Every state makes it a crime to intentionally injure someone — like shooting or stabbing them without justification.
That’s why it has long been a crime in most states to intentionally infect someone with a disease — including a sexually transmitted disease (STD). After all, the consequences of an STD can be just as long lasting and deadly as if the perpetrator shot or stabbed the victim.
But apparently the Biden administration disagrees. Led by radical Assistant Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/06/28/the-justice-departments-lawsuit-against-georgia-is-completely-partisan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kristen Clarke</a>, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is suing Tennessee for attempting to enforce a statute that is designed to protect the public from HIV-positive prostitutes.
According to Clarke and her cronies, Tennessee’s attempt to protect is citizens is actually thinly veiled <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-tennessee-enforcing-state-law-discriminates-against-people-hiv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discrimination</a> that violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In addition to Clarke, the zealots who filed this lawsuit against Tennessee include Disability Rights Section Chief Rebecca Bond, Deputy Chief Kevin Kijewski, Trial Attorney Stephanie Berger, and Trial Attorney Ali Szemanski. A brief look through their resumes — even those of the lower-ranking trial attorneys — shows that they have worked for various organizations that support the far-Left’s pet projects.
For example, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-berger-914b448" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Berger</a> previously spent several years working for the Empire State Pride Agenda, which disbanded after then-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order protecting transgender rights. And <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ali-szemanski-7b448042" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Szemanski</a> previously worked or interned for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of Boston, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race &amp; Justice, and the MacArthur Justice Center.
These connections to the radical Left shouldn’t come as a surprise. The politicized and Left-leaning hiring practices within the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division have been a <a href="https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2013/s1303.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">long-standing problem</a>. Only a full embrace of the far-Left’s worldview can explain the filing of this otherwise inexplicable lawsuit.
Passed in 1991 at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Tennessee’s <a href="https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/program-areas/39-13-516.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aggravated prostitution statute</a> provides that a “person commits aggravated prostitution when, knowing that such person is infected with HIV, the person engages in sexual activity as a business or is an inmate in a house of prostitution or loiters in a public place for the purpose of being hired to engage in sexual activity.” In other words, if a person knows he or she has HIV and engages in prostitution (itself a crime), then that person faces harsher penalties.
According to the Biden Justice Department, however, this is discrimination because it unfairly treats individuals differently based solely on their HIV-positive status and “does not require prosecuting entities to make any individualized determinations in order to achieve a conviction.”
But think that through: It’s not discrimination to prosecute an alcoholic for driving while under the influence. And it’s not discrimination to prosecute a drug addict for possessing or selling drugs. Tennessee isn’t prosecuting and punishing people based on their status but instead is prosecuting and punishing them based on their conduct and the risk of harm that conduct poses to the community. It’s why most states prosecute armed robbery more harshly than unarmed robbery — lawmakers view the former as posing a greater risk, and being more harmful, to the community. The same is true here.
Of course, the Justice Department doesn’t have a sound legal argument against this. They simply allege that since “the passage of Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution statute, there has been significant progress in the understanding of and treatment of HIV.” According to them, “beliefs and assumptions that individuals with HIV will spread it, or that having HIV is a death sentence, are now outdated and unfounded.”
That may well be true, but as that same filing readily admits, that largely depends on following proper protocols for medication and treatment. Furthermore, Tennessee isn’t targeting the HIV population at large — only those who know they are infected and are engaging in the crime of prostitution where the transmission risk is likely much higher than in other settings.
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Why shouldn&#8217;t Tennessee be able to punish criminal conduct with aggravating circumstances such as these more severely? After all, no one is seriously contending that engaging in prostitution while being HIV-positive is less dangerous and less harmful than doing so without.
The Justice Department filing identifies “Complainant A” as one of the “victims” of Tennessee’s supposedly discriminatory law. According to the Justice Department, “Complainant A is a Black transgender woman who lives in Memphis, Tennessee.” This individual had HIV, knew it, and engaged in “prostitution near a church or school.” Tennessee charged this individual with aggravated prostitution, which of course comes with the subsequent sex-offender registration requirements and other collateral consequences.
Because Tennessee simply enforced the law, the Justice Department now says the state discriminated against this individual. In fact, they’re asking the court to prohibit any further enforcement of Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution statute, remove individuals from the sex-offender registry who have been convicted of aggravated prostitution, terminate reporting requirements for individuals on the sex-offender registry who have been convicted of aggravated prostitution, expunge their records, and provide compensatory damages (money!) to Complainant A and others the Justice Department has deemed harmed.
With all the problems facing the Biden administration this year, their dedication to extorting everyday Americans to advance a radical social agenda is astounding. Americans deserve, and should expect, more from a department supposedly dedicated to seeking justice. Enough is enough.
* * *
Zack Smith is a legal fellow in the Heritage Foundation’s Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Attorney General Garland Holds  Press Conference On Civil Rights Matter At DOJ

Biden’s Justice Department Is Suing Tennessee For Protecting Its Citizens From HIV-Positive Prostitutes

