As an advocate and litigator, I often compare my efforts to restore the civil rights of registrants to climbing up a steep mountain. Unfortunately, the mountain I must now climb is steeper due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued a few days ago. In that decision, a majority of the Court’s nine justices overturned relief granted by district court judges in three different but related cases. In those cases, each district court ruled that an Executive Order could not be enforced after it was challenged as unconstitutional. The district…
Read MoreMonth: June 2025
NE: A Better Way Forward: Smarter Public Safety Investments for Douglas County
Source: Nebraskans Unafraid Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson’s recent announcement of a new “investigator” position tasked with verifying the addresses of people on Nebraska’s sex offender registry might make headlines, but it won’t make our communities safer. It’s an initiative based on optics rather than outcomes, intended to project action, not produce impact. Instead of allocating taxpayer-funded resources toward a symbolic gesture with no measurable public safety benefits, the sheriff’s office could be focusing on evidence-based strategies that truly prevent crime, protect vulnerable populations, and build community trust. Below are several alternatives that deserve…
Read MoreIA: Man accused of killing sex offender after he was released from prison
Source: azfamily.com 6/26/25 ELKHART, Ind. (WNDU/Gray News) – An Indiana man has been charged with murder after investigators say he shot and killed a sex offender who had recently been released from prison. Nicholas Stanley, 35, is accused of killing 35-year-old Allen Cogswell early Tuesday morning at the Daylite Inn on Cassopolis Street. According to The Goshen News, police confirmed that Cogswell was a sex offender who had been released from prison in May. Court records stated that Stanley is related to a victim in that case. … Stanley is currently being held…
Read MoreIL: New Joliet Park Created to Force 11 Sexual Offenders To Vacate ‘Pedophile Palace’ On Cora Street
Source: msn.com 6/26/25 JOLIET, IL — Three years after concerned citizens of Joliet raised awareness regarding the opening of a two-story apartment building in the Cunningham Neighborhood to provide shelter for several mostly out of town registered sexual predators and convicted offenders, efforts by the city of Joliet to get rid of the so-called “Pedophile Palace” are finally coming to fruition. This week, for the first time, Joliet’s new Cunningham Neighborhood Park is being built, thanks to a generous donation of free labor and materials by Allied Landscaping of Joliet. John…
Read MoreTX: US Supreme Court backs Texas online porn age-check law
Source: tech.yahoo.com 6/27/25 WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday against challengers to a Texas law that requires pornographic websites to verify the age of users in an effort to protect minors after the adult entertainment industry argued that the measure violates the free speech rights of adults. The justices, in a 6-3 ruling authored by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, upheld a lower court’s decision allowing enforcement of the Republican-led state’s age-checking mandate. The law likely does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment safeguard against government abridgment…
Read MoreFL: New Volusia County’s short-sighted ordinance makes it harder to track down homeless sex offenders
Source: wesh.com 6/25/25 VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. —A new ordinance in Volusia County has resulted in an increase among the homeless sex offender and predator population on the streets. Deputies aren’t just checking on suspects, they’re surprising convicted sex offenders. However, the deputies don’t know where to look if the offenders are homeless and not showing up for check-ins. Nearly 1,000 offenders live in the county, and they’re subject to strict laws and quarterly compliance checks. If they’re homeless, they have to check in more frequently. Brandon Goggin with the Volusia…
Read MoreWA: Feds seek to block WA law requiring clergy to report child abuse
Source: washingtonstatestandard.com 6/23/25 Washington bishops sued last month to prevent the law from taking effect. Now, the Trump administration is looking to back their lawsuit. The Trump Administration moved Monday to join a legal fight to overturn a new Washington law requiring religious leaders to report child abuse or neglect even when it is disclosed in confession. A motion filed in federal court by the Department of Justice argues the law, which takes effect next month, is unconstitutional because it “deprives Catholic priests of their fundamental right to freely exercise their religious…
Read MoreFL: Florida proposes another law named after a child victim
Source: thecapitolist.com 6/24/25 Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Tuesday announced that he will propose legislation aimed at eliminating judicial discretion in cases involving convicted sexual offenders and violent criminals who remain free on bond following a guilty verdict. … Uthmeier said the measure would require mandatory revocation of bail immediately upon a guilty verdict in cases involving sexual offenses, sexual predators, or violent crimes, preventing judges from permitting post-verdict release. The Attorney General blamed the court’s decision to allow Spencer to remain free for enabling the crime and said the incident…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting July 12, 2025
You are invited to join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci and an ACSOL board member for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday July 12 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 you can call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. No government officials are allowed to attend the meetings. This meeting will be recorded. Within…
Read MoreThese States Are Debating Castration for Sex Crimes. Experts Call It Cruel and Pointless.
