Jun
09

Massachusetts Senate Votes To Dramatically Increase Restrictions On Level 2 Sex Offenders

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Multiple news outlets are reporting that the Massachusetts State Senate has passed a host of new changes to the Sex Offender Registration Law that would severely ratchet up the registration and public notification requirements for individuals classified as Level 2 or 3 sex offenders. In part, the law would greatly expand the community notification requirements for Level 2 sex offenders in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Senate backed a plan Thursday to overhaul the state’s procedures for classifying convicted sex offenders in response to the arrest last year of a registered sex offender on charges that he sexually abused infants and small children at his wife’s unlicensed day care.

The proposal is an amendment to the Senate version of the state budget, and designed to strengthen information sharing between the Sex Offender Registry Board and other state agencies. It goes to a conference committee as part of the budget legislation.

Senate President Therese Murray said the Senate decided to take action after the arrest of John Burbine of Wakefield for allegedly sexually abusing children, ranging from 8-days-old to 3 ½ years and recording the assaults.

Burbine was registered as a Level 1 sex offender, a classification given those least likely to re-offend. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and is being held on $1 million bail.

‘‘I promised at the start of this session that the Senate would re-examine the criteria for sex offender registration,’’ Murray, D-Plymouth, said in a statement.

The Senate amendment allows the registry board to reclassify a sex offender without a new conviction and authorizes the release of information on Level 1 sex offenders to the Department of Early Education and Care. Police also would be allowed to provide information to the Sex Offender Registry Board that is relevant to the assessment of a sex offender’s dangerousness or risk to re-offend.

Under the amendment, Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders would be required to register within two days of being released from custody. Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders are currently required to register annually in person but the law does not specify when they must first appear after being released.

The proposal also creates a commission to develop risk assessment protocols for sexual offenders.

Prosecutors allege that between August 2010 and August 2012, Burbine molested children at his wife’s day care, which authorities say didn’t have a state license.

Expanding the dissemination of information of Massachusetts Level 2 sex offenders would be devastating for many registered offenders. It would vastly expand the number of Massachusetts sex offenders whose home, work, and educational information is splashed across the Internet and will reduce the utility of the site run by the Sex Offender Registry Board, which presently only lists the highest risk Massachusetts Level 3 sex offenders.

If you are a Level 2 sex offender in Massachusetts and have questions regarding your Massachusetts sex offender classification or wants assistance in reviewing or seeking sex offender reclassification, you need a Boston sex offender attorney. Please contact Attorney Crouch at (617) 441-5111 or email him to set up a free, initial consultation. To request further information please contact us.

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Nov
06

Sex Offender Fined For Groping Cardboard Cut-out

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The Berkshire Eagle is reporting an unusual case involving a Level 3 sex offender.

PITTSFIELD — A convicted sex offender admitted he kissed and fondled a cardboard cutout of a woman, which was part of a North Street pharmacy’s advertising display.

Charlie J. Price, 57, of Pittsfield, pleaded guilty to a single count of disturbing the peace, subsequent offense, and was ordered to pay a $200 fine by Central Berkshire District Court Judge Fredric D. Rutberg.

Saturday around 5 p.m., Price, who was allegedly intoxicated, walked into the Rite Aid pharmacy, “grabbed hold of the sunglass display, hugged it tightly and then began to lick and kiss the face of the female party on the display,” according to a Pittsfield Police report.

This behavior lasted about a minute, according to police, and ended when Price fell to the floor. He eventually got back on his feet and began yelling and screaming, according to the police report. Meanwhile, Price’s behavior apparently scared customers who “actively” tried to get away from the area. Price was arrested by the Pittsfield Police.

Price is a level 3 sex offender, and therefore is considered to be at a high risk for reoffending. In 1991, he was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Last year, he was convicted of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior, according to the Sex Offender Registry Board.