Heritage Foundation

Kristen Clarke

Readers Pass

Sex Crimes

Sex Offender

Tennessee

Author J.K. Rowling lambasted radical trans activists in a lengthy X post on Tuesday, taking particular aim at those who allowed biological women to be used as &#8220;props&#8221; to make excuses for trans-identifying sex offenders.
&#8220;The trans activist outrage that ensues on here whenever I share my belief that jailed women shouldn&#8217;t be used as validation tools or emotional support props for trans-identified male sex offenders is as revealing as it&#8217;s predictable,&#8221; Rowling began.
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The trans activist outrage that ensues on here whenever I share my belief that jailed women shouldn&#39;t be used as validation tools or emotional support props for trans-identified male sex offenders is as revealing as it&#39;s predictable.
Such activists can&#39;t bring themselves to…
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/1759940576340770987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Rowling went on to say that the defense of such predators — trans-identifying males who demand to be housed in women&#8217;s prisons despite records that show them to be a danger to women — was a concerted effort to prevent the breakdown of the defenses offered when trans-identifying men demand access to other women&#8217;s spaces.
&#8220;Such activists can&#8217;t bring themselves to concede that a man who was convicted of harming women/girls ought not to be incarcerated with the demographic to whom he is a proven danger, because if they do, all their stock arguments (&#8216;no sexual predator would bother to pretend to be trans&#8217;, &#8216;no trans woman has ever harmed a woman in a women&#8217;s only space&#8217;, &#8216;there is no danger in making all single sex spaces unisex&#8217;) are exposed as the lies they are,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;If they admit that even a single man isn&#8217;t a woman because he says he is, the entire edifice of gender identity ideology crumbles,&#8221; Rowling continued, noting that once that &#8220;edifice&#8221; begins to crumble, the activists are left with little recourse beyond simply screaming that any detractor must be transphobic.
&#8220;This leaves activists who rely on bullying and slogans with nowhere to go but &#8216;you hate all trans people&#8217;, &#8216;so you&#8217;re saying all trans people are rapists&#8217; and, of course, &#8216;you are causing a trans genocide.&#8217; I think this particular issue also causes conniptions because it threatens the activists&#8217; self image,&#8221; she explained. &#8220;These are people who preen themselves on their kindness and virtue, so acknowledging the truth — that they&#8217;re indifferent to vulnerable women being assaulted or traumatised — threatens the idea they have of themselves.&#8221;
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&#8220;They therefore double down. The prisoners complaining aren&#8217;t really afraid of rape or voyeurism or violence at all, they say. They&#8217;re &#8216;not exactly delicate flowers&#8217;, as one self-identified empath put it. If you support putting violent and sexually predatory men into women&#8217;s prisons, you are knowingly forcing those women to live in fear of, and, in some proven cases, to suffer abuse that many of them will have endured pre-incarceration,&#8221; Rowling concluded. &#8220;You are not kind. You are not righteous. Women have the basic human right not to suffer cruel and unusual punishment.&#8221;

“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald” UK Premiere – Red Carpet Arrivals

‘You Are Not Kind. You Are Not Righteous’: JK Rowling Unloads On Trans Activists

'You Are Not Kind. You Are Not Righteous': JK Rowling Unloads On Trans Activists

Celebrities

JK Rowling

Sexual Violence

Transgender

Transgender Athletes

World

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/charlotte" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charlotte</a> Pride now says no one will be awarded the 2023 Harvey Milk award for exceptional “LGBT+” advocacy after the announced winner&#8217;s past as a convicted child sex offender came to light.
“We do not give every single award out every year. Charlotte Pride was originally going to do Harvey Milk, but upon further discussion, decided not to give out that award this year,” the leading Charlotte, North Carolina, LGBT organization <a href="https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/charlotte-pride-removes-2023-harvey-milk-award-recipient-website/FEKOU3KJMNCKVMCWZNVM4LXVEM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> local outlet WSOC on Friday.
The group did not detail what led to the decision not to give out the Harvey Milk Award after all.
Chad Sevearance-Turner, a former music minister who <a href="https://sexoffender.ncsbi.gov/details.aspx?SRN=008345S1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">served years</a> in prison for sexually abusing a minor boy, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charlotte-pride-lists-child-sex-offender-as-lgbtq-award-recipient" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was originally slated</a> to receive the award this year.
Charlotte Pride had <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230805194403/https://charlottepride.org/champions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> him as an “influential advocate for LGBT+ issues,” Reduxx first <a href="https://reduxx.info/north-carolina-charlotte-pride-awards-child-sex-offender-with-2023-harvey-milk-award/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Sevearance-Turner, 45, is president and chief executive officer <a href="https://www.clgbtcc.org/our-staff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at the</a> Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit that “supports LGBT+ and allied businesses” in North and South Carolina.
He was <a href="https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/1998/09/26/music-director-charged-fondling-teens-kidnapper-sentenced-assault-masked-gunman-li39l-food-store/29604171007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accused</a> by three minor boys of sexual abuse in 1998 when he was 20, all three of whom he met through his position as music director for New Harvest Church of God in Gaffney, South Carolina, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160313221333/http://www.goupstate.com/article/20000720/NEWS/7200320?p=2&amp;tc=pg&amp;tc=ar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a 2000 report from GoUpstate.com.
The three boys’ accusations were tried in three separate cases.
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The first case involved a 14-year-old boy who testified that he spent the night with Sevearance-Turner at one of the other victims’ houses and awoke to Sevearance-Turner fondling his genitals. The boy also testified that Sevearance-Turner invited him to spend the night at his house, and when he did, Sevearance-Turner asked him how he would feel about a man performing oral sex on him.
“I thought he was joking,” the boy told the court at the time.
The child said Sevearance-Turner’s questions about sexual acts were upsetting because of his position in the church.
The second boy, who was 15 at the time of the alleged incident, testified that Sevearance-Turner invited him to his house and showed him a pornographic video of sex between a man and woman. The boy went to sleep in the same bed as Sevearance-Turner and awoke to Sevearance-Turner fondling him, the child said.
“He told me if I ever told the pastor, he’d make me look like a fool and a liar,” the boy said.
The third boy, who was also 15 when he said the incident happened, said Sevearance-Turner made the same advances to him when he stayed at the boy’s home for three weeks and fondled him multiple times.
Sevearance-Turner’s defense attorney Thomas Shealy accused the boys at the time of a “Salem witch hunt” against their alleged abuser.
Sevearance-Turner was eventually convicted in 2000 of performing a lewd act on a minor under 16 and <a href="https://sexoffender.ncsbi.gov/details.aspx?SRN=008345S1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced</a> to ten years in prison. He served just two years before being released on parole.
He is currently <a href="https://sexoffender.ncsbi.gov/details.aspx?SRN=008345S1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> on the North Carolina sex offender registry.
Charlotte Pride quickly scrubbed Sevearance-Turner&#8217;s name from its website page listing this year&#8217;s &#8220;Champions of Pride&#8221; award winners after his child sex offense conviction came to light.
However, an archived version of the page <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230805194403/https://charlottepride.org/champions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shows</a> him listed.
This is not the first time Sevearance-Turner’s child sex offender status has been unearthed while in a position of influence.
In 2016, Sevearance-Turner <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article64943682.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resigned</a> as president of Charlotte’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce after his child sex offender conviction became known. He <a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article64943682.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the time that his past had not stopped him from being successful.
At the time, Sevearance-Turner <a href="https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/charlotte-lgbt-chamber-head-steps-down/275-75015312" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was at the forefront</a> of a push for North Carolina to allow trans-identifying men to use women’s bathrooms.

