Source: msn.com 3/25/26 Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper announced a new ballot initiative that would revise Proposition 57 to prohibit sexually violent predators from being eligible for early parole. Saying the state’s independent parole board has “too much unfettered power,” Cooper said the “only way to reform Prop. 57 is to take it back to the voters. That’s why we’re choosing a ballot initiative.” Cooper, who was elected to the post in 2022 after 8 years in the Assembly, said he aims to qualify the measure, “Protect Our Kids: Reform…
Read MoreYear: 2026
MI: Scammers posing as Michigan State Police to contact employers of people on sex offender registry
Source: fox2detroit.com 3/25/26 Scammers pretending to be with Michigan State Police are preying on people on the state’s sex offender registry. According to MSP, the scammers are calling employers of people who are on the registry, which are listed on offenders’ registry profiles. These scammers are trying to get personal information and payment for outstanding warrants and … Click here to read the full article Click here to read on FAC’s website how this is happening in Florida also ACSOL reminds you that different kinds of scams like this can occur in ANY…
Read MoreUT: Utah Court of Appeals Upholds Dismissal of Child Sexual Abuse Accusations
Source: reason.com 3/25/26 An excerpt from the detailed discussion in State v. Murphy, decided Thursday by the Utah Court of Appeals (Judge David Mortensen, joined by Judges Gregory Orme and Ryan Harris): … Murphy was charged with aggravated sexual abuse and sodomy on a child for incidents that had occurred many years prior involving the son (Jonathan) of one of Murphy’s former close friends (Mother). The magistrate, citing lack of evidence at a preliminary hearing to establish probable cause that Murphy committed the alleged abuse, declined to bind Murphy over for…
Read MoreCA: Animal Abusers Will Go On Public Offender List Under Proposed CA Law
Source: patch.com 3/25/26 The proposed bill aims to protect vulnerable animals by establishing a public registry for individuals convicted of felony animal abuse. A new bill would establish a public registry for people convicted of felony animal abuse in California. The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D–San Francisco) on Tuesday, and similar to the Megan’s Law website for registered sex offenders, AB 2344 would create a California Animal Abuse Registry for adults convicted of felony animal abuse. It would be run by the state’s Department of Justice.…
Read MoreACSOL Conducts Successful Lobby Day in Sacramento
More than 50 registrants, family members and supporters participated in this year’s Lobby Day on March 24. Members of that group lobbied during 39 scheduled meetings as well as an additional 30 unscheduled meetings with legislators and legislative staff who work on public safety issues. “Thanks to every person who participated in Lobby Day this year,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We truly appreciate the sacrifices you made to arrive in Sacramento and then join ACSOL in delivering important messages to the legislature.” The primary focus of this year’s…
Read MoreSupreme Court rules for absconding defendant in dispute over supervised release term
Source: sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com 3/25/26 The US Supreme Court handed down one criminal law opinion this morning, Rico v. United States, No. 24–1056 (S. Ct. March 25, 2026), and it is a notable statutory win for a federal criminal defendant who absconded with on supervised release. The facts and issue are a bit complicated, but Justice Gorsuch’s opinion for the Court sets up the circuit conflict that was before the Justices and how it was resolved: Some circuits, like the Ninth, hold that a defendant’s failure to report doesn’t just amount to a…
Read MoreDon’t Legislate Morality: Most Americans Can’t Agree on What’s Immoral
Source: reason.com 3/25/26 Most matters enjoy too little moral agreement to make fertile ground for government intervention The moral argument for not making laws about many—especially victimless—activities is that people have a right to live their own lives so long as they don’t hurt anybody else. That’s a convincing case for those of us who naturally gravitate to a live-and-let-live take on life. But it’s unpersuasive to the growing ranks of those inclined to control freakery in these illiberal times, and who believe the state should step in to…
Read MorePA: Two boys made deepfake porn of 60 girls. It left a school, small town reeling
Source: usatoday.com 3/23/26 LANCASTER, PA – It’s hard to describe the city of Lancaster as anything other than quaint. Its vibrant but small downtown is peppered with coffee shops, bookstores and friendly locals. It has charm in abundance. The same can be said for the upscale Lancaster Country Day School, a K-12 private school in the area that hosts just over 600 kids. They frolic around in matching uniforms and play on crisp green grass once school lets out. Perhaps that’s why the AI-generated sexual abuse scandal that recently rocked this town…
Read MoreCA: Starbucks Fired Clovis Sex Offender. Now He’s Suing.
