Forensics Talk

Calif. Man Gets Death for Sexual Assault, Torture, Murder of Girlfriend's 5-Year-Old Daughter

CBS News Crimesider

Posted by Edecio Martinez

SAN FERNANDO, Calif. (CBS/AP) "Antonio Rodriguez has been sentenced to death for sexually assaulting and beating to death his girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter, Desarie Saravia.

The 29-year-old southern California man was sentenced Thursday in a San Fernando courtroom for the 2004 attack. He was convicted in July of murder, torture and other charges.

Prosecutors say Rodriguez brutalized Desarie and her 6-year-old brother for months before he molested and beat the girl in a park restroom.

He'd taken the children to the park while their mother cleaned a house nearby.

Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Coen said during sentencing that Rodriguez had extinguished the light of an angel.

The girl's mother, 32-year-old Debby Saravia, is awaiting trial on murder and other charges."

Families Win $3.5M in Ill. Band Teacher Abuse Suit

Washington Post

The Associated Press

Friday, July 9, 2010; 6:53 PM

CHICAGO -- "A federal jury has awarded $3.5 million to the families of nine girls who say they were sexually abused by a suburban Chicago band teacher.

The families sued former teacher Robert Sperlik, South Berwyn School District 100 and the former principal at the school where Sperlik taught.

In 2006, Sperlik pleaded guilty to the sexual abuse and kidnapping of more than 20 girls. He's currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.

The lawsuit claimed the principal knew about the abuse and intentionally hid information about the allegations. The families also claimed the district failed to uphold its responsibilities to the victims.

Thomas DiCianni, lead counsel for the school district, said the verdict was disappointing and "somewhat extreme, given the circumstances."'

Stricter Laws Asked For Sex Crimes

The Baltimore Sun

By Julie Bykowicz | [email protected]

February 24, 2010

    Delegates hear calls for more monitoring; O'Malley would list juvenile offenders

    "Almost every aspect of Maryland's sex offender laws is receiving scrutiny this year as state lawmakers respond to the December killing of 11-year-old Sarah Foxwell on the Eastern Shore at the hands, authorities believe, of a registered child sex offender.

On Tuesday, a panel of delegates reviewed 30 proposals, including a contentious plan backed by Gov. Martin O'Malley that would add juveniles to the state sex offender registry.

Opponents said such a change would unfairly stigmatize young people who are often abuse victims themselves. The same measure would require more information of homeless registrants, something lawmakers have previously rejected.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch made a rare visit to the House Judiciary Committee, a signal that the push to toughen sex offender laws has support from the highest levels of the General Assembly.

"Despite all of our efforts, we have flaws in the system," said Busch, an Anne Arundel County Democrat, telling lawmakers that as the father of an 11-year-old girl, he was particularly moved by the death of Sarah Foxwell. Laws that protect children, he said, are "the ultimate issue of why we're here in office."

Public defenders and others cautioned against writing laws as an emotional response to the Eastern Shore killing, but lawmakers said Maryland residents are demanding action. "What we have witnessed today is the voice of the residents of this state saying, 'Do something,' " said Del. Benjamin F. Kramer, a Montgomery County Democrat. . . " Read More

Delegate Discovers Sex Offender Law Loosely Enforced

MSNBC

    Info Collected On Offenders Not Posted On Registry

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - WBALTV.com

"Legislation requiring the state to collect specific information from convicted child sex offenders and post it online is not being carried out.

Maryland's sex offender registry exposes where child molesters live and gives their names and employers. They fill out a form revealing scars, tattoos, aliases, computer screen names and more.

   Thousands complied under a law passed by the General Assembly in 2008, but bill sponsor Delegate Michael Smigiel said that information has never made it to the registry.

"They collected the information as required by law, but decided not to place any of it on the sex offender registry. It does no good to the citizens of Maryland to have all this info collected, then withheld from the public, who could use it to protect their children," said Smigiel, R-Cecil County.

State officials said the law doesn't specifically say to post the information, but Smigiel said he can't believe no one used common sense.

"Why collect it if you are not going to notify the public of these dangerous persons who have aliases, screen names and who are getting access to our children on the computer or having access to a former name as an alias?" he questioned.

The delegate discovered the issue after learning other sex offender bills have either been ignored or contained flaws. . . " Read More

Michigan Homeless Sex Offenders Don't Have to Register

Sentencing Law & Policy

February 10, 2010

 Michigan court says state sex offender registration law does not apply to homeless

  "As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "Michigan appeals court: Homeless sex offenders don't have to register," a new opinion about sex offender resigration requirements is causing a stir in Michigan. Here are the basic details:

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that homeless sex criminals don’t have to comply with Michigan’s Sex Offender Registry Act. Many law enforcement officials — who often have to deal with sex offenders who claim they have no permanent residence — aren’t happy with the ruling.

In a published opinion released Tuesday that sets a statewide precedent, a three-judge panel unanimously upheld a trial court’s dismissal of charges against a homeless Ingham County man for failing to register, failing to comply with reporting duties and failing to pay registration fees.

The appeals judges ruled that it’s impossible for a homeless person to comply with the law, which requires convicted sex criminals to report their “domicile or residence” to police. The judges concluded that a homeless sex offender, by definition, has neither.