UK – Culture – Gay and lesbian Pride Parade through central London

Charlotte Pride Says No One Will Win 2023 Harvey Milk Award After Convicted Pedophile Winner’s Past Unearthed

Charlotte Pride Says No One Will Win 2023 Harvey Milk Award After Convicted Pedophile Winner's Past Unearthed

Child Abuse

Crime

LGBTQ

North Carolina

Pride

U.S.

Singer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nicki-minaj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nicki Minaj’s</a> neighbors aren’t thrilled about her husband Kevin Petty, who is a convicted <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sex-offender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sex offender</a>, living in their midst.
The 40-year-old <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rapper</a>, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, currently resides in a $19.5 million estate in the upscale Hidden Hills neighborhood in the western part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles</a> County. 
Minaj’s husband registered his new address with the Megan’s Law website as he was required to do. That&#8217;s when neighbors took notice and started circulating a petition called “SAY NO TO SEX OFFENDERS IN HIDDEN HILLS,” per <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/06/23/nicki-minaj-neighbors-want-her-gone-concerns-husband-kenneth-petty-hidden-hills-petition/">TMZ</a>. 
The petition by resident Beverly Bardan started soon after Petty moved there in December 2022, but it is gaining steam and earned more than 100 signatures in the third week of June, the outlet noted. As of June 23, it had 912 signatures with a goal of 1,000.
“The Petty couple moving in would lead to appraisal value of our homes to go DOWN due to safety concerns. It would lead to children and women being a target,” the change.org <a href="https://www.change.org/p/say-no-to-sex-offenders-in-hidden-hills" target="_blank" rel="noopener">petition</a> says in part. “DO NOT allow this dangerous sex offender to live near you, SHOW that you are against sex offenders in our Hidden Hills neighborhood!”
The backlash stems from an alleged <a href="https://www.okayplayer.com/news/what-to-know-about-the-sexual-assault-case-against-nicki-minajs-husband-kenneth-petty.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incident</a> which happened between Petty and Jennifer Hough. Then 16-year-old Hough said Petty, then 15, came up behind her while she was walking to school, then forced her back into his house and raped her at knifepoint. Hough said she went to school and then went home and immediately reported the alleged crime to her adoptive mother. 
Petty denied the allegations and said the two were dating at the time. 
Petty was later convicted of attempted rape in the first degree, assault in the second degree, unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to 18-to-54 months in prison, serving almost four years before being released in January 1999.
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Minaj denounced fan backlash after they questioned her for dating a convicted sex offender. “He was 15, she was 16… in a relationship. But go awf, Internet,” she wrote on social media comments in 2018.
The exclusive gated community of Hidden Hills is becoming popular with celebrities. Other famous residents include Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kris Jenner, and Will Smith, per TMZ.

