Stop Child Predators

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A New Year’s Greeting from SCP

Dear Friends:

Thank you for all your support in 2017, and over the years since our inception in 2005! Thanks to your help, we said goodbye to another astonishing year protecting children and keeping communities safe.

While it is sometimes easy to believe the world is becoming a more dangerous place for our children, we’re here to remind you that safety awareness is at an all-time high. More parents are talking to their children about body safety and monitoring their children’s online activities than ever before. School teachers are being trained to detect and prevent sexual abuse in record numbers (you can hear directly from our friend Jenna Quinn about this initiative in the coming paragraphs). And lawmakers nationwide are increasingly passing legislation that holds abusers accountable.

SCP experienced extraordinary growth in 2017 in partnering with organizations and survivors, and even adding to our staff. Our social media presence nearly doubled, and we launched a redesign of our website late in the year which has already resulted in increased web traffic and outreach. Hopefully you’ll find the new site more cheerful and easier to navigate (not to mention easier to read about our policy priorities).

 As we look to the New Year and continue to grapple with the sexual harassment accusations leveled against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and a slew of prominent men in the worlds of politics, media, and entertainment, one of the most dangerous trends we see (and have already lent our support to combat) is the creation of child sex dolls that are made to resemble young children and pose a danger because they can encourage pedophilia. Read in the paragraphs to follow about New York Rep. Dan Donovan’s efforts to push legislation this month to ban such dolls in the United States.  

You can also read about our efforts to fight against illegal trade by criminal networks that sell everything from contraband cigarettes to women and children both here and worldwide. This issue will continue to be a priority for us in 2018, especially as we look at our nation’s borders and beyond. This jump to international illegal trade marks a first for us.

So thank you once again for continuing to support us. Please know we’re committed to deepening our engagement in child safety in every community, working with lawmakers and first responders to prevent the sexual abuse of children, and get children the help they need when they do encounter abuse.

As always, please send questions my way. If you’re interested in supporting us financially, please donate via our website or email me directly at [email protected]. May 2018 be a year of increased smiles on playgrounds and behind the screens of smart phones, and of peace and joy for you!

Sincerely,                                                              

Stacie Rumenap

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Check out our October NewsFlash!

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Stop Child Predators Monthly NewsFlash

Check out this month's NewsFlash!

August 2017

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A joint response from Stop Child Predators and Shared Hope, co-amici in supporting the North Carolina statute in this case:

“North Carolina attempted to protect children from online sex abuse and predation by placing certain social-media restrictions on a class of persons who pose a heightened risk of committing sex crimes - registered sex offenders.  Although Facebook and other social-media sites could do a lot more to police their own traffic, nothing those sites do could have the kind of deterrent effect that a state statute, carrying the threat of prison time or a fine, will have.  The decision in the Packingham case is unfortunate but it's important to note that the Court's reasoning was not unanimous. Justice Alito's concurring opinion, which was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Thomas, presented a forceful defense of the compelling interest that states have in protecting children from recidivist sex offenders online. The state statute was ultimately viewed as too broad but the Court was clear that a narrower statute could yield a different result.  As organizations committed to strengthening state laws protecting children from sexual abuse and sex trafficking, Shared Hope and Stop Child Predators will continue to explore ways children can be protected online that are consistent with First Amendment rights. We have seen the crime of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking, and the offenders, moving in large numbers to the internet. We must do what we can to protect our children in that space, as we do in our physical spaces.”

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NewsFlash Archive

Miss our NewsFlashes? You can check them out right here!

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

February 2017

March 2017

April 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

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Part One of Two

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19-Year-Old Works to Get Slade and Dylan's Law Introduced in Idaho This Session

