RantCrush Top 5: May 31, 2017

Australian politicians proposed new legislation that would deny registered child sex offenders passports, in an attempt to prevent them from going abroad to potentially abuse more children, likely through sex tourism. This proposal is the first of its kind and if it passes, would affect some 20,000 offenders. The government also said that approximately 3,200 offenders would never be able to get a passport, as they are being monitored for the rest of their lives. About 800 offenders traveled overseas last year–half of them to Southeast Asia, which is a main hub for child sex trafficking. “This new legislation represents the toughest crackdown on child sex tourism by any government, anywhere,” said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. The proposal comes after a notable case from last year, when Australian Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis was convicted of abusing 11 girls in Bali over the course of two years. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Australia will introduce tough new laws to ban convicted pedophiles from traveling abroad https://t.co/xz37uRsBxG pic.twitter.com/yvIqcV0yIv

— CNN (@CNN) May 30, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.