[startribune.com – 2/13/20] A group of convicted sex offenders has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a far-reaching ordinance in Apple Valley that severely restricts where they can live, alleging that the ordinance effectively bars them from living anywhere in the city. In a federal class action lawsuit filed Wednesday, three sex offenders seek an injunction preventing the city of Apple Valley from enforcing the ordinance, which prohibits people convicted of certain sex offenses from living within 1,500 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds, churches and child care centers.…
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ACSOL Leads Successful Lobby Day 2020 in CA Capitol
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) led more than 35 people, including registrants, family members and supporters in Lobby Day 2020 in the California Capitol. The focus of the day was necessary changes to the Tiered Registry Law that will become effective next year. “We met in the offices of 28 legislators, who are either members of a Public Safety Committee or were newly elected last year,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “These are the legislators who will lead the way toward a tiered registry that increases…
Read MoreCA Governor Pardons First Registrant
California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued the state’s first pardon to a registrant. The pardon was issued to Bayard Rustin, a colleague of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on February 4. Rustin was convicted of a sex offense and required to register as a sex offender in Los Angeles in 1953 because he participated in a consensual adult sex act with another man. “We celebrate the courage and wisdom of Governor Newsom in his decision to issue a pardon to Bayard Rustin,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “This is…
Read MoreMD: Maryland mom calls for more restrictions on lifetime sex offenders in Senate Bill 320
[wjla.com – 2/11/20] WASHINGTON (ABC7) — “HI, my name is Ann Kenny, I am a single mother of three daughters from St. Mary’s County,” says Annie Kenny in front of the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. She is asking Maryland lawmakers to overhaul state guidelines on sex offenders by requiring lifetime supervision in Senate Bill 320. Read the full article
Read MoreMD: Baltimore County lawmaker proposes banning student sex offenders from school campuses
[baltimoresun.com – 2/10/20] A Baltimore County state senator is drafting a proposal to prohibit student sex offenders from school campuses statewide. Baltimore County state Sen. Kathy Klausmeier on Monday said the bill would apply to registered sex offenders regardless of their age — prekindergarten through high school. The state already has laws prohibiting other sex offenders from school campuses, she said. The proposal comes after Santino E. Sudano, a 21-year-old Parkville High School student, was charged in December with second degree rape, according to court documents. Sudano had pleaded guilty…
Read MoreACSOL Emotional Support Group Meetings Available: Sat, Jan 25 in L.A.; Most Thursdays in Sac; Monthly on the phone
Emotional Support Group meetings will be held for those convicted of a sex offense and their loved ones. This meeting, which is based upon the format of 12 Step meetings, provides registrants and their loved ones with an opportunity to discuss personal challenges and share their experiences, strengths and hopes, with each other. Attendance is limited to individuals required to register, family members, and friends. Media, law enforcement, parole, etc. are not allowed to attend meetings. There is no cost to attend. No reservations are required. Face-to-face and phone emotional…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: The Silent War
There are silent wars going on in thousands of households across this country. They are the quiet, underlying disputes between family members of registrants, those that speak openly about the registrant in their lives and those family members that take the “less said, the better” stance. Both sides may be totally at peace and supportive of the registrant they care about, but a cavernous gap lies between the opposing sides, as gap as wide as the Grand Canyon. For many of us, the more we open up to family, friends…
Read MoreScotland: Fife charity under fire for using sex offenders says it’s ‘safeguarding’ Fifers
[fifetoday.co.uk– 2/7/20] A Cupar-based charity, which has come under fire after it was revealed it employs sex offenders, says it safeguards the community. The Castle Furniture Project, which provides free or low cost household goods to struggling families or individuals in Fife to help relieve poverty, has been inundated with calls and emails from the public since the news broke, with some calling for a demonstration. But, in an interview this week, its CEO, Sylvia Ingram, said it would be a shame if the charity ‘collapsed’, explaining the lengths the…
Read MoreCA: San Diego Settles ACSOL Suit On Sex Offender Residency Law
[kpbs.org – 2/6/20] The city of San Diego has settled a lawsuit challenging a city law that limits where convicted sex offenders can live, agreeing to enforce the law only against those who are on parole. The 2008 ordinance bans all registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or other facility that caters to children. The city has never enforced the law, however, because of concerns over its constitutionality. In 2015, the California Supreme Court overturned a nearly identical law covering unincorporated San Diego County.…
Read MoreCA: DA drops serial rape charges against reality TV doctor and girlfriend, saying case was ‘manufactured’
[washingtonpost.com – 2/5/20] California prosecutors are dropping all charges against an Orange County surgeon and his girlfriend after concluding that the previous district attorney “manufactured” the high-profile 2018 case in which the couple was accused of serially drugging and raping women. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release Tuesday that after his office reviewed the case, investigators found “no provable evidence” to support the charges against ____ a 39-year-old orthopedic surgeon and former reality TV star, and his girlfriend _____, a 33-year-old dance instructor. The decision…
Read MoreMI: Federal judge to hear latest arguments in case of sex offender registry ruled unconstitutional
UPDATE 2/5: Hearing today to decide whether to remove thousands from Michigan sex offender registry Also see: https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2020/02/constitutional-fight-for-michigan-sex-offender-rights-now-before-federal-judge.html [michiganradio.org – 2/3/20] Lawyers will make their case in front of a federal judge on Wednesday over what to do about the state’s sex offender registry. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled nearly four years ago that many of the requirements of Michigan’s registry are unconstitutional. But the law hasn’t been changed, and people continue to be on the list. “The court has said that this registry is so ineffective, that it…
Read MoreACSOL Meeting Feb 8 in L.A.
