More than 170 people required to register, their loved ones and supporters from 14 states attended the second annual ACSOL conference in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 16. The conference included four plenary speakers as well as 12 workshops. “We shared information, energy and support during the conference,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We also provided essential tools for daily living to people required to register as well as their loved ones.” After a warm welcome from ACSOL President Chance Oberstein, plenary speaker Laurie Jo Reynolds opened…
Read MoreCategory: California
CA: Louis Theroux’s LA Stories: Among the Sex Offenders
[documentaryvine.com – 2012] In 2012 legendary British documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux relocated his family to Los Angeles after deciding that he needed a break from London. choosing Los Angeles for the lifestyle and the generally good weather. The BBC rented him a small old office in Hollywood which was originally built by Charlie Chaplin. and Louis and a small team set about developing a mini-series set in Los Angeles. The result is the three part series Louis Theroux’s LA Stories. Among the Sex Offenders is the third of the three…
Read MoreCA: The pressure for tough sentences
[newsday.com 6/8/18] A story that sparked outrage over sexism, privilege and lenient treatment of sexual violence two years ago resulted in what many consider a victory for justice and for women. California Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who was excoriated for giving a six-month jail sentence to Brock Turner, a former Stanford University athlete convicted of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape an unconscious, severely intoxicated woman, was stripped of his office by a recall vote on Tuesday as a result of a campaign led by Stanford law Professor Michelle…
Read MoreCA: Registrant on Parole Challenges Social Media Ban
A lawsuit was filed today in federal court on behalf of a registrant who is on parole in order to challenge a parole condition that prohibits him from accessing all social media. Defendants in the case include the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the Secretary of CDCR and his parole officer. “Many registrants on parole are unlawfully being denied access to social media,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have determined that similar denials violate the First Amendment.” The plaintiff in…
Read MoreCA: Federal Court Denies State Hospital’s Motion to Dismiss
[ACSOL – 6/6/18] A U.S. district court today denied a Motion to Dismiss filed by Coalinga State Hospital. Because of the denial, a lawsuit filed on behalf of two patients at that hospital will continue. “Today’s decision is a significant victory for hundreds of registrants who are also patients at Coalinga State Hospital,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The claims of the plaintiffs regarding retaliation for the exercise of their First Amendment rights are similar to claims that could have been made by many others.” In today’s decision, the…
Read MoreCA: Judge Aaron Persky recalled over Brock Turner sentencing
[abc7news.com – 6/6/18] SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — Voters have recalled Judge Aaron Persky from office after he sentenced a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault to a short jail sentence instead of prison. Persky sentenced Brock Turner in June 2016 to six months in jail instead of prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman outside a fraternity house. The recall campaign launched shortly afterward. The campaign gained national prominence after the victim’s powerful courtroom statement lamenting her treatment by the judicial system was circulated…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: Voting Rights Act for Registrants May Be Required
Today is election day. Today California voters will cast their ballots in a primary election that determines the nomination of candidates for offices from Insurance Commissioner to U.S. Senator as well as the outcome of several ballot propositions. Because it is a mid-term election, the percentage of people expected to vote is low, perhaps as low as 30 percent. Missing from the number of people who vote today, however, may be many registrants, some of whom have been misinformed and told that they are not eligible to vote. For example,…
Read MoreCA: Superior Court Judges Limits Residency Restrictions to Parolees
A California Superior Court judge has ruled that residency restrictions may only be applied to registrants while they are on parole. This ruling, issued in Norwalk Superior Court yesterday, is consistent with a ruling made by a federal judge in late 2017. “These court decisions are important because they clarify that cities may not impose residency restrictions against registrants who are not on parole,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “In addition to limiting the application of residency restrictions to parolees, we are also claiming that the restrictions violate the…
Read MoreCA: California Program to Help Homeless Vets Excludes Sex Offenders
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 3/31/18] It sounds like a great program. Homeless military veterans who have been sleeping in their cars and risking arrest for violating a new law making it illegal to sleep in your vehicle in a residential area overnight, can now park their vehicles in the VA parking lot and get a good night’s sleep and access to bathrooms. According to California Radio Station WMOT, “Last month, a non-profit group called Safe Parking L.A. partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer 10 parking stalls for vets to…
Read MoreCA: The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation wants to rid some facilities of sensitive needs yards
