the argument that other sex offenders had managed to find some form of housing in Columbia County.

On the witness stand, Whitaker indicated that if she and her husband are forced to rent a place to live, in addition to paying their home mortgage, they'll likely face foreclosure. "It will be bad for us," she said.

Court upholds law barring single parents living with sex offenders

The Iowa Supreme Court has upheld a law that bars single parents from living with sex offenders.

The case involves a Coralville woman who was found guilty of child
endangerment and sentenced to one year probation. The woman, Holly
Mitchell, lived with a convicted sex offender and let her children stay with the
man while she was at work.

Mitchell appealed her conviction, claiming the state's law is
unconstitutional because it treats people who are not married and living
with a sex offender differently than people who are married and living
with a sex offender.

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected that argument, saying it's
reasonable to believe that an unmarried parent living with a sex offender poses a
greater risk to a child than a parent who is married to a sex offender. [Ed: Huh?]

Sex offenders sue for right to volunteer at churches

ATLANTA — Georgia’s registered sex offenders should not be prevented from volunteering in church, a legal advocacy group argued in federal court Thursday, saying a state law that went into effect in July is overbroad and violates their rights of freedom of association.

Lawyers for the Georgia Attorney General’s office, meanwhile, countered that the law preventing registered sex offenders from volunteering in church did not keep them from attending services or practicing their religion of choice.

And an attorney for the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association said the state’s 159 sheriffs just want some direction.

U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Cooper heard arguments in a motion for preliminary injunction filed by the Southern Center for Human Rights, which represents several plaintiffs who say their lives are suffering "irreparable harm" from Georgia’s sex offender restrictions, considered the toughest in the nation. 

Among the plaintiffs in the class action suit filed against Gov. Sonny Perdue is Janet Jenkins Allison, a former Huddle House manager from Dahlonega who was convicted of statutory rape when her 15-year-old daughter became pregnant. Allison was accused of not doing enough to stop her daughter from becoming sexually active and is now one of more than 16,000 people on Georgia’s sex offender registry, including 224 in Hall County.

Thursday’s court hearing was the first in more than a year for federal litigation that was first filed in 2006, when the Southern Center challenged a residency provision that prevented sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school bus stop.

The bus stop provision is on hold under a consent order reached by the parties until a final determination can be made by the court.

This year the state legislature passed Senate Bill 1, which, among its provisions, prevents sex offenders from volunteering in church. 

Registered sex offenders already were prevented from working in churches because they are places where children congregate.

Joe Drolet, an assistant attorney general representing the state, told Cooper in Thursday’s hearing that sex offenders who have the appearance of working for a church, even if only volunteering, could use that perception of authority to take advantage of children.

Churches, Drolet said, "are places where that advantage for a sex offender is extremely great."

Lawyers for the Southern Center called several sex offenders to testify that they had been prevented from participating in church activities for fear of facing a prison sentence of 10 to 30 years.

"I have had to turn down requests to speak to church audiences," said Lori Sue Collins, a Henry County woman who was convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a 15-year-old when she was 39. Collins said she was involved in prison ministries and felt "compelled" to tell her story of redemption to church groups, but now was prevented from doing so under the new law.

"It’s very depressing," Collins said through tears.

Omar Howard, a College Park sex offender who served 14 years in prison for false imprisonment and manslaughter, testified that he, too, was no longer able to tell church gatherings about being saved.

Howard acknowledged under cross-examination that the new law did not prevent him from worshipping in church.

Southern Center legal counsel Gerry Weber claimed that probation officers, sheriffs deputies and other authorities have been confused by what the new law means because the law provides no definition of "volunteer."

"Law enforcement is making up the rules as it goes," Weber said.

David Hudson, an attorney representing the Georgia Sheriffs Association, was present for Thursday’s arguments as an observer.

"The position of the sheriffs is this: They want to know what the law is, what they can enforce and what they cannot enforce," Hudson told the judge.

Among the arguments presented by the Southern Center in the past is that by having so many restrictions on sex offenders on where they can live, offenders may fail to register altogether and "go underground," or abscond, preventing sheriffs from knowing their whereabouts.

But Assistant Attorney General Devon Orland told the court that the rate of sex offenders who have absconded in Georgia has remained steady over the last few years, "which certainly seems to indicate that it’s not that difficult for these people to find a place to live."

Cooper took the matter of church volunteering under advisement and will rule at a later date. The judge also must decide whether the litigation can go forward as a class-action suit or whether the complaints from the plaintiffs are too varied and individualized to be brought as a group.