Unwithering spotlight on California sex-assault case judge

California judge Aaron Persky got a recent dose of public attention so adverse that it has rendered him a virtual pariah in the minds of many state residents. Here’s ample proof of that, supplied courtesy of a recent profile of Persky appearing in the Los Angeles Times: reportedly, about 1.3 million people have signed a…

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Clear momentum on California SOL removal for felony sex crimes

In baseball parlance, the California Assembly just threw a shutout last Thursday, overwhelmingly passing a bill addressing time limits related to sex crime prosecutions. Now that legislation moves to the Senate, which in all likelihood will endorse the bill with the same enthusiasm that House members did. Actually, it was the Senate that moved first,…

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Crackdown on child sex trafficking ring in California community

Operation “Baby Face” might ostensibly and at first glance sound like something totally innocuous and even uplifting. A photo contest for cute infants, for instance. Maybe an online zoo fundraiser betting that adorable animal shots will bring in viewer contributions. A statement uttered by one commentator in an article on Baby Face quickly belies any…

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Twin 33-foot trailer trucks: Does federal law allow for them?

Not yet. That is the answer to the above-posed headline question — at least as of today. As noted in a recent media piece discussing twin 33-foot trailer trucks, these true behemoths of the road are not currently approved for nationwide use on the country’s freeways and interstates. That could be changing, though, with a…

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Those e-cigarettes can be dangerous, especially for truckers

Smoking is a known health risk, of course, with a well-established nexus to cancer and other adverse outcomes. As such, warnings regarding the practice have become progressively more dire and explicit over time. Here’s one that could not have been remotely imagined even a year or so ago: Be careful with a certain type of…

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Report: USA Gymnastics gets no medal for policing sex offenders

“It’s horrible, but it’s not the worst.” As far as endorsements go, that is, what, rather … tepid? Depending on the context, the comment might not be much of a big deal, but the context is this: sexual predators having close access to millions of young American gymnasts in clubs and training facilities from California…

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Nation’s vice president to spotlight untested rape kits

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has long taken a strong advocacy stance on behalf of sexual assault victims, and he will reportedly promote his involvement in that realm by rendering a cameo performance in an upcoming television episode on a long-running and popular series. That show is Law & Order: SVU (special victims unit), which…

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California ramping up school-based sexual harassment education

It’s really not hard to understand, say school officials, advocates promoting harassment-free school environments, many parents and other interested parties. Here’s the deal, in a nutshell: Much harmful and unlawful sexual conduct hat manifests itself in adulthood owes centrally to a perpetrator’s wrongful behaviors learned — and, importantly, not discouraged — years earlier. As in…

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Federal regulators concerned with U.S. traffic fatality numbers

Dismal. That is the clear and unadorned assessment of U.S. safety regulators who have culled and closely examined 2015 data relating to motor vehicle accidents across the country that resulted in fatalities. And here’s what is especially troubling to transportation and highway safety officials: Fatal accident-related numbers are up for virtually every type of crash.…

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Calabasas School Faces Lawsuit After Shielding Inappropriate Teacher

Viewpoint School, a K-12 grade school in Calabasas, California, will potentially face a civil suit after several accusations were made against the school for helping a former employee, Joseph Koetters, land another job after he demonstrated inappropriate behavior as one of the school’s teachers. Joseph Koetters, who was employed by Viewpoint from 1998-1999, later transferred…

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Opinion: LAUSD on wrong track re teachers’ sexual abuse of kids

Two guest commentators in a recent media article on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s response to the problem of predatory sexual behavior committed by teachers initially note what they say was the response to child molestation first structured by the Catholic Church and the Los Angeles Archdiocese. That response was grossly ineffectual and unethical,…

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A tragedy re many serious, fatal accidents: they are preventable

It is of course infinitely sad every time a serious or fatal accident occurs in Southern California or elsewhere across the country. And the personal loss suffered by an individual or family can seem even more tragic when the precipitating factor most centrally contributing to harm is human error. A catalyst in many catastrophic injury…

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Former high-ranking politician’s sex-abuse saga enters new stage

We last left off with one-time U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Dennis Hastert in a previous post, noting therein that the former politician — the longest-tenured Republican House speaker in the nation’s history — was soon scheduled to be sentenced in a high-profile criminal case involving allegations of sexual abuse committed against juveniles. There was…

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Task force acts: Los Angeles fertile ground for child molesters

The Internet — ubiquitous and powerful — is seemingly a global conduit for every conceivable thing. It provides news coverage to the second, sports and entertainment information and a ready catalog of virtually every song ever written and recorded. It allows users to instantly communicate across the world with others, do homework and research projects…

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Step 1 concluded: sex-crimes SOL passes California Senate

It’s a start. Would-be legislation in California is, well, would-be. That is, a bill is merely incipient and must clear multiple hurdles before it is deemed finally approved and can be enacted as law. A high-profile bill (SB 813, for short) focused upon the reporting window available for individuals to file legal claims regarding sex…

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Annual summertime focus: Here come the teen drivers

Behind the wheel, judgment and focus are everything. Unsurprisingly, and from a collective standpoint, teen drivers in California and nationally flatly lack those attributes. The numbers don’t lie. Here are a few things to ponder, which convey the type of driving-related statistical information that fills more mature drivers with trepidation, if not outright dread. Just…

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David Ring Named to Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America”

Partner David M. Ring is ranked this year among the nation’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America by Lawdragon, which recognizes him for his high-profile and precedent-setting sexual abuse cases. For more than 20 years, Ring has been a strong voice for sexual abuse victims, fighting to ensure that school districts, administrators and perpetrators are held…

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Child abuser’s case underscores sheer dimension of global problem

To any person in California or elsewhere who might believe that criminal law authorities, advocacy groups, compassionate and knowledgeable attorneys and countless other people overstate the case of pedophile-related activity and child sexual abuse, we submit the case of Richard Huckle. Huckle was sentenced by a London court earlier this week to 22 life sentences…

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Desert Sands Unified School District Facing One of Many Molestation Claims

A former student alleges that Desert Sands Unified School District knowingly employed a child predator and exposed countless students to him. Three lawsuits have already been filed against the school district, with two ongoing cases and one other having settled earlier this year. However, it’s expected that many more allegations will arise. The claims stem…

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Spat over sex crime statute of limitations

It’s a recurring and sometimes strident debate that often materializes across the country, including in California. Now a prominent businessman and legislator have rekindled the discussion in another state. That state is New York, with the subject being the statute of limitations applicable to child sex abuse cases. In New York, so-called SOLs greatly —…

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Young veteran actor cites pedophile problem in Hollywood

“People with parasitic interests will see you as their prey.” So says Elijah Wood, who generally commands a bit of attention when he speaks. And the reason for that is obvious, given that Wood, now 35 years old, has already had a decades-long acting career on television and in movies. Most notably, of course, he…

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Lawsuit says L.A. Archdiocese failed to inform about allegations against priest

Perpetrators of child sexual abuse often go to great lengths to work with or be near children in order to “groom” them for abuse. Employers, and especially religious and youth organizations, should implement proper screening, monitoring and reporting processes in order to protect children from sexual predators. Unfortunately, even when an organization has rules designed…

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