Source: reuters.com 1/30/26 New Mexico AG alleges Meta enabled child exploitation on platforms Meta claims First Amendment, Section 230 shield it from liability Meta faces scrutiny over child safety, mental health impacts Jan 30 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab is set to face trial next week in a lawsuit brought by the state of New Mexico accusing it of exposing children and teens to sexual exploitation on its platforms and profiting from it, the first case of its kind against the social media giant to reach a jury. The…
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MO: #TheyLied Defamation Plaintiff, Suing Over Rape Allegations, Can Prove Reputational Harm with His Own Testimony
Source: reason.com 1/28/26 In Apperson v. Kaminsky, decided Friday by the Missouri Supreme Court (opinion by Justice Paul Wilson, Apperson sued his ex-romantic partners Kaminsky and Norman for defamation (see the intermediate appellate decision for more factual details): After [their] involvements ended, Norman told more than one person Apperson raped and abused her, and Kaminsky told others (in person and through an extensive social media campaign intended to reach those with whom Apperson dealt personally and professionally) that Apperson stalked and raped her, was a serial rapist and serial abuser, was restrained from…
Read MoreCA: Steven Tyler Accuser Can Proceed With California Sex Abuse Claims Only, Judge Says
Source: rollingstone.com 1/28/26 The Aerosmith musician asked the court to dismiss the entire lawsuit, saying he lived with Julia Misley in Boston during their relationship, where the age of consent was 16 After a series of hearings, a judge said Wednesday that the California-based claims in the child sex abuse lawsuit brought by Julia Misley against Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler would survive a challenge and proceed to trial. But in a partial victory for Tyler, the judge said she would toss out Misley’s separate claims tied to alleged abuse in Oregon, Washington, and…
Read MoreUK: Police facial recognition cameras catch huge number of sex offenders in just few weeks
Source: mirror.co.uk 1/28/26 Facial recognition cameras have resulted in multiple sex offenders being arrested in just a few weeks, police have said. Greater Manchester Police said it has used Live Facial Recognition (LFR) cameras 23 times since October – and in that time, one in five of all arrests made have involved registered sex offenders. The cameras, which are positioned on top of special police vans, scan faces for unique biometric data (‘faceprints’) and instantly compare them to a watchlist of wanted offenders, alerting officers if a match is found.…
Read MoreFL: Lawmakers take another try at identifying what is ‘harmful to minors’
Source: floridaphoenix.com 1/27/26 Access by children to library materials could be at stake. A Florida House committee sent to the House floor a bill that would define how school library materials may be “harmful to minors,” building on a controversial 2023 law that led to removal of library books from schools based on objections from the public. The House Education & Employment Committee approved HB 1119, its second and final committee, despite concerns from the public, some lawmakers, and advocacy groups that the bill may be used to eliminate books…
Read MoreCA: New Lawsuit Challenges Fresno County Ordinance
Source: ACSOL A new lawsuit has been sent to Fresno County Superior Court challenging an ordinance adopted by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. That ordinance would significantly limit housing options for persons required to register who reside in that county. The ordinance will become effective on February 5. The ordinance was adopted after two public hearings conducted by the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. During the first public hearing, the Vice Chairman of the Board of Supervisors stated that all registrants are dirtbags and should not be allowed to…
Read MoreChanging Views of Sex Offender Policies: A Counterevidence Based Intervention
Source: tandfonline.com 10/14/25 Abstract Sexual offender policies, like registration, are highly popular, but generally ineffective. It would be advantageous to decrease support for these policies and increase support for empirically supported ones. Past attempts to reduce support for these policies have resulted in only modest effects. The current studies designed an intervention to more substantially reduce support. In two studies, participants either read a refutation-style text that provided counterevidence to misconceptions about sexual offenders and offenses, or an information only text defining residency restriction laws, registration laws, and treatments for…
Read MoreKY: Sixth Circuit reinstates Kentucky ban on anonymous social media use by sex offenders
Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 1/27/26 A proposed class of convicted sex offenders failed to meet the high bar required for broad injunctive relief when it made a facial challenge to a Kentucky law that bans their anonymous use of social media, according to a ruling Monday from the Sixth Circuit. A panel of the appeals court vacated a preliminary injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Greg Stivers. An anonymous plaintiff filed suit on behalf of a class shortly after Kentucky Democratic Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 249 into law and required…
Read MoreIL: State’s attorney explains ‘short’ sentence for sex offender
Source: myjournalcourier.com 1/26/26 CARROLLTON — The Greene County state’s attorney said social media comments prompted him to make “a statement of reason” about a sex offender’s sentencing. Comments posted on Facebook were focusing on the sentencing of Kaleb _____, 24, who now is on the sex offender registry. He was charged with sexual assault of a minor between 13 and 17 years old. He initially was facing five charges, including two Class X felony child pornography charges, two felony child pornography charges, and sexual assault of a minor between…
