According to the City Attorney for Anaheim, California, the City Council is set to consider an ordinance banning registrants from entering into all community, neighborhood and “special use” parks located within the city of Anaheim. CA RSOL has written and sent this letter to the Mayor and City Council of Anaheim in opposition to the proposed ordinance. To view comments made during the previous City Council meeting by Orange County District Attorney, Mr. Tony Rackauckas, in support of the City’s proposed ordinance, please see this post.
Read MoreCategory: California
Four Orange County cities sued over sex offender laws
A recently-filed lawsuit contends that laws in Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Lake Forest banning sex offenders from county parks and other public facilities are unconstitutional.
Read MoreFountain Valley seeks to ban sex offenders from parks
FOUNTAIN VALLEY – Registered sex offenders who have committed crimes against children will be prohibited from entering parks in Fountain Valley, the City Council decided Tuesday. The council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance, modeled after a county ban, but defines “park” to include other recreational areas where children may be. The city’s ordinance also differs from the county’s in that it specifically targets sex offenders who have committed crimes against children. Full Article
Read MoreNo Halloween for sex offenders? They challenge California city’s restrictions
With Video – An attorney representing five Simi Valley sex offenders who sued the city over limits to their Halloween activities said the lawsuit will be the first of several she expects to file over such restrictions. Lawyer Janice Bellucci heads the 18-month-old advocacy group California Reform Sex Offender Laws. On Friday, she filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that Simi Valley’s ordinance violates her clients’ First Amendment rights. The suit seeks a judge’s order prohibiting enforcement of the ordinance in Simi Valley, which has 119 registered sex offenders, according to a…
Read MoreLawsuit challenges Simi Valley’s Halloween sex offender ordinance
A federal lawsuit filed today seeks to block enforcement of Simi Valley’s new Halloween sex offender ordinance, contending it’s unconstitutional. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles by 10 plaintiffs, including five registered sex offenders who live in Simi Valley. The Simi Valley City Council on Sept. 10 adopted the ordinance that aims to prevent sex offenders from having contact with trick-or-treating children on Halloween. It applies to the several dozen convicted child sex offenders who live in Simi Valley and are listed on the Megan’s…
Read MoreSIMI VALLEY ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL COURT
An ordinance recently adopted by the city of Simi Valley that requires registrants to post signs on their front doors and prohibits them from decorating their homes on Halloween is being challenged in federal court. The lawsuit was filed on September 28 in U.S, District Court, Central District, Western Division. It asserts that the Simi Valley ordinance is unconstitutional and requests that the court block enforcement of that ordinance. There are a total of 10 plaintiffs in the case, including five registrants, three spouses and two children. All are residents…
Read MoreCity of Anaheim – Parks Ban Ordinance on next Agenda
Anaheim City Council Meeting Video. According to the City Attorney the ordinance will be on the next agenda (October 9 ?). CA RSOL has written and sent this letter to the Mayor and City Council of Anaheim in opposition to the proposed ordinance.