Nicki Minaj Kenneth Petty

Nicki Minaj’s Neighbors Petition Against Her Convicted Sex Offender Husband Living In Ritzy Hidden Hills

Nicki Minaj's Neighbors Petition Against Her Convicted Sex Offender Husband Living In Ritzy Hidden Hills

Entertainment

Los Angeles

Nicki Minaj

A Texas man was arrested after he allegedly took pictures of women underneath a stall in a mall bathroom while reportedly dressed as a woman and brandished a pepper ball gun when confronted.
Douglas Egan, 45, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and improper photography.
On Christmas Eve around 4:30 p.m., a woman said she noticed a cellphone underneath the stall in the bathroom at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth, <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/crime/sex-offender-in-disguise-secretly-took-pictures-in-womens-restroom-and-pulled-pepper-ball-gun-on-witness-cops/">according</a> to police.
The woman exited the stall and confronted the suspect, &#8220;a male that was dressed to look like a female,&#8221; who attempted to flee, police said.
A male attempted to intervene and stop the suspect from leaving the premises. The suspect allegedly reached into his backpack and pulled out what looked like a handgun and pointed it at the male. Police later ascertained that the weapon was a pepper ball gun.
Some witnesses said they saw the suspect change out of the women&#8217;s clothes he was wearing and into men&#8217;s clothes after he left the mall.
“The suspect then left the mall, but was being observed by several witnesses,” officers said. “These witnesses saw the suspect changing his clothes and also observed what appeared to be a handgun in the back waistband of the suspect’s pants.”
Police were called and arrested Egan at a nearby apartment complex.
He is currently being held on a combined $30,000 bond at the Lon Evans Corrections Center. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 3.
Egan is a previously convicted sex offender <a href="https://publicsite.dps.texas.gov/SexOffenderRegistry/Search/Rapsheet?Sid=06129533">classified</a> as &#8220;high risk&#8221;in the Texas Department of Public Safety, which means he is considered a danger to the community and expected to reoffend and commit more sex crimes in the future.
He is registered for life as a sex offender for multiple incidents, including indecent exposure to a 16-year-old girl in 2015 and two other indecent exposure incidents to female victims in 2010 and 2011. He was incarcerated for seven years for his offense involving the teen girl, and 60 days and 120 days for the two other offenses.
In recent years, controversy has erupted over the issue of biological men who identify as transgender using women&#8217;s bathrooms. Critics have expressed concerns about men taking advantage of access to women&#8217;s restrooms in order to victimize women sexually, physically, or both.
In October, a transgender high school student allegedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-student-charged-for-alleged-violent-assault-of-two-girls-in-school-bathroom">assaulted</a> two female students in the girls bathroom at an Oklahoma high school, leaving them with injuries. The transgender student has been charged.
Earlier this month, a transgender man, 52, was <a href="https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/exclusive-transgender-fugitive-who-spurred-wi-spa-riots-bares-all/">arrested</a> after 15 months on the run for allegedly exposing his penis to a locker room full of women at Wii Spa in Los Angeles. He has been charged with five felony counts of indecent exposure and sits in a male inmate jail on $350,000 bail.

USA – Signage – Ladies Restroom

Sex Offender Reportedly Dressed As Woman Arrested For Allegedly Snapping Pictures Of Women In Bathroom, Pointing Pepper Ball Gun

Child Sex Abuse

Gender

Gender Identity

Women

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/wisconsin">Wisconsin</a> court ruled Thursday that a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender">transgender</a> sex offender could not legally get a name change because it is illegal for sex offenders to change their names. 
In a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court said that Ella, a 22-year-old 6’5’’ biological man who identifies as a woman, could not get a name change due to Ella’s status on the state’s sex offender registry.  
The sex offender was only referred to as &#8220;Ella&#8221; in court documents. The original legal name was not available because the incident involved juveniles. 
Court documents showed that a 15-year-old Ella was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old autistic boy who was blind in one eye. This led to Ella’s placement on the sex offender list. Ella, who was over 200 pounds heavier than the victim, also bullied the victim on Facebook after the assault.
The teenage boy experienced further “victimization and traumatization” due to Ella’s additional bullying, court documents demonstrated, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-wisconsin-supreme-court-government-and-politics-b5e9293fc502cb9679d7436247fc7bae">according to the Associated Press</a>. 
Ella’s lawyers claimed that the name change denial constituted “cruel and unusual punishment” and that it was a violation of the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. The court’s four conservative leaning justices, however, were unpersuaded.
“Consistent with well established precedent, we hold Ella’s placement on the sex offender registry is not a ‘punishment’ under the Eighth Amendment,” Justice Rebecca Bradley said in her majority decision.  
“Even if it were, sex offender registration is neither cruel nor unusual. We further hold Ella’s right to free speech does not encompass the power to compel the State to facilitate a change of her legal name,” she added. 
Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler and Justice Patience Roggensack signed on to Bradley’s decision. 
Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote a separate concurrence referring to the sex offender as &#8220;C.G&#8221;  because he disagreed with the other justices decision to use female pronouns for the plaintiff. 
Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote the dissent, saying that the name change denial would “expose” Ella to “discrimination and abuse.”
“Requiring Ella to maintain a name that is inconsistent with her gender identity and forcing her to out herself every time she presents official documents exposes her to discrimination and abuse,” she wrote. 
She was joined by Justice Rebecca Dallett and Justice Jill Karofsky. 
Justice Rebecca Bradley, though, said the decision did not prevent Ella from living as a transgender person. 
“For example, nothing prohibits her from dressing in women’s clothing, wearing make-up, growing out her hair, or using a feminine alias,”she said. “The State has not branded Ella with her legal name, and when Ella presents a government-issued identification card, she is free to say nothing at all or to say, ‘I go by Ella.’”

