Domestic & Sexual Violence: Recent Headlineshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/en-US2008-12-03T06:25:39ZSquarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)Teacher who spoke out on sex abuse loses jobhttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/10/23/teacher-who-spoke-out-on-sex-abuse-loses-job.htmlVCF Staff2008-10-23T20:11:54ZVermont Public Radio reports that Chuck Laramie, an English and history teacher at the the Park Street Program, a Rutland alternative school for juvenile sex offenders, "was removed from his job in September, just weeks after testifying to a legislative committee about the likelihood that offenders will commit new crimes." An official with the Howard Center official said that "Laramie's positions were 'very much interfering' with the mission of the Park Street Program." Notably, "Laramie was placed on leave September 19, two days after the program got a letter from its funding source, the Burlington-based Howard Center, saying he should be dismissed." In response, some Vermont lawmakers have expressed "concern that the treatment of Laramie will place a chilling effect on the willingness of others to testify to legislative committees."
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]]>State could lose money if it doesn't change sex registryhttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/10/22/state-could-lose-money-if-it-doesnt-change-sex-registry.htmlVCF Staff2008-10-22T12:52:44ZVermont Public Radio reports that Vermont "could lose up to $35,000 in federal funding if it doesn't expand its online sex offender registry" under the 2006 Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which "seeks to unify Internet registry standards across all 50 states." Currently, "Vermont reserves its Internet registry for the more serious sex offenders," but "the Adam Walsh Act would require all of the state's 2,400 offenders to be listed online." This would mean adding about 2,000 names to Vermont's list. According to state officials, that "change could cost up to $3 million in additional legal fees" because an expanded registry could make offenders "less likely to reach plea deals, driving up legal fees."
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]]>Supreme Court to hear Vermont domestic violence casehttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/10/2/supreme-court-to-hear-vermont-domestic-violence-case.htmlVCF Staff2008-10-02T19:40:09ZVermont Public Radio reports that the U.S. Supreme
Court will "hear a Vermont prosecutor's appeal in the case of a domestic
assault suspect whose conviction was thrown out because it took a court three
years to hear his case." Indeed, "the high court
will hear oral arguments in State v. Brillon, which stemmed from the 2004 trial
of Michael Brillon." Brillon "was sentenced to 12
to 20 years in prison. In March, the Vermont Supreme Court overturned his
conviction, saying his public defenders failed to get him a speedy trial." Because "the state court
refused to reconsider the decision.,"the "Bennington County's prosecutor appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court,
saying the delays were caused by Brillon and his lawyer."Link to article
]]>Committee likely to recommend lengthy mandatory minimum sentenceshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/9/15/committee-likely-to-recommend-lengthy-mandatory-minimum-sent.htmlVCF Staff2008-09-15T15:17:51ZVermont Public Radio reports that Bennington Senator Dick Sears, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, "says the panel is likely to recommend lengthy mandatory minimum sentences for egregious sex crimes." Sears is "directing the committee's review of the criminal justice system following the kidnapping and murder this summer of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett." Sears said the committee would like to "give prosecutors the authority to seek tougher sentences"; "strengthen the ability of probation and parole officers to monitor sex offenders"; and "recommend changes to the state's sexual assault prevention programs." The committee "will meet a few more times this fall, and will begin drafting formal recommendations for lawmakers to consider when they return in January."
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]]>Committee takes testimony on sex offender lawshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/9/12/committee-takes-testimony-on-sex-offender-laws.htmlVCF Staff2008-09-12T14:38:00ZVermont Public Radio reports that "Vermont Corrections Commissioner Rob Hofmann says the state has grown tougher and smarter in the last quarter century in dealing with sex offenders. Hofmann's comments followed the testimony of Calbraith MacLeod, "an inmate at the state prison in St. Albans, who told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he committed two serious assaults while he was on parole for an earlier offense in the 1980s." According to MacLeod, "The assaults most likely would not have happened if he had been under closer supervision by his parole officer." In response, Hofmann noted that "the state has added scores of community correctional officers to keep tabs on offenders since the 1980s."
