Source: ACSOL The CA Assembly Appropriations Committee will review Senate Bill 680 on August 20. The review of this bill will be part of a marathon session that includes consideration of more than 200 bills. No testimony will be heard during this session that begins at 9 a.m. in Room 1100 of the legislative office building (1021 O Street). If Senate Bill 680 is enacted into law, a new group of individuals would be required to register. That group would include people convicted of Penal Code Section 261.5, unlawful intercourse…
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CA: First Public Database of CA Police Officer Misconduct Records Unveiled
Source: filtermag.org 8/5/25 Seven years in the making, a searchable database of California law enforcement misconduct and use-of-force reports is now available to the public. The free database contains records from close to 12,000 cases and 700 police departments, shining a light into the practices of what has long been among the least transparent states in the country when it comes to officer misconduct. The state-funded Police Records Access Project was created by the California Reporting Project, a team spearheaded by journalists and data scientists from Stanford University and the University of…
Read MoreACSOL In-Person Meeting in San Diego on Nov. 1, 2025
You are invited to attend ACSOL’s in-person meeting in San Diego, CA on Saturday, November 1, 2025 starting at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at: California Western School of Law Room LH-1 225 Cedar Street San Diego The meeting will include discussions regarding topics of interest to both registrants and their loved ones, including the status of proposed changes to the Tiered Registry Law such as the reduction of tier assignment for those convicted of an offense involving child pornography. The meeting is free and will include refreshments.…
Read MoreCA: SF Judge to Continue Case Despite Claims of Mental Incapacity
Source: davisvanguard.org 7/26/25 San Francisco – On July 23, 2025, in Department 17 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Deputy Public Defender Maria Avalo Cruz argued that her client’s intellectual disabilities rendered him incapable of navigating the digital world, and thus he lacked the intent to possess child pornography—grounds, she said, for dismissing the charges. Cruz asked Judge Brian J. Stretch to grant a motion to dismiss the case, contending that her client’s cognitive limitations made it impossible for him to intentionally obtain or store illicit content. Deputy District…
Read MoreB.R.A.V.E. San Quentin CA program provides safe space to discuss shame and trauma
Source: sanquentinnews.com 6/28/25 A new 26-week self-help program has been established at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, designed to help those convicted of a sex offense to understand why they committed the crime. The program’s name, B.R.A.V.E., stands for Bridging, Responsibility, Accountability and Vulnerability through Empathy. It began in January 2025 with 38 participants in attendance, which included volunteers and administrative and medical officials. The program gives participants a safe place to understand the trauma they have caused without fear and stigma. This environment will encourage participants to freely discuss the…
Read MoreCA Extreme sentencing: OC tutor gets 235 years for molesting 2 students at after-school program
Source: ocregister.com 7/18/25 [ACSOL is posting this to show an example of extreme sentencing] A tutor who sexually assaulted two boys for more than a half-decade while working with them in an Orange County after-school program was sentenced on Friday, July 18, to 235 years to life behind bars. The sentence of Zeta “Jimmy” _______, 53, in a Santa Ana courtroom — officially 235 years, eight months to life — came a little more than two months after a jury convicted him of a dozen felony counts of lewd acts…
Read MoreCASOMB Juvenile Registration Addendum: Registration is Counterproductive for Youth Who Have Offended Sexually
Source: casomb.org California Sex Offender Management Board 7/17/25 In 2018, the Board was tasked by the legislature with making policy recommendations about the management of juveniles who have offended sexually. CASOMB continues to monitor the research and discussions related to the management of youth who commit sexual based offenses and provides this updated addendum, on Juvenile Registration, to continue to provide expertise on this matter. The Board recommends that California does not reinstate registration for juveniles whose only sexual offending was under the age of 18. Research supports that juveniles…
Read MoreNew Lawsuit Challenges CDCR Policy Harming Female Registrants
ACSOL filed a new lawsuit yesterday that challenges a CDCR policy which allows the agency to use a tool that has not been validated to assess the risk of re-offense for women required to register. The name of that tool is the Female Sex Offender Risk Assessment (FSORA). The lawsuit was filed in Sacramento Superior Court and includes a declaration by Dr. Franca Cortoni, an expert in the re-offense rates of female registrants. According to Dr. Cortoni, there is no validated tool for assessing the re-offense rates of women required…
Read MoreCA Public Safety Committee Approves Senate Bill 680
Source: ACSOL The Assembly’s Public Safety Committee today approved an amended version of Senate Bill (SB) 680, which if enacted, would require individuals convicted of statutory rape to register for 10 years. Unlike the original version of the bill, the current version of SB 680 would not be applied retroactively. Instead, the bill would apply only to those convicted of PC 261.5 on or after January 1, 2026. During today’s hearing, four board members and three members of ACSOL testified in opposition to the bill. Also testifying in opposition to…
Read MoreAction Alert for CA: Fight Senate Bill 680! Call by 7/11 and then Show Up to Assembly Public Safety Committee on July 15
