WHY THE U.S. MARSHALS SPEND MILLIONS ON SEX-OFFENSE REGISTRANT SWEEPS
The real aim of these operations might be to boost support for cops.
Gary, a 62-year-old on Texas’s sex-offender registry, dates the problems with his neighbors to a visit by police in 2018. After a successful real estate career he lives in a relatively safe neighborhood outside Dallas, identifies as a conservative, and has friends on the police force. He’s donated to police charities, once giving $10,000 to the family of an officer killed on duty, he tells The Appeal.
He was convicted of child pornography possession in 2007, spent five years in prison and 10 years on probation, and hasn’t reoffended since, state records show. “It’s very serious,” he said of his offense. “It’s wrong. I take responsibility.” (Gary isn’t his real name, which he asked to have withheld to protect his company and family.)
That day four years ago, a team of local officers and U.S. Marshals showed up at his home in full tactical gear and a tactical vehicle with the Marshals’ logo, he says. They were checking the addresses of those on the registry. Gary showed them his license and they left—the whole thing took perhaps five minutes.
Since 2006, the federal government has funneled millions into sometimes-massive operations to verify the addresses of those on sex-offender registries. It’s hard to tell how often these happen–the Marshals Service didn’t respond to multiple requests from The Appeal about how many operations they ran in the latest fiscal year. But a look at how authorities talk about the operations–and the flattering press coverage they generate–indicates their importance in selling the public on more police. Worse, studies show they likely do nothing to improve public safety or make incidents of sexual violence less likely.
Meanwhile programs with proven track records in preventing sexual violence or successfully reintegrating people previously punished for a sexual crime get little federal help.
The U.S. Marshals are offering cash rewards for information directly leading to the arrest of sex offenders who are non-compliant. Tips submitted are confidential, anonymous and are processed by the Marshals Service.
https://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/crime-and-courts/fugitive-sex-offenders-rounded-up-in-statewide-sweep-of-iowa/article_c2c4b59d-1ee7-5d4d-ae4c-f5d9ddd4ca6d.html
Cash Rewards? Where does the Cash Come From? Cash Rewards? That is BOUNTY HUNTING!
So Now, ordinary citizens can predict the future along with Judicial Officials?
And Why Does the article attach listings of Missing Children?
They are missing…unfortunately….wht are they trying to imply?
I am a level 1 in California, 5 yrs ago i moved to Michigan, i showed up at the police station to register and they told me my offenses was not a registerable offense in MICH,and did not have to register, a year later the US marshals pull in the drive way yell on their microphone anthony jones come out of the house with your hands up, i walked out and they grabbed and handcuffed me and said we spent a lot of time tracking you down, your busted, I EXPLAINED that the police said i did not have to register, after an hour in the back of their car, and them doing a lot of checking and finding my story to be true, they uncuffed me and the one Marshal said to the other, I am getting tired of these wild gooses chases, it seems these sex laws are as different as gun laws in each state, next time when we were hunting some one lets check if the person were hunting is in a state where they don’t have to register, went to Las Vegas for a vacation and checked into a hotel and yes the hotels in Las Vegas does share your check in ID with the police, police showed at my room and say your under arrest for not registering as a SOF, i showed them my MICH ID told them i am not on the registry in my state, he barked yes but your on the SOF registry in CA, I SAID i am not a California resident any more ,after discussing this with his supervisor, he took off the cuffs and said enjoy your stay in Vegas, happy ending i have petitioned the courts to take me off of the California SOF registry good chance i will get off of it, hey guys CA has a new law where you can petition the court to get you off of the registry, try your luck move here and try it, check with the CA SOF requirement’s to get off the registry
I have been considering a move from FL to MI for some time. As a Youthful Offender here, it seems I may find some relief there. Maybe not like you where I no longer have to register, but no longer have my residence a public red flag. Anything would be an improvement.
To Think
So you do not have to register but they still have your house registered? So what is the point of getting off the registry. I thought once removed from being registered your public registry page goes away? Otherwise couldn’t you just move to another home in Florida since you no longer have to register and it is a clean slate? I am confused.
Hey Cherokee,
I do have to register in FL. But since I was sentenced as a Youthful Offender, there are a few states where requirements may be less than FL. MI and OR were the main ones according to research. It’s difficult to get any straight answer from lawyers, its mostly “move here and lets figure it out”. I still have at least a decade in FL to request removal, so im looking for any kind of relief I can get. In MI, I believe that means my residence won’t be flagged publicly. It’s all a gray area, but worth a try.
To Think
I can petition next year. Having said that, I just learned it can cost upwards of $50,000 with the right lawyer. Not only do I not have that much money, even if I did, why should we have to pay at all. (Not bashing the lawyers) but the judges should automatically approve it if you have stayed out of trouble.
AND, the kicker, you pay that money and of course there is NO money back guarantee. If you lose, the lawyer wins either way. I heard you can repetition in 5 after being denied, I guess for another $50,000?
I may just have to hold out until we are freed by the courts. I will probably be in my 80s by then if I make it that far. I can see the headlines now “Last hold out on the registry, refuses to pay and is last remaining registrant on the list. Three reality programs have reached out to him to film a show with the name “The last registrant”.
Who quoted you $50,000?!?!? That’s ABSURD. We have attorney referrals on our site. They are probably the most qualified in that area and will not cost anywhere near $50,000.
True that these types of cases (as with Criminal cases) are not done on a contingency. The lawyer does not “win” if you lose. The lawyer earned his or her fee for the work that goes into your case. You are free to petition pro-se as well and not hire a lawyer.
