Legal Issues

Missing and Exploited Children
Aticles here refer to the laws which are supppose to keep children safe but have loophoes that instead help a predator avoid punishment. Also, court cases involving sexual predators.

Alyssa Bustamante Sentenced star
Last week Alyssa Bustamante pled guilty to second degree and armed criminal action in the October 2009 murder of 9 year old Elizabeth Olten in St. Martin Missouri. This means the teen may one day be released fom prison.

Anthony E. Mann Fights Georgia´s Offender Law star
After his conviction, the Mann’s wanted to be sure that Anthony would not be violating the sex offender law’s in Georgia, carefully researching the location of their home. Recently, law enforcement told him he would have to move as his home and business were both within 1,000 ft. of a day care.

Charges Filed in MySpace Cyber-bullying star
Megan Taylor Meier was thirteen years old when she hung herself in her bedroom closet on October 16, 2008. What happened in the minutes, days, and weeks before Megan killed herself has become a heated controversy across the entire nation.

Chelsea King and Chelsea's Law star
Chelsea's Law would require offenders who hurt children to be sentenced to a life time of parole, and those committing violent acts against a child would be sentenced to a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Child Online Privacy Protection Act star
Have you noticed some websites require children be 13 years of age or older to create an account on their site? This is due to a Federal law called the Child Online Privacy Protection Act. Yet the information your child provides in their profile may jeopardize them more. Read on to keep them safe.

Halloween and State Offender Laws star
Missouri has a new law this Halloween requiring registered sex offenders to stay inside between 5 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., turn off house outside lights, and post a sign on their door stating they are not giving out candy.

Halloween Safety for Children star
The laws vary for sex offenders across the nation regarding what the sex offender is or is not allowed to do on Halloween. Parents need to know where the sex offenders live in their neighborhood. Talk to children about being safe now, do not wait for Halloween.

Jessica's Law HR 3132 Child Safety Act of 2005 star
John Evander Couey received three life sentences and one death sentence for the abduction, rape, and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Since Jessica’s death, Mark Lunsford has been working to change the laws for sex offenders who violate their release obligations.Learn how you can help.

Justice for Jessica´s Killer Gets Death star
John Evander Couey was in court this Friday for sentencing on the charges of kidnapping, rape and murder of 9-year-old Jessica Marie Lunsford.

K-9 Officers star
K-9 officer´s and their furry counterpart are amazing when working together, especially when looking for a lost child.

LB 157 Nebraska's Safe Haven Nightmare star
Nebraska�s new law is different from other state safe haven laws. In Nebraska, the safe haven law is not only newborn or infants, but covers children through age 19.

Legal Loophole Protects Offenders star
The Sex Offender Accountability and Protection of Minors Act of 2006, gives pedophiles a get out of jail free card, failing to protect children.

Lifetime GPS Monitoring for Predators star
Electronic or GPS (Global Positioning System) monitoring required for a lifetime for certain child and violent sexual predators, even after they complete sentencing.

Mark Lunsford star
Jessica´s Law is designed to give children rights. Mark Lunsford, Jessica´s father hopes to get the law passed in all 50 states. Yet, when it comes to age of consent the law has its flaws. Find out what those flaws are in the article.

Michael Devlin Pleads Guilty star
Shawn Hornbeck missing four and a half years, and William "Ben" Ownby was missing for four days when the two boys were discovered alive in the apartment of their kidnapper Michael Devlin. Their miraculous rescue was deemed the Missouri Miracle. Devlin this week pleaded guilty on all charges.

Missouri Supreme Court Ruling Favors Offenders star
The Missouri’s Supreme Court voted to allow registered sex offenders already residing within 1000 feet of Missouri schools or daycares to stay in their place of residence.

Mistake of Age Clause star
The mistake of age clause is a legal loophole that allows a child offender to walk away from having physical relatiuons with a child 14 and under. Are you aware of the mistake of age clause in South Carolina?

Mother of Missing Two-year-old Trenton Duckett is Prime Suspect star
Twenty-five days after Trenton Duckett disappeared on August 27, police announce Trenton’s mother Melinda Duckett is the prime suspect in the boy’s disappearance. The day she reported him missing, Melinda threw away his food, toys, toy chest, sonogram, and baby pictures.

New Jersey Bans Death Penalty - Megan´s Law Killer Commuted to Life star
Jesse Timmendequas is one of eight inmates whose life, or rather his death, is now significantly affected, by New Jersey abolishing the death penalty. In 1997, Jesse Timmendequas received a conviction and death sentence for the brutal rape, beating, and strangulation murder of Megan Nicole Kanka.

Offender Registry and the Law star
There is much controversy about listing sex offender registries online. The controversy is the offender has served his or her time and paid retribution for the crime and by listing them on a “sex offender registry” violates their right to privacy.

Samuel Burnett Sentenced Sixty Years star
Circuit Judge Melvyn Wiesman asked the now 8 year old on September 25 to think about what she felt would be appropriate for her attacker to receive as punishment, and to write him a letter. She did. She asked, “That he go away for 60 years…because when he gets out he won´t hurt any other person.”

School Policy Regarding Parent Offenders star
Many schools mandate all volunteers, including parents, and all employees have to submit to a background check prior to any contact with students. However, just as many schools do not require this back ground check. How schools deal with parents who are registered sex offenders varies greatly.

Sexting and Teens and New Laws star
Teens are sexting everyday in school, at home, on their jobs. The problem with sexting is that most high school students are under 18 and sexting is causing major issues for both, sender and receiver. The reason sexting is causing such chaos is it is illegal.

Sexting Teens Felony Charges star
The name of the new game is sexting and it is where teens send sexually explicit photos of themselves on the computer by email or over the cell phone waves in a text message. This hot new topic is causing grief for teens of all ages.

Sheriff Gary Toelke - Missouri´s Miracle and All Star Sheriff star
Missouri’s Miracle is the instinct of one Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke. He is three for three when it comes to finding missing children. The Sheriff’s confidence in his department is obvious. He knows he has a good team; the obviously is a good leader.

Teens and Internet Laws star
She is just 14, living in the north east, a typical teenager by many standards, yet soon the law may required her to register as a sex offender. At fourteen, you may wonder what she could have done to do face a lifetime as a registered sex offender. Many teens are doing the same thing, is your teen?

The Matthew Cecchi Public Safety Act star
Family restrooms, or unisex restrooms, not only assist parents with small children in providing a safe environment during times of travel and outings, they also provide disabled families a way to assist an opposite sexed family member who may be unable to toilet completely independently.

Zero Tolerance for Child Offenders on Halloween star
Zero tolerance means sex offenders cannot decorate their homes with Halloween lights or decorations. On Halloween, offenders cannot turn on their porch light or pass out Halloween candy to children who are trick or treating.

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