The judges’ opinion bluntly urges state lawmakers to fix the law. “The Legislature is free, indeed, empowered, to ... include a provision addressing reporting requirements for the homeless,” said the opinion signed by judges Jane M. Beckering, Jane E. Markey and Stephen L. Borrello.  “The purpose of (the Sex Offender Registry Act) is wise, and the Legislature is urged to consider changes so that a homeless person who does not have a domicile or residence may readily comply with its requirements,” the judges wrote."

The ruling in People v. Dowdy is available at this link.

"Public Opinion, Child Rape and the Constitution"

Crime & Consequences

January 21, 2010 7:12 AM | Posted by Bill Otis | 0 Comments | No TrackBacks

"Kent's note raises the question whether public opinion should be relevant to constitutional adjudication.  In the Fourth Amendment context, plainly the answer is "yes."  As Kent observes, when the constitutional provision by its terms requires courts to determine what is "reasonable," the public's view is very much in point, if not dispositive.

Even more noteworthy is the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.  As the Supreme Court has recognized, a public consensus about what is "cruel" punishment for a given crime or criminal is one of the most important elements to be considered.  It was therefore disappointing, but not surprising, that in Kennedy v. Louisiana,  554 U.S. ___ (2008) , a 5-4 majority concluded that the death penalty for child rape, even when particularly violent and grotesque, is unconstitutional.  The Court justified its conclusion by pointing out that only a small minority of states had the death penalty for any non-homicide offense.  What the Court failed to do was make a convincing argument that this  was a result of anything besides its own opaque and ambiguous decision in Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977), which had barred capital punishment for the rape of an adult woman.

If one wants to know whether there is a public consensus against the death penalty for child rape, there's an easy way to go about it: ask.  The Quinipac Poll did.  It found that by a margin of 55-38, respondents favored making the death penalty an option for the jury in such cases. 

Any lingering doubt about whether there is a national consensus against the death penalty for child rape was ended in short order.  On the afternoon of the Court's decision in October 2008, both presidential candidates condemned it.  For whatever flaws our politics may have, one thing is certain, and that is when the presidential candidates openly agree on X, X is the national consensus..." Read More

Study: Third of Juvenile Sex Offenders Target Other Kids

USA Today

By Wendy Koch, USA TODAY

 

" More than a third of sex crimes against juveniles are committed by juveniles, according to new research commissioned by the Justice Department.

Juveniles are 36% of all sex offenders who victimize children. Seven out of eight are at least 12 years old, and 93% are boys, says the study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

The report comes as states toughen penalties for adult sex offenders and wrestle with how to handle juveniles.

"They are different from adult sex offenders," says study co-author David Finkelhor. They are more likely than adults to commit sex offenses in groups, and their victims are younger and more likely to be male.

Finkelhor says only about 10% of juvenile offenders have signs of "sexual preoccupation," an indicator of a pedophile. He says teen offenses include date rape. In the case of offenders age 12 or 13, it is often sexual experimentation with younger kids..." Read More

"Md. Girl's Death Sharpens Criticism of Sex Offender Laws"

Sentencing Law & Policy

December 26, 2009

   "The title of this post is the headline of this new local article reporting on the unsurprising response to the latest brutal high-profile crime by a registered sex offender in Maryland.  Here are excerpts:

Not even a full day after police found the body of an 11-year-old girl who was kidnapped, authorities say, by a registered sex offender, the Salisbury tragedy was spotlighted by Maryland activists who consider the state's child protection laws inadequate.

Jerry Norton, who heads Citizens for Jessica's Law in Maryland, a group that for years has fought to fortify laws against pedophiles, was calling lawmakers Saturday, underscoring his position....

Police said the girl had been taken from her bedroom Tuesday night by a registered sex offender, Thomas James Leggs Jr., who has been held since Wednesday in the abduction. Leggs briefly dated the girl's aunt, who had custody of her and her two siblings....

Leggs, 30, is listed in the Maryland registry because of a third-degree sex offense conviction in 1998. In Delaware, he is listed as a "high-risk" sex offender in connection with the rape of a minor in 2001.

Norton is flabbergasted that a man who raped a minor could be free so soon and associating with children. "What . . . is he doing back out on the street, and what is he doing having contact with this child?" he said. "I think the problem is with these guys going through a revolving door."

State Sen. Nancy Jacobs (R-Harford) co-sponsored Maryland's version of Jessica's Law, a bill passed in 2006 that set sentencing guidelines for child sex offenders. It's named for Jessica Lunsford, a 9-year-old Florida girl who was kidnapped, sexually abused and killed by a convicted child sex offender.

At the urging of activists such as Norton, Jacobs and other legislators have tried unsuccessfully to tighten the law to prevent offenders from getting parole. She thought Sarah's case would "absolutely" inspire legislators to reinforce the law. "I've already had e-mails from people asking about it," Jacobs said. "It's about how far can we go, and I'm in favor as going as far as we can."

Jacobs also said the case exposes weaknesses in how Maryland communicates with other states about child sex offenders. If Leggs was considered "high risk" in Delaware, she thinks he should have been in Maryland, too.

Del. Mike D. Smigiel Sr. (R-Cecil), who, heading into the 2010 legislative session, has pre-filed three bills that would tighten child sex offender laws, said he has been "seething" over the Salisbury case.

He's considering such options as civil incarceration, cracking down on plea bargains and allowing wiretapping of suspected child sex offenders. "We have very strict laws in Maryland, but I think more has to be done," he said. "These child predators are incorrigible. We have to find ways to deal with this threat to our community."'