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
General News Feed
ME: Law would ban sex offenders from some multi-unit buildings, houses in Maine
[wmtw.com - 2/25/19] UGUSTA, Maine — A proposal at the Maine State House would add living restrictions to Maine's sex offender law. The bill would ban a convicted sex offender from living in a multiunit building that shares an entrance with a unit occupied by a minor. Specifically, a sex offender who committed a crime against someone under the age of 14 would be...
FL: Powerful lobbyist Ron Book arrested on DUI charges
[tallahassee.com - 2/25/19] Ron Book, one of Florida's most influential lobbyists who also represents the city of Tallahassee, has been arrested on DUI-related charges in Broward County, several South Florida news outlets have reported. Book, 66, was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol Sunday after crashing his Lamborghini near his house, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He was charged with a first-time DUI,...
Kat’s Blog: A Few Words on Suicide
Back in 2017 I wrote a piece on the Women Against Registry website titled “No More Suicides, Please!” So, I was surprised when almost 2 years later, someone commented on that blog piece, someone who after 25 years on the registry still felt that he “wishes he would have ate a bullet long ago.” He had lost his family, his job, his home, his...
MO: Bill aims to track sex offenders when moving
A new bill making its way through the Missouri House is seeking to track some of the state’s most dangerous sex offenders when moving between counties. Sponsored by Missouri Rep. Randy Pietzman of Troy, Missouri, House Bill No. 2653 would require offenders who have been convicted of first-degree child molestation to wear an electronic monitoring device. “I come from a district that is kind...
U.S. Marshalls: Citizens can provide leads and tips on non-compliant registrants
[usmarshals.gov] The frightening aspect involves reporting of non-compliant sex offenders. There are so many things wrong with this. First it perpetuates the myth that former sex offenders represent a heightened danger. Also, people are free to report what they, as untrained private citizens, consider to be non-compliance. Any unsubstantiated report of a technical violation of registration requirements will cause considerable discomfort to a registered...
Living with 290: Certificate of Rehabilitation – 2019 (Updated)
UPDATE 2/23: Removal from the Registry (below) Original Submission 2/9: Last month, I received my Certificate or Rehabilitation, thus ending my duty to register and bringing to a conclusion a decade filled with challenges and a sense of utter hopelessness and despair. When this all began, I asked myself repeatedly, “How am I ever going to get out of this?” At my first ACSOL...
OR: Parole board requests bill to eliminate sex offender reclassification deadline
A local mom and alleged sexual assault survivors blasted a bill Friday that would get rid of the state's deadline for reclassifying sex offenders. "It's important to do it in a timely manner because it's in the interest of public safety and this is what people wanted," Christine VanOrder, a mother and activist, told KATU Friday. Full Article
AR: Senate votes 27-1 for sex-offender bill
[arkansasonline.com - 2/22/19] The Senate on Thursday approved a bill that would allow people convicted of sex offenses not to register with the state if their victim was under age 18 and the offender was no more than three years older, under certain conditions. Read more
NY: Statement on Landmark Appellate Decision Limiting the Reach of SORA Residency Restrictions
[legalaidnyc.org - 2/21/19] The Legal Aid Society applauded a ruling rendered today by the New York State Appellate Division – Third Department, rejecting the New York State Department of Correction and Community Supervision’s (DOCCS) interpretation of the statutory residency restrictions faced by individuals with prior sex offense convictions. Specifically, the court held that people whose sex offense sentences had already expired were not subject...
FL: Florida detective kills self after he’s accused of owning child porn
[orlandosentinel.com - 2/21/19] JACKSONVILLE — Authorities say a decorated Florida police detective killed himself just before he was to be arrested on charges that he possessed child pornography. The Florida Times-Union reports that Jacksonville sheriff's Detective Vernon Richardson killed himself Tuesday, shortly after detectives obtained a warrant for his arrest. The neighboring St. Johns County Sheriff's Office began an investigation in December after receiving...