This decision demonstrates the low threshold that society has for those convicted of a sexual offense, regardless of the nature of the conviction. For individuals facing sex offender classification in Massachusetts, it is crucial to have legal counsel. If you are a facing sex offender classification in Massachusetts and have questions regarding your Massachusetts sex offender classification or want assistance in reviewing or seeking sex offender reclassification, you need a Boston sex offender attorney. Please contact Attorney Crouch at (617) 441-5111 or email him to set up a free, initial consultation. To request further information please contact us.

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Nov
06

Massachusetts Attorney General Considers Sex Offender Ordinance

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The Boston Globe is reporting that the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office is considering a tough new bylaw measure governing sex offenders in Ayer.

The state attorney general’s office, which is responsible for reviewing all new bylaws, will consider a sex-offender residency measure that was approved by voice vote at Monday’s Town Meeting. If approved by the AG’s office, the bylaw would prohibit convicted sex offenders from living or loitering in areas where large numbers of children or senior citizens congregate.

The Lowell Sun reports the details of the proposed ordinance.

Pending a constitutionality and legal review by the Attorney General’s office, the Town of Ayer has enacted a sex-offender residency restricting bylaw for Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders. Such offenders will not be permitted to reside within 1,000 feet of public and private schools, day-care centers, passive and active recreation fields and senior centers and senior housing.

The measure was broadened by amendment during the meeting to include 1,000-foot zones around bus stops for not only school children, but Scouting and summer camps registered with the town and Police Department. With the change, the draft map that accompanies the bylaw will be retooled before it is submitted to the AG’s office.

A man who identified himself as Jeff Hagelberag of Littleton Road said he opposed the idea, comparing the measure to “Nazi Germany where they classified groups of people as different” and justified taking “rights away from them. Here in the United States, this is really about freedom.” Hagelberag said “they made mistakes, they went to jail, they did their time and now they’re just trying to move on with their lives. This is really removing their rights.”

Hagelberag also said the Sex Offender Registry Board’s classification of offenders as Level 2 (of moderate risk of reoffending) and Level 3 (deemed at high risk of reoffending) is “kind of arbitrary.”

His comments invoked disbelief
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from many in attendance. A woman who identified herself only as “Shilo” from the Devenscrest neighborhood said she had three children. “Wow, I don’t even know where to begin.”

She said her uncle betrayed a trust and was convicted and deemed a Level 3 sex offender who reoffended twice again after his initial release. She placed the blame squarely at her uncle’s feet “for ruining — not making a mistake — for ruining two girls’ lives. I was shocked because he was one I trusted.”

“They lost their rights when they harmed the innocent,” said Shilo, whose comments were greeted with applause.

Brenda Gleason asked, “do I have to say my address? I don’t really want to.” But her husband co-initiated the call to the selectmen to take action and enact a bylaw in light of a spate of recent Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders emanating from two Ayer homes owned by the same landlord, one of which is located directly across the street from the Ayer school campus. “We have a property right across the street from the school, literally, with swing sets and toys (in the yard) but no children living there.”

Selectman Jim Fay is an Army veteran and has two sons in law enforcement. “Sex offenses are real and they’re happening in Ayer. If we didn’t need it, we wouldn’t put it forward.” Fay said, “I take personal offense to the reference to Nazi Germany.”

Jeff Mayes noted that some day-care centers were not included on the map. Lt. Brian Gill of the Ayer Police Department said there are 16 licensed centers in town and the map will be revised to encase them all in a 1,000 -foot wide protective zone.

John Norris of Nashua Street is a Marine veteran who lives in close proximity to another flagged house of concern owned by the same landlord. He thanked selectmen for taking swift action in bringing the bylaw to Town Meeting. He, too, took offense to “someone calling this Nazi Germany while trying to protect my child.”

Patrick Kelly co-sponsored the initiative. He said that postings of pictures of sex offenders at the police station and library can only include Level 3 offenders by law. But upon request at the Police Department, citizens can make a request for a list of the Level 2 offenders. Kelly said there’s a “considerable” number of Level 2 offenders in town.

