ACSOL sent a letter today demanding that the Sheriff in Faulkner County, Arkansas, immediately end a county wide program that requires all registrants in that county to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween. The letter warns that if this demand is not met, all available legal remedies will be pursued. “Courts have consistently determined that Halloween sign requirements for registrants are unconstitutional,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “That is because the signs are compelled government speech and violate the First Amendment.” The most…
Read MoreAuthor: R H
AR: FCSO warns parents against trick-or-treating certain addresses
Source: thecabin.net 10/26/22 The Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office is placing door hangers on the doors of sex offenders warning “No Trick-or-Treat at this Address.” The community effort, led by Sex Offender Coordinator Chelsea McDaniel and FCSO Reserve Commander Brian Tyner, is designed to help community members stay safe this Halloween, FCSO spokesman Sherry Skaggs said. Commander Tyner said: “This was an opportunity for the Reserve Unit to take on a mission to improve community safety.” While signs have traditionally been placed on the doors of sex offenders on active probation…
Read MoreUK: Semen-sniffing dog used by British cops to help bust sex offenders
Source: nypost.com 10/21/22 Man’s best friend may be a man’s best chance at busting sex offenders. A semen-sniffing dog is working in the sex crime unit of a police department in England to help catch creeps and perverts, cops announced this week. The 1-year-old yellow Labrador, April, was trained to detect even tiny amounts of seminal fluid at crime scenes — and is better than traditional kits at extracting DNA, according to the Cheshire Police Department in England. The perv-busting pooch can pinpoint as little as 0.016ml of semen deposited…
Read MoreFL: Florida sheriff’s deputy arrested for sex with teen in youth cadet program
Source: nypost.com 10/19/22 A Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested Tuesday for having sex with a teen he supervised in the department’s youth cadet program, including several trysts while on duty, officials said. Bay County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew _____, 21, admitted to sexual relations with the 17-year-old a total of seven times. The agency said _____ acknowledged having illicit contact with the victim while on active police duty. “The Bay County Jr. Deputy and Explorer Program is a program for youth that are interested in law enforcement,” Bay County Sheriff Tommy…
Read MorePolly Klaas’s murder fueled the 90s crime panic. Her sisters fear ‘we’re repeating history’
Source: theguardian.com 10/22/22 Jess and Annie Nichol want to undo the harsh criminal laws passed after their sister was abducted: ‘We don’t want our pain to be used to punish anyone else’. Annie Nichol was seven years old on 19 March 1994 when she was brought to the White House to talk to Bill Clinton. With a stuffed dolphin by her side, the girl spoke to the president about her 12-year-old sister, Polly Klaas, who had been abducted five months earlier from the family’s home in Petaluma, California, while Annie…
Read MoreLA: Lutcher Man Sentenced to for Failure to Report International Travel as a Sex Offender
Source: justice.gov 10/21/22 NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that WILLIE WALKER, age 56, was sentenced on October 14, 2022 by Chief United States District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown to a probationary term of five years for failure to report international travel as a sex offender under the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). According to court documents, WALKER was convicted in Washington State in 2002 of a sex offense that required him to register as a sex offender for life. In addition to registering as a sex offender, WALKER was…
Read MoreMN: YouTube vigilante on mission to expose sexual predators faces his own sex assault charges
Source: postbulletin.com 10/21/22 Chase Johnston’s YouTube channel has thousands of views from videos in which he confronts people he views as sexual predators. One county has declined to follow up on his reports. Another has decided to pursue charges. In all of this, Johnston has been charged with multiple crimes against two of the men he’s accused, including one accusation of sexual assault. ROCHESTER, MN — Chase Johnston began his crusade to hunt down alleged child predators earlier this year. The Rochester man, 28, taking a cue from the now-defunct…
Read MoreWI: Wisconsin Supreme Court considers dispute over ‘repeat offender’ law
Source: captimes.com 10/20/22 The Wisconsin Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case challenging the state’s interpretation of its repeat offender law as it pertains to crimes including sex offenses. At issue is whether multiple convictions stemming from the same criminal complaint warrant classifying someone as a repeat offender. The state argues that should be the case. Its argument relies heavily on a 2017 legal interpretation, issued by then-Attorney General Brad Schimel, of a 2006 state law requiring the state Department of Corrections to place certain sex offenders…
Read MoreFL: Jacksonville won’t require sex offenders to post ‘no candy’ signs outside home for Halloween
Source: news.yahoo.com 10/19/22 A warning to parents planning trick-or-treating routes: The City of Jacksonville will not require registered sex offenders or predators to post a sign outside their home indicating no trick-or-treaters allowed. Typically, on Halloween, registered sex offenders and predators have to post a sign saying “no candy.” The requirement is being challenged by two registered sex offenders who filed a lawsuit against the city, saying the ordinance violates their constitutional rights. Some neighbors Action News Jax spoke with said, they agree. “I think the sign — it’d be…
