The City of Loma Linda has joined a growing number of cities by agreeing not to enforce its sex offender ordinance that prohibits registered citizens from entering city parks and other recreational areas. The agreement will last until the California Supreme Court makes its decision whether or not to review two recent Court of Appeals decisions that overturned similar ordinances in Orange County and the City of Irvine. Loma Linda’s decision was conveyed to California RSOL in a letter signed by the City Manager and dated March 17, 2014. The…
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El Centro City Council repeals city ordinance on registered sex offender restrictions
El Centro City Council approved repealing a city ordinance relating to registered sex offender restrictions due to a state law that precedes the city’s ordinance. The city recently received a letter from a nonprofit group asking them to repeal the ordinance and would challenge the ordinance in court if it was not repealed in 60 days, El Centro Mayor Viegas-Walker said. El Centro and many other cities throughout the state are now having to repeal ordinances implemented in 2006 while the state figured out what the rules would be, said…
Read MoreRe-Offense Rate Drops in New CDCR Report
The rate at which registered citizens on parole commit a second sex offense has dropped to 1.8 percent according to a new report issued by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). “The rate of re-offense for registered citizens on parole is an important fact for the public to know,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “It debunks the myth that registered citizens ‘always’ re-offend.” The report also noted a rise in parole violations from 86.9 percent to 88 percent. Parole violations can be minimal including consumption of a single alcoholic beverage…
Read MoreAdditional Counseling Not Required For Some Registrants
The California Supreme Court has denied review of a case thereby relieving some registered citizens from the duty to participate in a state-mandated sex offender management program. Specifically, as a result of the Supreme Court’s denial, registered citizens currently on probation whose sex offense occurred prior to September 10, 2010, are not required to complete a sex offender management program mandated by Penal Code Section 1203.067(b). The Supreme Court’s decision lets stand the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case People v. Douglas M. which was decided on October 24, 2013. The case was…
Read MoreRegistered Sex Offender Released After Being Wrongly Identified As Person on School Grounds
A registered sex offender who was believed to be the suspicious person spotted on a Sunnyvale school campus in January has been cleared in the case and is no longer in jail, a prosecutor said today. Theodore ____ ____, 42, of San Jose, was released from the Santa Clara County Main Jail on Feb. 24 after prosecutors concluded that he did not visit the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School in Sunnyvale on Dec. 20, Deputy District Attorney Brian Welch said. A prosecutor assigned to ___ case came to that conclusion…
Read MoreAnaheim, Grand Terrace Suspend Enforcement of Sex Offender Ordinances
The cities of Anaheim and Grand Terrace have agreed to suspend enforcement of sex offender ordinances that prohibit registered citizens from visiting public parks and other recreational areas. The cities reached this agreement with California RSOL after the organization notified them of recent appellate court decisions that such ordinances were preempted by state law and therefore could not be lawfully enforced. “These agreements are significant victories for registered citizens throughout the state of California,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “They will allow more than 105,000 citizens, their family members…
Read MoreCalifornia Bill Redefines Quiet, Consensual Sex as Rape
How does classifying most consensual sex as rape help rape victims? As a lawyer who has handled rape and sexual harassment cases, I have no idea, but this radical result is what some want to happen in California. In endorsing a bill in the California legislature that would require “affirmative consent” before sex can occur on campus, the editorial boards of the Sacramento and Fresno Bee, and the Daily Californian advocated that sex be treated as “sexual assault” unless the participants discuss it “out loud” before sex, and “demonstrate they…
Read MoreAre Record Numbers of Sex Offenders a Bad Idea in Downtown L.A.?