Source: gvwire.com 3/16/26 For eight years, Samuel Garza III worked at Starbucks in Clovis without any disciplinary actions. His colleagues respected him, the store named him “Employee of the Month,” and he was even tasked with training new employees, he says in court documents. When his manager discovered he was a registered sex offender, the company fired him in June 2025. The allegations come in a lawsuit filed by Garza, claiming the company knew of his past and that he was protected by state law. Garza filed the civil lawsuit Feb.…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting April 18, 2026
You are invited to join ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci and President attorney Elie Miller to our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, April 18 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 and posted within a couple…
Read MoreThe stakes of the elderly parole debate
Source: themarshallproject.org On Wednesday, the California Board of Parole Hearings voted to reevaluate its earlier decision to grant “elderly parole” to Gregory Vogelsang. The 57-year-old has served 27 years of what is essentially a life sentence for sexually assaulting young children. The move comes amid a broader political backlash over a state law that allows some incarcerated people to become eligible for parole based on age and time served. The controversy first ignited last month around David Allen Funston, a 64-year-old convicted of sexual abuse of children. He was scheduled for release on elderly parole…
Read MoreCA: Fresno looks into banning sex offenders from city council meetings
Source: yourcentralvalley.com 3/17/26 FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The City of Fresno is looking into banning sex offenders from attending city council meetings and installing facial recognition technology to enforce it. This comes after a registered sex offender attempted to run for the District 7 seat. Rene Campos filed earlier this month but didn’t get enough required signatures to appear on the ballot. But voters can still write in his name. “I mean, I never thought the voters would actually support someone like that,” said Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi. At the next city council meeting…
Read MoreA generation of boys grew up on porn. Now, some young men want out.
Source: usatoday.com 3/18/26 He discovered porn at 11 and got addicted. He found help in a surprising place. Ryan didn’t open his phone with the intention of finding porn. But when the 11-year-old came across it on his social media feed, he was intrigued. As he watched, he experienced a rush of curiosity and excitement. Soon, his brain was hooked on that dopamine rush. It became a daily routine. He told himself he could stop if he wanted to, but the habit grew from something he did in the…
Read MoreOH: Commentary: This Middleburg Heights law targets ‘violent’ offenders. Here’s why it will fail
Source: cleveland.com 3/16/26 CLEVELAND, Ohio — Let me start with an uncomfortable disclaimer: This column is going to poke holes in a policy that its supporters say was designed to protect children. I understand why that makes people uneasy. When lawmakers say they’re acting to keep kids safe, most of us want to believe the solution must be a good one. But public safety policy shouldn’t be judged by its intentions. It should be judged by whether it actually works. Let’s consider a recent ordinance passed by Middleburg Heights City…
Read MoreCA: Fresno Surprising poll results: Should someone who is a registered sex offender be allowed to run for public office?
Source: kmph.com 2/27/26 Local leaders and the community have been in an uproar after a candidate was revealed to have a record as a registered sex offender. Several Fresno city leaders spoke out Thursday at City Hall over the candidacy of Rene Campos, a registered sex offender running for Fresno City Council District 7. … Click here to read the surprising results Click here to read Florida Action Committee’s comments
Read MoreFree webinar for attorneys April 21: Sex Offender Laws: Legal Challenges and Remedies CLE
Speaker Janice Bellucci, Executive Director of the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL), will be introduced by SW Prof. Emerita Catherine Carpenter ’76. This event on April 21 will run from 6:00-7:00 p.m. PST and offers 1.0 hour of MCLE credit. Southwestern Law School is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. The State of California and local governments have passed a wide array of sex offender laws that significantly impact more than 100,000 people who are required to register as a sex offender. Those restrictions include, but…
Read MoreBeyond “Monsters”: The Collective Failure to End the Sexual Violence Epidemic
Source: ampersandsrj.substack.com 3/12/26 I sat in a prison for men convicted of sexual offenses. The cinderblock walls closed in around me, and the fluorescent lights hummed just loud enough to make silence uncomfortable. I had come as a researcher. I had my armor, my research guide, and my pen. A man in a blue jumpsuit mopped the floor. Others milled around, wondering what I was doing. As I read their files, I realized that they reduced men to categories based on the statute they violated or their level of risk.…
Read MoreCA: Former attorney found guilty of 24 counts involving sexual abuse of minors
Source: abajournal.com 3/11/26 A former California attorney was recently convicted of sexually abusing three minor girls over several years and possessing sexually explicit images of two of his victims. Former Walnut Creek, California, real estate attorney Jonathan Dean Bishop, 51, was found guilty March 2 of 24 felony counts for performing lewd acts on girls younger than age 14, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe #1,” “Jane Doe #2” and “Jane Doe #3.” According to a March 3 press release from the… Read the full article
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