CA: Has criminal justice reform gone too far? One California lawmaker thinks so
[abc10.com - 2/21/19] SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Overcrowded prisons. Trying teens as juveniles versus adults. The power of rehabilitation and a belief in second chances. These issues have fueled criminal justice reform in recent years in the state of California. But some say the overhaul has gone too far. People can generally agree, we all want to live in safe communities, but as Assemblymember Jim...
Number of CA Registrants Tops 110,000 Mark
The current number of individuals required to register in the state of California exceeds 110,000 for the first time, according to a presentation made during today's CA Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) meeting. The total number is 110,003 which includes 77,895 individuals who are living in the community as well as 22,379 in state prisons and 953 in a state hospital. The number of...
MA: More Than A Quarter Of Boston’s Registered Sex Offenders Are Homeless
The purpose of the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry is to keep track of where dangerous sex offenders are, but what if they have no address? That’s the case with ____ ____, who was arraigned Tuesday, accused of kidnapping two twelve-year-old sisters in Cambridge before they were able to break free. He’s listed on the Sex Offender Registry as “homeless” in Boston. Full Article
RI: Concrete thrown at Rhode Island sex offender’s home
Police say someone threw a piece of concrete through the window of a registered sex offender’s home in Providence, Rhode Island. The vandalism occurred at the home of Richard Gardner at around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Gardner was convicted of multiple child rapes in the 1980s and 1990s in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Residents protested Gardner for weeks after he moved into the neighborhood last year following...
CA: CA Democrats Author Bill to Protect Sex Offenders Who Lure Minors
State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) introduced recent legislation “to end blatant discrimination against LGBT young people regarding California’s sex offender registry.” However, under their bill, SB 145, the offenders would not have to automatically register as sex offenders if the offenders are within 10 years of age of the minor. Full Article Also see https://all4consolaws.org/2019/02/ca-acsol-supports-senate-bill-to-terminate-registration-requirements/
FL: Miami-Dade Sex Offenders ‘Forced to be Homeless’
[thecrimereport.org - 2/19/19] Since he was released from prison almost five years ago, John has never had a place he can call home. Suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he spends nights outside in remote areas of Miami-Dade County—sleeping outside on a mat or in the front seat of his son’s truck. John (not his real name) was convicted in 1994 of a sex offense involving...
AZ: MariCo attorney behind push to slightly loosen sex offender registry law
More sex offenders would become eligible to have their names removed from the Arizona’s sex offender registry but would face new hurdles in doing so, under legislation being pushed by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. But some criminal justice reform advocates oppose the bill, saying it may actually make it harder for people to get off of the registry. Full Article
Our cruel, counterproductive sex offender laws: Anthony Weiner is a window into what’s wrong with our system of punishment
[nydailynews.com - 2/20/19] Emily Horowitz is a member of the ACSOL Board of Directors and was a Speaker at the 2018 ACSOL Conference. Last week, Anthony Weiner was released from federal prison to a Bronx halfway house after serving 21 months for sending sexually-explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl. Next, like approximately 4.5 million others on probation/parole, he'll spend 3 years on supervised release....
MT: The Latest: Fox asks Montana lawmakers to act on [child sex crime] time limits
[kansas.com - 2/19/19] HELENA, Mont. The Latest on Montana cases before the Supreme Court (all times local): 4:20 p.m. Montana Attorney General Tim Fox is asking state lawmakers to act after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his petition that would have allowed prosecutors to charge a man for the decades-old rape of an 8-year-old girl. The Republican attorney general called the high court's decision...
Emotional Support Group Meetings 2019
Emotional Support Group meetings will be held for those convicted of a sex offense and their loved ones. This meeting, which is based upon the format of 12 Step meetings, provides registrants and their loved ones with an opportunity to discuss personal challenges and share their experiences, strengths and hopes, with each other. Attendance is limited to individuals required to register, family members, and...