CA RSOL Meetings – September 14 in LA and October 12 in Berkeley

California RSOL is pleased to announce two upcoming monthly meetings for registrants, friends and family in both regions of the Golden State. The Southern California meeting will be held on Saturday, September 14 at the ACLU building at 1313 W. 8th Street in Los Angeles (usual location). CA RSOL will hold a meeting in Northern California on Saturday, October 12, in Oakland / Berkeley.  The address is Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, ***1606 Bonita Avenue***, Berkeley, CA 94709. *** Please note: an incorrect address was listed previously for the Berkeley meeting…

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Parolee Limited by GPS and Residency Can Sue California

California must face claims that it violated the civil rights of a convicted sex offender by conditioning parole on a residency restriction and GPS monitoring, the 9th Circuit ruled. ____ ____ faced these parole restrictions even though his convictions in California were not sex-related. ____ was convicted of California in 2006 for buying or receiving stolen property, and later for robbery. Both times the Golden State imposed residency and GPS monitoring restrictions as conditions of ____ ‘s parole release from prison because of ____ ‘s 1987 guilty plea in Tennessee to sexual battery.…

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RSOL Conference this week in Los Angeles (with program brochure)

Later this week, August 30 (29) – September 1, the National RSOL Conference will take place in Los Angeles at the Westin Hotel near LAX. This year’s conference is hosted by California RSOL. The conference will feature presentations and lectures by the foremost experts in the field and offers an unprecedented opportunity for networking with others interested in and affected by the subject. Full conference attendance is $100, with daily passes available for $50. No advance reservation / sign-up is required, register at the door. For a preview of planned…

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Prop 35 Court Date [updated with audio]

Prop. 35 case has a court date on September 10 at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  The topic is whether the current preliminary injunction was properly granted.  More information / documents Sept 9: Court to Hear Arguments on Right to Anonymous Speech in Prop. 35 Case  September 9 / EFF: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear oral arguments Tuesday in Doe v. Harris, EFF’s challenge to California’s Proposition 35, which requires registered sex offenders to turn over all of their Internet identifiers and service…

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Man Sentenced to Life in State Prison without the Possibility of Parole for Stabbing-Murder of Neighbor…

SANTA ANA – A man was sentenced today to life in state prison without the possibility of parole plus an additional eight years in state prison for murdering his mobile home park neighbor by stabbing him to death and assaulting a second victim two days later. Robert Eugene Vasquez, 36, San Juan Capistrano, was found guilty by a jury of one felony count of special circumstances murder by lying in wait, one felony count of aggravated assault, and sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a deadly weapon and causing…

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National RSOL Conference: One-Day Pass Now Available

One-day passes are now available to attend the national RSOL conference to be held in L.A. starting Aug. 30. The cost of the pass is only $50 and can either be purchased online at www.nationalrsol.org or at the door. “National RSOL is providing this opportunity in order to allow maximum participation in the conference,” stated Janice Bellucci, CA RSOL president. “It is a wonderful opportunity for people who can only attend one day of the conference.” There will be a wide range of presentations by individual speakers and panels at…

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Monterey County deputies probe shooting of sex offender

Monterey County sheriff’s deputies grappled with a mysterious double homicide followed by the shooting of a convicted sex offender late Sunday and early Monday. Around 10:30 a.m. Monday, sheriff’s deputies and Salinas police officers found convicted rapist Donald Crisp, 58, seriously wounded by gunshots near the address listed as his residence on the state’s registered sex offender website. Full Article

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Sex offenders routinely released from California jails, records show [with video]

Stockton, California (CNN) — Convicted sex offenders and other felons in California are systematically walking free, despite continuously violating their parole. It’s the result of laws meant to alleviate California’s overcrowded prisons and jails. Two years ago, county judges all across the state lost their authority to send convicted felons back to prison for parole violations. Instead, they must send them to county jails. Full Article / Video

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Sheriff’s deputy accused of rape, soliciting bribes while on duty

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy accused of raping women and soliciting bribes while on duty is due in court Wednesday morning. ___ ___ ___ , 28, was arrested at his home Monday night without incident after a nearly three-year investigation. ___ , a seven-year department veteran, was most recently assigned to patrol duties at the Palmdale Station. Full Article

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New girl blamed to teen bullying suicide case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new classmate has been implicated in the death of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide after saying three boys sexually assaulted her and circulated photos of the abuse online. Audrie Pott hanged herself in September, about a week after passing out drunk at a party at a friend’s house in Northern California. The 15-year-old said boys she had known for years took off her clothes and sexually assaulted her, including writing and drawing on intimate parts of her body and taking cellphone photos of their…

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No Justice: Sex Offenses, No Matter How Minor or Understandable, Can Ruin You for Life

The collection of laws and restrictions that regulate people categorized as “sex offenders” has been punctuated by names such as Megan, Jessica and Adam. These are the names of children, all victims of heinous crimes that sparked high-profile campaigns aimed at creating “get tough on crime” legislation. Today you can go online to your state’s Megan’s Law website, where all convicted sex offenders are required to register, and probably find clusters of red dots on the map of your neighborhood, each dot representing an individual convicted of a sex crime.…

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CA RSOL Challenges El Dorado County Ordinance

California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) filed a lawsuit today challenging the El Dorado County ordinance that prohibits all registrants from entering the county’s parks, schools and other areas where children congregate. The lawsuit requests that the court declare that the ordinance is unconstitutional and prohibit the county from enforcing that ordinance. “It is important to stop the El Dorado County ordinance as it prevents all California registrants from visiting most recreational areas at or near Lake Tahoe,” stated Janice Bellucci, President of CA RSOL. “The ordinance also prohibits…

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Orange County Ordinance Legal Battle Continues

The Court of Appeal will hear oral argument in the Hugo Godinez case on July 22 in Santa Ana. At issue in that case is whether the Orange County ordinance which prohibited all sex offenders from entering public places such as parks, beaches and hiking trails is preempted by the state constitution. The court’s decision is expected within 30 days. The Orange County ordinance, which was passed in April 2011, is currently not in effect due to a decision by a three-judge panel of the Orange County Superior Court. If…

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To help ex-cons, ban the box

The most telling predictor of whether an ex-offender will reenter the community as a law-abiding and productive member, or whether instead he or she will return to jail or prison, is employment. Former inmates with steady jobs have fairly high success rates. For those who can’t find work, prospects are dismal. Full Article

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