[sacbee.com – 5/27/18] The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is changing how inmates are housed, saying current separations between general population inmates and those held in sensitive needs yards have been ineffective in eliminating gangs and violence within prison walls. The agency will instead move toward creating some “non-designated program” facilities, where both groups will be tasked with co-existing. The current system has bred new gangs within the sensitive needs yards, resulting in escalating violence, CDCR Undersecretary of Operations Ralph Diaz said. “We are going to do behavior-based programs…
Read MoreCA: Tobin Resigns from CA Sex Offender Management Board
Tom Tobin, CEO of Sharper Future, has resigned from the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) where he served as Vice Chairman for more than two years. Although no reason was given for his resignation, a growing number of complaints had been made that his participation on the board was at least an appearance of a conflict of interest because the company he leads provides counseling services to registrants. Sharper Future is a subdivision of Pacific Forensic Psychology Associates, a California corporation, which Tobin also leads. Both organizations have been…
Read MoreCA: All of Mugshots.com’s alleged co-owners arrested on extortion charges
[UPDATED LINKS 5/20/18] [arstechnica.com 5/17/18] Two alleged owners of Mugshots.com—Sahar Sarid and Thomas Keesee—have been arrested in south Florida on a recently issued California warrant. The notorious website publishes mugshots and then demands payment for their removal. On Wednesday, the attorney general of California brought criminal charges against not only Sarid and Keesee, but also Kishore Vidya Bhavnanie and David Usdan. The quartet has been charged with extortion, money laundering, and identity theft. Bhavnanie was arraigned by a Pennsylvania state judge also on Wednesday—his bail was reportedly set at $1.86…
Read MoreCA: Posting mugshots on internet draws criminal charges from California attorney general
[sacbee.com 5/16/18] California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday filed extortion and money laundering charges against the owners of a website that publishes mugshot photos and charges a fee to remove them. His office is targeting Mugshots.com, which pulls photos and identifying information about criminal suspects from law enforcement departments around the country. The site charges a “de-publishing fee” to remove someone from its archives, according to Becerra’s office. Becerra said it has frustrated people who were accused of crimes they did not commit. “This pay-for-removal scheme attempts to profit…
Read MoreCA: Judge in Stanford rape case breaks silence amid sentencing controversy, recall effort
[cbsnews.com 5/8/18] SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. — A California judge whose sentence for a former Stanford University swimmer in a sex assault case garnered national controversy broke his silence Tuesday ahead of next month’s recall vote. The effort to recall Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky is being closely watched for its national political implications. If it’s successful, Persky would be the first California judge recalled from office in 86 years after he sentenced then-sophomore Brock Turner to six months in jail in June 2016 for sexually assaulting a young…
Read MoreCA: Coalinga Patients Score Two Victories
Patients at Coalinga State Hospital scored two victories today — one in court and the other in the state legislature. As a result of the victories, the patients’ past votes as well as future votes in City of Coalinga elections are valid. Specifically, a Fresno Superior Court judge ruled today against the City of Coalinga which had attempted to invalidate the patients’ votes in November 2017 which contributed to the defeat of a one cent sales tax. In its decision, the Court noted that the patients’ votes were valid because…
Read MoreCA: L.A. County Sued Over Ban on Sex Offenders as Poll Workers [by ACSOL]
[usnews.com 5/7/18] LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two registered sex offenders are suing Los Angeles County for the right to become poll workers. City News Service says the suit filed Monday argues that the county’s policy banning offenders violates state law and the Constitution. The suit was filed by two offenders who live in the county and by the Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, a nonprofit group. California’s sex offender registration website lists more than 13,000 people in L.A. County, including those convicted of nonviolent offenses. Read more
Read MoreCA: New CDCR Regulations Deny Prop. 57 Benefits to Registrants
[ACSOL 5/4/18] The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has issued new regulations that continue to deny the benefits of Proposition 57 to registrants. The new regulations are dated May 1, but were not publicly available until today. “The new CDCR regulations are inconsistent with a court order issued earlier this year,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “The court in that case clearly ruled that CDCR cannot exclude all registrants from the benefits of Proposition 57.” In its newly issued regulations, CDCR specifically prohibits “inmates convicted of a…
Read MoreCA: San Diego DA Candidate Summer Stephan’s Bad Day
[sandiegofreepress.org 5/3/18] Wednesday, May 2, wasn’t a good day in appointed interim District Attorney Summer Stephan’s quest to win her first election in the June Primary. In Justice Today, a leading publication in the field of criminal justice reform called out Stephan’s claims about human trafficking, suggesting she’s used inflated numbers to bolster her political and professional profile. And Genevieve Jones-Wright, Stephan’s opponent in the upcoming June primary, has asked the State Attorney General’s office to investigate ten alleged violations of state law prohibiting employees–in this case, local law enforcement–from…
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