MO: Nearly 30 years after guilty plea, Boone County woman may have sex offense record cleared

Source: columbiatribune.com 4/11/23 A nearly 30-year-old sex offender case is coming back to Boone County. It is not to decide the offender’s guilt or innocence, but whether changes in law meant they ever were required to register as an offender in the first place. The main reason the case is coming back to Boone County is so that Department of Mental Health records can be accessed to determine if Liana _____, formerly Liana M. Bradford, completed the required treatment programs to clear her record under the Tier 1 offender parameters…

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WY: Casper man who was wrongfully registered as sex offender for over three years wins appeal

Source: trib.com 4/25/23 The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation wrongly required a Casper man to register and remain on a sex offender registry for over three years. James Bullard Minter was required to register in Wyoming on a misdemeanor sexual battery charge out of Georgia after he was flagged by customs for ordering a firearm suppressor. But, the high court found, DCI had insufficient evidence that Minter’s crime qualified as a “registerable offense” under the Wyoming Sex Offender Registration Act. Minter was indicted by…

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CASOMB Committee Confirms Support for 3 Proposed Changes to Tiered Registry Law

Source: ACSOL A committee of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) met today to discuss proposed changes to the Tiered Registry Law.  During that meeting, the committee confirmed their support for three of seven changes to the Tiered Registry Law proposed by ACSOL earlier this year. First, the committee supports the reduction of some felony convictions for child pornography (CP) from Tier 3 to Tier 2.  The reduction to Tier 2 would be limited to convictions for CP possession only and not include distribution or production of CP. Second,…

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MN: Transgender Minnesota lawmaker introduces bill removing anti-pedophile language from state’s Human Rights Act

Source: foxnews.com 4/26/23 A transgender state lawmaker in Minnesota introduced a measure that would remove language from the state’s Human Rights Act that currently declares pedophiles are not included in protections based on “sexual orientation.” The proposed language has shocked and bewildered Republicans, but the bill’s author says nothing in the text would weaken pedophilia laws. The “Take Pride Act” (HF 1655) was introduced earlier this year by state Rep. Leigh Finke, a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party and the first transgender legislator in Minnesota House history. Read the full…

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IN: 7th Circuit again reverses judgment for sex offenders who challenged registration requirement

Source: theindianalawyer.com 4/27/23 Requiring sex offenders who are already subject to registration elsewhere to also register in Indiana rationally promotes public safety, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a district court’s judgment. This is the second reversal in the case. The plaintiffs in the case are Indiana residents who committed sex offenses either before the Indiana Sex Offender Registration Act existed or before it covered their specific offenses. Their registration obligations vary depending on their offenses, but they all must register under SORA at least once…

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FL: Florida sex offenders could be required to have special colored license plates

Source: nbc-2.com 4/27/23 Sex offenders in Florida could be forced to get bright green license plates. Democratic Senator Lauren Book added this to Senate Bill 1252 on Tuesday night. If passed, all vehicles owned, driven or leased by the offenders will be required to have a fluorescent green license plate. It would also make it illegal to disguise the plate. Sen. Book also wants all registered sex offenders to have the word “sexual predator” printed on the front of their driver’s license in the color red. For this to become…

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Canada: Liberals propose changes to Canada’s sex offender registry in response to Supreme Court decision

Source: ctvnews.ca 4/26/23 The federal government has tabled legislation that, if passed, would make changes to Canada’s sex offender registry to specify which categories of sexual offenders have to be added to the national tracking system, while giving judges discretion to exempt those who do not pose a risk of reoffending. The proposed changes to current law comes in response to an October 2022 ruling from the Supreme Court that deemed it unconstitutional to require automatic registration of all people convicted of sexual crimes and an overreach to require mandatory…

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Canada: Sharing intimate images without consent may soon land you on sex offender list

Source: globalnews.ca 4/26/23 The federal government has introduced legislation to add the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and extortion to the list of offences that could land someone on the National Sex Offender Registry. The addition was highlighted in a statement on Wednesday, ahead of a press conference from Justice Minister David Lametti and Women, Gender Equality and Youth Minister Marci Ien. The bill in question was introduced in the Senate earlier in the afternoon. “Sexual offences are amongst the most heinous and degrading forms of violence. They have devastating…