Judge holding gavel, close-up

Wisconsin Court Rules Against Transgender Sex Offender In Name-Change Case

Wisconsin Court Rules Transgender Sex Offender Can't Change Name

Wisconsin

Authorities in Tennessee arrested a registered sex offender last week after he admitted to filming a mother and her 2-year-old daughter in a restaurant bathroom outside of Nashville.
James Josey III, 31, admitted to police that he entered a women’s restroom at a Whataburger in Hermitage, Tennessee, last month and filmed a woman and her child. The woman saw him filming in a gap in the bathroom stall and yelled at him, causing him to flee the restaurant.
An employee recognized him and identified him to police. Officials later released a <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police/news/parolee-and-registered-sex-offender-arrested-being-peeping-tom-womens">statement</a> explaining the incident:
<blockquote>Youth Services detectives today charged parolee and registered sex offender James B. Josey III, 31, with invasion of privacy/peeping tom for hiding in a stall of the women’s restroom at the Hermitage Whataburger restaurant and using his cell phone to video persons in the adjacent stall.
A woman who had taken her two-year-old child into the restroom on March 27 noticed a phone pressed against the open gap between the two stalls. The mother yelled at the individual, causing a man (Josey) to quickly flee from the stall and the restaurant. A Whataburger staff member followed Josey and recognized him as a former employee.
During an interview with Youth Services detectives today, Josey admitted to videoing in women’s restrooms for sexual gratification.
The charge against Josey is a felony. A judicial commissioner set his bond at $2,500.
Josey is a registered sex offender out of Knoxville, where he committed similar invasion of privacy offenses. The State of Tennessee is expected to file a parole violation warrant against Josey.</blockquote>
Police arrested another man last week for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl. Authorities say the man grabbed the girl’s buttocks in a Kroger in Hermitage. The suspect, 38-year-old Reuben Thornhill, claimed that he just bumped into the girl. The city of Nashville said in a <a href="https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police/news/man-charged-aggravated-sexual-battery-grabbing-buttocks-11-year-old-girl">press release</a>:
<blockquote>Youth Services detectives this afternoon charged Reuben Thornhill, 38, with aggravated sexual battery for grabbing the buttocks of an 11-year-old girl inside the Hermitage Kroger on March 12. The victim stepped away from Thornhill who, she said, then offered her money. Thornhill fled, but was subsequently identified.
During an interview with Detectives Chris Beery and Melissa Flores, Thornhill claimed that he accidentally bumped into the girl. Store security video clearly shows to the contrary.
A judicial commissioner set Thornhill’s bond at $75,000.</blockquote>
At an unrelated incident in Virginia last month, a school board in Alexandria, Virginia, allegedly kept hidden from parents an assault that left one student hospitalized. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/virginia-school-district-knew-about-alleged-sexual-assault-that-left-victim-in-hospital-they-didnt-tell-districts-parents-report">The Daily Wire</a> reported:
<blockquote>According to a new report, the Alexandria, Virginia, school district and school board did not inform parents in the school district regarding a reported violent sexual assault that left the victim in the hospital.
“Alexandria police have now directly confirmed to Independent Women’s Forum via email that the police arrested a 14-year-old suspect in early December for ‘aggravated sexua[l] battery, rape, and forcible sodomy’ in connection with the October incident at Minnie Howard campus,” Inez Stepman of <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/03/virginia-school-covered-up-sexual-assault-that-left-victim-hospitalized/">National Review</a> reported on Friday, adding that a series of emails were sent vis-à-vis the incident between school-board members, the superintendent, the mayor, and Alexandria police. “Parents, however, were largely left in the dark,” National Review noted.</blockquote>

