Boston Herald
Court deems man charged in bloody MGH attack ‘dangerous’
By Laura Crimaldi
Friday, December 4, 2009
A repeat sex offender accused of trying to rape a woman in a Massachusetts General Hospital bathroom put a makeshift “Out of Order” sign on the restroom door as a devious ruse for the twisted ambush, officers said in court today.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano ordered David Flavell, 40, to be held as a dangerous person until his March 4 trial following the gripping testimony. Flavell is already being held without bail at the Nashua Street Jail after being found competent last month to stand trial.
During a dangerousness hearing, Boston police Detective Sean Joyce testified a witness told him the 27-year-old MGH employee was covered in so much blood after the Oct. 22 attack that she could not discern the woman’s ethnicity.
“She couldn’t tell what nationality she was because she was covered in blood,” Joyce said.
Joyce said the witness, who he identified only as “Jean,” walked into the public restroom after she heard a “blood-curdling scream.”
When she opened the door, she saw the alleged victim leaning against a wall as Flavell stood off to the side leaning over the woman, Joyce said.
The alleged victim sustained a black eye, scratches on her back and shoulder and bruises on her chest and face, Joyce said. He added the chest bruising was a result of Flavell allegedly trying to pin her down with his knee.
Flavell is also accused of slamming the woman’s head against the floor and ripping her pants open. He is facing attempted rape and other charges.
When “Jean” opened the door, the victim said, “He’s trying to hurt me. He’s trying to hurt me,” according to Joyce. He added there were blood droplets and smears on the bathroom walls, stalls and hand dryer as well as human hair and scuff marks on the floor.
Flavell, who is homeless, then allegedly made eye contact with “Jean,” got his backpack and then walked out of the restroom.
“He was very calm, very stoic, walking away as if nothing ever happened,” Joyce said.
Joyce testified a second witness who saw Flavell in the restroom doorway watched him calmly walk away from the bathroom. He was later identified by a crowd of people gathered outside the restroom and detained by MGH officer Antoine Davis.
The makeshift “Out of Order” sign was scrawled on the back of a document about a homeless shelter, Joyce said.
Flavell’s attorney, Neil Madden, said his client is not “aggressive,” did not resist arrest or try to flee the scene.
“He didn’t attempt to blend into the crowd or disappear into the crowd,” Madden said. “I would suggest there’s no premeditated intent there. ... This is a man with some history of psychological problems and sometimes they catch up with him.”
Flavell, dressed in a white T-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt and orange pants, sat handcuffed with a stamped envelope in his hand. He did not speak in court.
Last year, Flavell made headlines when - armed with duct tape - he followed a female customer of Borders books in Braintree into a store bathroom and tried to crawl under a stall. He later admitted there were sufficient facts for a jury to find him guilty of the crime and received a six-month sentence.
The Borders incident happened two years after Superior Court Judge Richard T. Moses, in 2006, deemed Flavell was not sexually dangerous enough to warrant a civil commitment, despite a record of arrests on sex charges from New Hampshire to Fairhaven that included a conviction with a suspended sentence for masturbating on children’s clothing in a Kmart, and serving 2 1/2 years for assault with intent to rape and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Moses cited the opinions of five medical experts who agreed Flavell was not a threat. Flavell also served a nine-month sentence for exposing himself at Gap stores in Taunton and Canton and a Brooks Pharmacy in Fairhaven.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?&articleid=1216664&format=&page=1&listingType=Loc#articleFull
Friday, December 4, 2009
Level 3 offender arrested after incident at Price Chopper
Level 3 offender arrested after incident at Price Chopper
By Jeff Malachowski/Staff Writer
Thu Dec 03, 2009
SHREWSBURY -
A 56-year-old Level 3 sex offender was arrested Sunday night after allegedly exposing himself to an employee at Price Chopper Supermarket.
John Coppinger allegedly walked into the Price Chopper Supermarket on Maple Avenue a little before 9 p.m. Sunday “with his genitals exposed through the zipper region of his jeans to a female employee of the store,” according to a police report written by Officer Christopher Boudreau.
Boudreau described the female employee as “shocked” and “alarmed” at Coppinger’s behavior and the employee told her manager, who then called police, according to court records.
