The deadline for the introduction of new bills has passed and there is no tiered registry bill for consideration by the California legislature during this two-year session. “Despite strong efforts by the CA Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB), an author for the tiered registry bill could not be found,” stated Janice Bellucci, President of California RSOL. “The next opportunity to introduce the bill is projected to be 2017.” The CASOMB strongly recommended the creation of a tiered registry in a report issued in April 2014. CASOMB repeated its recommendation In…
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CA Supreme Court Decision Regarding Residency Restrictions Due March 2
The California Supreme Court has officially announced that it will publish on Monday, March 2, two decisions regarding residency restrictions. The decisions are expected to determine the following issues: (1) whether residency restrictions are constitutional, (2) to whom do the restrictions apply and (3) if the restrictions can be applied to every registered citizen while on parole. The Court heard oral arguments in the case on December 2 in Los Angeles. During oral arguments in the case of People v. Mosley, the Attorney General’s office argued that residency restrictions are…
Read MoreCASOMB: Year End Report (2014)
The beginning of 2015 is an opportune time to provide an update and overview of activities, plans and recommendations of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) and the State Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders Committee (SARATSO). The picture of sex offender management in the state is a complex one with many moving parts. This Report touches on many of those components. It is anticipated, however, that actions by the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of California government over the coming months will cause new issues to emerge…
Read MoreWanted: Protection for Kids (Editorial)
California is often labeled the most litigious state, and a rash of lawsuits around the state not only upholds this contention, but threatens the safety of California’s children. Local ordinances defining places where convicted sex offenders may not visit are apparently going the way of the dodo, under an onslaught of legal challenges aimed at expanding the rights of offenders. Two such lawsuits, targeting ordinances in Irvine and Orange County banning convicted sex offenders from visiting city parks and recreational sites, have resulted in those ordinances’ invalidation by a state…
Read MoreHemet Man Displays ‘Child Molester Danger’ Sign To Warn Residents Of Neighbor
HEMET (CBSLA.com) — A homeowner has displayed two bright green posters in a Hemet neighborhood in an effort to warn neighbors of a man who is registered as a sex offender on the Megan’s Law database. Doug Ennen made the posters, one of which says “Child Molester Danger,” and taped them to his two cars. He then parked one of those vehicles in front of a registered sex offender’s home. Full Article Related: Man posts signs to warn neighbors about child molester
Read MoreExperts: Reducing Prison Populations Best Way To Keep Sex Offenders Safe Behind Bars
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California’s extraordinary rate of prison homicides is rekindling a debate over whether the state needs to further reduce its prison population to ensure inmates’ safety. Experts say trimming the inmate population is also the best hope for protecting sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreTier it up
California is one of only four states that require adults convicted of certain sex crimes to register with local law enforcement each year for life. Crime-free for 50 years? Bedridden? It doesn’t matter. This lifetime requirement has turned California’s registry into the largest in the country. There are roughly 800,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., and around 100,000 of them live in California. Full Article
Read MoreJanice’ Journal: Behind the Orange Curtain
Orange County continues to be the epicenter for laws that both violate the civil rights of registered citizens as well as decrease public safety. The latest attempt comes in the form of a bill introduced in Sacramento by Assemblyman William Brough of Dana Point (AB 201). If it becomes law, the bill would allow cities and counties to pass any law they wished to restrict where a registered citizen could visit. That could return us all to the former Land of Oz where a registered citizen could legally walk on…
Read More‘It’s about the safety of kids’: Dana Point lawmaker’s bill would ban sex offenders from parks
Orange County’s ban on sex offenders in parks, declared illegal by appellate judges last year, has a new backer: a proposed bill in the state Assembly that would allow cities to enforce restrictions on such criminals. The bill from state Assemblyman Bill Brough, R-Dana Point, aims to prohibit sex offenders from going to parks and beaches without written permission from the sheriff or local police chief. The bill’s co-authors include Assemblyman Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach. “At the end of the day, it’s about the safety of kids,” said Brough, a…
Read MorePeaceful Protest to be held in the City of Carson on March 7
California RSOL will lead a peaceful protest in the City of Carson on Saturday, March 7, in order to highlight the harm done by the city’s sex offender ordinance. That ordinance bans registered citizens from being present in or within 300 feet of public places including the library, parks and swimming pools as well as private places including fast food restaurants that have a children’s playground. The peaceful protest will begin at Carson City Hall at 10 a.m. near the water fountain. Registered citizens, family members, and all who support…
Read MoreMany sex offenders killed in California prison
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Shortly after 2 a.m. on April 6, 2010, a guard at Salinas Valley State Prison noticed ____ ____’s cellmate trying to stuff something under a mattress. It was ____, blood trickling from his mouth and a cloth noose tied around his neck. The convicted child molester died 10 days later without regaining consciousness, his death earning his cellmate a second life sentence. California state prisoners are killed at a rate that is double the national average — and sex offenders like ____ account for a disproportionate…
Read MoreCity Council takes action on sex offender ordinance
Canyon Lake, CA – California has the highest rate of sexual offenders in the nation. The Sexual Predator Punishment and Control Act, also known as Jessica’s Law, was passed by California voters on November 7, 2006. One of the major provisions of Proposition 83 limits where sex offenders may live. This measure prohibits any person required to register as a sex offender from living within 2,000 feet of any school or park. Full Article List of Presence Restrictions Lawsuits
Read MoreCritics of Carson’s sex offender laws say they are too strict
For Frank Lindsay, the city of Carson feels like an obstacle course whenever he visits his relatives. He makes sure to stay clear of all city parks. If he’s hungry, he avoids the local McDonald’s, which includes a playground for toddlers. The library, where children have reading time, is off-limits. So is the local mall, which has a play lighthouse for youngsters to climb. Full Article
Read MoreLawsuits leave us more vulnerable to sex offenders (Opinion)
Inland dwellers take note: unless state lawmakers take action, registered sex offenders will likely have a great deal more leeway in choosing where they live and congregate in the very near future. Santa Maria civil rights attorney and one plaintiff, a 62-year-old registered sex offender, have been on a tear over the past year, challenging ordinances up and down the state that bar sex offenders from living near schools, parks, libraries and other public places where children might be. Full Article
Read MoreState AG won’t appeal sex offender provision struck down by court (Prop 35)
Attorney General Kamala Harris says she will not ask the Supreme Court to let California enforce a voter-approved law that would require more than 70,000 sex offenders to disclose their Internet identities to police, a decision that apparently means the law will not take effect. Full Article
Read MoreMURRIETA: Sex offender ‘safety zone’ ordinance repealed
They weren’t happy about it, but all five members of the Murrieta City Council voted this week in favor of repealing an ordinance that made it illegal for sex offenders to loiter near areas frequented by children. Full Article
Read MoreMURRIETA: City may repeal Child Safety Zone Ordinance
The Murrieta City Council this week will consider repealing an ordinance approved in 2009 that made it illegal for sex offenders to loiter within 300 feet of an area frequented by children: parks, arcades, swimming pools, skateboard parks, etc. Full Article
Read MoreSex-Offender Laws to Be Weakened
Prompted by two adverse appellate court decisions and a lawsuit springing from them, the board of supervisors on Tuesday gave tentative approval to amendments to the county code that would strike down certain provisions defining where registered sex offenders may visit when children are present. The changes, due for a final vote on Feb. 10, would repeal the so-called “presence” provisions in the county code, language that prevents sex offenders from being within 300 feet of various locations where children might congregate. Full Article
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