11th Circuit rules Alabama's ban on child sex offenders living with kids unconstitutional

An 11th Circuit panel ruled that Alabama's Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Act cannot prevent a convicted child sex offender from living with his minor child. The judges said the 2011 law does not survive strict scrutiny, as it is overly broad and not narrowly tailored to protect children. Bruce Henry, who served nearly five years for possessing hundreds of child-abuse files and violated supervised release in 2019, was barred from cohabiting with his son born in 2021.

The court emphasized that a conviction does not automatically indicate a high risk of harm to one's own child. The ruling aligns with a July 6 en banc decision that affirmed a fundamental right for all parents, including those with sex-offence convictions, to reside with their children. Judges Robin Rosenbaum, Nancy Abudu and Charles Wilson authored the opinion, while earlier dissenters argued the right was not fundamental.