CA: A Beverly Hills middle school is investigating students sharing AI-made nude photos of classmates

Source: nbcnews.com 2/27/24 Students at a middle school in Beverly Hills, California, used artificial intelligence technology to create fake nude photos of their classmates, according to school administrators. Now, the community is grappling with the fallout. School officials at Beverly Vista Middle School were made aware of the “AI-generated nude photos” of students last week, the district superintendent said in a letter to parents. The superintendent told NBC News the photos included students’ faces superimposed onto nude bodies. The district did not share how it determined the photos were produced…

Read More

Appellate Court Reverses Denial of Petition (Good News!)

Source: ACSOL The Second Appellate District Court today issued a decision reversing a trial judge’s decision to deny a petition filed on behalf of a California person required to register.  As a result of this decision, the trial court judge must grant that petition which will in turn terminate the person’s requirement to register. “Today’s decision is the third appellate court decision reversing a trial court judge’s decision to deny a petition,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “In all three decisions, the appellate court found that the District Attorney…

Read More

CA: People With Criminal Records Should Not Have to Hire a Lawyer Just to Get a Job

Source: truthout.org 2/4/24 State laws are restricting people with convictions from working as nurses, counselors and janitors. Finding work can be difficult for anyone, but Fernando Herrera faces an extra challenge. California has banned him for life from his dream job as a firefighter because of two felonies he committed as a teenager. Herrera went to prison for assaults he committed at ages 14 and 15. But he took responsibility for his actions and turned his life around. He worked as an unpaid firefighter while in prison and found his…

Read More

CA: New California bill proposes law change to stop transient release of sexually violent predators

Source: cbsnews.com 2/2/24 ROCKLIN — Outrage in Placer County over the placement of a legally designated sexually violent predator (SVP) was met with a possible solution Friday put forward by Republican Assemblyman Joe Patterson of Rocklin. Patterson introduced a new bill looking to ban all release of SVPs as transients into California communities. He wants to strengthen the definition of acceptable housing when these offenders are released from state hospitals after they complete their mandated treatment. “If they are going to be released, they have to be released in a…

Read More

CA: A Constitutionally Dubious California Bill Would Ban Possession of AI-Generated Child Pornography

Source: reason.com 1/26/24 The proposal seems to conflict with a Supreme Court ruling against laws that criminalize mere possession of obscene material. Back in 2016, a study found that it was increasingly difficult for subjects to distinguish between actual photographs of people and computer-generated simulations of them. The researchers suggested that development would complicate prosecution of child pornography cases. That concern has been magnified by rapid improvements in artificial intelligence, prompting a California bill that would, among other things, make it a felony to possess virtual child pornography when it…

Read More

CA: Appellate Court Overturns Trial Court’s Denial of Petition

Source: ACSOL The Second District Court of Appeals has issued a decision that overturns a decision by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denying a registrant’s petition for removal from the registry.  According to today’s appellate court decision, the trial judge’s decision was improper because the District Attorney failed to prove that the registrant poses a current danger to public safety. “This decision is very important because it upholds a prior appellate court decision, People v. Thai, which ruled that the burden of proof is upon the District Attorney, not…

Read More

CA Survey: Did CDCR spend your parolee $200 release allowance for you?

Source: rootandrebound.org and prisonerswithchildren.org [ACSOL’s comment: CA parolees, ex-parolees, and supporters, please take a few moments to take this survey share your personal experiences with CDCR spending your parolee $200 allowance.] From: Claudia J. Gonzalez, cgonzalez@rootandrebound.org As advocates for justice and fairness, we need your help to address an ongoing issue affecting individuals released or paroled from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) institutions. By law, individuals leaving CDCR facilities are entitled to a $200 release allowance known as ‘Gate Money.’ Unfortunately, there’s a concerning practice within CDCR where…

Read More

Change IS afoot at CASOMB – Occasional Musings by the President of ACSOL, Catherine L. Carpenter

Occasional Musings by the President Change IS afoot at CASOMB By Catherine L. Carpenter President, Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws Slowly, change is taking place at California Sex Offense Management Board (CASOMB).  It is not change with a capital “C,” nor is it the widespread overhaul ACSOL is demanding. But even small positive changes are important in an advocacy movement. So, I want to take a moment to celebrate the small, but powerful shift I witnessed at this week’s CASOMB board meeting.  On Thursday, January 18, I attended the…