Read MoreCA: ‘Superfly’ Actor-Rapper Sentenced to 50 Years to Life in Prison for Sexual Assaults
Source: nbclosangeles.com 10/18/22 A rapper-actor who appeared in the 2018 film “SuperFly” was sentenced on Monday to 50 years to life in state prison for sex-related charges involving three teens and four young women in attacks dating back to 2013. Superior Court Judge Joseph Brandolino also ordered Kaalan Walker, 27, to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Wallace, who told City News Service that she believes the defendant is “truly a predator.” A Van Nuys jury convicted Walker on…
Read MoreFederal Prisons Are Discounting Inmates’ Sexual Assault Allegations Against Officers
Source: govexec.com 10/13/22 The federal Bureau of Prisons is regularly excluding credible inmate testimony making or corroborating allegations of sexual assault and misconduct against agency employees, according to a new report, which found the informal policy could embolden bad actors to continue their inapprorpiate behavior. The bureau’s Office of Internal Affairs will only consider inmate testimony when a case is accepted for criminal prosecution or if it is substantiated by video, conclusive forensic evidence or a confession. If a sexual assault allegation against an employee depends on an inmate’s account,…
Read MoreFL: Police cameras show confusion, anger over DeSantis’ voter fraud arrests
Source: tampabay.com 10/18/22 TALLAHASSEE — When police went to arrest Tony Patterson outside his Tampa home in August, he couldn’t believe the reason. “What is wrong with this state, man?” Patterson protested as he was being escorted to a police car in handcuffs. “Voter fraud? Y’all said anybody with a felony could vote, man.” Body-worn camera footage recorded by local police captured the confusion and outrage of Hillsborough County residents who found themselves in handcuffs for casting a ballot following investigations by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ new Office of Election Crimes…
Read MoreUT: Utah Court of Appeals reverses sex offender’s conviction, claiming state failed to prosecute case for 2 years
Source: fox13now.com 10/17/22 SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Court of Appeals has reversed a sex offender’s conviction after they say prosecutors failed to notify him they’d charged him or were prosecuting him. In to a 74-page document filed by the Utah Court of Appeals on Friday, Judge Ryan Harris said the appellant, Chad Hintze, wasn’t made aware of a charge against him for two years. The charge, according to the documents, stemmed from an incident in June of 2016 in which Hintze and a teenage girl were eating and…
Read MoreCanada will accede to U.S. request to share travel information on convicted child predators
Source: headtopics.com 10/17/22 Canada will accede to U.S. request to share travel information on convicted child predators Ottawa plans to introduce legislation that would allow the federal government to routinely notify Washington when Canadians convicted of sexual offences against children travel to the U.S. Read the full article
Read MoreACSOL November 19, 2022 Meeting
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, November 19, 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 call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. You can use the Zoom app to see Janice and Chance and choose to…
Read MoreALL ACSOL 2022 Conference videos are ready for attendees to watch!
Dear Conference attendees – We just posted all ACSOL 2022 conference videos! They are ready for you to view privately on YouTube whenever you like! You should have just received an email today (Oct 16) containing the link to these videos. If you did not receive it, look in your spam/junk folder. If you still don’t see it, send an email to [email protected] If you did not attend you still have time to register to see the videos. Just click here to sign up We look forward to seeing you…
Read MoreMS: George, Greene counties recognized for keeping sex offenders 100% compliant
Source: wkrg.com 10/14/22 GEORGE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) – Employees from the Sheriff’s offices in both George and Greene counties were recently recognized for their work to keep all registered sex offenders in their jurisdictions compliant with state law. “[Citizens] should definitely be proud of these counties. They are really working hard to ensure that their communities are as safe as possible and everyone is aware of the registered offenders in their area,” said registry director Megan Costilow. Most sex offenders must re-register and update their address every three months. Each…
Read MoreCA: California convicted rapist arrested for murder just weeks after early release from life sentence: ‘senseless’
Source: foxnews.com 10/12/22 A convicted rapist in California whose sentencing judge argued he should “never get out of prison” was arrested in the murder of a Sacramento man just weeks after his release, officials said. Michael Xavier Bell, 36, was arrested this past Sunday for murdering a 60-year-old Sacramento care facility employee just 73 days after he was released early from a decades-long sentence, according to the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys. Association President Michele Hanisee called his early release “tragically predictable” and said it resulted in “another…
Read More