Read MoreFL: Registrant ordered to move out of Florida home
Source: newsnationnow.com 1/24/26 CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — Michael Jonathan ______ was convicted on 17 counts of having child pornography on his computer. Court documents show he had more than 300,000 sexually explicit images of child pornography. Friday, he stood before Judge Julie Sercus to ask that he be allowed to live in his home while serving probation for his convictions. The state argued that there is a park and a daycare located in close proximity to the home Michael would like to remain in. His attorney said the park doesn’t…
Read MoreVA: Virginia man convicted of child pornography possession despite autism defense
Source: kristv.com 1/23/26 CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A 26-year-old Virginia man with previous ties to Corpus Christi was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material after a jury rejected his defense that autism prevented him from understanding the illegality of his actions. Anthony ____ was found guilty following a three-day trial and approximately nine hours of jury deliberation, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced. The investigation began in October 2023 when authorities discovered Anthony had been engaging in activity involving images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material. Law enforcement…
Read MoreCASOMB Releases Annual Report for 2025
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) released its annual report today for the year 2025. The report includes statistics regarding the total number of people required to register in the state by county. According to that report, Los Angeles County has the highest number of registrants living there — 13,056 while Alpine County has the lowest number of registrants living there — 2. And there are four counties that have more than 3,500 registrants living there — Sacramento (3,670), San Diego (3,695), Riverside (4,193) and San Bernardino (4,452). According…
Read MoreMO: Missouri Rep. introduces castration bill HB 1687
Source: ozarksfirst.com 1/20/25 JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri State Rep. Scott Cupps (District 158) has filed a bill for the current legislative session that would allow courts to sentence ‘certain sex offenders’ to be surgically castrated. The McDonald and Barry County Representative’s bill says, if passed, the procedure would be done by a licensed physician from the Department of Corrections. As of now, the bill, HB 1687, is not scheduled for any committees or on the House calendar but was pre-filed on December 1, 2025. The summary language reads, “Before a…
Read MoreFAC Nationwide Call to Action: Oppose Massive Florida Homeless. Make Calls Now to Fight HB 45 / SB 212
Source: floridaactioncommittee.org 1/15/26 [ACSOL encourages everyone to make some calls to fight this insanity] HB 45 and SB 212 are dangerous, extreme, and counterproductive. SB 212 would banish more than 30,000 Floridians from “being” within 200 feet of a body of water and both bills would make 80% of Florida uninhabitable, displacing thousands of families from their homes and causing thousands to lose stable employment. These bills undermine public safety by increasing homelessness, instability, unemployment, and monitoring challenges. The bills will: Push thousands into homelessness by making the majority of…
Read MoreSign Up to Attend ACSOL’s Lobby Day in Sacramento on March 24, 2026
ACSOL will conduct Lobby Day this year on March 24, 2026. We will once again educate the legislators and staff about the need for revising the Tiered Registry Law to increase the number of people eligible to petition for removal from the registry. Every person who participates in Lobby Day will be a member of a team led by someone who has done this before. It is an empowering experience. Click here to sign up (or click the sign-up link at the top of all our pages) Please show up,…
Read MoreDoes the Ellingburg decision open the door to revisiting Ex Post Facto as it relates to sex offender laws?
Source: Florida Action Committee 1/21/26 [ACSOL note: This is well written and invites other organizations to come together to plan a way forward.] The Supreme Court’s decision in Holsey Ellingburg v. United States (No. 24-482) should reopen a long-overdue conversation about the constitutional foundations of modern sex offender laws. In Ellingburg, the Court made clear that labels do not control constitutional analysis: when a legal consequence operates like punishment, is imposed as part of a criminal judgment, enforced through the criminal justice system, and carrying real, coercive consequences, it must be treated as…
Read MoreFL: South Florida registered sex offender’s citizenship revoked: U.S. Attorney
Source: nbcmiami.com 1/20/26 A Peruvian-born registered sex offender who was living in South Florida has had his U.S. citizenship revoked after he obtained it by fraud, authorities said. Renzo William _______, 25, had his citizenship revoked and Certificate of Naturalization canceled, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said Tuesday. Renzo, who had been living in Fort Lauderdale, was also sentenced to 100 days of home detention and one year of probation after pleading guilty to unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization, prosecutors said. Court records, on…
Read MoreSingapore to ban unwanted visitors from boarding planes
Source: bangkokpost.com 1/20/26 Singapore will order airlines worldwide to prohibit undesirable passengers from boarding flights to the city-state from Jan 30 under a new policy to boost security. The Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said no-boarding directives would be enforced for all airlines flying to the country to prevent people who fail to meet requirements or “undesirable immigrants” from boarding planes. Travellers are normally denied entry to a country by immigration authorities after they arrive at a port of entry. The ICA said the new rule is a step forward as…
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