Thursday, December 18, 2014

Mansfield local facility to house homeless sex offenders

This is good news for registrants from Mansfield.

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/local/2014/12/17/local-facility-house-homeless-sex-offenders/20564475/

Local facility to house homeless sex offenders
Mark Caudill 8:06 p.m. EST December 17, 2014

MANSFIELD – The Richland County Community Corrections Board approved a change Wednesday to admit some homeless county sex offenders to a local facility.

Nothing Into Something Real Estate is a faith-based nonprofit agency with headquarters in Columbus. Representatives from the group proposed two changes at Wednesday’s meeting.

One change would expand the eligibility for the exit program, now located on East Cook Road, to admit some homeless Richland County sex offenders who committed their crimes locally.

Target populations include homeless sex offenders convicted of failure to register and those who have completed Volunteers of America sex offender treatment.

No sex offenders will be accepted from other counties. The program will provide housing and monitoring, with treatment to be referred to existing local agencies.

The measure passed unanimously.

“It’s hard to keep track of a guy who has no residence,” Common Pleas Judge Brent Robinson said.

Robinson said Judge James DeWeese, who was ill Wednesday, drafted the language.


Monday, December 8, 2014

Man accused of Ohio jail attack on sex offense suspect who later died gets 5 years in prison

I don't feel five years was enough for killing a man and trying to cover up his involvement.

http://www.newser.com/article/b89c1dbb196942148cf5e1b28fde5c21/man-accused-of-ohio-jail-attack-on-child-rape-suspect-who-later-died-gets-5-years-in-prison.html

Man accused of Ohio jail attack on child rape suspect who later died gets 5 years in prison
Ohioan gets 5 years for child rape suspect's death

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS | ASSOCIATED PRESS | Nov 12, 2014 4:55 PM CST 
             
URBANA, Ohio (AP) — A judge on Wednesday handed down a five-year prison term to an Ohio man for the jailhouse beating of a child-rape suspect who later died, rejecting the suspect's allegations that other inmates also attacked the victim.

Defendant Zachary Butler also was fined $1,500 and ordered to serve three years' probation after prison.

A report by the Champaign County Sheriff's Office says inmate David Piersol was beaten on April 5 at Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg and died a few days later. Piersol, of Marysville, was in jail after being charged with allegedly raping a young girl.

Butler, 24, of Richwood, pleaded guilty last month to one count of reckless homicide and one count of tampering with evidence.

The tampering charge involves an accusation that Butler traded blood-stained pants with another inmate, said Champaign County prosecutor Kevin Talebi.

Champaign County Judge Nick Selvaggio said Butler had shown remorse and was one of the few offenders he'd ever seen directly address a victim's family when apologizing.

Selvaggio said Butler also acted at the urging of other inmates, who were verbally assaulting Piersol because of the nature of the crime, according to testimony Wednesday.

But Selvaggio said he couldn't overlook the seriousness of Butler's assault on Piersol, the fact it happened in a jail and the fact that Butler didn't seek help for the victim afterward.

"What's clear is this defendant is the one who caused the death," Selvaggio said.

Butler took responsibility for the assault and apologized to Piersol's family. He said other inmates told him he had to attack Piersol as a new inmate in the jail, where Butler had been placed on unrelated charges.

"I made bad decisions," Butler said. "I knew what I was doing."

Piersol's sister, Gery Martin, told the judge her brother's death was a huge loss for the family, and she told Butler directly: "Our family is holding you accountable."

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

BILL WOULD ADD PUBLIC INDECENCY TO SEX OFFENDER LIST

Looks like Ohio is trying to find a way to squeeze a few more faces onto the public registry. Ohio wants to join the dozen or so states that could place you on the registry for urinating in public or getting too hot and steamy in public places.

For the text of SB 358: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=130_SB_358

Here is a brief news article on the subject.

http://www.thegatewaynews.com/latest%20headlines/2014/12/02/bill-would-add-public-indecency-to-sex-offender-list

BILL WOULD ADD PUBLIC INDECENCY TO SEX OFFENDER LIST
Published: December 2, 2014 11:03PM

Columbus -- Individuals who expose their private parts or engage in sexual conduct in public in view of children could end up on the state's sex offender registry, under legislation being considered in the Ohio Senate.

SB 358 seeks to prohibit such behavior if it's "likely to be viewed by and affront minors" and would increase criminal penalties against perpetrators, according to an analysis by the state's Legislative Service Commission.

The bill had a first hearing Nov. 25 before the Ohio Senate's Criminal Justice Committee.

-- Marc Kovac, Capital Bureau