GADSDEN, Alabama -- The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin and two officers in the department over what they say are "unannounced, random, and suspicionless" searches of the home of a registered sex offender.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, does not name the three family members. They are identified in the suit as John, Jane and James Doe. The law firm of Jaffe & Drennan filed the suit today, according to a news release.
ACLU Attorney Brandon Buskey said the searches are "unconstitutional harassment."
"These officers are trampling on this family's constitutional rights, and because this is the sheriff's policy, we fear this may be happening over and over again to families around the county," Buskey said in a release.
According to the ACLU, one member of the family is a registered sex offender because of an offense committed as a child. The suit contends he has "fulfilled every requirement" under the offender registration and community notification act. He must register four times a year with the sheriff.
However, the ACLU contends the family is threatened with arrest if they fail to cooperate with random inspections of their home. The suit contends this is a violation of the family's Constitutional rights, because it takes place without a warrant or any reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing.
The suit seeks an end to the searches and the policy of inspecting registered offenders' homes. It also seeks unspecified monetary damages.
Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Natalie Barton said the department was aware of the lawsuit, but had not seen the complaint and had no comment. ..Source.. by William Thornton
Suit to stop (Excessive) sex offender checks filed
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against Sheriff Todd Entrekin and his unannounced checks on sex offenders, claiming the checks violate the offenders’ Fourth Amendment rights.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, says the sheriff’s office conducts its unannounced checks without regard to whether the individual was convicted as an adult or a juvenile, the likelihood of reoffending, whether the individual is on probation or parole and whether he or she is compliant with that probation or parole.
The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of a family named only as James, John and Jane Doe. It said James Doe, son of John and Jane, is an Etowah County resident who is required to register as a sex offender and is required to appear quarterly at the sheriff’s office.
Despite this, the suit alleges, deputies have conducted nine separate inspections of the Doe home and routinely search the home without consent during the inspections. The suit said the inspections have gone on since April 2012.
According to the suit, James Doe was convicted Aug. 17, 2011, on three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree sodomy. He was committed to the Alabama Department of Youth Services Sexual Offender Program on that day, and was in a court-mandated treatment program at Mt. Meigs Juvenile Detention Center until Nov. 28 of that year, when he successfully completed it.
James Doe was characterized on Feb. 9, 2012, as a “low-risk” sex offender. The Etowah County Circuit Court sided with the Department of Youth Services and ruled him low-risk over objections by the state. The suit said under the Alabama Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act, Doe is only required to check in quarterly.
Entrekin had little to say about the suit because it is still pending and will be decided in court, but he defended his office’s checks on sex offenders.
“With the world we live in, we feel strongly about how we handle our sex offenders,” Entrekin said. “We look forward to our day in court.” ..Source.. by John Davidson