Shasta Groene is only 19-years-old, but that hasn't stopped her from fighting for change in Idaho. In 2005, Groene's 13-year-old brother, Slade, her mother, and her mother's fiance were brutally murdered by Joseph Duncan. Duncan kidnapped the then 8-year-old Shasta and her 9-year old brother Dylan, who was later murdered, and held them captive at a campground in Montana. She was repeatedly sexually abused over the next several weeks. Groene was rescued 7 months later after Duncan brought her to a Denny's in Couer d'Alene, where a customer recognized her and called the police.  Duncan is now on death row, and has since pleaded guilty to the sexual torture and murder of a young boy from California. He is also a suspect in the murder of two Seattle girls. Duncan pleaded guilty to first-degree rape with a firearm in 1980 at the age of 16 after an incident with a 14-year-old boy. His 20-year prison sentence was suspended and he was sent to an adult sex offender treatment program, which he was kicked out of after sneaking away to peep on women. He then served 14 years in prison. His parole was revoked several times between 1994 and the 2005 Groene murders. At the time of the murders, he was registered as a Level III sex offender.  Groene has started a petition to introduce Slade and Dylan's Law in Idaho. She is hoping to prevent similar situations to hers from happening by giving sex offenders one strike and no second chances. Similarly, Jessica's Law mandates a minimum sentence of 25 years for first-time child sex offenders. Idaho is one of the few states that has yet to pass Jessica's Law, which would help to accomplish Groene's goal of keeping first-time offenders off the streets. 

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A Message from Stop Child Predators President, Stacie Rumenap

Given the very understandable public fear of sexual predators, policies concerning sex offenders have often become politicized. Just about everyone can agree that adults who prey upon young children should be locked behind bars for many, many years to come, and most can agree that if these criminals are released from prison they should be required to register on the public sex offender registry. Yet some critics of such laws say these policies have too often swept up consensual conduct, and conduct by those as young as 8 or 10 years old into the same regulatory framework as the most horrific sexual assaults committed by adults.Last month, Stop Child Predator’s Stacie Rumenap joined several child safety experts to discuss the impact of current juvenile sex offender registration policies at the federal and state levels on a panel hosted by The Federalist Society which can be heard by clicking on the link.

While lawmakers may not have been aware of the destructive consequences when they passed registration laws that include kids from juvenile courts, new research confirms registering youth is not an effective response. It doesn’t make the community safer and it certainly doesn’t get at the root of the problem.   In 2006, Congress passed the Adam Walsh Act, which threatens states with the withholding of tangentially related federal funds if they do not comply with the federal policy it set forth on public registration of not only adults, but also juveniles, including lifetime registration. Dozens of states have declined to comply with this federal mandate, citing both federalism and cost concerns.   She teamed up with fellow panelists to discuss the same issue at a recent meeting of state lawmakers gathered in Pittsburgh, and, this same group submitted public interest comments in response to the Attorney General’s issuing of the National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification (“SORNA Guidelines” or “Guidelines”).   We heard recently that the Federal Advisory Commission on Juvenile Justice unanimously adopted the recommendation to remove youth from sex offender registries – great news! They are in the process of formally transmitting this recommendation to the U.S. Department of Justice.   Stay tuned for more updates on this important issue. 

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Jessica’s Story

We often talk about Jessica's Law, but who was Jessica? Jessica Lunsford is the 9 year old whose 2005 abduction, rape, and murder inspired her father Mark Lunsford to advocate for victims and fight for longer sentences for sex offenders.

 On February 24th, 2005 while at home with her grandparents, Jessica was abducted from her bed without a sound. The following three weeks were her single father's worst nightmare. Upon returning home the next morning, Mark was preparing to wake up Jessica to get ready for school. He could hear her alarm, but after it continuously went off he knew something was wrong. He went into her room to check on her, and found that she was gone. 

"I can't tell you how many different emotions you feel when you open your child's bedroom door and they're not there." Mark mentioned in his segment on Cowboy Logic Radio. 

After awakening his parents and searching the house, they realized she had been abducted. The culprit was John Couey, the man living in a trailer across the street from the Lunsford's. Couey was a repeat offender who had escaped being registered. In fact, two weeks before Jessica was abducted, the sheriff's department knocked on Couey's door to serve a warrant because he wasn't registered at the residence where he lived with his half sister. He was not arrested. 

Why wasn’t Couey arrested? This is a question Lunsford has asked since his daughter’s disappearance. He has never gotten an answer. 

