Court Expands Eligibility for Certificates of Rehabilitation [with CORRECTION]

CORRECTION: The information in the article below is based upon a court document from 2014 that was mistakenly identified as a 2015 appellate court decision. Regrettably, this year’s decision did not expand eligibility, but instead eliminated eligibility for many individuals to apply for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. A California Court of Appeal issued a decision this week that expands eligibility for registrants to apply for a certificate of rehabilitation. The decision, People v. Tirey, states that a registrant who was convicted of PC 288(a) and who completed parole 13 years…

Read More

REGISTRANTS SUE CA DEPT OF JUSTICE — DEMAND IMPROVEMENTS TO, OR END OF, MEGAN’S LAW WEBSITE [updated with media]

California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) and two registrants today will file a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting immediate changes to, or in the alternative, the ending of, the state’s Megan’s Law website. The request is based upon the failure of the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) to comply with a state law that required the agency to add conviction and release dates to individuals’ profiles on that website by 2010. “The California Department of Justice continues to act illegally and in violation of state law,”…

Read More

San Diego city schools ranked by sex offenders living nearby

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) – Jessica’s Law was supposed to keep sex offenders away from schools but earlier this year the California Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional. CBS News 8 crunched the numbers and found out which San Diego schools have the most sex offenders living nearby. Sex offenders live in neighborhoods all over San Diego and parents have every right to be worried. Full Article Full List http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/kfmb/misc/ElementarySchools.pdf

Read More

California lawmaker would end statute of limitations for rape cases

State Sen. Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) said Monday that she will introduce legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations for rape and some other sexual crimes to increase the chance that victims will get justice. California law generally limits the prosecution of a felony sexual offense to 10 years after the offense is committed, but more time can be provided if new DNA evidence is found. Leyva said a bill she will introduce when the Legislature reconvenes in January would eliminate the deadline for prosecuting crimes including rape, sodomy,…

Read More

L.A. County moves closer to publicly shaming those who solicit sex from minors

Los Angeles County supervisors have moved one step closer toward publicly shaming individuals convicted of soliciting sex from minors. Interim County Counsel Mary Wickham told the supervisors that she expects to bring a draft ordinance before the board next week that will enable the county to post the names and booking photographs on the county’s website of individuals who have been convicted of soliciting sex from minors. Supervisor Don Knabe requested the ordinance late last year saying he wanted to begin a “shame campaign” to lessen the demand for child…

Read More

CDCR Withdraws Halloween Sign Requirement Statewide

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced in federal district court its decision to withdraw a statewide requirement that sex offender parolees post a sign on the front door of their residences on Halloween. Immediately following that announcement, CA RSOL withdrew its request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). “This is a significant victory for more than 10,000 registered citizens and their families,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “They are no longer faced with the risk of significant injury.” CA RSOL and plaintiff John Doe were…

Read More

British court blocks extradition of sex-abuse suspect, saying California law violates human rights

A British high court has refused to extradite a former Orange County choir director who fled the U.S. before he was to stand trial on sexual abuse charges, ruling that a California involuntary commitment law would violate his human rights. Full Article Related England Refuses to Extradite an Alleged Sex Offender (slate.com) with High Court decision More time over US ‘fugitive’ Roger Giese extradition case (BBC)

Read More

CDCR Lawsuit Expanded, TRO Hearing Set October 26

A lawsuit challenging CDCR’s requirement that registered citizens post signs on the front door of their residences on Halloween has been expanded to include an individual in Los Angeles.  Similar to the original plaintiff in the case who lives in San Diego County, the man in L.A. was told by his parole officer that he must post a sign on the front door of his home. “Both plaintiffs believe their lives will be in danger if they post a sign on the front door of their homes,” stated CA RSOL…

Read More

Orange home to fifth-highest amount of sex offenders in O.C.

The Panther, Chapman University Student Paper – The city of Orange has the fifth highest number of registered sex offenders among the 34 cities in Orange County, according to Megan’s Law’s, a website that lists registered sex offenders in California. Orange has 91 registered sex offenders, 24 of which are within a 2-mile radius of Chapman University. Eighteen of the offenders were arrested for performing or attempting “lewd” acts with a child under the age of 14, and there is one offender who was arrested for rape. Full Article

Read More

Lawsuit challenges Halloween sex offender requirement [update 3 with more media links]

This story has been picked up by Reuters News Service and was on the main page of US msn.com (screenshot). http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-sex-offender-sues-over-halloween-sign-and-rules/ SAN DIEGO — The group California Reform Sex Offender Laws and a sex offender on parole filed a lawsuit in San Diego federal court Wednesday challenging a requirement that sex offenders on parole post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween, as required by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Full Article Related Media http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Registered-Sex-Offender-Sues-Halloween-Safety-Program-333742971.html http://www.kogo.com/onair/demaio-report-56776/demaio-report-commentary-lawsuit-seeks-to-14038184 Carl DeMaio asks tough questions of the attorney…

Read More

CA RSOL Challenges Halloween Sign Requirement in Federal Court [updated with complaint]

California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) and a registrant on parole filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging a requirement that registrants on parole post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween. The requirement is levied by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as a blanket restriction on all registrant parolees in San Diego. “CDCR’s requirement that all registrant parolees post a sign on the front door of their residence violates the First Amendment because it compels speech,” stated Janice Bellucci, attorney…

Read More

We are NEVER safe–but we CAN control our destiny. A cautionary tale from Rhode Island

We at RSOL heard the news on Monday with a sinking despair that could only be topped by the desperation clearly felt by Rhode Island’s Level III registered citizens. In June of 2015, Rhode Island legislators passed a law that would restrict all Level III’s from living within 1000 feet of any school. That’s a 700-foot increase over the previous restriction. The article reported on how registrants were in shock – although most had known this was coming – begging for more time to find a new place to live,…

Read More