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
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UPDATED: 50-State Comparison Relief from Sex Offender Registration Obligations
Prepared for the NACDL Restoration of Rights Project. List Permanent Link
Two Barstow Men Arrested for Threatening Rumored Child Molester
Two Barstow men were arrested for threatening a man who they believed was a sexual predator from Las Vegas, Nevada who was attempting to lure children into his car. Full Article
Are Geek Squad agents spying for the FBI?
Yes, they carry badges and drive black-and-white vehicles. But some Geek Squad agents appear to have taken the “agent” part of their titles a bit too literally. Best Buy, the consumer-electronics giant that owns the on-call computer-repair service, recently admitted that four employees took money from the FBI after the agency received information from the agents about customers suspected of possessing child pornography. As...
VA: Child porn producers should be “shot,” federal judge suggests in a Norfolk courtroom
From the bench this week, a federal judge unafraid of offering blunt opinions suggested anyone who produces child pornography should be shot. An exact quote of what Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar said Tuesday during a case involving the collection of child porn was not available, but in an interview Thursday, the octogenarian reiterated the comment multiple times. "I said it. I said...
Canada: Justin Trudeau accuses Conservatives of crass political games over sex-offender registry demands
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the safety of children is a priority, but he won’t say whether his government will move ahead with a public registry for high-risk child sex offenders. Full Article
Canada: Polygraph for pedophiles – how virtual reality is used to assess sex offenders
In a maximum security mental health facility in Montreal is a “cave-like” virtual reality vault that’s used to show images of child sexual abuse to sex offenders. Patients sit inside the vault with devices placed around their penises to measure signs of arousal as they are shown computer-generated animations of naked children. Full Article
ATSA Position Statement re. HR 1761
The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) makes the following statement regarding the May 25, 2017, passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of HR 1761, the Protecting Against Child Exploitation Act of 2017: We applaud the intent of this bill to strengthen statutes prohibiting the production and distribution of child pornography. Child sexual abuse is a horrific crime that can cause...
Statewide Survey–Occupational Licensing Boards & Criminal Records
Root & Rebound is taking the first step in trying to connect and coordinate statewide efforts to reduce Occupational Licensing Bans and Barriers based on a candidate's criminal record, and are asking for 15 minutes of your time to tell us about any work you are involved in through this survey: CA Criminal Records & Occupational Licensing Advocacy & Representation Coordinating Statewide Efforts This...
At $75,560, housing a prisoner in California now costs more than a year at Harvard
The price for each inmate has doubled since 2005, even as court orders related to overcrowding have reduced the population by about one-quarter. Salaries and benefits for prison guards and medical providers drove much of the increase. The result is a per-inmate cost that is the nation’s highest — and $2,000 above tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses to attend Harvard. Full...
General Comments June 2017
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of June 2017. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Living with 290: Annual update question
I did my annual update today in San Bernardino County. I have owned the same home for 3 years. Unfortunately the utility bills are all in my wife's name. I have been following these posts and receive email updates but this is my first post. The last 2 years the Victorville Police Dept has required a utility bill and a letter from my wife...
NJ: Sex Offender Cannot Use Mistaken Age Defense
A former Cape May business owner who claimed a 13-year-old boy, with whom he had a sexual encounter, lied about his age cannot use that as a defense at trial, Appellate Court judges decided May 31. Full Article Related http://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-unpublished/2017/a0741-15.html Grindr not liable for man's sex encounter with minor, federal judge rules
OK: Two suspects identified in homicide of inmate at Oklahoma County jail
An inmate at the Oklahoma County jail who died in early February was the victim of a homicide, the first at the troubled facility in almost three years, an autopsy report shows. Two suspects already have been identified and are in custody, authorities said. ... Windle had served time in prison for a 2003 attempted rape and indecent exposure. He was jailed in September...
Cosby Trial Puts U.S. States’ Sex-Crime Prosecution Laws in Focus
The opening of Bill Cosby's sex assault trial on Monday highlights a quirk of the U.S. legal system, in which standards vary widely from state to state on how much time prosecutors have to file criminal charges after an alleged assault. Full Article
IL: Supreme Court asked to review McLean County sex offender issue
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review a case against a Normal man to determine the constitutionality of Illinois' rules mandating that sex offenders report all their internet activity to authorities. Full Article
IL: Starting over – Task force examining sex offender laws
At the end of June, ____ ____ will mark the 20th anniversary of two life-changing milestones: the year he was convicted at 21 of sexually abusing a teenage girl, and two decades without an arrest for another sex offense. ____ spent 60 days in jail and served two years' probation for aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 1997. His identity also was included on a...
Overhaul of sexual offender registry is on right track
Once in a while, politicians in Sacramento get things right. The overhaul of the state's sex offender registry proposed by Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Joel Anderson, R-San Diego, is one of those rare occurrences of a bipartisan solutions that works. Full Article
IN: Man Exonerated After Serving More Than 25 Years for a Rape DNA Testing Proves He Didn’t Commit
A judge today granted a motion by the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss the 1992 rape charges against William Barnhouse based on new DNA evidence proving Barnhouse’s innocence of the crime. With Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Arnold’s consent, the Innocence Project and the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at Indiana University McKinney persuaded a Delaware County court to reverse Barnhouse’s conviction on March 8,...
Canada: Officials advise Goodale to rethink plan of public sex offender database
Federal officials have advised Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale to put the brakes on setting up a publicly accessible database of high-risk child sex offenders. Full Article
Janice’s Journal: It Was a Miracle!
On the floor of the Senate yesterday, the Senate passed the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421). It was a miracle! It was the first time, after three unsuccessful attempts, that a legislative body approved a tiered registry bill. The miracle maker is the bill’s author, Senator Scott Wiener, who assumed authorship of the bill after its original author withdrew. It is Senator Wiener who saw...