There are more than 900,000 people on the sex offenders registry and growing, but studies show that the sex offender registries do not reduce recidivism and prevent sex crimes and laws restricting where offenders can find housing and employment make it almost impossible for many on the registry to reintegrate into society, ostracizing them and essentially creating a life sentence for those who have already paid for their crimes and in some cases, first time offenders. Guy Hamilton-Smith, a legal fellow for the Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center…
Read MoreMonth: July 2019
PA: A Kidnapping Law Could Unravel a Life
Friday, June 21, started like any other day for ____ ____. The Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, resident finished his overnight shift at a food-packaging plant and stopped for breakfast around 7 a.m. before making his way home. While driving through town, ____, 22, saw a girl who he thought was a friend of his younger sister. Rain appeared imminent to ____ and there was a slight drizzle, so he stopped to ask if she needed a ride. When he pulled up beside the girl, he realized that she wasn’t his sister’s friend…
Read MoreWhen autistic people commit sexual crimes
[spectrumnews.org – 7/17/19] Many first-time sex offenders on the spectrum may not understand the laws they break. How should their crimes be treated? For years, Nick Dubin couldn’t bring himself to say the word ‘gay,’ but part of him wondered: Was he gay? Dubin has autism. And growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, he had been mercilessly taunted by his peers, some of whom had called him gay simply because he was different. But what if he actually was homosexual? As an adult, Dubin found some men attractive,…
Read MoreVideos and handouts of ACSOL’s Third Annual Conference are available now!
Couldn’t make it to ACSOL’s 2019 Third Annual Conference? Or maybe you missed something you wanted to hear? You will be excited to hear that videos of SOME of the sessions are now posted on YouTube! Click here to watch them The videos of recordings made at previous conferences are also available. Here are the handouts: ACSOL – Tipping Point – June 2019 ACSOL – Effective Advocacy – June 2019 ACSOL – Janus v2 ACSOL – Tiered Registry – June 2019 CP – Ellmann IL – Challenging Indefinite Imprisonment (Nichols)…
Read MoreSex Offender Registries Don’t Keep Kids Safe, But Politicians Keep Expanding Them Anyway
The first time ____ ____ got evicted was in 2015. He was living with his wife and two sons in suburban Nashville when his probation officer called his landlord and informed him that Winters was a registered sex offender. The previous year, when he was 24 years old, ____ had been arrested for downloading a three-minute porn clip. The file description said the girl in the video was 16; the prosecutor said she was 14. He was charged with attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and, because he had used…
Read MoreNew Survey: Understanding the role of trauma and later sexual offending
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 7/15/19] My name is Melissa Grady and I a faculty member at the Catholic University of America’s National Catholic School of Social Service. I along with my colleague Jill Levenson, professor at Barry University in Florida, are conducting a study aimed at understanding the role of trauma and later sexual offending. There are two surveys associated with this study. The first is one for practitioners who work with individuals who have sexually offended (ISOs). The second survey is for ISOs and have received treatment focused on this issue.…
Read MoreACSOL Meeting in Berkeley on Saturday, July 20
Please mark your calendars for ACSOL’s upcoming meeting in Berkeley: Saturday, July 20 10 a.m. Finnish Hall (upstairs meeting room) 1970 Chestnut Street Berkeley Attendance is limited to individuals required to register, family members, and friends. Media, law enforcement, parole, etc. are not allowed to attend meetings. The meetings start at 10 am and last about 2-3 hours. Topics of conversation include information about ACSOL’s advocacy as well as current topics and pending legal action. Please Show up, Stand up, and Speak up!
Read MoreIN: Great decision out of Indiana
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 7/12/19] A great decision out of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana was issued earlier this week. … Federal Court Judge Richard L, Young found this result illogical. In his 37 page opinion he writes, “The state has offered no evidence that out-of-state sex offenders or those that leave and return are inherently more dangerous than resident sex offenders, and the court can think of none.” But what is really great about this decision is that it is ANOTHER federal district court that…
Read MoreNM: ____ ____ Registered as a Sex Offender in 2 States. In New Mexico, He Didn’t Have To.