The first 48 hours after a child is abducted are the most important. After that, there is far less of a chance that they will be found alive. In the first three days, Couey’s residence was visited several times. His housemate stated several times that he was not there, but was openly nervous and shaking while speaking to the officers. His niece eventually admitted that he was on a bus to Georgia, where he was found in a homeless shelter after appearing on a local news segment. At this point, several weeks had passed. He was brought back to Florida, where he confessed to abduction, rape, and murder of Jessica Lunsford. He described to the sheriff’s department where he had buried her, and they raced to the trailer to mark it off. Mark knew what had happened. 

Jessica’s body was found behind the trailer where Couey lived, 150 yards from the Lunsford residence, in a garbage bag. According to investigators, Couey panicked when he found out dogs would be involved in the search for Jessica. He told her that if she climbed into the garbage bag, he would leave her on her father’s doorstep alive. Instead, he took her out of the window of his trailer and buried her alive. The sheriff command center trailer was on the other side, facing the Lunsford house, while this occurred. 

Couey’s trial was fast. The jury unanimously found him guilty of his crimes, and he was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences and death. He died of cancer in 2009 before his death sentence could be carried out. 

Lunsford turned tragedy into an opportunity to advocate for children. Together with Stacie Rumenap, Mark has worked to pass Jessica’s Law in the United States. At this time, 46 states have passed Jessica’s Law, which mandates a minimum sentence of 25 years for first time offenders and a lifetime of electronic monitoring. For more about Mark’s journey to pass Jessica’s Law, check out the documentary “Jessie’s Dad”, available for free on Hulu and to purchase through iTunes and Amazon. 

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Jared Fogle, former spokesman for Subway, plead guilty to child  pornography and sex with a minor charges back in August. In April, the head of The Jared Foundation, Russell Taylor, was arrested on preliminary child pornography charges which then shed light on Fogle’s secret life. A raid of his Indiana home turned up evidence of possession and distributuion of child pornography as well as traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor going back as early as 2007. He sought to have sex with at least two underage victims and possessed child pornography depicting twelve victims. While Taylor recorded the minors, Fogle viewed the videos and did nothing to stop Taylor. This caused him to be classified as a co-conspirator. Fogle is looking at 15 year and 8 month sentence, as opposed to the prosecution's request of 12 and 1/2 years and the defense's suggestion of 5 years. 

Arguments defending Fogle cited impulse control issues and called him a “mild” pedophile. He claims to have an addiction to alcohol, pornography, and prostitutes, which a psychiatrist testifying on behalf of the defense agreed with. They say that he may have traded his addiction for food with an addiction to sex and hypersexual tendencies. Fogle’s case was tried by Judge Pratt who known for her no nonsense attitude and for giving long sentences, and she delivered it on the day of sentencing. In addition to his over 15 year sentence, each of his 14 known victims received $100,000 in restitution and he was fined $175,000. 

Social media has made it clear that many think his sentence is too light. The maximum that he could have gotten was 50 years. This case still sends a message as Judge Pratt went above even what the prosecution asked for when sentencing Fogle, calling his actions depraved. She is also recommending that he be sent to a Colorado facility that is known for its sex offender program. Regardless of when Fogle is released, he will be on supervised probation for the rest of his life after registering as a sex offender. Any meetings with minors are to be supervised, with the exception of his two children both of whom will be teenagers before he is released. He will not be up for parole until he has served a minimum of 13 years.

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David Cameron proposes plan to prevent systematic abuse

Prime Minister David Cameron is calling child sexual abuse a "national threat" equivalent to terrorism and organized crime in an attempt to cut down on child sexual abuse. Failure to report child sexual abuse is now punishable with a maximum of 5 years in jail and unlimited fines. 

At his summit, Cameron stated: "Children were ignored, sometimes even blamed, and issues were swept under the carpet - often because of a warped and misguided sense of political correctness. That culture of denial which let them down so badly must be eradicated." 

In 2013, seven members of a child sex abuse ring in Oxford were arrested and five were sentenced between 12 years and life in jail for their sexual crimes against six girls as young as 11 and old as 15. The abuse began as early as 2006, but social workers failed to act on the fear that the girls were being abused until the investigation was taken over in 2010. The girls could have been saved sooner had the social workers taken it upon themselves to speak up. 

A report is expected to announce 300 children were in danger or were victims of sexual abuse, rape, torture, and trafficking in Oxfordshire in the past 15 years. This case bears a striking resemblance to a recent scandal in Rotherham finding 1,400 victims of sex exploitation over 14 years. 

