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
Teens and sex: When laws don’t keep up with reality
An 11-year-old girl in Michigan streaking in front of her brothers was charged with a sex crime. A 14-year-old boy in Minnesota was charged with distributing child pornography after sending a photo of his genitals to a female classmate. Another 14-year-old boy in South Dakota was charged with rape after getting his 13-year-old girlfriend pregnant. These are all cases that have been worked on by...
ACSOL’s Conference Call on October 12 – Domestic Travel
ACSOL's first conference call will be on Wednesday, October 12, at 5 p.m. Pacific time. The topic of the call will be "Domestic Travel: Rules of the Road for Registrants" and the call will follow the same format as the 9/29 IML call. Dial-in number: 1-712-770-8055 Conference Code: 983459. ***corrected on 10/12. Moderator*** I look forward to having you call in. Sincerely, Janice ***Listen to...
Sex-offender registry adds costs without protecting public (Opinion)
Last month, a new chapter was written in one of America’s oldest real-life murder mysteries. The body of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling was finally found, 27 years after his abduction. Jacob’s gun-point abduction shocked the nation and spawned a network of state sex-offender registries, South Carolina’s among them. But extensive research since then has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of such measures. Full Opinion...
TX: Marion forced to abandon tough sex offender ordinance over lawsuit threat
The city of Marion was given an ultimatum recently, as Texas Voices For Reason and Justice (TVRJ) and the Law Office of Richard Gladden sent a letter asking the city to repeal a local sex offender ordinance. Full Article
AUS: The case against a sexual offender registry
Ever since the implementation of the Sex Offender Registry in the US civil liberties have been completely eroded, they are also completely ineffective in preventing and reducing sex crimes. The Sex Offender Registry has eroded constitutional rights to privacy and life while neglecting its core mission to reduce and prevent sexual offences committed. Although the Sex Offender Registry in Australia is a relatively new...
IA: Why Prosecuting a Teen Girl for Sexting Is Absurd
A 14-year-old in Iowa is facing sexual exploitation charges for sharing a suggestive photo of herself – and that's not as rare as you might think. Full Article Related http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2016/10/05/iowa_prosecutor_might_charge_a_teen_with_sex_crimes_for_taking_a_selfie.html?wpsrc=sh_all_dt_fb_top
Why Current Child Porn Laws Imprison the Wrong People (Opinion)
Growing up, I was taught that prison was a place where people went when they did bad things. It was simple then: There were good people and there were bad people. As I got older, the picture grew more complicated. I saw good people do bad things, and I saw bad people do good things. But recently, when one of the best people in...
Sex offender parolees not required to post ‘do not disturb’ signs on Halloween
Last year, a Chula Vista sex offender parolee was instructed to post a “do not disturb” sign in front of his residence on Halloween night to ward off trick-or-treaters. What followed was a lawsuit filed by the California Reform Sex Offender Laws organization, as well as the parolee in San Diego County and another in Los Angeles. The policy, they argued, violated their civil rights and put their...
Making the Case Against Banishing Sex Offenders
Mary Sue Molnar estimates that she gets at least five calls a week from Texans on the sex offender registry who can’t find a place to live. Numerous towns around the state have passed ordinances prohibiting those on the list from residing within a certain distance — anywhere from 500 to 3,500 feet — of a school, park, daycare facility or playground. In some...
Janice’s Journal: It’s a Setback But It’s Not Over
The U.S. District Court judge presiding over our challenge to the International Megan's Law (IML) has dismissed that case with prejudice. As a result of her decision, the case is over and the complaint cannot be amended as we had requested. The judge's decision is a setback, but our challenge to the IML is not over. The fact is we are currently reviewing our...
Sex-offender registries: How the Wetterling abduction changed the country
After Jacob Wetterling was abducted in 1989, a pastor named Thomas Gillespie of the St. Joseph Parish offered support and comfort to the Wetterling family. He invited them to dinner, opened the church for a community prayer service and presented them with hot cross buns at Easter. What the Wetterlings did not know at the time was that Gillespie was a sex offender who...
Caribbean: Sex offenders registry
TWO YOUNG attorneys have decided to work feverishly to change the sex offender registry policies within the Caribbean region. Inspired by the heart-breaking stories of victims and by their experiences in court, Gina Maharaj and Jonathan Bhagan have partnered with Zandoli International Foundation in North Carolina, USA to lead the Caribbean Committee Against Sex Crimes (CCASC). Full Article
MN: Well-meaning family takes in sex offender, inciting fear and outrage
The debate in Birchwood Village shows a problem that state leaders still have not figured out how to address: How to integrate sex offenders into a community. Full Article
General Comments October 2016
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of October 2016. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
Former Inmate Hosts Video Podcast On America’s Criminal Justice System
Already an established independent filmmaker with five film credits under his belt, Matt Duhamel has now set his sights on a weekly video podcast about America’s broken criminal justice system. ‘Solitary Nation’, which is available in both video and audio format on Google Play Music and Stichter, is an interview style show on important subjects such as sex offenders in the community, mass incarceration,...
California Employers’ Fair Chance Hiring Toolkit
Root & Rebound is proud to announce the launch of the first-ever California Employers' Fair Chance Hiring Toolkit, a critical resource for California employers, H.R. departments, corporate counsel, and business professionals on "Fair Chance" hiring! Full Article
OH: Local Democrat slams GOP challenger for claiming he’s a ‘pedophile’
David Sparks, the Clayton Democrat running against State Rep. Jeff Rezabek, R-Clayton, says the Ohio Republican Party is putting him in personal danger with a new mailed campaign ad that Sparks says implies he is a pedophile. “I’m really upset that I’m being painted as a pedophile. It’s over the top. I’m afraid for my safety now,” said Sparks. “You know what society does...
PA: A deal is a deal – Supreme Court blocks retroactive registration boosts for sex offenders
Sex offender registration requirements can't be increased for people who reached deals to plead guilty to sex crimes before Pennsylvania's latest registration law took effect, the state Supreme Court has decided. The high court reached that conclusion in an opinion Justice Max Baer issued this week on three consolidated cases involving York County sex offenders. Full Article
Survey – International Travel after IML
If you have traveled to a foreign country after President Obama signed HR 515 / International Megan's Law into law on February 8, 2016, please complete this survey to help gather details about the effects of this legislation. We will also share this data with the RTAG group for incorporation into their travel matrix. Thank you. Go to International Travel Survey
Judge Dismisses Challenge to Special Sex Offender Passports
Last week a federal judge in San Francisco dismissed a constitutional challenge to the so-called International Megan's Law (IML), which requires special passports for sex offenders and authorizes notification of foreign governments when they travel. The lawsuit, filed last February by seven unnamed sex offenders who worry that the IML will impair their freedom to travel, argued that the law, which was enacted in...