Downtown L.A. is going through a growth spurt: New bars and restaurants open almost every week, lofts are filling with tenants and even young families heeded the DTLA call and have begun to set roots in the area. But there is one population that has gone largely unpublicized; sex offenders. Full Article
Read MoreThe Trial That Unleashed Hysteria Over Child Abuse
It has long been said, in varying language, that a lie travels halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on. You do not have to reach back 200 years to Scotland to find enduring wisdom in that adage. You need return only to the 1980s and to the subject of this week’s Retro Report documentary video, part of a series re-examining news stories from the past. This week’s subject is the notorious McMartin Preschool abuse trial. Full Article
Read MoreCouncil expanding sex offender prohibition zones
Sex offenders who committed crimes against children will have a hard time finding a place to live in Grover Beach if the City Council gives final approval to an ordinance amendment increasing the size of protected areas. The council unanimously approved the revisions on a first reading Monday. The amendment must come back for a final vote, likely at the next meeting March 17, before it can be enforced. Currently, child sex offenders are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of the city’s 13 designated parks, schools and day care center.…
Read MoreAssembly Bill Would Increase Sex Offender Rights
The State Assembly is actively considering a bill, AB 1640, that would eliminate the registration requirement for sexual offenses that the California Supreme Court and several Courts of Appeal have ruled violate the equal protection rights of registered citizens. The bill was introduced by Assembly member Jones-Sawyer (Democrat, Los Angeles) and is sponsored by Los Angeles District Attorney Lacey. “Assembly Bill 1640, if passed, would be an important step toward restoring the civil rights of registered citizens,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “The bill would ensure that courts throughout the state of California consistently…
Read MoreSan Diego’s public defender system: Does it need work?
A San Diego man wrongly accused of raping a 14-year-old girl is free, thanks to Team 10, in a case that is now shedding light on what could be some problems with the local court system you help pay for. Much of the case against ____ ____ was not as it seemed and it soon became clear that the victim, who was actually a woman in her 20s with three children (who she does not have custody of), had not been forthcoming with the truth. Full Article
Read MoreSouth Pasadena agrees not to enforce city’s presence restrictions
The City of South Pasadena has agreed not to enforce its presence restrictions which prohibited all registered citizens from “loitering” in the city’s parks, library, school bus stops, restaurants with children’s playground, etc. The City formalized its agreement in a letter from City Manager Sergio Gonzalez dated February 24 (below). The City’s agreement was reached after California RSOL notified the City that its presence restrictions were in violation of two recent decisions by the California Court of Appeal which stated that similar restrictions in Orange County and the City…
Read MoreMission Viejo agrees not to enforce Presence Restrictions for 290s
The City of Mission Viejo has agreed not to enforce the presence restrictions in an ordinance it adopted in January 2012. The agreement is now in effect and will continue to remain in effect unless the State Supreme Court makes an adverse ruling in a related case. According to a letter from Mayor Trish Kelley dated February 21, 2014 (below), the Chief of Police Services and the City Attorney recommended to the City Council a stay of enforcement for the city’s ordinance. The presence restrictions in that ordinance that will not be enforced include all…
Read MoreWrongly convicted man free after 8 years
Every day behind bars was torture, but holidays hurt the most. It wasn’t just missing Thanksgiving or Christmas with his family. It was that he’d miss out next year, too, and the year after that, and the year after that. Every year for the rest of his life. Prison isn’t supposed to be easy, of course. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime — but what if you didn’t do the crime? Welcome to Uriah Courtney’s nightmare. He was convicted of sexually assaulting a high school girl…
Read MoreEND State Sanctioned Sexual Assault, Rape Culture and Law Enforcement Impunity
The San Diego police department’s scandal involving officers accused of preying on women who they came in contact with while in uniform and on duty. … We deserve to be safe. The recurrences of sexual assault committed by the above named officers as well as the investigation of San Diego police department’s facility concluded that we are not. Putting a woman or anyone in a position where they are LEGALLY sexually violated UNDER ANY THREAT should never happen. These THREATS are also in the form of entrapment by undercover police officers…
Read MoreProbation officials concede failures in GPS tracking of felons
Los Angeles County probation officials Tuesday conceded widespread failures in their electronic monitoring of felons, in which probation deputies were deluged with meaningless alerts while offenders went untracked for days and weeks at a time. “This is a blueprint of how not to implement a GPS program,” Probation Chief Jerry Powers told the county Board of Supervisors. He said deputies were not at fault, but blamed department administrators and the vendor who sold the county the service.The hearing was triggered by a Feb. 15 story in The Times disclosing that…
Read MoreChelsea’s Law: A Light to Shine On
Today — February 25, 2014 — I want to take a moment to remember the legacy of a girl named Chelsea King. Chelsea was an activist, a runner, a student, a friend, a daughter, and a spunky, charismatic, jovial bubble of joy. This Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of Chelsea’s disappearance from Poway, Calif., and eventual murder. While she no can longer light up rooms with her smile or belt out a tune on her French horn, her legacy carries on today in the form of Chelsea’s Law. Chelsea’s Law…
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