There is no rule about re-petitioning after 5 years in 943.0435(11). If you quote a rule cite to it. Otherwise you are misinforming the readers.
FAC
One of the lawyers your site has posted. I did not contact him yet but someone I spoke to offline said that is what is can cost if you have a complicated case. I wrote into your site asking how soon before it is time should you contact the lawyer instead of waiting to the last minute. And of course, like most of the emails I send to FAC, no one ever answers 🙁
Still love ya though lol
CherokeeJack,
I assure you that you were misinformed. A “complicated case”? The requirements and qualification for removal under 943.0435(11) are reasonably straight-forward, so I don’t see any “complicated case”. All of the attorneys on our referral page are familiar with FAC and the removal process and all will take your call and quote you a fee directly without having to speak to “someone” random for this information.
FAC is not a law firm, we don’t employ any staff attorneys and we are not licensed to provide legal advise. If you wrote into our site asking about time frames for filing a petition, you are asking for information we are not qualified to provide. You can call one of the attorneys directly for a consultation or you can do the research yourself. The removal provision is in Florida Statute 943.0435(11). Prior to 2007 the statute required 20 years, after it required 25 years. That’s not a legal opinion but telling you where to find the law and what number is contained in the law.
We also had at least two member calls on which we discussed removal petitions. On those calls we did have a licensed attorney available to take questions.
Finally, as to your comment about no one ever answering your emails. CherokeeJack, you are not a member. You never filled out the form to join FAC (which you can do here: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/become-a-member/). We have 2500+ members and receive thousands of calls, emails, letters, etc., many of them from vigilantes. If FAC can’t identify the sender or you’re asking for information or support we can’t provide, don’t be upset if don’t get a response. With that said you just got a reply from FAC YESTERDAY, Jul 13, 2022 9:15 am in response to your contact form submission on our site about a comment another person had posted to one of the articles. You received the answer because you replied to it at 11:29 am. Unless you have an incredibly short memory, I’m completely baffled (and a bit offended) that you would write “no one ever answers”.
I’m not saying this to call you out, but if you’re going to make statements criticizing FAC, consider the forum in which you are making the statement and ask yourself if the criticism is warranted.
We have a member base of thousands, PLUS we assist attorneys in litigation and even reentry staff with registry issues. All are supported by a VOLUNTEER base of less than 10 active people, most of whom have unrelated full-time day jobs because FAC does not pay anyone to provide updates, host meet and greets, attend government meetings, perform research, maintain our website, send information to people without internet access, moderate comments, provide outreach services to homeless registrants in desperate situations, provide members with information and referrals to social services, send public information requests, track pending litigation, track pending legislation, send letters supporting/opposing legislation, send letters correcting unlawful practices, prepare educational collateral, manage the organization’s finances, fund raise to support litigation and so many other functions not even mentioning responding to incoming correspondence and site comments!
Cherokee, I mean this with the greatest respect, but you’ve already posted 5 comments to our site today alone and it’s not even noon! We appreciate the participation, but with so much time on your hands become a member and help in a more productive way. At minimum, be fair and accurate.
So they can come in full force as if going to war simply to make sure someone is living where he says he lives, but the police couldn’t stop a deranged gunman from killing all those little kids in Uvalde Texas.
These foolish compliance checks should only take ONE cop to do. Why then do they need to hire dozens of US Marshalls to assist? Why does a small platoon of LE in full body armor and riot gear need to make sure someone’s address is correct?
What a waste of time and money.
The Federal Monies are Annually appropriated through numerical codified statutory laws and sometimes through state jurisdictional mandates and they got to spend the monies through the mazes in which they all exist
It is MONEY! IT IS YOUR MONEY AND EVERYONE’S MONEY THEY ARE SPENDING!
IT IS MONEY! reminds of Jimmy Walker’s phrase, “Its DYNO-MITE”
At the End of the Day…It everyone’s monies they are mis-spending!
They don’t need the extra firepower. Absolutely useless. But then again, a lot of cops prefer these cushy inconsequential assignments over real police work.
That was evident in Uvalde too. They even prevented officers and parents who were willing to go in. Such a tragedy. Only the really gullible should believe them now when they claim that they perform these registration enforcement actions to protect kids.
Security theater at its finest eh?
Until Law Enforcement no longer has a stake in Politics (i.e., Sheriffs are elected) this type of prancing pony show will continue… After all, sponsors pay a lot of money!
Another bogus operation https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/flagstaff-pd-officers-fully-naked-fondled-during-massage-investigation
CNN is publishes article with fraudulent titles. “Wanted for crimes against children”
Marshalls are likely promoting this incorrect information. Motivation would be that the Marshalls and the the news company profit from this.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/09/us/us-marshals-sex-offender-iowa/index.html
There is not one person that they point out in the article that was actually arrested on warrants for “crimes against children”. The article itself spells out that these are persons wanted for failure to register charges. A huge difference.
The headline “Wanted for crimes against children” will sell more than wanted for “failure to keep up with clerical information”
The Marshalls tricked CNN and others into propagandizing for them.
And many news outlets are even more gullible than CNN when it comes to the Marshalls. They don’t seem to ask even a single question.
Indeed, no one was ‘wanted for crimes against children.’
We need more reporters like Steve Yoder.
Jacob
The Media Works in Tandem with all LEOS…..when the LEOS decide to do an ‘operation’ they kindly contact the local media and national media to accompany them
it is known Tactic!
No Brainer…The Media always prevails!
sells ads and fear!