The California Senate passed Senate Bill (SB) 145 by a vote of 25 to 3 on May 28. Ten of the Senators present at the time of the vote chose not to vote on this bill. Due to the Senate’s passage of this bill, SB 145 will move to the Assembly for a series of votes. If the Assembly passes the bill, the Governor will be provided an opportunity to sign it. “Thank you to everyone who made phone calls and sent letters to the Senators who represent you in…
Read MoreAuthor: R H
CO: Remembering Richard Matsch, Badass Judge With Courage of His Convictions
[westword.com – 5/28/19] Judge Richard Matsch, who died on May 26 at the age of 88, is best known for having overseen the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Timothy McVeigh. But that’s only part of his legacy. Matsch, who served as chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Colorado from 1994 to 2000 and remained on the bench until earlier this year under senior status, was one of the most powerful jurists in the state for decades, as evidenced by his frequent mentions in Westword. … Among the most…
Read MoreNY: Anthony Weiner complained about sex offenders in district before scandal
[nypost.com – 5/27/19] Here’s another thing that gets a rise out of Anthony Weiner: other perverts. Long before the former Queens congressman earned himself a rap sheet for trading X-rated messages with a 15-year-old girl, he was getting hot and bothered about sex offenders living in the congressional district he represented. Weiner’s office repeatedly called the NYPD’s Sex Offender Monitoring Unit to gripe about pervs too close to his digs and other places, a source told The Post. Weiner even once called the unit himself to grumble, according to the…
Read MoreMO: Missouri joins nationwide sex offender registry
[theeagle.com/ – 5/25/19] Missouri is the 20th state to join a nationwide sex offender registry. OffenderWatch said in a news release this week that every Missouri law enforcement agency that manages or investigates registered sex offenders will be able to collaborate on offender records, aid each other in investigations and share notifications with the public. It won a five-year contract from the Missouri Highway Patrol. Missouri has about 16,000 registered sex offenders. Read more
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Does Law Enforcement Belong In Your Group Setting?
Therapeutic treatment groups, no matter what kind, are usually carefully monitored settings where one can feel safe enough to talk about very personal and intimate issues. “Sex offender” treatment groups should be no exception. The therapeutic groups that many registrants are mandated to attend are also supposed to be safe havens, settings where registrants can open up in a group of their peers, about difficult issues they are dealing with. So why are parole officers sitting in on “sex offender” therapy treatment sessions? It doesn’t seem right and it doesn’t…
Read MoreACSOL Conference: Save $25 before June 1!
I thoroughly enjoyed attending last year’s conference because it gave me hope that others had successfully navigated the realities of being a registrant and gave me substantial and practical assistance in living with a 290 conviction. This year is sure to be fantastic, as we will have wonderful speakers, great breakout sessions, and an opportunity to connect with other registrants over dinner on Friday evening. Thank you Janice and ACSOL for putting together such a wonderful and meaningful gathering. -Steven Dear registrants, family members and supporters, Steven left last year’s…
Read MoreReview: Staging a True Family Nightmare in ‘Accidentally Brave’
[nytimes.com – 3/25/19] Some plays are seeds and some are stones. Seeds are the ones that grow and change over the course of their stage time — and maybe, in the minds of those who see them, forever. Stones are the ones that always remain exactly what they are. They never expand but can still knock you out. “Accidentally Brave,” which opened on Monday, is a stone. Not just for us but also for its author, Maddie Corman, giving a riveting performance, mostly as herself. The real-life situation she has…
Read MoreFL: Homeless sex offender listed intersection near middle school as his address
[wftv.com – 5/22/19] The sexual offender registry is designed to help residents know where sexual offenders live. Channel 9 found out that within a 1-mile radius of Lake Eola Park, there are twice as many homeless sexual offenders as there are sexual offenders living in permanent residences. Related Headlines In dense downtown Orlando, there are 11 sexual offenders and sexual predators with real addresses (homes or apartments). Twice that number — 22 sex offenders or predators — live on the street or list homeless shelters as their residence. “It seems…
Read MoreMD: A teenage girl texted her friends a graphic video of herself. A court said she’d shared child pornography
[washingtonpost.com – 5/23/19] The three teenagers regularly shared silly videos, trying to one-up each other and trusting the group text messages would remain private. But one especially sensitive text did not stay among them — landing the teen who first sent it at the center of a novel court case over a sexually explicit video she made and shared of herself. Maryland’s highest court will soon decide whether state laws intended to stop child pornography apply when the child is both the subject and the sender of the graphic material.…
Read MoreThe YMCA bans persons required to register as sex offenders, but how has that worked out for them?
