[tennessean.com – 2/18/20] The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee expelled a Texas church Tuesday for employing a pastor who is a registered sex offender. The 80-plus member body, which acts on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention when it is not in session, took a vote to disfellowship Ranchland Heights Baptist Church in Midland, Texas, during its regularly scheduled meeting in Nashville. Ranchland Heights is “no longer to be considered in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention,” said the Rev. Mike Stone, chairman of the Executive Committee. Read the full article
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TN: Tennessee bill would change penalties for public urination
[newschannel9.com – 2/18/20] NASHVILLE, Tenn.–A bill before committee in the Tennessee General Assembly would prevent a person from being seen as a sex offender if they perform “an excretory function” in public. HB 2079/SB 2822 is sponsored by Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) and Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) in their respective houses. Under the bill, the offense of indecent exposure would not include excretion in public as given the intent was not criminal. Read more
Read MoreNM: Bill to increase penalties for human trafficking and expand sex offender registration clears House
[nmpoliticalreport.com – 2/15/20] A bill that supporters say will get tough on human trafficking and expand who has to register as a sex offender in the state took another step forward Saturday when the House chamber passed it unanimously. There was no debate on the bill on the House floor and it passed 66-0. HB 237 expands the definition of human trafficking to include “harboring, maintaining, patronizing and providing” people for such purposes. It also raises the age definition of “child” from 16 to 18 in cases of forced sex…
Read MoreNewsrooms Rethink a Crime Reporting Staple: The Mugshot
[themarshallproject.org – 2/11/20] Some are red-eyed from crying, others visibly drunk. Some sport black eyes or jarring face tattoos. Occasionally, one offers an addled grin. Online mugshot galleries, where news organizations post rows of people who were arrested, once seemed like an easy moneymaker for struggling newsrooms: Each reader click to the next image translated to more page views and an opportunity for more advertising dollars. Published in partnership with Poynter. But faced with questions about the lasting impact of putting these photos on the internet, where they live forever,…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Maryland Mom’s Petition Misrepresents Registrants
A mother in Maryland has a change.org petition which seeks to overhaul Maryland state guidelines/Bill 320 for “sex offenders” by requiring lifetime supervision. (The full article can be read on the ACSOL website.) The impetus for her zealous petition appears to be a child- abuse situation within her own family, a spouse who allegedly abused one of her children. In reading her petition, she provides an overview of the emotional drama going on within her particular situation, the financial costs of sexual abuse to her family and her request for…
Read MoreCA: Free Legal Clinic in Sacramento for People with Records on February 20th
[rootandrebound.org] Root and Rebound will host a FREE Reentry Legal Clinic for people with arrest and conviction records. Click here for details Sign up here Thursday, February 20, 2020 2:30 PM 5:00 PM Sacramento State University Lassen Hall RM 1013 (“The Vault”) Campus Map You can ask reentry-related legal questions or other questions about how having a record impacts clients’ lives & rights. They will also be providing free know-your-rights resources including Root and Rebound Reentry Planning Toolkit. If possible, please bring: (1) a government-issued photo ID; and (2) a…
Read MoreCA: Sacramento-Area Reentry Network Free Expungement Clinic March 7, April 4
[arc.losrios.edu – 2/13/20] Trying to get a job & need your background cleared? Clear or reduce your criminal record (California arrests and convictions only) at the clinic. YOU ARE ELIGIBLE IF 1) you do not have any pending criminal cases, and 2) you are not currently on parole. REQUIREMENT: BRING A COPY OF YOUR CALIFORNIA RAP SHEET. Request at any Live Scan location. (2 weeks in advance) For more information on requesting them, go to: https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/record-review Clinic dates and times are: https://arc.losrios.edu/campus-life/calendar-and-events/free-expungement-clinic-x20100 Saturday, March 7, 2020 Saturday, April 4, 2020…
Read MoreMN: Minnesota sex offenders sue over residency restrictions in Apple Valley
[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.…
Read MoreACSOL 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…
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