Fiesta Puerto Rico Booth

Well we were hoping to take many pictures yesterday of the festival, but the weather did not cooperate. I managed to take a photo of our booth with Susan chowing down... and that was about it. The music and food was great, but not very many people showed up since they predicted a 70% chance of rain. And rained it did, more like pouring buckets throughout the day. We would have to cover the self defense products with plastic and luckily our canopy had extra sides to zip up if we needed it. Susan, the other owner of WomenOnGuard.com, and I had to hold our canopy down, several times, so the wind would not blow it away. We did have 4 small buckets with cement in them to hold it down, but it was not enough! Many booths just closed down shop, but not us, we stayed until 7 PM! Anyhow it was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to participating in more festivals.

Sexual Offenders or Predators in Your Neighborhood?

When was the last time you checked to see if any sexual offenders or predators live in your area? Or, have you ever checked?

You hear about this on the news yet, many people never bother to look up this information. Sexual offenders and predators are living amongst us everyday, yet most of us don't bother looking them up.

Whether you are a man or a woman and want to be safe against these violators, you should look them up. If you are a parent, it is crucial that you know where these criminals live to make sure that your children don't get near them.

It is very easy, just get on the internet and check the website of your state's Law Enforcement Office. You can also log onto your County Sheriff Office's website. There are many other websites available on the internet to look up these individuals. Most of these sites require you to fill in your address info. After that a map will come up on the screen showing all the streets near your address. The sexual offenders and or predators will be highlighted with bright colors in your neighborhood. These maps are usually interactive, so you can zoom in or out to see other violators that live further away from you. Some maps even have the feature of showing you pictures, information and even addresses of these criminals by simply placing your mouse over the highlighted spot.

Always be aware of your surroundings and neighborhood, even the areas that you can't see directly around you. Know your neighbors and inform them about these sexual criminals that live near you.

Visit Our Booth at Fiesta Puerto Rico

OUTDOOR CULTURAL FESTIVAL & CONCERT
Join the festivities and come say hi at our booth this coming Sunday, the 28th at the CORAL SPRINGS CENTER FOR THE ARTS, in Coral Springs, Florida. The festival starts at 11 AM and runs through 7 PM. Check out our self defense products in person and ask any questions you might have about them. The festival will have food, art, and music outdoors and also indoor concerts. See you there!

Pepper Spray Donation to Rape Treatment Center in Miami, FL

PRESS RELASE:
WomenOnGuard.com donated pepper spray to The Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center. The Center is part of the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, Florida, which also operates Jackson Health System, including Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Pompano Beach, FL, June 23, 2009. WomenOnGuard.com recently moved it’s corporate office to Pompano Beach, FL. The website sells non-lethal, self defense products such as Mace, pepper spray, stun guns, Tasers and personal alarms. It donates on a regular basis to women’s crisis centers or a similar cause around the nation.

The Roxcy Bolton Rape Treatment Center (RTC) was chosen for the websites donation after statistics provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement showed that Miami and surrounding areas had the highest numbers in rape by force. State investigators say that 10,823 forcible sex offenses were reported in the State of Florida last year alone. Of the total Florida offenses, 1,294 of them were in Miami, Dade County area and 640 assaults were rapes by force. RTC provides a comprehensive approach to the care and treatment of victims of sexual assault or abuse. They have a Crisis Unit, Counseling Unit and other departments to improve and enhance the quality of life of these victims. Cynthia Sinclair, Director of Operations for RTC, mentioned that the timing for the pepper spray donation was great because a woman recently had come into the center asking for pepper spray. She was glad that they would now be able to give pepper spray to any woman requesting some sort of extra protection item.

Regarding the number of rapes in South Florida, Susan Eaton, co-owner of WomenOnGuard.com mentioned: “These statistics are very alarming. Miami is suppose to be a fun, easy, warm place to live, work or vacation. Rape statistics such as these will deter people from coming or living in Miami. Dade County is not the only place with high rape statistics; Broward and Palm Beach County statistics are pretty high too. Men, but mostly women, are the victims and the figures provided by investigators include only the cases reported. There are countless assaults that go unreported because of shame or fear.”

