Source: sltrib.com 5/28/25 A chorus of Republican lawmakers, led by House Speaker Mike Schultz, are demanding a Utah judge resign — or they could explore impeachment — after the judge did not send a man to prison who pleaded guilty to having child sex abuse material. But the Utah courts said in response that 7th District Judge Don Torgerson followed the sentencing guidelines that the Legislature itself approved earlier this year — a rare statement for the judiciary, who typically does not publicly comment on individual cases. Last week, Torgerson…
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Jamaica: Sex offender registry danger – Advocate says making names public could be harmful
Source: jamaica-star.com 5/26/25 Making Jamaica’s sex offender registry public could do more harm than good, warns human rights activist Carla Gullotta, even as recent crimes against young girls have ignited a fierce debate about the protection of the nation’s children. Various incidents, including the sexual assault of two sisters in Old Harbour, St Catherine, by a man who had served time in prison for a previous sexual offence, has once again sparked calls for greater transparency and public access to the registry. Many believe that revealing offenders’ identities could help…
Read MoreCA: Senate Amends, Approves Bill Requiring Registration for Unlawful Intercourse
Source: ACSOL CA Senate Bill 680, which could have added up to 30,000 people to the registry was first amended, then passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 23. The original language of the bill would have required individuals convicted of sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than years younger in age to register as a sex offender regardless of the date of conviction. As amended, the bill would not be applied retroactively, but instead would be limited to those convicted of this offense on or after…
Read MoreACSOL Online Meeting June 21, 2025
You are invited to join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci and an ACSOL board member for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday June 21 online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or you can call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting. No government officials are allowed to attend the meetings. This meeting will be recorded. Within…
Read MoreUK: Britain considering chemical castration for sex offenders under prison reforms
Source: reuters.com 5/22/25 LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – Britain is considering mandating the use of chemical castration for sex offenders under an overhaul of the justice system aimed at freeing up more space in its overcrowded prisons. One of the first acts of the Labour government in July was to announce plans to release more prisoners early to tackle a crisis of overcrowding in jails which ministers said threatened a “total breakdown of law and order.” The prison population in England and Wales then reached a record high in…
Read MoreUK: Prison officer who led sex offenders’ rehab found with child abuse material
Source: telegraph.co.uk 5/21/25 A prison officer who delivered rehabilitation courses to sex offenders has been placed on the register himself after being found with child abuse material and extreme pornography including a woman having sex with a donkey. Peter ______’s home in Reddingmuirhead, Falkirk, was raided by police in June last year after he was caught in a “sting” set up by so-called paedophile hunters. The 46-year-old former HMP Edinburgh officer appeared for sentence at Falkirk sheriff court on Tuesday after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to communicating indecently…
Read MoreTX: Texas Lawmakers Consider Legislation to Ban Minors From Social Media
Source: Gizmodo.com 5/25/25 Texas is set to lead the nation in restrictive legislation. Under a proposed bill, minors would be banned from social media, while platforms would also be required to introduce age verification methods. While supporters say the change would make children safer, critics argue that such legislation may do the exact opposite. Introduced in November, House Bill 186 would prevent minors from creating accounts on social media platforms like Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and more. Platforms would be required to use “public or private transactional data” to verify that account holders are…
Read MoreMA: Men Caught In Prostitution Sting Aren’t Sex Traffickers, Massachusetts High Court Says
Source: reason.com 5/19/25 Does answering a prostitution ad make a man a sex trafficker? The highest court in Massachusetts says no, in a ruling that represents a win for both common sense and civil liberties. The case—Commonwealth v. Garafalo—involved a prostitution sting conducted by state police in 2021. Officers posted web ads pretending to be adult female sex workers and arrested men who met up with these “women” to pay for sex. Rather than simply charge their marks with the crime of soliciting a sex worker or engaging in sexual conduct for a fee, authorities…
Read MoreFL: Florida AG Charges Registered Child Sexual Predator with Voter Fraud
Source: westorlandonews.com 5/18/25 A convicted felon and registered child sexual predator was charged with voter fraud in Florida by the Attorney General. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is charging Gerald ______, a convicted felon and registered sexual offender, with voter fraud. Gerald was charged with multiple counts of unqualified elector knowingly voting in the 2024 Presidential Preference Primary, 2024 Primary Election, and the 2024 General Election in Putnam County. “We must protect the sanctity and integrity of our republican form of government,” said Attorney General James…
Read MoreBirthright citizenship case at Supreme Court reveals deeper questions about judicial authority to halt unlawful policies