Coppinger, who is homeless, told another store employee he needed safety pins because the zipper of his pants was broken, according to court records.
“I did determine Mr. Coppinger’s zipper was functional and an inventory search of his motor vehicle yielded several unopened packages of safety pins, as well as the fact he was not wearing any underwear,” Boudreau wrote in a police report.
Coppinger is registered in the state as a Level 3 sex offender, among the level considered the most dangerous and most likely to re-offend. He has been convicted of several sex crimes, the most recent in 2005 when he was convicted of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior. Coppinger was convicted on the same charges of one count of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior in 2002 and six counts in 1998, according to the Massachusetts sex offender registry.
He was also convicted of attempting indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14 years old and open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior in 1995, according to the Massachusetts sex offender registry.
Coppinger was charged Sunday with open and gross lewdness and disturbing the peace. He was arraigned in Westborough District Court on Monday and was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail. Coppinger is due back in court on Dec. 29 for a pre-trial hearing.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/shrewsbury/news/police_and_fire/x441567478/Level-3-offender-arrested-after-incident-at-Price-Chopper
http://sorb.chs.state.ma.us/ResultDetail.asp?btn6847=Detail
By Jeff Malachowski/Staff Writer
Thu Dec 03, 2009
SHREWSBURY -
A 56-year-old Level 3 sex offender was arrested Sunday night after allegedly exposing himself to an employee at Price Chopper Supermarket.
John Coppinger allegedly walked into the Price Chopper Supermarket on Maple Avenue a little before 9 p.m. Sunday “with his genitals exposed through the zipper region of his jeans to a female employee of the store,” according to a police report written by Officer Christopher Boudreau.
Boudreau described the female employee as “shocked” and “alarmed” at Coppinger’s behavior and the employee told her manager, who then called police, according to court records.
Coppinger, who is homeless, told another store employee he needed safety pins because the zipper of his pants was broken, according to court records.
“I did determine Mr. Coppinger’s zipper was functional and an inventory search of his motor vehicle yielded several unopened packages of safety pins, as well as the fact he was not wearing any underwear,” Boudreau wrote in a police report.
Coppinger is registered in the state as a Level 3 sex offender, among the level considered the most dangerous and most likely to re-offend. He has been convicted of several sex crimes, the most recent in 2005 when he was convicted of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior. Coppinger was convicted on the same charges of one count of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior in 2002 and six counts in 1998, according to the Massachusetts sex offender registry.
He was also convicted of attempting indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14 years old and open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior in 1995, according to the Massachusetts sex offender registry.
Coppinger was charged Sunday with open and gross lewdness and disturbing the peace. He was arraigned in Westborough District Court on Monday and was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail. Coppinger is due back in court on Dec. 29 for a pre-trial hearing.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/shrewsbury/news/police_and_fire/x441567478/Level-3-offender-arrested-after-incident-at-Price-Chopper
http://sorb.chs.state.ma.us/ResultDetail.asp?btn6847=Detail
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Accused rapist with Braintree record indicted
http://www.wickedlocal.com/braintree/news/x2072224411/Accused-rapist-with-Braintree-record-indicted
Accused rapist with Braintree record indicted
By Robert Aicardi
GateHouse News Service
Posted Nov 28, 2009
Braintree —
A convicted sex offender who served time in jail for following a woman into a bathroom at the Borders bookstore in Braintree last year has been indicted for allegedly trying to rape a woman inside a bathroom at Massachusetts General Hospital in October.
David C. Flavell, 40, a former Brockton resident now listed as homeless in Boston, is being held without bail until a Dec. 4 dangerousness hearing.
This hearing could result in Flavell being held for 90 days without bail, said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
In addition to charges of assault with intent to rape, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted Flavell on Nov. 23 on two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery.
Prosecutors allege that on Oct. 22, Flavell dragged a 27-year-old woman into a hospital bathroom, choked her, and put his knee on her chest before he tore at the front of her pants, ripping off both buttons and pulling down the zipper.
Flavell was arraigned on Nov. 24.
Flavell, who recently underwent a 20-day psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital, is competent to face the charges against him, a Boston Municipal Court judge ruled on Nov. 16.