WomenOnGuard.com’s other owner, Martha Z. Martinez, informed that it is a well-known fact that sexual assaults are more prominent during vacation times. Summer and the winter Holidays, such as New Years, have the highest incidents of rapes. People are more vulnerable because they let their guard down, socialize more and sometimes are drinking alcohol, which impairs their judgment. Rapists know this and they take advantage of the situation. She wants to urge women to take extra precautions against assaults this summer and to be more aware of their surroundings, not just during social events, but while exercising and enjoying the outdoors too.

Detroit Man Kills People for Money

Vincent Smothers, 28, will be going to trial soon for being a hit man in Detroit. He confessed to police: "I don't have a profession", "I kill people for money." Detroit Police caught him in a suburban alley and heard his confession of several killings in Detroit. According to the authorities, it is very rare for someone to be charged with so many death crimes.

Smothers, the killer, informed police that the killings for him were easy and that he would shoot people while talking on his cell phone. He claimed that all but one of his victims were drug dealers. He provided police with very detailed accounts on the various shootings. The one crime victim he actually felt remorse about was Rose Cobb, a police officer's wife, who he felt was innocent. According to Smothers, her husband, David Cobb, who was having an affair at the time, hired him in December 2007 to murder his wife. That Detroit officer hung himself the following September. Smothers claimed he stopped his killings after that. He mentioned: "My stomach was in knots..." and that he couldn't kill people anymore after that.

"I knew at the time these crimes were committed they were wrong and that there would be a price to pay," he wrote. "After Cobb's wife, I could no longer have anything to do with murdering people."

"I can't bring them back," Smothers wrote, "but I hope this allows their families to know that someone is going to pay who was behind what happened to their loved ones."

His very lengthy confessions gave judges probable cause to put Vincent Smothers on trial. Trial date has not yet been announced.

Craigslist is Helping Catch Rapists

Seems like Craigslist is contributing to society in a positive way, lately.
With their help, police have made a 2nd arrest of another rapist. This particular rape occurred in Kannapolis, NC, on May 31st.

Craigslist, an online classified service, helped arrest Rodney Liverman Sr., who is 39 years old. It so happens that Liverman was actually hired by the husband of the victim to rape his wife! The rape actually happened in the home of the victim. The rapist went into her bedroom with a knife and asked for money, proceeded to rape her, then asked her to go into the bathroom. What is really sick, is that the husband was present when all this was occurring and did nothing to prevent it! At some point police mentioned that the woman was able to grab the knife and threw it directly at her husband, who was just standing by, watching. After the rapist left, the victim's husband told her to get in the shower and to NOT call 911.

Rodney Liverman Sr., is in jail on a $250,000 bond. Liverman is charged in this case with 1st degree rape and three other previous sexual offenses. The victim's husband who remains anonymous, due to his connection with the sexual assault victim, was charged with 1st degree rape, also remains in jail on a $200,000 bond. He has a previous record as well, of indecent exposure that occurred last year in front of a pizza delivery woman.

We praise the Kannapolis, NC Police in association with Craigslist, in capturing these two criminals!

Senate Passes Bill - Prevents Domestic Violence Victims from Being Evicted

The California Senate just passed Bill SB 782, which prevents landlords from evicting domestic violence victims. This new bill will encourage victims to defend themselves and not face eviction from their home. Eviction has discouraged victims, female and male, to file complaints of domestic violence or sexual assault. SB 782 will encourage women to step forward.

Many landlords have a nuisance clause in their rental agreement that allows them to evict tenants if there is a lot of noise, disturbance, police activity or complaints. When landlords evict domestic violence victims, it's like being victimized again by being pressured to move. Many of these domestic violence victims which are mostly women, end up homeless. Under SB 782, landlords would not be allowed to use their lease clause to evict women under these circumstances. Landlords however can evict the perpetrator of the abuse. It should also be stated that the law presently allows a victim to break their lease and go to a victim's shelter if they choose to do so.

SB 782 will protect victims, women or men, from being evicted only if they show a written statement by a qualified third party, such as a police officer, licensed clinical social worker or therapist. The tenant however, will still be responsible for the lease payments and other clauses.

If you are a victim of domestic violence or if you want to report an incident of domestic violence, call the 24-hour-a-day toll-free National Hotline at 1-(800) 799-SAFE or 1-(800) 787-3224 (TDD).