The Assembly’s Public Safety Committee will consider Senate Bill (SB) 680 on July 15 during a hearing that is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. in Room 126 of the State Capitol building. If SB 680 becomes law, individuals convicted on or after January 1, 2026, of unlawful intercourse in violation of Penal Code Section 261.5 would be required to register. No one convicted of this offense has been required to register in the past without a court order. “The legislature has wisely decided to amend Senate Bill 680 so…
Read More$10,000 Challenge Grant Offered in Support of Two New Lawsuits
An anonymous donor has offered to match up to $10,000 for donations made in support of two new lawsuits that will challenge significant mistakes made by the California Department of Corrections (CDC). The lawsuits will focus upon the agency’s failure to implement treatment regulations as well as the agency’s unlawful identification of women as high risk offenders. “These two lawsuits are necessary in order to help restore the civil rights of individuals required to register,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “They are a new beginning as we start…
Read MoreCA: Humboldt County compliance sweep fails to find any registrants who reoffended
Source: lostcoastoutpost.com 6/6/25 Between May 19th and May 30th, 2025, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office conducted a sex offender registration compliance sweep throughout the County of Humboldt. Representatives from the Arcata Police Department, Rio Dell Police Department, Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office and State Parole assisted during the operation. During compliance sweeps, law enforcement attempts to contact registered sex offenders in Humboldt County to ensure each offender is following their registration requirements. Pursuant to California Penal Code 290, sex offender registrants are required to register in person with the law…
Read MoreCA: Senate Approves Senate Bill 680 As Amended
Source: ACSOL The California Senate approved Senate Bill 680 (SB 680) on June 4 by a wide margin. The only person who voted against SB 680 was Senator Scott Weiner, author of the Tiered Registry Law. “We commend Senator Wiener for once again protecting individuals charged with or convicted of a sex offense,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “It is unfortunate that the remaining state senators chose to ignore the fact that registrants have a low rate of re-offense.” The original version of SB 680 could have added up…
Read MoreCA: Venice Break-In Highlights Alarming Rise in Homeless Sex Offenders, Study Finds
Source: westsidecurrent.com 6/5/25 VENICE — A man accused of breaking into the apartment of an 86-year-old woman at a Venice senior housing complex with alleged intentions to sexually assault her has a history of parole violations and criminal convictions — including failure to register as a transient sex offender — raising new alarms about the intersection of homelessness, registration laws, and public safety in Los Angeles. … The case comes just as a new national study is shedding light on what researchers say is a little-discussed but increasingly urgent problem:…
Read MoreCA: Senate Amends, Approves Bill Requiring Registration for Unlawful Intercourse
Source: ACSOL CA Senate Bill 680, which could have added up to 30,000 people to the registry was first amended, then passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 23. The original language of the bill would have required individuals convicted of sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than years younger in age to register as a sex offender regardless of the date of conviction. As amended, the bill would not be applied retroactively, but instead would be limited to those convicted of this offense on or after…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB Approves Point Paper Opposing Bill That Could Add 30,000 People to Registry
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today approved a point paper opposing Senate Bill 680, a bill that could add 30,000 people to the California sex offender registry. Specifically, the bill could require individuals convicted of illegal intercourse (Penal Code Section 261.5), also known as statutory rape, to register for the first time if the difference between the age of the perpetrator and the victim was at least 10 years. If passed, the bill would be applied retroactively and include convictions that are 30 years old or older. “The…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB 5/15/25 Reports Show Increase in Petitions Filed and Granted, Decrease in Registrants in Violation
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) met today and during that meeting, several state agency reports were presented. The reports reflect increases both in the number of petitions filed as well as the number of petitions granted. In addition, the reports reflect a decrease in the number of registrants in violation due to failure to register. Below is a chart listing those and other statistics presented during today’s meeting. The next CASOMB meeting is scheduled for June 26 in Monterey. The meeting location, time and additional information will…
Read MoreCA: The Financial Fallout Over Child Sexual Abuse Lawsuits in California
Source: nytimes.com 5/9/25 The law set off a wave of child sex abuse litigation that has pushed some public institutions to the brink of financial crisis. School districts face up to $3 billion in claims. In 2018, an anonymous tip led the authorities in California to Eric Uller, who for decades had volunteered at an after-school program associated with the Santa Monica Police Department. An investigation revealed Mr. Uller, 50, had molested at least four boys on the city’s watch. Allegations from dozens of others soon emerged, dating to the…
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