According to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, Flavell is classified as a Level 3 sex offender, the category for those considered most likely to re-offend.
Flavell’s criminal record includes convictions on a charge of assault with intent to rape and three counts of open and gross lewdness between 1998 and 2001.
Bristol County prosecutors tried to have Flavell held as a sexually dangerous person in 2005, but he was released from a Bridgewater prison treatment center for sex offenders in February, 2006 after Superior Court Judge Richard Moses determined that he was not sexually dangerous.
On Jan. 29, 2008, Braintree police arrested Flavell, who allegedly peered under a ladies’ room stall at the Borders bookstore on Grossman Drive, startling a 36-year-old Holbrook woman.
“We consider his actions extremely serious and Flavell to be a very dangerous individual,” Deputy Police Chief Russell Jenkins said at the time.
Borders employees told Officer Michael Want that the woman, who left the store and later returned to speak with Want, was in a stall in the ladies’ room around 8 p.m. when a man stuck his head into her stall from underneath the separating wall, said nothing, and fled the area.
A witness who saw the man in the area of the ladies’ room described him as wearing dark clothing, possibly a running suit, and carrying a black bag.
An employee described it as a black Adidas bag with white stripes and went on to say that the man spent two hours on the pay phone near the café, located close to the restrooms.
Surveillance video showed the man to be light skinned with a short Afro and possible facial hair. He was of medium build and was wearing a black puffy coat, a dark colored Adidas sweatshirt, and tan or light brown pants
After officers viewed surveillance video provided by the bookstore, Detective Brendan McLaughlin believed that the suspect bore a resemblance to an individual he had investigated for making obscene phone calls to a Connecticut Child Protective Services hotline in 2006.
In that incident, Flavell allegedly made numerous phone calls to the hotline from pay phones in Boston and Braintree, including payphones outside the post office on Pearl Street and the Sports Authority, which is located across from Borders.
While working a traffic detail at the intersection of Union Street and Grossman Drive, McLaughlin observed Flavell entering the Sports Authority/Borders bookstore area on several occasions.
In the Borders investigation, both witnesses were shown an array containing several photographs, including Flavell’s, and narrowed their selection down to two photos of Flavell and another person.
According to Jenkins, the victim viewed the same photo array on Feb. 19, 2008 and positively identified Flavell as the person who stuck his head into her stall.
On that same day, a Brockton woman called McLaughlin, informed him that she viewed the photograph posted on Mass Most Wanted, and identified the individual as Flavell.
An arrest warrant was issued that afternoon, charging Flavell with annoying or accosting a person of the opposite sex as well as disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.
McLaughlin and Detective Mark Sherrick, assisted by Brockton police, arrested Flavell that night at a donut shop in Brockton.
At the time of his arrest, police said, Flavell was carrying the same backpack that he reportedly had on the night of the Borders incident, and inside it were three pairs of work gloves, a black ski mask, and a roll of duct tape.
Flavell was held at the Braintree police station pending his Feb. 20, 2008 arraignment in Quincy District Court, where he pleaded innocent and was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail.
Flavell admitted on April 22, 2008 in Quincy District Court that there were sufficient facts to find him guilty.
Judge Mary Dacey White sentenced Flavell to six months in jail with credit for 63 days served because he had been unable to come up with bail.
Earlier this year, Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating tried to get Flavell declared a sexually dangerous person, but Judge Janet Sanders denied the request, ruling that Flavell didn’t meet the standard.
Material from GateHouse News Service and the Associated Press was used in this story.
Accused rapist with Braintree record indicted
By Robert Aicardi
GateHouse News Service
Posted Nov 28, 2009
Braintree —
A convicted sex offender who served time in jail for following a woman into a bathroom at the Borders bookstore in Braintree last year has been indicted for allegedly trying to rape a woman inside a bathroom at Massachusetts General Hospital in October.
David C. Flavell, 40, a former Brockton resident now listed as homeless in Boston, is being held without bail until a Dec. 4 dangerousness hearing.
This hearing could result in Flavell being held for 90 days without bail, said Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
In addition to charges of assault with intent to rape, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted Flavell on Nov. 23 on two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault and battery.