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 5/22/19] The Fulton County YMCA, in Johnstown, New York was just hit with a $10,000,000.00 lawsuit. A 19 year old former employee was charged with raping an underage girl in the locker room In Wichita, Kansas a 31 year old former employee allegedly sexually assaulted three teenage girls this month. The same Y had another instance of sexual assault last year. The YMCA recently enacted a policy barring all persons required to register as sexual offenders from their facilities and revoking the membership of many long-time members after…
Read MoreMA: Baker to refile bill on sexual predators
[eagletribune.com – 5/20/19] Gov. Charlie Baker will ask lawmakers once again to limit the release of sexual predators from prison. The move follows last week’s ruling by the state’s highest court clearing the way for the eventual release of Wayne Chapman. Convicted of raping two Lawrence boys in 1975, Chapman is also a suspect in the 1976 disappearance of Angelo Puglisi Jr., 10, of Lawrence. He has admitted to raping as many as 100 boys in eight states and Canada. Chapman, 71, has been in prison for more than 40…
Read MoreACSOL Emotional Support Group Meeting Alert in L.A. on Sat, May 25
ACSOL will conduct an Emotional Support Group for registrants and their loved ones on Saturday, May 25, beginning at 10 a.m. at: ACLU Building 1313 W. 8th Street Los Angeles Free parking is available under the building and there is no charge to attend the meeting. There is also a second Emotional Support Group meeting on the phone most months. If you want to attend this conference call, the group leader wants to talk with you first to ensure we don’t get inappropriate callers. He will tell you the date…
Read MoreWhat things did you like about past ACSOL conferences?
Our ACSOL conferences have given attendees hope, practical solutions, and motivation in our fight for justice. We’d love to hear what you liked best about your past attendance at an ACSOL conference, and why you are going to our next one June 14-15. People who are considering attending would like to hear your thoughts too.
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Pornography: A Public Health Crisis?
They are at it again- Lawmakers across the country declaring pornography a “”public health crisis”. This isn’t new by any means, several years ago lawmakers were calling pornography an “epidemic”. This week lawmakers in the Arizona state government approved a measure urging the state to prevent “exposure & addiction” to porn. 15 other states legislative chambers have adopted similar measures. Is it true? Is pornography an epidemic, a public health crisis? I thought those scare tactics were supposed to be used for real “population panic” like the plague. According to…
Read MoreACSOL 2019 Conference is just weeks away! Reserve your seat
ACSOL’s annual conference is just weeks away on June 14 and 15. Our theme is “Together, One Voice: Show up, Stand up, Speak up!”! Our speakers will teach you how to do that, plus a lot of other useful information. You will feel hope as you talk with other registrants and supporters. Click here to sign up now to make sure you get a seat! We aren’t just saying that, because we really were given a limit to the number of people who can be seated comfortably in the beautiful…
Read MoreMA: Harvard professor loses post for defending an unpopular client
[theappeal.org – 5/14/19] As soon as it was revealed earlier this year that a house faculty dean at Harvard University, Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., had decided to join the legal team of Harvey Weinstein, students spoke out. Two undergraduates wrote an op-ed in The Crimson, calling on Harvard to “remove” Sullivan, because he chose to defend Weinstein, “the man whose infamous sexual misconduct and assault of over a dozen women initiated the #MeToo movement.” The students say that they “condemn Sullivan’s decision to represent Weinstein” while serving as dean, and…
Read MoreSingapore: Suspended sentences: Sex offenders should undergo psychological evaluation, treatment
[singaporelawwatch.sg – 5/14/19] In dealing with sex offenders with mental illness, the best solution may not be rehabilitation, says the writer. Assistant Professor Benjamin Joshua Ong’s idea of imposing suspended sentences on voyeurs is a good one (“NUS case: Suspended sentence in place of police warning will have added benefit of judicial oversight”; May 9). These include jail sentences passed by a court that do not take effect if offenders comply with conditions, such as refraining from re-offending, attending counselling sessions, or staying away from certain areas or persons. The…
Read MoreGuam: Mandatory rather than optional chemical castration for sex offenders sought
[guampdn.com – 5/14/19] A new bill seeks to make chemical castration among Guam’s sex offenders released on parole mandatory, rather than optional or voluntary, under a 2015 law that’s never been enforced. “The intent of the legislation is to add more teeth to an existing mandate,” Sen. James Moylan, R-Tumon, said in introducing Bill 137 on Tuesday. The objectives are not only to reduce recidivism among convicted sex offenders, but also to keep the community safe, the senator said. Moylan’s bill would make the hormone or anti-androgen treatment program, also…
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