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CA Senate Judiciary Committee Approves SB 809

Source: ACSOL The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 809 last night by a vote of 8 to 2.  The bill will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a date to be determined. If passed, Senate Bill 809 would help individuals convicted of a felony to find employment.  As currently written, SB 809 includes people convicted of a sex offense.   Bill sponsors include Californians for Safety and Justice, Center for Employment Opportunities and Root and Rebound.  ACSOL supported this bill both in a formal letter to the…

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MO: Sex offenses bill package heard in Senate Committee

Source: missourinet.com 4/26/23 Missouri is reviewing whether to update its sex offender registry requirements for those who are convicted of committing crimes against children and the mentally disabled. A Senate committee is considering the public safety bill, sponsored by Representative Justin Hicks of Lake St. Louis. “It amends the sex offender list to ensure that individuals that have committed child sex crimes are classified as tier three offenders, which would equal a lifetime registration requirement,” he says. “It codifies the language from that was rolled on in January from the…

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California: The State of Incarceration

Source: vera.org Despite California’s reputation as a progressive state, it is one of the epicenters of mass incarceration in the United States, incarcerating more people than any other state except Texas. Annually, California law enforcement agencies make almost 800,000 arrests and more than 600,000 bookings into county jails, and courts send almost 30,000 people to prison.† The result is that, on an average day in California, around 60,000 people are held in county jails and close to 100,000 people are incarcerated in state prisons.† In addition to people in criminal…

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Action Alert for Florida: Email/Call TODAY (4/26) to fight fluorescent green license plates and more!

Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 4/26/23 Florida residents, write and call today! There are multiple bills and amendments that would do things like assign a distinctive, fluorescent green license plate, red coloring on driver’s licenses, and require 24-hour vacation rental reporting. This will be voted on TOMORROW, Thursday, April 27, 2023. Read the details and take action today  

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CA: Prosecutor Labels Homeless Registrant Accused as ‘Nuisance’ in Attempt to Get Him Extraordinary Jail Sentence – Judge Disagrees

Source: davisvanguard.org 4/25/23 WOODLAND, CA – Deputy District Attorney Preston Schaub accused a homeless man of being a “nuisance” and “burden to the community” last Friday during a sentencing hearing here in Yolo County Superior Court in an apparent attempt to convince Judge Tom Dyer to issue an abnormally severe sentence. Judge Dyer didn’t bite, sentencing the man to probation as long as he abides by court’s conditions. The accused had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance earlier this month, and DDA Schaub tried to use…

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WV: Parole officer sexually assaulted victims on multiple occasions

Source: wvmetronews.com 4/21/23 PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — More information has come out about the disgraced parole officer sentenced for sexually assaulting a female officer. Anthony _______, 44, worked for the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a parole officer in Parkersburg. He admitted to forcing at least two victims into performing sex acts on him, this according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson. Thompson spoke more to the details of the case and the sentencing while on MetroNews “Talkline” Friday. “He essentially used…

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ACSOL Online Meeting May 20, 2023

Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL board member and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting.  The meeting will be held on Saturday, May 20, online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom app to see Janice and Chance and choose…

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CA: California proposal would reinstate prisoners’ voting rights

Source: apnews.com 2/8/23 LOS ANGELES (AP) — California voters could decide whether to reinstate voting rights to people in prison on felony convictions under a newly proposed constitutional amendment. It would be a major expansion of suffrage for incarcerated people if passed. California would join Maine and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia, as the only states where felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are in prison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The California bill, introduced Monday by Assembly Member Isaac…

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ACSOL Seeking Information Regarding Parolees Required to Repeat Treatment Programs

ACSOL is seeking information regarding registrants on parole who have been required to complete more than one treatment program.  CDCR recently admitted in court that they require registrants on parole to continue treatment programs the entire time while on parole.  One California court has ruled that this policy is contrary to state law.   According to statistics from CA Department of Justice, there are more than 7,000 registrants currently on parole.  The parole period for most registrants is 5 to 10 years, however, some registrants are on parole for up to…

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