Prosecutors allege that on Oct. 22, Flavell dragged a 27-year-old woman into a hospital bathroom, choked her, and put his knee on her chest before he tore at the front of her pants, ripping off both buttons and pulling down the zipper.
Flavell was arraigned on Nov. 24.
Flavell, who recently underwent a 20-day psychiatric evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital, is competent to face the charges against him, a Boston Municipal Court judge ruled on Nov. 16.
According to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, Flavell is classified as a Level 3 sex offender, the category for those considered most likely to re-offend.
Flavell’s criminal record includes convictions on a charge of assault with intent to rape and three counts of open and gross lewdness between 1998 and 2001.
Bristol County prosecutors tried to have Flavell held as a sexually dangerous person in 2005, but he was released from a Bridgewater prison treatment center for sex offenders in February, 2006 after Superior Court Judge Richard Moses determined that he was not sexually dangerous.
On Jan. 29, 2008, Braintree police arrested Flavell, who allegedly peered under a ladies’ room stall at the Borders bookstore on Grossman Drive, startling a 36-year-old Holbrook woman.
“We consider his actions extremely serious and Flavell to be a very dangerous individual,” Deputy Police Chief Russell Jenkins said at the time.
Borders employees told Officer Michael Want that the woman, who left the store and later returned to speak with Want, was in a stall in the ladies’ room around 8 p.m. when a man stuck his head into her stall from underneath the separating wall, said nothing, and fled the area.
A witness who saw the man in the area of the ladies’ room described him as wearing dark clothing, possibly a running suit, and carrying a black bag.
An employee described it as a black Adidas bag with white stripes and went on to say that the man spent two hours on the pay phone near the café, located close to the restrooms.
Surveillance video showed the man to be light skinned with a short Afro and possible facial hair. He was of medium build and was wearing a black puffy coat, a dark colored Adidas sweatshirt, and tan or light brown pants
After officers viewed surveillance video provided by the bookstore, Detective Brendan McLaughlin believed that the suspect bore a resemblance to an individual he had investigated for making obscene phone calls to a Connecticut Child Protective Services hotline in 2006.
In that incident, Flavell allegedly made numerous phone calls to the hotline from pay phones in Boston and Braintree, including payphones outside the post office on Pearl Street and the Sports Authority, which is located across from Borders.
While working a traffic detail at the intersection of Union Street and Grossman Drive, McLaughlin observed Flavell entering the Sports Authority/Borders bookstore area on several occasions.
In the Borders investigation, both witnesses were shown an array containing several photographs, including Flavell’s, and narrowed their selection down to two photos of Flavell and another person.
According to Jenkins, the victim viewed the same photo array on Feb. 19, 2008 and positively identified Flavell as the person who stuck his head into her stall.
On that same day, a Brockton woman called McLaughlin, informed him that she viewed the photograph posted on Mass Most Wanted, and identified the individual as Flavell.
An arrest warrant was issued that afternoon, charging Flavell with annoying or accosting a person of the opposite sex as well as disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.
McLaughlin and Detective Mark Sherrick, assisted by Brockton police, arrested Flavell that night at a donut shop in Brockton.
At the time of his arrest, police said, Flavell was carrying the same backpack that he reportedly had on the night of the Borders incident, and inside it were three pairs of work gloves, a black ski mask, and a roll of duct tape.
Flavell was held at the Braintree police station pending his Feb. 20, 2008 arraignment in Quincy District Court, where he pleaded innocent and was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail.
Flavell admitted on April 22, 2008 in Quincy District Court that there were sufficient facts to find him guilty.
Judge Mary Dacey White sentenced Flavell to six months in jail with credit for 63 days served because he had been unable to come up with bail.
Earlier this year, Norfolk County District Attorney William Keating tried to get Flavell declared a sexually dangerous person, but Judge Janet Sanders denied the request, ruling that Flavell didn’t meet the standard.
Material from GateHouse News Service and the Associated Press was used in this story.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Store Worker Accused of Raping Child
Store Worker Accused Of Raping Child
Sales Associate Charged With Assault In Dressing Room
November 25, 2009
BOSTON -- Dudley police said a sales associate at the J.C. Penney department store in town was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with raping a child in a dressing room.
