CYPRESS ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT

A registrant and his fiancée filed a lawsuit today in federal district court challenging the ordinance passed by the City of Cypress that prohibits most registrants from residing in the city as well as visiting public places such as parks, libraries and senior centers.  The ordinance was passed unanimously by the City Council on March 12, 2012. “The ordinance passed by the City of Cypress is egregious in that it prevents the owners of single-family homes, apartment buildings and hotels from renting to most registrants even on a temporary basis,”…

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European courts spare accused pedophile, hacker from American justice

_____ _____ is a fugitive and accused pedophile, and to some, he’s also a poster child for a European judicial system that often would rather let criminals roam their streets freely than see them subjected to American justice. Nearly 20 years ago, _____, who is now 43, fled to Ireland after being charged with raping a 14-year-old girl and molesting two boys in Minnesota. _____, who had dual citizenship, was accused of assaulting two girls in Ireland in 1997, but fled to London, where police finally caught up with him…

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New Mexico mulls Facebook ban on SOs as Texas ponders law forcing them to reveal their crime in profiles

New Mexico lawmakers are now mulling a ban against registered sex offenders on Facebook and other social networking sites, while states, like Texas, are considering forcing them to identify their crimes in their profiles.  The Texas bill would reportedly force certain sex offenders to embed in their profile the type of their offence, the location where it occurred, their full name, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, and eye and hair color. Full Article

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Ban repeal sparks applause, frustration

On Dec. 18, Lake Forest repealed a year-old ordinance banning registered sex offenders from its public parks. The city was one of more than a dozen in Orange County to add such a ban to their books since April 2011. Last month, in the face of a lawsuit challenging the ban’s constitutionality, Lake Forest became the first of those cities to reverse course. Proponents say the ban is needed to protect children from predators – critics argue the ban violates the civil rights of registered sex offenders. Here is a…

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UT: No more online mug shots, SL County sheriff says

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Using words such as “bullies,” “extortionists” and “trash,” Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder on Thursday blasted tabloid magazines and websites that post mug shots from his jail and then demand money for the pictures to be removed. “In my opinion, what we’re seeing today is nothing short of extortion in our county,” Winder said. “This practice must be stopped.” Because of the recent booming practice of some private companies publishing all mug shots in a single publication, Winder announced that as of Thursday, mug shots…

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Prop 35: Preliminary Injunction granted

Late Friday, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in the lawsuit EFF filed with the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) that challenges the unconstitutional provisions in Proposition 35, a ballot measure passed by California voters in November that restricts the legal and constitutionally protected speech of all registered sex offenders in California. EFF and the ACLU-NC filed the lawsuit the morning after Election Day, noting that although Prop 35 is ostensibly about increasing punishment for human traffickers, it’s beset with problems. The biggest was its requirement that registrants turn…

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Penalties sought for parolees cutting GPS monitors

SACRAMENTO (KGO) — Those GPS ankle bracelets that monitor some California parolees are not as effective as they could be. And that’s because some convicted sex offenders and gang members are cutting off the devices and getting away with it. Authorities say 48-year-old repeat sex offender _____ ______ cut off his GPS ankle bracelet in November and days later he was charged with the sexual battery of a Fresno State student at the campus library. “What I care about is that we get these criminals back behind bars,” Assm. Jim…

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San Jose: Ruling finds DA’s right-hand man committed misconduct

SAN JOSE — In a scathing opinion published Thursday, a state appellate court reversed a judgment against a felon accused of being a sexually violent predator, saying the prosecutor handling the case — now District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s right-hand man — engaged in a “pervasive pattern” of misconduct. The misconduct finding against Chief Assistant District Attorney Jay Boyarsky is the first black mark against Rosen’s administration since he took office two years ago on an ethics platform and appointed Boyarsky as his top assistant. Full Article Also:  SF Chronicle Article,…

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TRO Application Filed to Halt Enforcement of Lancaster Sex Offender Ordinance

An application for a  temporary restraining order (TRO) was filed today in federal district court requesting that enforcement of a sex offender ordinance in the City of Lancaster be halted. “The Lancaster ordinance denies the civil rights of more than 100,000 individuals and families in California,” stated Janice Bellucci, President of California Reform Sex Offender Laws (RSOL).  “It prohibits people who made a mistake, but who have paid their debt to society from entering public places such as parks, schools and the library as well as private places such as…

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Another OC City Backs Off Sex Offender Ban

Westminster became the latest Orange County city to distance itself from a law banning sex offenders from city or county parks. A number of cities including Mission Viejo, Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, Los Alamitos and Laguna Niguel have similar bans, all of which could face challenges in court. An attorney who represents a sex offender in the Westminster case represents several offenders challenging similar bans around the county as an infringement on civil liberty. Many of the bans could depend on a pending appeals court decision about a Fountain Valley…

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NY: Bill O’Reilly – Gun Owners Compared To Sex Offenders

Former New York City mayoral candidate and author Mark Green advocated for new legislation that would allow people to identify and locate gun owners who lived in their neighborhoods. He compared it to the already existing “Megan’s Law,” which lets citizens know if a convicted sex offender lives near them. Then he flat-out compared sex offenders to gun owners. “If we have a Megan’s Law — because I think almost everyone might agree — that if you’re a convicted child molester, a neighbor might want to know that because they’re…

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California State Supreme Court to hear Jessica’s Law challenge

Today, more than two years after declining to rule on a law restricting where paroled sex offenders can live, the California Supreme Court agreed to again hear the case. Passed by voters in November 2006, Jessica’s Law includes a provision that bars parolees who’ve committed a sexual offense from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. A challenge over the residency restriction’s constitutionality and to whom the Jessica’s Law applies made its way up to the Supreme Court in 2010. The court declined to rule on the residency…

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California RSOL Meeting in Santa Maria on February 23

The first California RSOL meeting in Santa Maria will take place on February 23, 2013 at 9 am. As always, the meeting will focus upon issues of importance to registrants, such as residency restrictions and conditions of parole/probation and the status of pending lawsuit.  Registrants, family members and supporters are invited to attend this free meeting. There will be no media or government officials. The meeting will be held at 1165 Stubblefield Road, Santa Maria, CA 93455, which is at the Unity Church near the intersection of Bradley and Stubblefield. Please…

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The Year in Review… and Things to Come

The year 2012 was a remarkable year!  The civil rights of registered citizens were recognized and protected by federal and state judges in a series of cases that (1) declared the Orange County park ban is preempted by state law, (2) stopped temporarily enforcement of Prop. 35’s requirements to disclose online identities, (3) prohibited the City of Simi Valley from requiring registrants to post a sign on the front door of their homes, and (4) blocked parole officers from applying residency restrictions to all parolees in San Diego County.  In…

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