Police lights

‘Peeping Tom’ Arrested After Filming 2-Year-Old In Bathroom: Police

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin suggested Tuesday that sentences for people possessing child pornography might be too harsh — largely, he argued, because the internet made such content far more accessible.
Toobin joined host Kate Bolduan on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;At This Hour&#8221; to discuss the ongoing Senate Judiciary Committee hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson — and the topic turned to child pornography after several Republicans questioned Judge Jackson&#8217;s record on such cases.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Jeffrey Toobin Defends Shorter Sentences for Kiddie Porn" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NOGJ5NLY3w0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;Can I just add one point about these kiddie porn cases?&#8221; Toobin, who lost his position at The New Yorker after literally being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-welcomes-back-legal-analyst-who-left-after-masturbating-on-zoom-call">caught with his pants down</a> during a work Zoom call, asked during a panel discussion about the hearing.
&#8220;This came up, I remember, when I was an assistant U.S. Attorney back in the ’90s is that when those sentencing guidelines were written for those cases, that this was a time when the people who committed these crimes would order individual photos and get them usually through email and then they would be sentenced based on the number of photos they possessed,&#8221; Toobin added. &#8220;This was all pre-internet. So once the internet came in and people got access to hundreds and then thousands of photos, they would, the sentencing guidelines would reflect hundreds and then thousands of photos.&#8221;
Toobin went on to suggest that the increased availability naturally led to much greater numbers of photos that people possessed — and that the sentencing recommendations did not reflect that change.
&#8220;What I thought Chairman Durbin pointed out is that judges across the country, including Republican appointed judges, have been saying, look, we can’t apply the rules that were designed pre-internet for an internet society and many judges have been giving somewhat less sentences as a result and I thought that was a very clear explanation of why Judge Jackson imposed sentences that were all prison sentences. It wasn’t like she was letting these people go, but they were somewhat less than the guidelines because the guidelines had not been adapted for the internet era,&#8221; Toobin concluded.
Jackson&#8217;s own defense of her recommendations was almost identical to Toobin&#8217;s: &#8220;Courts are adjusting their sentences in order to account for the changed circumstances.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Judge Jackson: Sentencing guidelines for child pornography offenders are &quot;leading to extreme disparities in the system.&quot;
&quot;Courts are adjusting their sentences in order to account for the changed circumstances&#8230;&quot; <a href="https://t.co/H0ZeyRAGm6">pic.twitter.com/H0ZeyRAGm6</a>
&mdash; Townhall.com (@townhallcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/1506265786528243717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/hawley-biden-scotus-nominee-has-a-pattern-of-letting-child-porn-offenders-off-the-hook/">brought the topic to the forefront</a> ahead of the hearings that started Monday, saying that he was concerned to see her discretionary sentences for those convicted of child pornography possession were often much lighter than either the law or the prosecution recommended.
As The Daily Wire reported:
<blockquote>I’ve been researching the record of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, reading her opinions, articles, interviews &amp; speeches,” the senator said. “I’ve noticed an alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson’s treatment of sex offenders, especially those preying on children.
Hawley claimed that as far back as during Jackson’s time in law school, the judge has questioned whether convicts should be made to register as sex offenders and said that it leads to “stigmatization and ostracism.”
“She’s suggested public policy is driven by a ‘climate of fear, hatred &amp; revenge’ against sex offenders,” Hawley tweeted.
“It gets worse,” he warned. “As a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Judge Jackson advocated for drastic change in how the law treats sex offenders by eliminating the existing mandatory minimum sentences for child porn.”</blockquote>
The White House <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/white-house-slams-hawley-allegations-about-biden-scotus-nominees-lax-record-on-child-pornographers-as-toxic-and-weakly-presented-misinformation/">responded</a> to Hawley&#8217;s accusations, as spokesman Andrew Bates declared his words &#8220;toxic and weakly-presented misinformation that relies on taking cherry-picked elements of her record out of context.&#8221;

“Getting To The Point” Conversation With Former Attorney General Eric Holder

Jeffrey Toobin Says Kiddie Porn Sentences Are Too Harsh Because The Internet Makes Access Easier

Child pornography

Jeffrey Toobin

Josh Hawley

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) tripped up an ABC News reporter on Monday as the reporter was echoing what Hawley called &#8220;White House talking points&#8221; and could not give vital case information to back up her claims.
ABC&#8217;s Rachel Scott pressed Hawley on why he has allegedly voted for judges in the past who are soft on child sex predators but is pushing back on the swift confirmation of President Joe Biden Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
&#8220;But how is it acceptable for a lower court, if it&#8217;s not acceptable for a higher court?&#8221; Scott asked Hawley.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure which judges you&#8217;re referring to, if there are judges who are soft on child porn offenders, in a systematic kind of pattern,&#8221; the Republican senator responded, adding, &#8220;But again, I&#8217;ve only voted for one Supreme Court justice.&#8221;
Scott insisted she looked through Hawley&#8217;s record, which she said &#8220;shows you have voted for at least three federal judges who have imposed lighter sanctions on child porn offenders. So, how do you square that?&#8221;
&#8220;Same answer: not for this court,&#8221; Hawley answered. &#8220;And, I think this pattern is going to be a problem wherever I&#8217;m aware of it.&#8221;
&#8220;I know that&#8217;s the White House talking point, but I think it&#8217;s a dangerous one,&#8221; the senator continued. &#8220;You gotta be careful with that. It&#8217;s the old, &#8216;Well, everyone else is jumping off a cliff, so I will, too.’”
Scott asked Hawley if he regretted his past votes, to which the senator pushed back asking for the judges&#8217; names and cases when they were allegedly soft on child porn offenders. &#8220;Well, I&#8217;m not sure which judges you&#8217;re talking about; I have not seen the White House&#8217;s talking points on this. But this is their new line,&#8221; the Republican told Scott.
&#8220;It&#8217;s public information, we actually have it, here,&#8221; Scott told Hawley, naming Judge Joseph F. Bianco, who was appointed as a United States Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit by then-President Donald Trump.
&#8220;And what were the cases?&#8221; Hawley asked Scott numerous times. &#8220;You voted for them, shouldn&#8217;t you be familiar with their record, as well?&#8221; Scott responded.
&#8220;But what were the cases?&#8221; Hawley asked again.
When Scott couldn&#8217;t answer, the senator chuckled and said, &#8220;You don&#8217;t know their record.&#8221;
&#8220;What cases, was it after their confirmation or before?&#8221; Hawley again posed.
Scott started to respond, &#8220;Do you expect me to just —,&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I expect you to know the facts since you&#8217;re asking me about them,&#8221; the senator told her. &#8220;So, how many cases did they have? Judge Jackson had seven, I just listened them. So what are the ones that these judges have?&#8221;
&#8220;The larger point, senator, which I think that you&#8217;re not —,&#8221; Scott shifted gears, before Hawley interjected.
&#8220;So, you don&#8217;t know. You&#8217;re just here to do a &#8216;gotcha.&#8217; When you know the facts, come back to me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Good luck!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This audio of ABC&#39;s Rachel Scott trying to trap Josh Hawley over Ketanji Brown Jackson&#39;s record on child sex predators is just too good. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EpicFail?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EpicFail</a> <a href="https://t.co/GuLW4xLKs1">pic.twitter.com/GuLW4xLKs1</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1505986945167642626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
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As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hawley-biden-scotus-nominee-has-a-pattern-of-letting-child-porn-offenders-off-the-hook">The Daily Wire</a> highlighted last week, Hawley publicly questioned Jackson&#8217;s fitness for the bench based on her record.
“I’ve been researching the record of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, reading her opinions, articles, interviews &amp; speeches,” the senator posted to Twitter. “I’ve noticed an alarming pattern when it comes to Judge Jackson’s treatment of sex offenders, especially those preying on children.”
“On the federal bench, Judge Jackson put her troubling views into action,” Hawley said. “In every single child porn case for which we can find records, Judge Jackson deviated from the federal sentencing guidelines in favor of child porn offenders.”
“This is a disturbing record for any judge, but especially one nominated to the highest court in the land,” he accused. “Protecting the most vulnerable shouldn’t be up for debate. Sending child predators to jail shouldn’t be controversial.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hawley-biden-scotus-nominee-has-a-pattern-of-letting-child-porn-offenders-off-the-hook">Hawley: Biden SCOTUS Nominee ‘Has A Pattern Of Letting Child Porn Offenders Off The Hook’</a>