To encourage professionals to speak up without fear of penalty for not doing something sooner, a new national hotline will be established to allow them to anonymously report sexual abuse. £7 million pounds will be allocated in 2015 and 2016 to centers supporting victims of sexual abuse. 

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Our Mission

Through outreach, education, and advocacy, Stop Child Predators advances three goals in every state across the USA:

1. Penalty enhancements - Under current federal law, and in many states, offenders convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, or sexual exploitation against children may not face imprisonment. Stop Child Predators is working with lawmakers and law enforcement to establish penalty enhancements for those found guilty of committing sexual offenses against children. Integrated nationwide sex offender registry - twenty three states have lost track of between 10% and 50% of their sex offenders. 

2. Stop Child Predators is committed to promoting an efficient and seamless integrated nationwide sex offender registry that is easily accessible to all communities. 

3. Victims’ representation - Stop Child Predators believes strongly in protecting the rights of and providing a voice for all victims. Victims and their families should not only be heard during the sentencing of child predators, they should also be notified prior to the offender’s release into the community.

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#GRAMMYS: “Jim tied me up and called me a whore. He gave me to other men who pay to rape little girls and film it for their private pornography collections.”

A sex trafficking survivor used the music industry’s biggest awards show to speak out for victims of sexual abuse.

WATCH here and REBLOG her words: “Authentic love does not devalue another human being. Authentic love does not silence, shame or abuse. Please reach out for help. Your voice will save you.”

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What is Proposition 35? 

Proposition 35 is the "Californians Against Sexual Exploitation Act" Initiative. It seeks to increase in the penalties for human trafficking which would include:

Prison sentences being upped to 15-years-to-life.

Requiring convicted sex traffickers to register as sex offenders.

Requiring that the criminal fines from convicted traffickers pay for services to help victims.

Fines can add up to 1.5 Million dollars, and would also go towards mandated law enforcement training on the subject of human trafficking. 

Requiring all registered sex offenders to disclose their internet accounts and information about their activities.

Prohibiting any evidence that victims engaged in sexual conduct from being used against victims in court.

Who wrote Proposition 35?

In 2010, Chris Kelly helped to draft Proposition 35. At the time, Kelly was an Attorney General of California candidate and the former chief of privacy at Facebook. 

Who supports it? 

Voters, celebrity activists, organizations, and political parties endorsed Prop 35. 

Who is against it? 

Multiple organizations who are involved in the prevention of sex trafficking and help for victims have come out as being opposed to Prop 35.

Attorney General Kamala Harris and the State of California

According to the official webpage for the State of California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General, Harris "has focused on combating transnational gangs that are trafficking guns, drugs, and human beings throughout California". California has had Megan's Law in place since 2004, a law that allowed sex offender registry information to be open to the public. 

Kamala Harris' office has defended Prop 35. 

Now what?

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2014 that the portion of Prop 35 requiring offenders to disclose their internet activities and accounts was unconstitutional, violating the 1st Amendment (Freedom of Speech). 

The reasoning behind this is that offenders will fear being able to speak out on the internet about any topic because they could be subjected to harassment by the public based simply on their status. 

Those who challenged this section of Prop 35 were not defending current sex offenders, rather those who completed their sentences years ago who are attempting to lead their lives without their past crime following them on the internet. 

Kamala Harris currently has no plans to appeal this decision. She needed to decide by this week. Does this mean that she's completely against Prop 35, that she's "ignoring the will of the 81% of California voters who supported Prop 35", that she's protecting sex offenders? 

You tell us. Reblog, retweet, comment, sound off and tell us what YOU think. 

For more information:

California Against Slavery Research and Education

States can't make sex offenders give authorities their Internet IDs

Human Trafficking: California Attorney General Kamala Harris Vows Crackdown

California Proposition 35, Ban on Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery (2012)

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[madeinafreeworld]

“One of the greatest zones of impunity is in the supply chains. The sources of the problem include individuals desperate for work; unscrupulous labor brokers who lie to recruit those workers; companies greedy for profits, who turn a blind eye to abuses; and customers looking to just save that...