A man who kept sexts sent by his teenage step-daughter to her boyfriend has been convicted under child pornography laws and placed on the sex offenders register. Full Article
Read MoreYear: 2016
Fontana School District’s “No Registrants” Policy Challenged in Court
Today a lawsuit was filed in state court challenging a decision by the Fontana Unified School District to prohibit all registrants, including parents, from entering all 45schools in that district. The five members of the school district board voted unanimously in favor of the “zero tolerance” policy on September 14 after several angry parents threatened to oust any board member who opposed it. According to the lawsuit, the school board policy is preempted by state law and is inconsistent with other state laws which require schools to allow parents and…
Read MoreIML Report to Congress Addresses Passport Identifiers, Notifications to Foreign Countries
Three executive branch agencies — the Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Justice — have reported to Congress their plans to implement the International Megan’s Law (IML). The 17-page report also includes a request for an additional $9.3 million in funding each year to implement that law. According to the report, the Angel Watch Center (AWC) will provide written determinations to the Department of State regarding whether an individual is a “covered sex offender”. After that determination is made, the State Department will add an individual’s name to its existing…
Read MoreTeens and sex: When laws don’t keep up with reality
An 11-year-old girl in Michigan streaking in front of her brothers was charged with a sex crime. A 14-year-old boy in Minnesota was charged with distributing child pornography after sending a photo of his genitals to a female classmate. Another 14-year-old boy in South Dakota was charged with rape after getting his 13-year-old girlfriend pregnant. These are all cases that have been worked on by Nicole Pittman, vice president and director of the Center on Youth Registration Reform in California. Full Article
Read MoreACSOL’s Conference Call on October 12 – Domestic Travel
ACSOL’s first conference call will be on Wednesday, October 12, at 5 p.m. Pacific time. The topic of the call will be “Domestic Travel: Rules of the Road for Registrants” and the call will follow the same format as the 9/29 IML call. Dial-in number: 1-712-770-8055 Conference Code: 983459. ***corrected on 10/12. Moderator*** I look forward to having you call in. Sincerely, Janice ***Listen to the Call Recording*** added 10/19 ***ACSOL Conference Call Discussions***
Read MoreSex-offender registry adds costs without protecting public (Opinion)
Last month, a new chapter was written in one of America’s oldest real-life murder mysteries. The body of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was finally found, 27 years after his abduction. Jacob’s gun-point abduction shocked the nation and spawned a network of state sex-offender registries, South Carolina’s among them. But extensive research since then has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of such measures. Full Opinion Piece
Read MoreTX: Marion forced to abandon tough sex offender ordinance over lawsuit threat
The city of Marion was given an ultimatum recently, as Texas Voices For Reason and Justice (TVRJ) and the Law Office of Richard Gladden sent a letter asking the city to repeal a local sex offender ordinance. Full Article
Read MoreAUS: The case against a sexual offender registry
Ever since the implementation of the Sex Offender Registry in the US civil liberties have been completely eroded, they are also completely ineffective in preventing and reducing sex crimes. The Sex Offender Registry has eroded constitutional rights to privacy and life while neglecting its core mission to reduce and prevent sexual offences committed. Although the Sex Offender Registry in Australia is a relatively new construct, and its public access severely limited, Derryn Hinch expresses sentiments to expanding both the registry and its public availability. This is not only unjust, but…
Read MoreIA: Why Prosecuting a Teen Girl for Sexting Is Absurd
A 14-year-old in Iowa is facing sexual exploitation charges for sharing a suggestive photo of herself – and that’s not as rare as you might think. Full Article Related http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/10/05/iowa_prosecutor_might_charge_a_teen_with_sex_crimes_for_taking_a_selfie.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_fb_top
Read MoreWhy Current Child Porn Laws Imprison the Wrong People (Opinion)
Growing up, I was taught that prison was a place where people went when they did bad things. It was simple then: There were good people and there were bad people. As I got older, the picture grew more complicated. I saw good people do bad things, and I saw bad people do good things. But recently, when one of the best people in my world did something that landed him in prison, my beliefs about the justice system and how it punishes American citizens were completely upended. Full Article
Read MoreSex offender parolees not required to post ‘do not disturb’ signs on Halloween
Last year, a Chula Vista sex offender parolee was instructed to post a “do not disturb” sign in front of his residence on Halloween night to ward off trick-or-treaters. What followed was a lawsuit filed by the California Reform Sex Offender Laws organization, as well as the parolee in San Diego County and another in Los Angeles. The policy, they argued, violated their civil rights and put their safety at risk. Posting signage was never part of existing policy, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which recently issued a memorandum to its…
Read MoreMaking the Case Against Banishing Sex Offenders
Mary Sue Molnar estimates that she gets at least five calls a week from Texans on the sex offender registry who can’t find a place to live. Numerous towns around the state have passed ordinances prohibiting those on the list from residing within a certain distance — anywhere from 500 to 3,500 feet — of a school, park, daycare facility or playground. In some towns, that’s almost everywhere. “We’ve got people living in extended-stay motels,” says Molnar, who runs the sex-offender-rights group Texas Voices for Reason and Justice. “We’re in…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: It’s a Setback But It’s Not Over
The U.S. District Court judge presiding over our challenge to the International Megan’s Law (IML) has dismissed that case with prejudice. As a result of her decision, the case is over and the complaint cannot be amended as we had requested. The judge’s decision is a setback, but our challenge to the IML is not over. The fact is we are currently reviewing our options which include, but are not limited to, whether to appeal the judge’s decision or to file a new lawsuit in a different jurisdiction. We have…
Read MoreSex-offender registries: How the Wetterling abduction changed the country
After Jacob Wetterling was abducted in 1989, a pastor named Thomas Gillespie of the St. Joseph Parish offered support and comfort to the Wetterling family. He invited them to dinner, opened the church for a community prayer service and presented them with hot cross buns at Easter. What the Wetterlings did not know at the time was that Gillespie was a sex offender who admitted molesting a boy in the 1970s and was finally removed from the ministry in 1996. Full Article
Read MoreCaribbean: Sex offenders registry
TWO YOUNG attorneys have decided to work feverishly to change the sex offender registry policies within the Caribbean region. Inspired by the heart-breaking stories of victims and by their experiences in court, Gina Maharaj and Jonathan Bhagan have partnered with Zandoli International Foundation in North Carolina, USA to lead the Caribbean Committee Against Sex Crimes (CCASC). Full Article
Read MoreMN: Well-meaning family takes in sex offender, inciting fear and outrage
The debate in Birchwood Village shows a problem that state leaders still have not figured out how to address: How to integrate sex offenders into a community. Full Article
Read MoreGeneral Comments October 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of October 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Read MoreFormer Inmate Hosts Video Podcast On America’s Criminal Justice System
Already an established independent filmmaker with five film credits under his belt, Matt Duhamel has now set his sights on a weekly video podcast about America’s broken criminal justice system. ‘Solitary Nation’, which is available in both video and audio format on Google Play Music and Stichter, is an interview style show on important subjects such as sex offenders in the community, mass incarceration, collateral effects on family members, children of incarcerated parents and post prison success stories. Duhamel states that the main reason he decided to produce and host…
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