Governor Appoints Members of Sex Offender Review Board

Governor Appoints Members of Sex Offender Review Board

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today new appointments to the Sex Offender Registration Review Board (SORRB).

HB1059, passed during the 2006 legislative session, requires the SORRB to determine the likelihood that a sexual offender will engage in another crime against a victim who is a minor or another dangerous sexual offense. The SORRB will determine if certain sex offenders are considered a Level One Offender, Level Two Offender or a Sexual Predator. The assessments will be used by criminal justice professionals such as sheriffs, members of the Parole Board or Department of Corrections. All offenders identified as sexual predators will be required to be placed on electronic monitoring, should he or she be released to the custody of a parole or probation officer. Sex offender classifications will also be listed on Georgia’s sex offender registry.

Previously the SORRB consisted of six individuals, appointed at large by the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR). Because HB1059 increased the number of cases the SORRB will review each month, Governor Perdue increased the membership and restructured the board into five regional boards, based on the five DHR regions. Each regional board consists of three members: a representative from law enforcement, a clinician and a victim advocate. HB1059 stipulates all members must be appointed by the Governor. SORRB members serve for terms of four years, and are limited to no more than two consecutive terms.

According to HB1059, the SORRB members will review approximately 215 cases per month, or 40 cases per region per month. Members of the regional SORRBs will meet at least once a month in their regions to evaluate cases and assign risk levels to offenders. The full SORRB will meet quarterly to assess difficult cases and conduct additional business.

The SORRB will be administratively attached to DHR for staff support. New members of the SORRB include:

Sex Offender Registration Review Board

Karen M. Ambrose, 50, Thomasville, GA – Ambrose is the senior victim advocate for the Southern Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. She is a member of the Certified Literate Community Project and Thomas County Family Connection. She volunteers with the Southwest Georgia Community Action Council Inc. and assists with the Thomasville Police Department’s “Shop with a Cop” and “National Night Out” programs. Her current projects include obtaining grant funding for the Thomas County Child Advocacy Center and establishing the Thomas County Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program. She served as a certified crisis responder for the National Organization for Victims Assistance. Ambrose is an associate’s degree student at Southwest Georgia Technical College. She has three children.

David E. Ebron, 55, Columbus, GA (REAPPOINTMENT) – Ebron is a licensed clinical social worker. He lectures at Troy University and maintains a private practice treating primarily adolescents and their families. He is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Academy of Certified Social Workers and the Association for Treatment of Sex Abusers. Ebron earned a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s degree from West Virginia University. He and his wife, Jean, have two children.

Elizabeth “Beth” H. Dabbs, 30, Silver Creek, GA – Dabbs is the director of the victim witness assistance program for the Floyd County District Attorney’s Office. She serves as secretary of the Floyd County Protocol/Child Fatality Committee and chair of the Child Abuse Prevention Committee. She is a member of the Wellness Committee for Floyd County and the Floyd County Domestic Violence Task Force. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Shorter College and a certificate of completion from the National Center for Paralegal Training. She is married to Chad Dabbs.

Vonda K. Darrisaw, 40, Dublin, GA – Darrisaw is the director of the victim witness assistance program for the Dublin Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. She is a certified intermediate advocate, certified child sexual abuse forensic interviewer and a Georgia State Victim Assistance Academy trainer. Darrisaw is a member of the Georgia Crisis Response Team, the Dublin Judicial Circuit Child Fatality Review and Child Abuse Protocol committees and is a board member of Stepping Stone Child Advocacy Center. She served as chairperson of the Laurens County Family Violence Task Force. Darrisaw earned an associate’s degree from Austin Peay State University and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree. She and her husband, Gary, have two children.

Natasha Dedijer-Turner, 33, Alpharetta, GA – Dedijer-Turner is the clinical director of the Forsyth County Child Advocacy Center. She is a licensed professional counselor. She is a member of the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc., Chi Sigma Iota and Pi Lamda Theta. She is a member of the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of Georgia, the American Counseling Association, the American Mental Health Counselor Association and the National Board for Certified Counselors and Affiliates, Inc. Dedijer-Turner earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University, a specialist’s degree from the University of Florida and a master’s degree from the University of Florida.

Melissa J. Dotterweich, 32, Savannah, GA – Dotterweich is the clinical coordinator at the Coastal Children’s Advocacy Center. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and membership chair of the Clinical Social Work Association board. Dotterweich earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree from Savannah State University. She is married to Jerome Dotterweich.

Steven C. Land, 55, Hazlehurst, GA – Land is the chief of police for the city of Hazlehurst. He is a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, the Peace Officers Association of Georgia, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the F.B.I. National Academy Associates and the Hazlehurst/Jeff Davis Historical Society. Land attended South Georgia College, Brewton Parker College, South Georgia Police Academy, F.B.I. National Academy and the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange Program at Georgia State University. He and his wife, Rachel, have four grown children and six grandchildren.

Janet R. Oliva, Ph.D., 46, Flowery Branch, GA – Oliva is an inspector at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She is a member of the Georgia Child Fatality Review Panel, the Georgia branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI–Georgia), the executive committee of the Georgia Alliance for Drug Endangered Children and the advisory board of the Georgia Crisis Intervention Team Program. Oliva earned a bachelor’s degree from Brenau University, a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a doctoral degree from the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Carlos, have two grown children.

Anthony “Tony” E. Ranieri, 48, Griffin, GA – Ranieri is chief investigator for the Spalding County Sheriff’s Department. He is a member of the Peace Officers Association of Georgia, the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and the International Association of Identifiers. He attended Chattahoochee Community College and Phenix City campus of Troy State University. He has two children.

Kathy P. Rogers, 35, North Augusta, SC – Rogers is the director of the victim witness assistance program for the Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office. She serves as victim advocate and volunteer coordinator for the victim/witness assistance program. Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina. She and her husband, Ken, have two children.

Susan “Susi” M. Strickland, Ph.D., 44, Decatur, GA – Strickland is a licensed clinical social worker. She is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, a consultant and expert witness at the Southern Center for Human Rights, a consultant and group facilitator at the Georgia Department of Corrections and a sex offender treatment specialist at the Highland Institute. She is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers, the Council on Social Work Education, the Society of Social Work Research and the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. She serves as a volunteer for the DeKalb Rape Crisis Center and the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a doctoral degree from the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Tracy, have two children.

Four members of the original SORRB, appointed by DHR, continue to serve on the board because their terms have not yet expired. Those individuals are Joe Bryant, Ph.D. (Department of Corrections Probation Office), Russell Finley (fugitive investigator for Cobb County Sheriff’s Office), Paul Freeman, M.S., L.P.C. (Chief of Juvenile Court Victim Services for the Fulton County District Attorney’s office), and Ronald Hughley, L.C.S.W. (faculty member at Fort Valley State University).

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