Francisco Wellington Barros-Gomes, 26 Officers said they got a report of an assault at the store on Route 131 in Sturbridge just before 6 p.m. They determined that a child under 14 was sexually assaulted in a changing area of the store.
A sales associate identified as Francisco Wellington Barros-Gomes, 26, of Charlton, was taken into custody and charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and rape of a child with force.
He was held overnight and was arraigned in Dudley District Court Wednesday where the Brazilian national was held on $25,000 bail and ordered to surrender his passport and wear a GPS if he makes bail.
Court officials said Barros-Gomes has been married to an American for two years and has been in the U.S. for 10 months.
In court, prosecutors said Barros-Gomes worked in the children's department and offered to bring the boy clothes to try on, then assaulted the victim in the dressing room.
Police said Barros-Gomes confessed to fondling the boy, but did not respond when interrogated about the alleged rape. They said he has no previous criminal record.
The next court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 17.
Copyright 2009 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Sales Associate Charged With Assault In Dressing Room
November 25, 2009
BOSTON -- Dudley police said a sales associate at the J.C. Penney department store in town was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with raping a child in a dressing room.
Francisco Wellington Barros-Gomes, 26 Officers said they got a report of an assault at the store on Route 131 in Sturbridge just before 6 p.m. They determined that a child under 14 was sexually assaulted in a changing area of the store.
A sales associate identified as Francisco Wellington Barros-Gomes, 26, of Charlton, was taken into custody and charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and rape of a child with force.
He was held overnight and was arraigned in Dudley District Court Wednesday where the Brazilian national was held on $25,000 bail and ordered to surrender his passport and wear a GPS if he makes bail.
Court officials said Barros-Gomes has been married to an American for two years and has been in the U.S. for 10 months.
In court, prosecutors said Barros-Gomes worked in the children's department and offered to bring the boy clothes to try on, then assaulted the victim in the dressing room.
Police said Barros-Gomes confessed to fondling the boy, but did not respond when interrogated about the alleged rape. They said he has no previous criminal record.
The next court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 17.
Copyright 2009 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Monday, November 23, 2009
CORI "reform" letter to Governor Deval Patrick
Dear Governor Patrick, 11/21/2009
I’ve heard both you and some members of the Senate claim that sex offenders are not included in the CORI 'reform' bill passed on Wednesday, but they were! What you are not telling the public is that we have a loophole in our law that allows judges in Massachusetts discretion over whether or not an offender has to register, AND the new crimes created under Jessica's law are not listed as crimes offenders must register for. The Senate could have taken up an amendment that would have listed the crimes and closed the Jessica's Law loophole, but they decided that this was "not related" to the crime bill before them. The way it stands now , this technicality will allow a person convicted of aggravated rape of a child with force (new offense under Jessica’s Law) to request that his records be sealed 10 years after he has served his sentence, and the public will not have access to that information. When you were running for Governor and the first two years you were in office you stated that you would not include sex offenders in with CORI reform and you must stand true to your word. Any person convicted of a sex crime under MGL Chapter 6 section 178C should not be allowed to keep their convictions secret regardless of whether or not they have been ordered to register with SORB.
I’m asking that you amend the current CORI reform legislation, support the Jessica’s Law amendment and close the pending loophole that allows people convicted of sex offenses to have their records erased after only ten years. We must take ALL sex crime convictions seriously, not only those that have not received a judge’s blessing. If the two requests above are not possible, I’m asking that you to stop misleading the public by stating that sex offenders will not be included in CORI reform because that statement is untrue.
Laurie Myers
Community VOICES
The loophole exists in MGL chapter 6 section 178E subsection (f) and allows judges discretion over registration with SORB.
(f) In the case of a sex offender who has been convicted of a sex offense or adjudicated as a youthful offender or as a delinquent juvenile by reason of a sex offense, on or after December 12, 1999, and who has not been sentenced to immediate confinement, the court shall, within 14 days of sentencing, determine whether the circumstances of the offense in conjunction with the offender’s criminal history indicate that the sex offender does not pose a risk of reoffense or a danger to the public. If the court so determines, the court shall relieve such sex offender of the obligation to register under sections 178C to 178P, inclusive. The court may not make such a determination or finding if the sex offender has been determined to be a sexually violent predator; has been convicted of two or more sex offenses defined as sex offenses pursuant to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, 42 U.S.C. section 14071, committed on different occasions; has been convicted of a sex offense involving a child or a sexually violent offense; or if the sex offender is otherwise subject to minimum or lifetime registration requirements as determined by the board pursuant to section 178D
“Jessica’s Law” amendment (#12) http://www.mass.gov/legis/senate/s2210_amendments.htm
S2210 CORI bill passed by the Senate http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02pdf/st02210.pdf
893 6. Sex offenses, as defined in section 178C of chapter 6, shall not be eligible for sealing for 10
894 years following their disposition, including termination of supervision, probation or any period
895 of incarceration, or for so long as the offender is under a duty to register in the commonwealth or
896 in any other state where the offender resides or would be under such a duty if residing in the
897 commonwealth, whichever is longer.
I’ve heard both you and some members of the Senate claim that sex offenders are not included in the CORI 'reform' bill passed on Wednesday, but they were! What you are not telling the public is that we have a loophole in our law that allows judges in Massachusetts discretion over whether or not an offender has to register, AND the new crimes created under Jessica's law are not listed as crimes offenders must register for. The Senate could have taken up an amendment that would have listed the crimes and closed the Jessica's Law loophole, but they decided that this was "not related" to the crime bill before them. The way it stands now , this technicality will allow a person convicted of aggravated rape of a child with force (new offense under Jessica’s Law) to request that his records be sealed 10 years after he has served his sentence, and the public will not have access to that information. When you were running for Governor and the first two years you were in office you stated that you would not include sex offenders in with CORI reform and you must stand true to your word. Any person convicted of a sex crime under MGL Chapter 6 section 178C should not be allowed to keep their convictions secret regardless of whether or not they have been ordered to register with SORB.
I’m asking that you amend the current CORI reform legislation, support the Jessica’s Law amendment and close the pending loophole that allows people convicted of sex offenses to have their records erased after only ten years. We must take ALL sex crime convictions seriously, not only those that have not received a judge’s blessing. If the two requests above are not possible, I’m asking that you to stop misleading the public by stating that sex offenders will not be included in CORI reform because that statement is untrue.
Laurie Myers
Community VOICES
The loophole exists in MGL chapter 6 section 178E subsection (f) and allows judges discretion over registration with SORB.
(f) In the case of a sex offender who has been convicted of a sex offense or adjudicated as a youthful offender or as a delinquent juvenile by reason of a sex offense, on or after December 12, 1999, and who has not been sentenced to immediate confinement, the court shall, within 14 days of sentencing, determine whether the circumstances of the offense in conjunction with the offender’s criminal history indicate that the sex offender does not pose a risk of reoffense or a danger to the public. If the court so determines, the court shall relieve such sex offender of the obligation to register under sections 178C to 178P, inclusive. The court may not make such a determination or finding if the sex offender has been determined to be a sexually violent predator; has been convicted of two or more sex offenses defined as sex offenses pursuant to the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act, 42 U.S.C. section 14071, committed on different occasions; has been convicted of a sex offense involving a child or a sexually violent offense; or if the sex offender is otherwise subject to minimum or lifetime registration requirements as determined by the board pursuant to section 178D
“Jessica’s Law” amendment (#12) http://www.mass.gov/legis/senate/s2210_amendments.htm
S2210 CORI bill passed by the Senate http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02pdf/st02210.pdf
893 6. Sex offenses, as defined in section 178C of chapter 6, shall not be eligible for sealing for 10
894 years following their disposition, including termination of supervision, probation or any period
895 of incarceration, or for so long as the offender is under a duty to register in the commonwealth or
896 in any other state where the offender resides or would be under such a duty if residing in the
897 commonwealth, whichever is longer.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Homeless advocates tell state: Keep high level sex offenders out of shelters
Homeless advocates tell state: Keep high level sex offenders out of shelters
Thu Nov 19, 2009
John Yazwinski meets with police in Quincy and Brockton every month to see how many high-level sex offenders are listing homeless shelters in those cities — Father Bill’s Place in Quincy and MainSpring in Brockton — as their address.
The list is seldom more than a handful of names — and even then, most of the offenders aren’t actually signing in for an overnight bed.
“They’re using us as a way not to be found,” said Yazwinski, who is executive director and the person in charge of both shelters on a day-to-day basis.
That is why he and scores of other providers for the homeless are backing a new proposal to ban Level 3 sex offenders — the most dangerous and most likely to repeat their crimes — from the shelters.
While they say offenders have a right to housing like everyone else, they also say shelters are not the proper place for them, especially at a time when sharp state budget cuts are straining overall programs for the homeless.
“We don’t have the capability,” Yazwinski said Wednesday. “We don’t get paid for case management (for sex offenders). The only thing the state pays us to do is shelter people 12 hours a day.”
Tom Washington, community relations director at the MainSpring shelter in Brockton, declined comment Wednesday, deferring to Yazwinski.
Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration has cut $2.7 million from funding that pays much of the cost for beds for individual adults at Father Bill’s, MainSpring and other shelters.
Homeless advocates say that 7 percent cut is effectively 15 percent, since the state fiscal year is almost half over, so the impact is much worse.
The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, which includes some 90 shelters and service providers, is supporting a bill by state Sen. Walter Timilty, D-Walpole.
Joe Finn, the alliance’s director, said the bill will help close a loophole in the state’s Sex Offender Registry, by forcing offenders to be truthful about their residence.
“The state has no idea where these guys are,” said Finn, who is also a Quincy city councilor. “That defeats the purpose of the registry.”
At the same time, Yazwinski said, sexual offenders are returning to their communities from prison with no resources and support.
“We’re not the place for these people to end up,” he said.
Timilty’s proposal comes at a time when a growing number of towns and cities are restricting sex offenders from living near schools, parks, playgrounds, day care centers, libraries and senior centers.
Weymouth, Rockland and Pembroke have passed such bans. Quincy and Plymouth are considering them.
Civil liberties advocates say such restrictions in effect pile extra punishment on offenders, while a shelter exclusion would further remove them from contact.
“Nobody thinks these guys should be on the street,” countered Finn. “But they shouldn’t be in shelters to begin with.”
Yazwinski agreed with Finn that the state needs to take greater responsibility to find places for offenders to stay.
But even so, Yazwinski said the number of Level 3 offenders who even list Father Bill’s or MainSpring as their address is a small fraction of all the offenders who live south of Boston.
Enterprise staff writer Elaine Allegrini contributed to this report.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/brockton/news/x1659502653/Homeless-advocates-tell-state-Keep-high-level-sex-offenders-out-of-shelters
Thu Nov 19, 2009
John Yazwinski meets with police in Quincy and Brockton every month to see how many high-level sex offenders are listing homeless shelters in those cities — Father Bill’s Place in Quincy and MainSpring in Brockton — as their address.
The list is seldom more than a handful of names — and even then, most of the offenders aren’t actually signing in for an overnight bed.
“They’re using us as a way not to be found,” said Yazwinski, who is executive director and the person in charge of both shelters on a day-to-day basis.
That is why he and scores of other providers for the homeless are backing a new proposal to ban Level 3 sex offenders — the most dangerous and most likely to repeat their crimes — from the shelters.
While they say offenders have a right to housing like everyone else, they also say shelters are not the proper place for them, especially at a time when sharp state budget cuts are straining overall programs for the homeless.
“We don’t have the capability,” Yazwinski said Wednesday. “We don’t get paid for case management (for sex offenders). The only thing the state pays us to do is shelter people 12 hours a day.”
Tom Washington, community relations director at the MainSpring shelter in Brockton, declined comment Wednesday, deferring to Yazwinski.
Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration has cut $2.7 million from funding that pays much of the cost for beds for individual adults at Father Bill’s, MainSpring and other shelters.
Homeless advocates say that 7 percent cut is effectively 15 percent, since the state fiscal year is almost half over, so the impact is much worse.
The Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, which includes some 90 shelters and service providers, is supporting a bill by state Sen. Walter Timilty, D-Walpole.
Joe Finn, the alliance’s director, said the bill will help close a loophole in the state’s Sex Offender Registry, by forcing offenders to be truthful about their residence.
“The state has no idea where these guys are,” said Finn, who is also a Quincy city councilor. “That defeats the purpose of the registry.”
At the same time, Yazwinski said, sexual offenders are returning to their communities from prison with no resources and support.
“We’re not the place for these people to end up,” he said.
Timilty’s proposal comes at a time when a growing number of towns and cities are restricting sex offenders from living near schools, parks, playgrounds, day care centers, libraries and senior centers.
Weymouth, Rockland and Pembroke have passed such bans. Quincy and Plymouth are considering them.
Civil liberties advocates say such restrictions in effect pile extra punishment on offenders, while a shelter exclusion would further remove them from contact.
“Nobody thinks these guys should be on the street,” countered Finn. “But they shouldn’t be in shelters to begin with.”
Yazwinski agreed with Finn that the state needs to take greater responsibility to find places for offenders to stay.
But even so, Yazwinski said the number of Level 3 offenders who even list Father Bill’s or MainSpring as their address is a small fraction of all the offenders who live south of Boston.
Enterprise staff writer Elaine Allegrini contributed to this report.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/brockton/news/x1659502653/Homeless-advocates-tell-state-Keep-high-level-sex-offenders-out-of-shelters
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Westford police urge parents to get sex-offender info
http://www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_13814151
Westford police urge parents to get sex-offender info
11/18/2009
WESTFORD -- Right now, if you want to learn about Level 2 sex offenders living or working in your town, you have to go to the police station and fill out a request for information.
That's a step Police Chief Thomas McEnaney hopes parents will take.
"We will give you that information," McEnaney said. "You're entitled to it."
But pending legislation would make that information as easy to get as it is for Level 3 sex offenders, state Rep. Jim Arciero, D-Westford, told residents at the J.V. Fletcher Library last night.
Arciero and McEnaney were among a group of panelists who participated in a forum "Community Conversation: Keeping Our Children Safe from Sex Offenders."
Level 2 offenders are those who are considered to have a moderate likelihood of committing another sex crime, whereas Level 3 offenders are considered most likely to repeat. Level 3 sex offender information is available on the Internet.
"There's such a small, thin line between Level 2 and 3 sex offenders, it's critical to have that information," Arciero said.
Arciero is cosponsoring House Bill 1350 which would make Level 2 sex offender information available online. He urged audience members to send letters and e-mails supporting the bill to their own legislators.
McEnaney described a situation that occurred when he was putting his twin sons on the school bus. When the bus door opened, he discovered the driver -- a substitute for the day -- was a Level 2 sex 
The CORI process failed in that case.
"But the bus company is doing a much better job now," McEnaney observed.
Police Safety Officer Mike Croteau described the process involved in classifying sex offenders and who is referred to the Sex Offender Registration Board. But getting certain sex offenders to report their whereabouts is voluntary.
Classifying sex offenders does not give police the ability to control where they live and work, who they interact with or their daily activities, said Croteau.
"Know your neighbors. Find out if there are any Level 2 or 3 sex offenders among them," said Debbie Savoia, vice president of the advocacy group Community Voices. The North Andover resident became involved in the issue in 1992 when she received an anonymous letter about a sex offender moving into her neighborhood.
Sharing "advice from a child molester," Laurie Myers, president of Community Voices and a Chelmsford resident, described characteristics that parents should know.
A child molester is someone who pays a lot of attention to a child. This person has an appearance of someone that parents and child can trust, Myers said. The abuser will know your child's likes and dislikes often better than the parents. The person will buy gifts or treats for the child. The molester will try to isolate the child from his or her parents.
And, she cautioned, it is easier for a parent to isolate a child from family members than for anyone else.
"Talk to your children about sexual abuse," Myers said. "Talk openly about sexual development, behavior and abuse."
"It's a tough subject," said Savoia. Parents give their children a lot of safety information "but we don't tell them how to protect themselves from sex offenders."
Parents should "routinely quiz their children about what happens when they are away," Savoia recommended.
Parents might ask "Did anything fun happen?" That question might elicit a response if an abuser has made a child think they're playing a game.
Check references for baby-sitters and do not let children walk or bicycle alone, Savoia advised.
Myers and Savoia are frequently lobbying for reforms in sex-offender laws.
Last night's forum was organized by Westford residents Pam LaBarre and Wendy Brown, who hope that it will spur discussion and action in other communities.
"It's not just a Westford problem," they said.
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