Selectman Frank Maxant is a tenant in one of the two targeted multifamily residences that has provided shelter to some of the sex offenders who have been flagged for prosecution in recent months for reoffending and/or failing to register as an offender living in Ayer. Maxant thanked Hagelberag for “giving me the courage” to speak up.

Maxant said he, too, had “misgivings” about the bylaw saying the current draft was “really overreaching” and places a “bull’s eye right on our forehead” for a legal challenge from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union.

Tom Horgan challenged Maxant. “Is the position Mr. Maxant taking contrary to the (will of) the Board of Selectmen?” Heads nodded.

Maxant compared his commentary to “dissenting opinions” included in U.S. Supreme Court cases before obliging and leaving the stage to speak from the main meeting room floor.

Maxant concluded by saying the bylaw is the equivalent of handing the ACLU “the easy button” to sue the town “when we deprive people of their civil rights.”

The call came to move the question. The group loudly agreed. With only Hagelberag making a vocal vote against the measure, the sex offender bylaw passed on an overwhelming voice vote before the meeting adjourned. But not before a woman offered a comment that she was ‘offended that Maxant would be able to comment when he lived with these sex offenders.”

Ayer has 4,480 registered voters, and 157 showed to vote at the special Fall Town Meeting. Fifty is the minimum number of voters needed to conduct business.

Such sex offender residency ordinances are increasingly used by local communities to drive former offenders from their communities. These proposed laws will affect many individual sex offenders. If you have questions regarding your Massachusetts sex offender classification or are already a registered Massachusetts sex offender who wants assistance in reviewing or challenging his or her classification, or to request further information, you need a Boston sex offender attorney. Please contact Attorney Crouch at (617) 441-5111 or email him to set up a free, initial consultation. To request further information please contact us.

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Sep
17

Supreme Judicial Court Rejects Civil Commitment for Exhibitionist

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The Boston Globe reports today the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a superior court decision, which held that a repeat exhibitionist, or flasher, could not be civilly committed under the state’s sexual predator laws, saying there is no evidence that the man poses any danger to anyone.

The ruling was restricted to the case of [the offender], but it could put more of a burden on prosecutors seeking to commit sexual offenders who have no history of posing physical threat of harm, known as contact crimes, according to legal analysts.

[The offender] is a 55-year-old who has been convicted of open and gross lewdness seven times, mostly for flashing young adult woman, sometimes while masturbating, and he has told medical examiners that he has done it as many as 30 times since he was 13 years old.

But in a ruling issued yesterday, the state Supreme Judicial Court drew a distinction between [the offender]’s conduct and the type of menacing threat of harm that would necessitate his commitment under sexual predator laws, such as stalking someone while flashing, or doing it in front of a child.

“The Commonwealth must show the defendant’s predicted sexual offenses will instill in his victims a reasonable apprehension of being subjected to a contact sex crime,’’ the court said in a decision written by Justice Francis X. Spina.

“A generalized fear or some other unspecified psychological harm such as shock or alarm will not suffice.’’

While maintaining that the ruling was restricted to [the offender], Spina also wrote that the decision should not suggest that every sex offender who has committed only noncontact crimes such as flashing do not pose a threat to the health and safety of others.

“Each case is specific,’’ Spina wrote. “We can easily envision a case where the outcome might be different, based on the specific behavior of a particular defendant.’’

The ruling is still significant in that it has set a benchmark for prosecutors looking to civilly commit a sex offender, even if that offender has not caused physical harm to anyone. The ruling, for instance, could protect people who possessed child pornography – rather than distributed it or harmed a child in the process – from commitment.

Legal analysts say that the ruling does not affect offenders who have caused harm to others, or created the threat of it. The ruling, for instance, affirms that a flasher who stalks someone, lurks around a particular area such as a bathroom, or who targets a particular person could be considered a menace to someone if that person feels threatened.

The high court affirmed an Essex Superior Court ruling. The Superior Court judge found that while [the offender] could have been committed under the language of state laws, it would be unconstitutional to do so because prosecutors never demonstrated that his convictions were predictors that he would harm someone or create that menacing threat necessary to commit him.

