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
ALERT! AB 884 will be heard April 9!! Show up, and keep calling and writing. Here is how…
AB 884 will be heard April 9!! Click here to find out how to show up! We need at least 100 people for maximum impact! Please continue calling and writing. Please do so if you haven't already. Here is the committee's report: AB 884 - Assy Pub Safe - Analysis - April 2019_00001 Comments regarding the proposed bill start at the bottom of page...
The Effectiveness of Sex Offender Treatment Programs
[sosen.org - 3/11/19] An article posted in the Daily Mail on June 24 2016 caught my eye, why?, because it’s something that I have been saying for years and nobody has been listening to. So here is the link to the article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4635876/Scandal-100million-sex-crime-cure-hubs.html and some of the basic information that is in the article, “The scandal of the sex crime ‘cure’ hubs: How minister...
Seattle Police “Rescue” 26 Sex Workers. But Did They Want to Be Rescued?
[floridaactioncommittee.org - 3/13/19] The Seattle Police Department, along with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, say they arrested five people and “rescued 26 victims of sex trafficking” earlier this month during raids of nearly a dozen businesses in the Chinatown-International and Beacon Hill districts. The Seattle Times broke the story last Friday, reporting that the owners of these so-called “massage parlors” were illegally...
36 Years In An Illinois Prison Without a Conviction or Sentence
[wbez.org - 3/7/19] In 1982, Terry Allen was charged with sexual assault, but prosecutors offered him what seemed like a way out. No time in prison. No criminal conviction. So Allen went along with it. “At the time, I thought, well that’s a good deal, and I’ll get right on out,” Allen said. “I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.” Allen never...
Assembly’s Public Safety Committee Approves Bill Excluding Registrants
The CA Assembly's Public Safety Committee today approved Assembly Bill 277 (AB 277) that would provide benefits to all parolees except for those convicted of a sex offense. The committee members voted 6 to 1 in favor of the bill after ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci and nine ACSOL members stated their opposition. "Our main objection to the bill is that it would exclude...
CA: Many Californians can clear criminal records, but don’t. This bill would make it automatic
[sfchronicle.com - 3/7/19] People arrested or convicted of crimes in California could have their criminal records automatically cleared under a proposed law announced Thursday by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón and Assemblyman Phil Ting. AB1076 would wipe out eligible convictions for people who have completed local sentences and eliminate many arrest records that have not resulted in convictions. Offenders already are eligible to...
Kat’s Blog: Reframing the Message Begins With You
In a recent chat with a registrant he referred to himself as a “S.O.” /”sex offender”. I was sort of stunned. After all the previous discussions we’d had about not giving in to anyone’s labels, about standing up for who you know yourself to be, how, I asked, can you refer to yourself as an S.O.? It seems I had caught this person on...
ACSOL’s 3rd Annual Conference: SAVE 10% until 4/15
ACSOL’s 3rd Annual Conference and Banquet Together, One Voice Show Up, Stand Up, Speak Up! June 14-15, 2019 “One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it...
Chance X. Oberstein Earns AIOCLA’S 10 Best in Client Satisfaction For Two Years
American Institute of Criminal Attorney PRESS RELEASE Chance X. Oberstein Has Been Nominated and Accepted as a Two Years AIOCLA’S 10 Best in California For Client Satisfaction The American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys has recognized the exceptional performance of California’s Criminal Law Attorney Chance X. Oberstein as Two Years 10 Best Criminal Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction. The American Institute of Criminal...
Churches Under Fire for Allowing Sex Offenders to Attend Services
[pjmedia.com - 3/7/19] Several churches within the Churches of Christ denomination have come under fire for allowing sex offenders to attend services. Critics accuse those churches of failing to care for the victims. Defenders claim that those who are truly repentant should not be turned away. Most likely, this is a debate that is going to find its way into all denominations because the...
Southern Baptist Convention: What’s wrong with the proposed sexual abuse amendment to the SBC constitution
[baptistnews.com - 3/8/19] The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee has proposed an amendment to the SBC constitution that would allow for churches to be disfellowshipped when they are determined to have “evidenced indifference in addressing sexual abuse.” Sounds good, right? But take a closer look. The amendment sets forth four examples of conduct the committee can consider as evidence of church indifference: (a) employing...
WA: House Passes Responsible Teen Communications Act
[seattlemedium.com - 3/6/19] OLYMPIA – On Monday, the Washington State House of Representatives passed House Bill 1742 on a bipartisan vote of 57-39. The Responsible Teen Communications Act, sponsored by Rep. Noel Frame (D-Seattle), updates Washington’s laws to reflect current technology, and ensure minors sharing sexually explicit images or videos of themselves with their peers (commonly known was “sexting”) are not automatically charged with...
General Comments March 2019
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of March 2019. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
FL: Florida’s Sex Offender Registry Proves Inescapable
It was the kind of headline guaranteed to generate clicks even over the winter holidays and amid a federal government shutdown: “Number of Sex Offenders Living in Florida Is Growing,” warned the Associated Press. In December, the Florida legislative auditor’s office released a report noting that the number of people on the state’s sex offender registry had expanded 53 percent since 2005, to about...
GA: Georgia Court blocks lifelong GPS tracking of sex offenders
[thebrunswicknews.com - 3/4/19] Georgia's highest court says it's unconstitutional to require "sexually dangerous predators" to remain on electronic GPS monitoring after completing their sentences. The unanimous Georgia Supreme Court opinion published Monday says that violates the Fourth Amendment protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures." Read more
IN: Amendment bars sex offender from son’s school activities
A registered sex offender previously able to attend his son’s school activities per a trial court-granted request was denied that exception Monday when the Indiana Court of Appeals determined an amended statute barred him from entering school property. Full Article Article
Action Alerts: CA Legislative Committees to Review Important Bills [UPDATED 4/2]
Committees within the California legislature have begun the process of scheduling consideration of bills of importance to registrants and their loved ones. Click on the bills to see what you can do: SB 145: Click here to learn how to SUPPORT SB 145 AB 884: Click here to learn how to OPPOSE AB 884
Kat’s Blog: Make a Difference
Like many of you, before I knew someone on the registry or became involved in advocacy, I never gave much thought to how our justice system worked. I knew very little about how or why state bills were proposed and even less about who was responsible for getting them pushed through to a vote. I naively assumed my state representatives were looking out for...
PA: SORNA Registration Equal to Being “In Custody”
For a federal court to consider a habeas petition, the petitioner must be “in custody” at the time the petition is filed. Past cases have found custody to include parole restrictions, own-recognizance release pending appeal, and community service obligations. Today, the Third Circuit held that the requirements that come with registration under Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act satisfy the habeas custody requirement...
CA: Lackey Bill Would Put Child Support Evaders on Blast
[eastcountytoday.net - 2/27/19] A bill introduced last week by Assemblyman Tom Lackey would call for the State of California to create a website which would list parents who owe more than $5,000 in child support. According to Assembly Bill 1498, it would showcase delinquent parents who have not been making court-ordered child support payments. The website would publicly display: Obligor’s name photograph amount of...