Senate Holds Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings For Ketanji Brown Jackson

‘So, You Don’t Know’: ABC Reporter Lays Trap For Josh Hawley, He Snares Her Instead

In July 2021, a Virginia man pleaded guilty to possessing material depicting child sexual abuse. He committed this offense after he had been released for a previous conviction of possessing child exploitation materials.
Shortly after pleading guilty last year, law enforcement officers searched the home of Ian Andrew Zearley where they found his disturbing possessions. According to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/registered-sex-offender-sentenced-prison-possessing-images-child-sexual-abuse">Department of Justice</a>, law enforcement discovered electric shock equipment and a list of children’s names in his basement. They also found a ski mask, pellet gun, and business cards calling him the president of “Pedophile Associates of America.” Zearley also possessed children’s diapers, bottles, and toys.
On Thursday, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release. 
While on his previous supervised release, officers monitored his computer where they found that Zearley searched graphic terms looking for child pornography. According to authorities, Zearley also wrote accounts describing the rape and abuse of young boys.
On Thursday, the DOJ also published a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/hudson-county-man-charged-online-enticement-minor-and-production-child-pornography">press release</a> on a New Jersey man who has been charged with enticing a minor online to give him sexual videos and images. Between July 2020 and February 2021, Erick Solis allegedly used social media to message underage victims. He allegedly asked them to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves, and one of the victims complied at least once, according to the DOJ. Solis faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and a potential sentence of life in prison along with a $250,000 fine.
In December, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despicable-criminal-behavior-man-sentenced-to-prison-for-using-facebook-to-distribute-child-pornography">reported</a> on an Indiana man who was sentenced to prison for distributing child pornography through Facebook. Lorenzo Johnson, also a registered sex offender, found women on Facebook who appeared to be struggling financially and offered them money to take pornographic photographs of children.
“Manipulating vulnerable women into producing pornographic images of voiceless children is despicable criminal behavior,” said Clifford D. Johnson, attorney for the Northern District of Indiana. 
“As the jury unanimously found, Lorenzo Johnson repeatedly persuaded vulnerable women to sexually exploit infants and young children,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. for the DOJ’s Criminal Division said. “Today’s sentence sends a strong message that offenders who target vulnerable members of our society, and especially children, will be brought to justice.”
“This sentence demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to identifying sexual predators and investigating these type of cases with a sense of urgency to ensure those who victimize our most vulnerable members of society pay the price with time in prison,” Special Agent Gregory Nelsen said.
These criminals were brought to justice through the nationwide initiaive Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative that focuses on “[combatting] the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.” Project Safe Childhood was started in 2006 and is led by the U.S. Attorneys&#8217; Offices and the Criminal Division&#8217;s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). It focuses on using resources to to better “locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.”