Read MoreConfronted about child porn, man shoots two deputies in San Diego County
A Lakeside, Calif. man confronted about alleged child porn opened fire inside his apartment, shooting and injuring two deputies before shooting himself, according to the man’s girlfriend. The girlfriend told NBC San Diego that she was getting her two daughters ready for school when she found pornographic pictures of her boyfriend and her two daughters engaged in sex acts on his cell phone. Full Article
Read MoreState responds to Action News investigation into sex offenders
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — An Action News investigation revealed a frightening loophole that lets Fresno County sex offenders walk free, even after violating parole. Now, state legislators and the people in charge of the parole system are responding. We showed you two sex offenders Thursday who violated parole with little in the way of consequences. They’re both in jail now after allegedly committing new sex crimes. Full Article
Read MoreSex offenders are people too
The law has failed on sex offenders. Rather than preventing crime, the law makes crime inevitable. California’s Fourth Appellate District court recently ruled current laws regarding where sex offenders can live as “unreasonable.” This is not an isolated case, but a pattern. California’s judicial system has slowly shifted away from prevention and rehabilitation toward punitive retaliation. Obviously, criminals are not the most pitiable people so it’s hard to feel bad for a registered sex offender, but one measure of a developed society is how well it treats its most despicable members.…
Read MoreMarina del Rey Deputy Sentenced in Teen Sex Case
A former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy assigned to the Marina del Rey station was sentenced on Friday to serve 90 days in jail for having sexual relations with an underage girl. Kenneth Alexander, 46, will also be on supervised probation for five years and attend a year of sex offender counseling. He must also stay away from the victim, who was 15 years old at the time of the first incident in 2011, and her mother. He also must not posses any weapons while on probation. Full Article (MDR…
Read MoreSeptember 15 Meeting Recap
California RSOL met in Los Angeles with about 45 registrants, family members and supporters at the ACLU building in Los Angeles on September 15. The focus of the meeting was issues involving registrants such as residency restrictions, city and county ordinances, and future litigation. Information was shared during the meeting regarding the recent decision of a California appellate court that a blanket restriction prohibiting sex offenders from living hear places where children congregate is unconstitutional. “This court decision has a broad and positive effect upon registrants on parole,” stated state…
Read MoreCA RSOL Meeting in Los Angeles – Nov 10
California RSOL will return to Los Angeles on November 10 at 10 am and will meet at the same location, the ACLU building at 1313 W. 8th Street. Meetings are open to registrants, family members, and supporters but closed to media and government officials. There is free parking and privacy. As always, we will share information about recent laws, court decisions, etc. Admin Note: the comments from previous meetings are below, as they might answer some questions re. the meetings.
Read MoreSex Offenders React To Tougher Residency Restrictions
Local sex offenders said they are fed up with yet another round of proposed restrictions on where they can live. The ordinance being drafted by the Kern County Board of Supervisors would enhance Jessica’s Law, passed in 2006, and would limit newly paroled sex offenders from living near school bus stops, churches, day care facilities, and other places where children gather. The ordinance would apply to all offenders regardless of whether they committed crimes against children. Full Article
Read MoreSex offender residential requirements unconstitutional, court rules [updated with Court Decision]
A blanket restriction prohibiting sex offenders from living near places where children congregate is unconstitutional, a state appellate court ruled Wednesday, throwing a surprising wrench into a popular law. The decision by Division 1 of the 4th District Court of Appeal concerns the 2006 ballot measure known as Jessica’s Law, which barred registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. The court said the across-the-board enforcement of that restriction as a condition of parole violates offenders’ constitutional rights. While the decision applies specifically to San…
Read MoreA Letter to the Lancaster City Council
This was sent to the Lancaster City Council before the City Council Meeting on September 11: It has recently come to my attention that the city of Lancaster wishes to prohibit registered sex offenders from entering their town. It seems that excluding registered sex offenders is one of those bipartisan issues that everyone can agree on. I frankly don’t understand why. Liberals and progressives who are worth their salt have at least heard of Immanuel Kant. Kant is widely considered the forerunner of any serious liberal system of ethics. A…
Read MoreLancaster furthers restrictions on registered sex offenders [with Video]
LANCASTER – The Lancaster City Council Tuesday approved an ordinance that imposes restrictions and regulations upon registered sex offenders in addition to those imposed under state law. Specifically, the new ordinance prohibits registered sex offenders: From living within 2,000 feet of any school, park or day care center. From living at a residence or hotel/motel/inn where another registered sex offender already lives (with a few exceptions). From being within 300 feet of a school, day care, park or bus stop near a park, playground, public library, public museum, crisis center…
Read MoreSex offender arrested in attempt to meet girl, 13
Agents with the Orange County Child Exploitation Task Force arrested a registered sex offender suspected of arranging a meeting at the Huntington Beach Pier with an undercover officer he believed to be a minor, authorities said Monday. The arrest came after an investigation into a teen chat room that allows users to have private webcam chats, according to a written release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Full Article
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