The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) is dedicated to protecting the Constitution by restoring the civil rights of registrants and their families. In order to achieve that objective, ACSOL will educate and litigate as well as support or oppose legislation. The ACSOL website and recordings are provided as a service to registrants, registrants’ families, and others for general information only. The information on the website and in the recordings are not designed to provide legal or other advice or to create an attorney-client relationship. You should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on their content. Prior results and case studies do not guarantee a similar outcome in future representations. ACSOL accepts no responsibility for any loss or damages that may result from accessing or reliance on content on the ACSOL website and recordings and disclaim, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability with respect to acts or omissions made by registrants, registrants’ families and others on the basis of content on the ACSOL website.
Important News / Announcements
Janice's Journal
General News Feed
ACSOL Phone Meeting Dec 19
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next phone meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, Dec 19, beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time and will last at least two hours. Discussion topics will include: proposed SORNA regulations in-person registration during the COVID-19 pandemic the upcoming...
CA: Former legislative aide accuses OC Assemblyman Bill Brough of rape
[abc7.com - 12/5/20] Orange, Calif. (KABC) -- A former legislative aide is accusing Assemblyman Bill Brough of raping her in 2015. Patricia Todd, whose last name at the time was Lenkiewicz, is speaking publicly for the first time, after sending a complaint this week to law enforcement. Sacramento police confirm they are investigating the allegations. "I've survived this for five years and five years...
OH: Court sides with state in sex offender jurisdiction case
[wfmj.com - 12/3/20] COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The ability of a judge to hold a hearing on a juvenile's sex offender classification status doesn't automatically expire when the child turns 21, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. At issue before the court was a Cincinnati-area defendant who sexually abused two young relatives when he was 14, according to court records. The defendant was convicted...
Should your church accommodate known offenders?
[churchexecutive.com - 11/30/20] Our church just completed a Registered Sex Offender (RSO) Policy. Will you review it and tell us if it’s adequate? We frequently encounter this (seemingly simple) question in our law practice. In reality, the issue is multi-faceted and complex, and tends to kick off a broader discussion. In the larger conversation, this ‘simple’ query should be preceded by a half-dozen more...
The Supreme Court Wants to Revive a Doctrine That Would Paralyze Biden’s Administration
Joe Biden promised us an FDR-sized presidency—starting with bold action to halt the spread of COVID-19, end the worst economic downturn in decades, and stop the climate crisis. Biden could use regulation and executive action to move quickly to decarbonize the economy, cancel student loan debt, and raise wages. But a Biden administration has an even bigger problem than two long-shot special elections in...
ME: Maine Supreme Court: SORNA Ruled Ex Post Facto Punishment for Defendant
[criminallegalnews.org - 11/15/20] In a decision issued August. 13, 2020, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court held that the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 1999 (“SORNA of 1999”) was unconstitutionally applied to a defendant in violation of the Maine and U.S. Constitutions’ ex post facto provisions. Read the full article
California Fair Chance Toolkit – A Toolkit for Job Seekers with Criminal Records
[legalaidatwork.org - Nov 2020] Approximately 7 million Californians -- nearly one in three adults in California -- have an arrest or conviction record. In this toolkit, you will find information about laws in California that protect job seekers with criminal records and sample letters and materials you can use to exercise those rights. Literally thousands of formerly-incarcerated people around California, their family members, and...
CA: California Prison Guards Keep Jobs After Aiding Attacks on Sex Offenders
[prisonlegalnews.org - 11/1/20] A series of assaults by a group of prisoners on convicted sex offenders was carried out with the consent and assistance of 10 officers at an unnamed California correctional facility. After an investigation, the prison’s warden determined that the actions of six of the guards involved were egregious enough for them to be fired, yet only four were let go before...
General Comments December 2020
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of December 2020. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
WI: Out of the Shadows: After leaving prison sex offenders face a maze of rules and restrictions
[kenoshanews.com - 11/30/20] The list of potential restrictions is long and full of stumbling blocks. “You shall not gain nor attempt to gain access to the internet without prior agent approval.” “You shall not possess nor view any material that depicts any intimate parts of an adult.” “You shall not establish, pursue, nor maintain any dating, romantic or sexual relationship without prior agent approval.”...