Source: theconversation.com 5/15/25 When one judge blocks a president’s policies nationwide, alarm bells ring. Should a single judge wield this much power? Can they halt policies across the entire country after just a quick first look at whether they might be illegal? The Supreme Court now faces these critical questions. In a lively session on May 15, 2025, filled with justices’ questions that at times interrupted the attorneys appearing before them, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case stemming from President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, the…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB Approves Point Paper Opposing Bill That Could Add 30,000 People to Registry
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today approved a point paper opposing Senate Bill 680, a bill that could add 30,000 people to the California sex offender registry. Specifically, the bill could require individuals convicted of illegal intercourse (Penal Code Section 261.5), also known as statutory rape, to register for the first time if the difference between the age of the perpetrator and the victim was at least 10 years. If passed, the bill would be applied retroactively and include convictions that are 30 years old or older. “The…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB 5/15/25 Reports Show Increase in Petitions Filed and Granted, Decrease in Registrants in Violation
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) met today and during that meeting, several state agency reports were presented. The reports reflect increases both in the number of petitions filed as well as the number of petitions granted. In addition, the reports reflect a decrease in the number of registrants in violation due to failure to register. Below is a chart listing those and other statistics presented during today’s meeting. The next CASOMB meeting is scheduled for June 26 in Monterey. The meeting location, time and additional information will…
Read MoreThe Federal Government’s 175,000 Pages of Regulations Turn the Rule of Law Into a Cruel Joke
Source: reason.com 5/14/25 [ACSOL is posting this because, although not specific to registrants, registrants as well as members of their families would likely agree with its contents] After mountain runner Michelino Sunseri ascended and descended Grand Teton in record time last fall, his corporate sponsor, The North Face, heralded his achievement as “an impossible dream—come true.” Then came the nightmare: Federal prosecutors charged Sunseri with a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail for using a trail that the National Park Service described as closed, although it had never bothered to clearly inform the…
Read MoreBias in Sentencing Men for Sexual Offenses Against Minors: Male Victims Bring More Punitive Sentences Than Female Victims
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com 5/24/25 ABSTRACT Prior theoretical and empirical research examining the influence of sex on sentencing has been primarily concerned with the sex of the offender, as opposed to the victim. The present study drew on a convenience sample of males (n = 1190) in state and federal correctional facilities across the country, examining minimum sentences in relation to crime type. The analysis focused on individuals convicted of contact or enticement sexual offenses against minors (n = 380), finding that adult male offenders were sentenced to longer sentences when involved with male versus female…
Read MoreAirport Human-Trafficking Posters Are Overstating the Risks to Young People
Source: reason.com 5/13/25 “That guy isn’t being trafficked by anyone,” says sociologist Emily Horowitz. If you’ve recently been to a U.S. airport, you might have seen posters depicting an attractive, unsmiling young person. These posters are accompanied by sensationalist, hyperbolic claims that young people are at risk of predation from human traffickers. They include a contact number to report suspected trafficking. The posters are part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign, “a national public awareness campaign designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners to recognize…
Read MoreFL: Florida Ban on “Depict[ing] or Simulat[ing] … Lewd Conduct” in Performances Where Children Are Present Struck Down
Source: reason.com 5/13/25 A short excerpt from the long opinion today in HM Florida-ORL, LLC v. Governor, decided by Judge Robin Rosenbaum, joined by Judge Nancy Abudu: Justice Potter Stewart famously offered a non-definition of obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” Jacobellis v. Ohio (Stewart, J., concurring). Many know Justice Stewart’s quip. But it’s not, in fact, the law. The Constitution demands specificity when the state restricts speech. Requiring clarity in speech regulations shields us from the whims of government censors. And the need for clarity is especially strong when the…
Read MoreIndian student arrested in US, conned elderly couple of $50K with child-porn ruse
Source: indiatoday.in 5/13/25 An Indian student in the US who scammed a Michigan couple of $50,000 by claiming their credit card was used to purchase child pornography, was arrested. The police suspect the money has been routed to India. This is the fourth such arrest in three weeks, as Indian students have been arrested for targeting elderly Americans in fraud schemes. Read the full article
Read MoreWI: Lake Geneva repeals sex offender ordinance that has been deemed unconstitutional
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, City Council members have repealed an ordinance which prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a child safety zone because it was found to be unconstitutional. No link to available free news exists
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