The high court did not address whether the state law is unconstitutional, but it determined that [the offender] could not be committed under the state laws because he did not cross the threshold of being a menace.

This decision is important for many individuals sex offenders as this interpretation has led to many attempts to civilly commit individuals. Upon release from prison, it is important to know that the failure to register as a sex offender is a serious crime in Massachusetts with devastating consequences. If you have questions regarding your Massachusetts sex offender classification or are already a registered Massachusetts sex offender who wants assistance in reviewing or challenging his or her classification, or to request further information, you need a Boston sex offender attorney. Please contact Attorney Crouch at (617) 441-5111 or email him to set up a free, initial consultation. To request further information please contact us.

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Mar
09

Massachusetts State Police Capture Another ‘Most Wanted’ Sex Offender

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A local news site is reporting that the active State Police investigation into the whereabouts of unregistered sex offenders has netted another arrest.

A fifth member of the Massachusetts State Police Ten Most Wanted Sex Offenders list is in custody today after Massachusetts troopers directed a task force in the Pacific Northwest to the suspect’s location.

Police arrested ELWOOD J. JOHNSON, 54, this afternoon at an apartment at 903 Union St. in Seattle. In recent days, Trooper Carlos Rivera of the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section had developed information that JOHNSON may be at that address. Trooper Rivera contacted the Pacific Northwest Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, a combination of local and state officers and United States Marshals, and directed them to JOHNSON’s potential location. Task Force members found him there today and took him into custody.

JOHNSON is currently being booked and is expected to be arraigned at the King County Superior Court in Seattle later today. Massachusetts authorities will work with their counterparts in Washington state to arrange for JOHNSON’s rendition to answer to his charges here.

JOHNSON was previously convicted in Washington state in 1992 for rape of a child and is currently wanted by the Worcester Police Department for failure to register as a sex offender. He is also the subject of a warrant out of the state of Georgia for failure to register.

JOHNSON is the fifth member of the Top Ten Most Wanted Sex Offender List to be captured since the list was updated by State Police and the Sex Offender Registry Board last month. In February, Level 3 offenders CAESAR J. DELGADO, STEVEN M. HESCOCK, FRANKLIN C. MILLER and ROBERT GRIGGS JR. were captured.

GRIGGS was arrested at a motel in Fort Myers, Florida, after Massachusetts troopers learned he had been living in a series of motels in that state. GRIGGS is wanted by the Fitchburg Police Department for failure to register as a sex offender as required by law. GRIGGS was required to register because of a 1994 conviction in Massachusetts for open and gross misconduct and lewd and lascivious behavior and a 1995 conviction in Texas for aggravated sexual assault on a child.

DELGADO, 44, was arrested in Central Falls, R.I. after Massachusetts State Police learned he was staying in an apartment there. DELGADO is wanted by State Police and the Lowell Police Department on four counts each of rape of a child with force and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, as well as for failure to register as a sex offender. His registration is required by a 1999 conviction for indecent assault on a child. DELGADO had been previously arrested last October but fled a month later after cutting off the GPS monitoring bracelet.

HESCOCK, 34, was captured by Massachusetts troopers at a relative’s house Revere. HESCOCK is wanted by Revere Police for failure to register as a sex offender and larceny and by Medford Police for larceny. His registration as a sex offender is required by a 1994 conviction for rape.

MILLER, 33, at a Boston shelter. He was wanted by Fitchburg Police for failure to register as a sex offender. His registration was required by a 1997 conviction for rape of a child.

All members of the list of Most Wanted Sex Offenders have been classified as Level 3 Sex Offenders by the state’s Sex Offender Registry Board.

The failure to register as a sex offender is a serious crime in Massachusetts with devastating consequences. If you have questions regarding your Massachusetts sex offender classification or are already a registered Massachusetts sex offender who wants assistance in reviewing or challenging his or her classification, or to request further information, you need a Boston sex offender attorney. Please contact Attorney Crouch at (617) 441-5111 or email him to set up a free, initial consultation. To request further information please contact us.

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