New Zealand: Sex offender on preventive detention comes round to ‘path to integration
[stuff.co.nz - 12/1/20] A prisoner serving the harshest available sentence for sexual offending against children is “open to a graduated path of reintegration” and has been encouraged to get all the experience he can working outside of prison. The Parole Board saw Ivan James Wilson at Tongariro Prison last month. Wilson, 39, was given the open-ended jail term of preventive detention in Gisborne, in...
FL: U.S. appeals court: Lifetime computer ban for sex offender doesn’t violate First Amendment
[floridaphoenix.com - 11/30/20] A federal appeals court has upheld a lifetime ban on computer use for a South Florida sex offender who used text messaging to send a naked picture of himself to a person he thought was a 14-year-old girl. ____ challenged his conviction on grounds including violation of the First Amendment, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for...
WI: Sex offenders can seek exemptions from rural residency restrictions
[kenoshanews.com - 11/30/20] Despite a series of residency exemption requests by sex offenders over the last several years, rural town and village officials believe they have ordinances in place to both protect the public and provide areas for offenders to live. Towns and villages west of I-94 in Kenosha County amended their ordinances after rules in Pleasant Prairie were deemed by a court to...
FAC: Dr. Phil to feature Police ICAC proactive stings
[floridaactioncommittee.org - 11/30/20] The Dr. Phil Show airing on CBS will air an episode featuring Sex Stings next Monday, December 7, 2020. The show will feature an FAC member whose son was targeted in one of these stings who has been fighting to expose them since. Also featured is Florida attorney Peter Aiken of Aiken, O’Halloran and Associates, who defends people caught up in...
VT: Former high-ranking VTANG member pleads guilty in child pornography case
[mychamplainvalley.com - 11/28/20] A Shelburne man who was once a high-ranking member of the Vermont Air National Guard will avoid a federal child pornography trial by pleading guilty to a lesser charge. Read the full article
Indonesia: Teen rapist collapses after public whipping punishment sees him suffer 150 lashes
[dailystar.co.uk - 11/28/20] A teenager in Indonesia was sentenced to 146 lashes after being arrested for molesting and raping a minor earlier this year. Whipping was paused when the teen collapsed - but soon resumed. A teenager convicted of raping a child was lashed almost 150 times for violating Islamic law – and collapsed during his punishment. The unidentified 19-year-old was lashed by a...
South Africa: Cape Town GBV Protest: Call for Sex Offender List to be Made Public
[sapeople.com - 11/28/20] “I will not be next”, “We’re done being afraid” and “Femicide is the real pandemic” were some of the many banners on display on Saturday morning during a protest against gender based violence (GBV) outside Parliament in Cape Town. “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” chanted some of the protesters in unison as cars driving by...
Canada: Baranyai: How should Ontario’s sex offender registry work?
[lfpress.com - 11/29/20] Ontario’s sex offender registry has some soul searching to do. Does it exist to punish offenders, or protect communities? And how can the framework for who goes on the list, which the Supreme Court has ruled discriminatory, support this core objective? The government has one year to amend Christopher’s Law, named for 11-year-old Christopher Stephenson, who in 1988 was tragically abducted,...
IN: WATCH NOW: Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey conducts sex offender checks
[kenoshanews.com - 11/20/20] Ride Shotgun with Lake County, Indiana sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan Kersey as he checks to ensure convicted Northwest Indiana sex offenders are complying with state sex-offender registry laws. This special episode of “Riding Shotgun with NWI Cops” was filmed recently in conjunction with a Midwest reporting project titled, “Out of the Shadows: Spotlight on Sex Crimes.” The special report will span multiple...
WI: Wisconsin’s sex offender registry born of twin tragedies
[kenoshanews.com - 11/28/20] On any given day, anyone in Wisconsin can look up the name, address, photo, age and other identifying information on sex offenders in their area who have been placed on the state’s sex offender registry. Established in 1997, the registry was created with the aim of making communities safer, said Sarah Wescott, corrections services supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections....