News & Updates

In 1985, at age 19, Martin Vargas Arellano was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor under 14. The victim, according to his attorney, Margaret Hellerstein, was his stepsister, and the relationship was consensual. In 1993, Vargas was convicted of domestic violence, but has had no other convictions for violent crimes since then. Vargas was arrested in April 2019 for

Mar. 22—When this mother speaks on this particular issue, know that every one of her words is valuable and chosen carefully. Patty Wetterling lost a son to the actions of a sex offender. But she now has misgivings about a sex offender registry she helped create. Her concerns are worthy of attention. Wetterling’s son Jacob was abducted and killed in

Over the past six months we received reports from three unrelated members who have experienced problems when purchasing cars. We originally thought it was unrelated to the registry, but with it now being THREE concerns brought to our attention, we need to determine if there’s something more to it and whether something can be done. Please reply in the comments

An intellectually disabled young man placed on the sex offender registry for doing his friend’s bidding has been granted a new hearing. The Illinois Prison Review Board will review his case, most likely sometime this summer. His mother is asking, on his behalf, for executive clemency. He deserves it. Adam is 34 years old and still must be reminded to

Over at the fantastic Posse Comitatus — a substack on sheriffs — Jess Pishko, wrote about ways in which sheriffs (and other law enforcement) often frame themselves as being on the side of victims even as those narratives are (a) often incoherent and (b) demonstrably false beyond their rhetoric. So it was timely that I saw an article with the

Finally a balanced article! This one features our friend, Mary Sue, from Texas Voices for Reason and Justice. Kyle City Council will consider passing a new ordinance which would restrict where some individuals on the Texas sex offender registry can reside, regardless of whether or not the offender is on probation or parole. Mary Sue Molnar, chair of nonprofit advocacy