Read More

CA: Number of CA Registrants Continues to Decline

Source: ACSOL The number of individuals required to register in California continues to decline, according to a report made by the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) during the January 18 meeting of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB).  Specifically, the number of individuals required to register decreased by 896 from 105,738 to 104,842 between November 2023 and January 2024.  Of that total, there are 76,575 registrants in the community of whom 19,789 are in violation due to registration issues.  There are also 6,503 individuals required to register who…

Read More

Action Alert for CA: Time to Sign Up For Lobby Day on March 6 (changed from 5th) in Sacramento

It’s time to sign up for Lobby Day in Sacramento.  The day will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, March 6th (updated 2/1) with a training session at the Hyatt Hotel, 1209 L Street.  Participants in Lobby Day must attend the training session.  All participants will be assigned to a team led by an experienced team leader.   The focus of Lobby Day is improvements to the Tiered Registry Law, including but not limited to, creation of an offramp for individuals assigned to Tier 3 that would allow them to…

Read More

CA: CASOMB Issues Report Proposing Changes to Tiered Registry Law

The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) has issued a report which recommends to the state legislature several changes to the Tiered Registry Law.  If the legislature adopts these changes, thousands of individuals required to register who are currently ineligible to petition for removal from the registry will become eligible.  However,  no one will be automatically removed from the registry if the legislature adopts these changes. The largest group of registrants who would be helped by these changes are those convicted of felony possession of child pornography.  The members of…

Read More

CA: ‘Halfway house’ draws protests from Ontario neighbors

Source: foxla.com 1/4/24 ONTARIO, Calif. – Ontario police began to notice a puzzling pattern when they saw eight convicted sexual predators all registered under the same address in the area. While that doens’t necessarily mean that all eight of the convicted residents live there at the same time, police say they had to follow up on some calls. Police also say they couldn’t find a business license for the home off East La Avenida Drive. Residents are accusing the controversial home of operating like a “halfway house,” drawing protests from…

Read More

CA: Danny Masterson mugshot released: Disgraced actor seen for first time since rape convictio

Source: foxnews.com 12/27/23 Danny Masterson was transferred from the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles to the North Kern State Prison on Wednesday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Masterson, 47, was pictured wearing an orange jumpsuit in a mugshot provided by the CDCR to Fox News Digital. In September, the “That ’70s Show” actor was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty in May on two counts of forcible rape. A jury was hung on a third charge. Read the…

Read More

CA: California sues Ralphs supermarket, alleging it broke the law by asking job-seekers about their criminal records

Source: fortune.com 12/22/23 California sued the Ralphs supermarket chain on Thursday, alleging that it violated state law by asking job-seekers whether they had criminal records and illegally rejecting hundreds of applicants.   The California Civil Rights Department contends that Ralphs Grocery Co. “has ignored and continues to ignore” the Fair Chance Act “by screening out otherwise qualified applicants on the basis of criminal histories that do not have any adverse relationship with the duties of the job for which they were applying,” according to a departmental press statement. The law, which…

Read More

CA: OC Babysitter Gets 700+ Years To Life In Prison For Molesting 16 Boys

Source: patch.com 11/17/23 COSTA MESA, CA — A 34-year-old child care service provider from Costa Mesa was sentenced Friday to 707 years and eight months to life in prison for molesting 16 boys and showing another victim child pornography. Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was convicted Oct. 3 of 34 felony sex charges related to 17 victims aged 2 to 14 in crimes that prosecutors said took place from 2014 to 2019, according to court records. Jurors in the trial also heard evidence relating to two other boys, including one who was…

Read More

CASOMB Approves Tiered Registry Law Recommendations

The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today formally approved several recommended changes to the Tiered Registry Law.  The changes include (1) reduction from Tier 3 to Tier 1 for those convicted of felony possession of child pornography and (2) reduction from Tier 3 to Tier 2 for those convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a 14 or 15 year old.  In addition, CASOMB approved reduction from Tier 3 to Tier 2 for those convicted of three offenses involving communications with a minor – PC 288.2, PC 288.3 and…

Read More

CA: Issa Introduces Federal Bill to Stop Placement of Convicted Sex Predators in Residential Areas

Source: timesofsandiego.com 11/10/23 Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Fallbrook, introduced legislation Friday intended to prevent the placement of sexually violent predators in residential communities. At a press conference in Poway on Friday, Issa introduced The Stopping Sexually Violent Predators Act, which would end federal funding for SVPs outside correctional or medical facilities and require states to report all SVPs to the federal Department of Justice for review of potential federal charges. “In California, Governor Newsom has made our communities less safe by essentially compelling communities to accept the relocation of dozens of…

Read More