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]]>Overall crime down 3 percent last year, domestic violence riseshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/9/8/overall-crime-down-3-percent-last-year-domestic-violence-ris.htmlVCF Staff2008-09-08T16:56:46ZVermont Public Radio reports that the
Vermont Criminal Information Center says that "crime was down 3% in Vermont last year." This finding "reverses a trend from 2006, when the crime
rate rose significantly." the 2007 numbers are still higher than 2005's. "One
category
of crimes did rise over the past year. There were 963 cases of
domestic violence in 2007. That was an increase of seven percent from
the year
before. Another
area that caught researchers' attention was the amount of losses from
property
crime. Losses totaled $23 million, a 7% rise." According to the
Criminal Information Center, these loses "can be explained in part by
several large
crimes, including fraud."
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]]>Rockingham considers restrictions on sex offendershttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/9/3/rockingham-considers-restrictions-on-sex-offenders.htmlVCF Staff2008-09-03T15:16:00ZVermont Public Radio reports that "Rockingham may
become the third community in Vermont to restrict where sex offenders live." Recently the Rockingham Selectboard "adopted a draft ordinance that would make certain areas of town
off-limits to sex offenders." Indeed, "sex
offenders would be prohibited from living within one-thousand feet of a school,
recreation facility or licensed day care center, and would be banned from
visiting those facilities." Similar ordinances were passed in Rutland and Barre this year.
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]]>Women’s Rape Crisis Center sees increase in hotline callshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/8/21/womens-rape-crisis-center-sees-increase-in-hotline-calls.htmlVCF Staff2008-08-21T19:49:58ZVermont Public Radio reports that "the
Women's Rape Crisis
Center in Burlington saw a dramatic increase in the number of calls to
its
crisis hotline over the past year." Indeed, "between
July 2007 and June 2008, the number of calls increased 25 percent over
the
previous year." According to Elle Petcavage of the Women's Rape Crisis
Center, "It's hard to say whether the increase is due to
more education and outreach, or more instances of sexual violence."
Notably, the Center "reached 36 percent more people with education
programs over the same time period [and] tripled the number of college
students reached
last year. That's significant because college students are at a high-risk for
sexual violence."
The Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual
Violence's Karen
Tronsgard-Scott believes that educational programs, which are a "fairly
new service" and have expanded in recent years, explain the increase
in the number of people seeking help. The Network, which oversees
sexual violence crisis groups statewide, has also "seen a steady
increase in the number of reports over the past
six year[s]."
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]]>AG candidate calls for an end to plea bargains in sex offender caseshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/8/20/ag-candidate-calls-for-an-end-to-plea-bargains-in-sex-offend.htmlVCF Staff2008-08-20T13:07:37ZVermont Public Radio reports that Karen Kerin, the Republican candidate for attorney general, has called "for an end to all plea bargains in sex offender cases." She believes that "law enforcement officials are too quick to accept a plea bargain in many cases, and she wants these cases to be more aggressively prosecuted." In response, Attorney General Bill Sorrell defended the use of plea bargains saying "there's no evidence to support Kerin's claims" and sometimes plea bargains are neccesary because "local prosecutors don't have all the evidence that they need to win a case."
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]]>Voices Against Violence Receives Award Winning Bookshttp://www.understandingvt.org/domestic-news/2008/8/19/voices-against-violence-receives-award-winning-books.htmlVCF Staff2008-08-19T20:29:46ZThe Burlington Free Press reports that Voices Against Violence is a Franklin County agency that serves victims of domestic and sexual violence, including children. The organization recently received award-winning children's books from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom of Burlington. The books which "show the struggles and successes of children in overcoming the adversities of racism" were "presented to Director Kristin Lukens-Rose and Outreach Coordinator Karen Giroux at the offices of Voices Against Violence in St. Albans."
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