JoAnn Buchanan, a family friend who occasionally baby sate for 6 year old Patricia Ann Miles, who disappeared after riding her bicycle to a grocery store, was charged with kidnapping her. Patricia’s bicycle and her shoes were found August 16 in a cornfield. Buchanan refused to speak to investigators. A judge set bond at $1 million for her today.
(Gilmore, Arkansas)
Stony Brook resident Laura Ahearn found out that the Suffolk County Police Department had stopped enforcing Megan’s Law because of a misinterpretation of a judicial decision. Ahearn and other parents, local residents and community groups along with New York State Assemblyman Steve Englebright rallied together and held a press conference outside the county office in Hauppauge. The goal was to inform the public about what was going on and to overturn the county’s decision. Megan’s Law was reinstate in Suffolk County within hours. Instead of stopping there, Ahearn, a certified
UniBill:
Senate Sponsor: Senator James Lack (S2164)
Assembly Sponsor: Assemblyman Steven Englebright (A3800)
New York State’s version of Megan’s Law does not require law enforcement to notify the community – even for the highest risk sex offenders. This unibill if signed into law would require active notification on all high risk sex offenders.
Russell Pitcher, accused of watching child pornography on a computer at the main library at the University of Iowa last summer, pleaded guilty to a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor. He faces up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine. Pitcher also was caught with a box of computer disks, two of which contained child porn. He pleaded guilty to possession of child porn in Indiana in 2001.
(Iowa City, Iowa)
Megan’s Law, named for 7 year old Megan Kanka of New Jersey, mandates the release of information necessary to protect the public from high risk sex offenders. All 50 states are required to meet those federal standards or risk losing federal crime fighting funding. Federal legislation was passed in 1996 mandating all states to have sex offenders register and mandating all states to release information regarding sex offenders to the public. Megan disappeared on July 29, 1994 when Jesse Timmendequas, 35, lured her into his house to see a puppy
Peter James PJ Halas, a 29 year old history teacher and basketball coach at Point Pleasant Borough High School in Ocean County, New Jersey, has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15 year old female student over a four-month period. He was freed on $100,000 bail. Halas is a noted Ivy League athlete and the scion of an American sports dynasty. He is the great-grand-nephew of football Hall of Famer George Papa Bear Halas.
(New Jersey)