Handcuffs

Registered Sex Offender Sentenced: Authorities Discovered Electric Shock Equipment And List Of Children’s Names In His Basement

Department of Justice

An investigation found that the Department of Energy (DOE) did not properly vet individuals it hired to staff department provided childcare at multiple locations, including not checking whether new hires were registered sex offenders or had criminal records.
According to a <a href="https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/DOE/DOE-OIG-22-17.pdf">report</a> from the office of the Inspector General conducted from July 2018 until October 2020, several childcare facilities operated by the DOE for their staff failed to perform proper background checks on those they hired.
“Hiring personnel without completing full background checks may put children at risk,” the report noted. “[If] the identified issues are not addressed in a timely manner, parents may not have the assurance that their children are in a safe and healthy environment.”
The DOE provides childcare to those working with the department, including at the investigated locations including the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermi), the Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), and the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Morgantown, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania locations.
At the Fermi lab in Illinois, 18 employees did not have fingerprint background checks and 10 were not checked to see whether they were a sex offender or not. One employee never had their work history verified. 
Also in Illinois, at the Argonne National Lab, 23 individuals did not have fingerprint background checks and 21 did not have a child abuse/neglect check run on them. 
Auditors did not find evidence of 23 workers at the NETL lab in Morgantown ever being checked for sex offender status or whether they had a criminal record or history of child abuse/neglect. 
The investigators note that fingerprint background checks are more reliable and use authoritative data from the FBI and state criminal databases as opposed to other background check methods. 
“As a result of our work, the three sites made timely corrections and improvements to their processes for conducting background checks, completing these actions before the issuance of our final audit reports. Specifically, Fermi completed 9 of the 10 missing Sex Offender Registry checks,” the report explained.
The one sex offender check not made was because that individual had already been fired prior to the auditors’ recommendations. 
Due to Covid-19, childcare centers were shut down. However, as the report notes, its findings are prescient for the reopening of childcare facilities. 
In addition to failing to properly vet potential employees, the three DOE run sites did not give proper training either to their childcare workers. This issue, coupled to vetting and other contractual issues, led the agency to issue recommendations to the DOE. 
“The centers, who employed individuals to provide care to children, did not ensure that all employees had background checks that were free of derogatory or noteworthy information and associated documentation was maintained. Hiring personnel without completing full background checks may put children at risk,” the investigators found. 
Several agency centers, including one in Maryland and one in Washington, D.C. were not investigated because of Covid-19 related closures. In response to the report, the DOE concurred with the findings and said that they would work to implement the changes in the coming year.

U.S. Department Of Energy Washington Headquarters

‘Children At Risk’: Department Of Energy Did Not Properly Vet Whether Hired Childcare Workers Were Sex Offenders, Criminals

Department of Energy

When is a sex offender not a sex offender? When the sex offender takes umbrage at the term sex offender.
The Colorado Sex Offender Management Board (SOMB) <a href="https://dcj.colorado.gov/news-article/sex-offender-management-board-votes-to-change-language-in-standards-guidelines-for">voted</a> on Friday to do away with the term. The board voted 10-6 to change the term to &#8220;adults who commit sexual offenses&#8221; in its Standards and Guidelines for the Assessment, Evaluation, Treatment and Behavioral Monitoring of Adult Sex Offenders.
&#8220;The language change applies only to the SOMB Standards; the term &#8216;sex offender’ will continue to be used in Colorado statute and the criminal justice system, including courts, law enforcement and the Colorado Sex Offender Registry. The name of the SOMB itself will also remain unchanged,&#8221; the board wrote, <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/colorado-officials-ditch-sex-offender-term-due-to-negative-impacts-on-sex-offenders?utm_campaign=64469">according</a> to The Post Millennial.
&#8220;The board is responsible for treating, managing and monitoring adult sex offenders in the state. Friday&#8217;s meeting went over a list of five new possible terms, focusing on ‘person-first language,’ before the board voted to use the pick,&#8221; the site said.
&#8220;I think the biggest thing is research really shows us that assigning a label has the potential for negative effects in rehabilitation,&#8221; Kimberly Kline, a licensed counselor and chair of the board, <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2021/11/16/colorado-sex-offender-term-change/">said</a> according to the Denver Post.
&#8220;If we&#8217;re talking about how someone speaks about themself … that can increase risk,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Ultimately it is victim-centered if we&#8217;re reducing risk.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://denver.cbslocal.com/2021/11/19/sex-offender-negative-label/?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=twitter">CBS 4 Denver</a>, rape survivor Kimberly Corbin spoke at the public in opposition of the language change, saying, &#8220;It&#8217;s very, very damaging for those who people who are labeled when it has to do with gender, race, sexuality, ability, but those are not their choices, the biggest thing for me is these are choices that sex offenders make.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m involved today after hearing that it would be improper or offensive in some manner for me to refer to the man who raped me, as a sex offender,&#8221; she said.
But public defender Kathy Heffron told the board that the new language works. &#8220;I think this strikes a balance that honors the impact to victims and recognizes the current and ongoing impacts of sexual assault but also avoids the labelling term that has negative impacts on those who commit sex offenses,&#8221; she said.
And Derek Logue said he should not have to carry the label for life, saying, &#8220;referring to me by a label for something I did half my life ago is inappropriate and downright offensive.”
One board member, Carl Blake, said the new language found support in committees. &#8220;It highlights the active reason why someone is in treatment, and it doesn&#8217;t assume the behavior is over,&#8221; he said, according to the Post Millennial.
“Victims advocates, therapists, law enforcement that I’ve spoken with, along with all of the DAs I represent, are not in favor of replacing this term,” SOMB member Jessica Dotter said.
The new language is not final, FOX 31 <a href="https://kdvr.com/news/local/sex-offender-board-to-stop-using-term-colorado/">reported</a>. A 20-day comment phase is now underway and the board meets again in December.

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Colorado Officials Move To Drop ‘Sex Offender’ Term Due To ‘Negative Impacts’ On Sex Offenders

Colorado

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