____ ____, the New York financier, managed to evade federal prosecution a decade ago in a Florida sex case involving dozens of teenage girls, in part by agreeing to register as a sex offender. But for a man with many residences, and many high-powered lawyers, registering as a sex offender was not the blanket penalty it might seem. Full Article Related New Mexico AG Wants New Sex Offender Law Amid Epstein Probe https://mobile.twitter.com/schwartzapfel/status/1149686629445111808
Read MoreBahamas: Sexual Offences Court Could Have Disruptive Impact
[tribune242.com – 7/4/19] JUSTICE Bernard Turner yesterday expressed concern that the establishment of a sexual offences court could have a “disruptive impact” as legal counsel may already have matters scheduled for other courts. Speaking during yesterday’s session of the National Crime Council, Justice Turner also said judges undergo sensitivity training to deal with these kinds of matters. Justice Turner was also asked his views on the establishment of the sexual offender’s registry. While he declined to comment specifically, he noted communities have an “obligation to protect themselves” without “unnecessarily stigmatising…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Tennessee Temporary Restraining Order Extended Indefinitely
We were all waiting for July 11, 2019 the court date for the preliminary injunction regarding whether or not TN registrants would be allowed to continue to reside in their homes with minor children. July 10th 2019 an Agreed Order Extending the Temporary Restraining Order, was filed in The United States District Court for The Middle District of TN At Nashville. What should have been a slam-dunk win for registrants, even according to the judge who stated “plaintiffs have demonstrated a strong or substantial likelihood of success on the merits…
Read MoreNC: Animal abusers could appear on registry — like sex offenders in North Carolina
[abc30.com – 7/10/19] RALEIGH, N..C — A new bill introduced in the North Carolina legislature would require the names and photos of convicted animal abusers to appear in an online registry for at least two years. The legislation is called the North Carolina Animal Abuser Registry Act and it was introduced by North Carolina state Sens. Floyd McKissick, a Democrat, and Danny Britt, a Republican. First-time offenders would be put on the registry “for two years following the date of conviction.” After two years, the individual would be removed from…
Read MoreDepartment of Justice Enables Direct Tribal Access to FBI National Sex Offender Registry
[justice.gov – 7/11/19] The U.S. Department of Justice announced today a new tool giving tribal governments the ability to directly input data and gain access to the FBI’s National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR) using the Tribe and Territory Sex Offender Registry System (TTSORS). The system connection will be available to all tribal governments already participating in the Tribal Access Program (TAP), which allows information sharing between tribal and federal government criminal information systems. TTSORS is a no-cost registry system provided by the Justice Department’s Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring,…
Read MoreCA: Organization protecting sex offenders’ rights continues statewide lawsuit campaign, sues Lompoc
An organization dedicated to protecting the rights of registered sex offenders is ion a campaign to sue cities throughout California with ordinances in place that it believes are unconstitutional. The city of Lompoc is one of the group’s most recent targets. Attorney Janice Bellucci, who is the founder and executive director of Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, and anonymous Lompoc resident John Doe filed a lawsuit against the city in February. According to the complaint, the organization claims the city’s ordinance restricting where sex offenders can live violates state…
Read MoreACSOL ACTION ALERT! Call Assy Approp. Committee to support CA Senate Bill 145
The calls you have made so far about CA Senate Bill 145 have made a dramatic difference in blocking Residency Restrictions! Great teamwork! You also helped LGBTQ registrants from being treated unjustly. They appreciate that! Your calls also have given ACSOL a huge increase in political credibility, especially in gratitude from Senator Scott Wiener for supporting SB 145, which affects a key constituent of his. Let’s keep the momentum going! We want to finish the last two steps in getting SB 145 passed to cement our political credibility. The next…
Read MoreGeneral Comments July 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of July 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
Read More[Updated 7/9/19] Facebook updates standards to allow death threats against alleged sexual offenders
[Updated by ACSOL 7/9/19] Earlier today it was reported by the Washington Examiner newspaper that Facebook had revised its posting policies to allow individuals to post threats of harm to anyone who the media had identified as committing a sex offense. In record time, Facebook has reversed those policies and now states that it will not allow such threats to be posted. Below is link to the newest revised policies. Facebook did not explain why it made this remarkably quick change, but regardless we can be grateful that the change…
Read MoreCA: Program lets victims confront offenders
[avpress.com – 7/9/19] SACRAMENTO— California officials are experimenting with a new diversion program for criminals that includes allowing victims to directly confront their offenders. The budget that took effect July 1 includes $5 million to fund the program for five years in a county with a history of high crime, although it has been tried elsewhere and is more frequently used with juvenile offenders. The California program is for offenders of any age. It will pair victims and offenders before they are convicted, and offenders who complete the program can…
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