Source: themarshallproject.org 6/21/25 Critics say there’s no evidence that castration prevents future sex offenses. Yet several states are weighing such measures. Last year, Louisiana sparked a slew of sensational headlines when state legislators passed a law allowing surgical castration as punishment for people convicted of sex crimes against children. That was the first successful legislation in a new wave of bills proposing both chemical and surgical castration in states such as New Mexico, Mississippi, and South Carolina. This March, Oklahoma’s House of Representatives passed a bill that would make chemical castration a precondition of…
Read MoreAction Alert Success: Protest of Facebook page threat against NARSOL board member was sucessful
6/21/25 UPDATE: Thanks to those who filed the protest that caused Facebook to remove the dangerous threat made by Pat Bates Smith! Click here to see the confirmation of removal FYI, our original request was the following: Source: Facebook.com 6/13/25 Facebook was used to alert members of the Proud Boys to the fact that NARSOL planned to conduct its annual conference in Michigan next week. Due to this call to action, the hotel at which the conference was to be held canceled its contract with NARSOL and therefore NARSOL…
Read MoreFL: Florida to seek death penalty for child sex offender in Putnam County for non-murder offenses
Source: firstcoastnews.com 6/20/25 PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — The State of Florida announced Friday it is seeking the death penalty for a registered sex offender accused of more child sex crimes in Putnam County. According to a May 16 post by the sheriff’s office, Welaka resident Dimeco _____, 34, was already a registered sex offender when he was accused in April of sex crimes with two children in Putnam County. Putnam County detectives were notified on April 30 of Dimeco ‘s possible sex crimes against the two children. Detectives spoke…
Read MoreTN: “Unlawful Photography” law to take effect on July 1st
Source: wbbjtv.com 6/18/25 Unlawful Photography: House Bill 99 by Bulso: The new law enhances the penalty for unlawful photography from a Class A misdemeanor offense to a Class E felony. The penalty would increase further to a Class D felony or Class C felony in certain cases if the victim was younger than 13. Anyone convicted of unlawful photography would also be required to register as a sex offender. Read this online [Note: you must scroll far down to “Unlawful Photography: House Bill 99 by Bulso”, and it is very…
Read MoreMI: Sex offender registry update passes state Senate
Source: wemu.org 6/18/25 The Michigan Senate voted Tuesday to update the state’s sex offender registry laws to comply with a recent federal court ruling. The decision blocked increased reporting requirements for people convicted before new, tougher laws took effect. The court also declared unconstitutional a provision that allowed the state police to decide if an out-of-state crime warranted reporting. Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said that part created a loophole for out-of-state offenders. Read the full article
Read MoreACSOL In-Person Meeting in West Sacramento on September 13, 2025
You are invited to attend ACSOL’s in-person meeting in West Sacramento, CA on Saturday, September 13, 2025 starting at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at: Center for Spiritual Awareness 1275 Starboard Drive West Sacramento 95691 The meeting will include discussions regarding topics of interest to both registrants and their loved ones, including the status of proposed changes to the Tiered Registry Law such as the reduction of tier assignment for those convicted of an offense involving child pornography. The meeting is free and will include refreshments. Attendance at…
Read MoreNY: Registered sex offender’s arrest raises concerns over New York’s registry flaws
Source: cnycentral.com 6/13/25 … In New York, sex offenders are classified from Level 1 (low risk) to Level 3 (high risk) based on a point system. However, Ahern pointed out that the system’s inability to accurately predict human behavior is a significant flaw. Read the full article
Read MoreConfining sexually violent persons in the mental health system
Source: mhanational.org (Mental Health America) Summary Sexual crimes are an unspeakable tragedy and among the most serious forms of violence imaginable. This is especially true when the victims are children. In response, at least twenty states and the Federal government have enacted “sexually violent persons” legislation.1 These laws provide for indefinite commitment of persons who have committed sex offenses after they have completed prison terms for these same crimes.2 We currently confine more than 6,300 people as sexually violent persons.3 Mental Health America supports using the criminal justice system to convict persons…
Read MoreMO: Kehoe signs into law Missouri bill voiding NDAs in child sex abuse cases
Source: missouriindependent.com 6/10/25 Legislation to void non-disclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Mike Kehoe. The bill has been called “Trey’s Law,” referring to the late Trey Carlock, who died by suicide in 2019 after being sexually abused by Pete Newman at the Branson-based Kanakuk Kamps. Trey’s sister, Elizabeth Carlock, said at a hearing on the bill in February that he had to agree to an NDA as a condition of his settlement with the camp. “Trey told someone just before his death that ‘they’ll always…
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