Please mark your calendars for ACSOL’s upcoming meeting: Saturday, Feb 8 10 a.m. ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles (free parking below building) Registrants, friends and family and interested service providers are invited to attend these free meetings. There will be no law enforcement or media present in order to protect everyone’s privacy. 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…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Band-Aid Fixes
I’m not sure what’s going on in Tennessee. Lately there seems to be an avalanche of bills proposed challenging the rights of registrants. Most of these bills seem to serve no purpose other than to intimidate and scare the bejeezus out of registrants and then, if passed, make their lives more difficult. Rep. Doggett has the “no registrants sleeping in a home with minor children” bill. Rep. Griffey has his “let’s chemically castrate all registrants on parole” bill. Now, here comes Rep. Patsy Hazlewood with HB1922 that would supposedly make…
Read MoreGA: Group confronts Cobb County sheriff over ‘invented requirements’ imposed on sex offenders
[11alive.com – 1/29/20] ATLANTA — A sex offender rights group is accusing the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office of overstepping Georgia’s sex offender registration laws. In a letter sent this week to Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, the North Carolina based National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) claims deputies are “imposing invented requirements not contained in Georgia law.” NARSOL Executive Director Brenda Jones, in the letter, writes the requirements the sheriff’s office is imposing are considered harassment. The letter includes four specific claims against the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.…
Read MoreNY: DNA evidence exonerates New York City man for 1985 sex assault
[abcnews.go.com – 1/28/20] After spending a full 25-year sentence in prison for a crime he did not commit, a Bronx, New York, man was exonerated by the first prosecutorial conviction review unit on the East Coast. Rafael Ruiz was convicted in 1985 for sexually assaulting a girl in East Harlem. Ruiz, then 25, was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison and was released on parole in 2009 after serving the entire stint. Now, at the age of 60, Ruiz had his felony conviction wiped off his criminal…
Read MoreTN: Tennessee bill would allow sex offenders to attend churches under certain conditions
[komonews.com – 1/27/20] NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) –Legislation proposed in the Tennessee General Assembly on Monday would allow sexual or violent sex offenders to attend church or another house of worship under certain circumstances. HB 1922 was filed by Representative Patsy Hazlewood (R-Signal Mountain). Under the bill, the offender would be allowed to attend houses of worship for religious services or to receive educational or social support services. Read the full article
Read MoreCO: Lawmakers consider changes to Colorado’s juvenile sex offender registry
[9news.com – 1/24/20] DENVER — It’s not often you see prosecutors and public defenders working together on the same team. But Thursday night, representatives from both groups spoke before state lawmakers in a joint effort to reform the law around Colorado’s juvenile sex offender registry list. “There are demonstrable…effects for children listed on this public registry right now,” said Amanda Gall, a Sexual Assault Resource Prosecutor at the Colorado District Attorney’s Council. “This bill strikes a balance between public access and privacy for these children.” HB-1079 was passed out of…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Sext Education
An interesting article a few weeks ago out of the United Kingdom has me wondering who’s responsible when children and teens are caught “sexting”? According to The Guardian, there are children as young as 4 years of age sharing indecent photos of themselves via smartphones, 9 yr. old children posting nude pictures of themselves on Facebook Messenger and Instagram. Between Jan. 2017 and Aug. 2019, in the United Kingdom there were 6,499 cases of underage children sexting, cases investigated by British authorities, cases where some of those children actually ended…
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