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
California Re-Offense Rates Revealed
The overall re-offense rate for registrants in California is 4.8 percent, according to a recent report issued by Dr. Karl Hanson and colleagues. Of that total, the highest re-offense rate is for transients who lack stable housing. The report also compared re-offense rates for registrants on parole and probation. The report found that registrants on parole have a higher rate of re-offense (6.1 percent)...
Canada: Edmonton judge rules national sex offender registry is unconstitutional
An Edmonton judge has ruled that the national sex offender registry is unconstitutional as it is “over broad and grossly disproportionate” and violates people of their charter rights. In a recently released decision involving the case of an Edmonton man convicted of two sexual assaults, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Andrea Moen found the Sex Offender Information Registration Act removed judicial discretion to refuse...
OH: Official – Halloween child sex attacks unlikely
With Halloween only a few days away, Law Director Gregory Hicks made it clear there is not an increased likelihood of registered sex offenders accosting children during this holiday than any other time of the year. A nine-year study released in 2009 in the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers found there is no significant increase in the risk for non-familial child sexual...
MO: State Rep. wants death penalty as option for repeat sex offenders
It’s the one issue in Jefferson City that State Representative Randy Pietzman says nobody likes to talk about. “This is not a popular topic to talk about if you’re just trying to get re-elected,” he said. But that’s not going to stop him from tackling it head on because he says it concerns the safety of every Missouri child. Full Article
Parents Concerned Over Possible Registered Sex Offenders for Halloween
State officials are cracking down on registered sex offenders, just as Halloween is around the corner. It's called "Operation Boo," which requires that all registered sex offenders to adhere to certain curfews and restrictions between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., starting on Halloween night. They also cannot put up Halloween decorations or give out candy to trick-or-treating children. Full Article Related https://all4consolaws.org/2016/09/cdcr-agrees-to-drop-halloween-sign-requirement/
MI: Sex Offender Registration After Does v. Snyder
The Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Does v. Snyder, __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 4473231 (6th Cir. 2016), has significant implications for the representation of current registrants who are charged with violating Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), current registrants seeking removal from the sex offender registry or exemptions from certain SORA provisions, defendants currently charged with sex offenses, and defendants in “recapture” cases....
“One strike for sex offenders should be enough” – change.org Petition
"The system failed me and my family and I'm going to do whatever it takes to put an end to the psychos running the streets." - Shasta Groene For anyone living in the Pacific Northwest in May of 2005, the survival story of Shasta Groene is one you could not turn away from. It has now been almost 11 1/2 years since ____ ____...
State Department Replies to IML Petition
The State Department has modified the Final Rule it published on September 2, 2016, regarding implementation of the International Megan's Law (IML). The modification corrects the erroneous statement in the Rule regarding whose passports will bear a "unique identifier". The modification clarifies that "unique identifiers" will be added only to the passports of individuals convicted of a sex offense that involved a minor and who are...
California judge imposes prison term of 1,503 years(!?!) on father who repeatedly raped daughter
As reported in this local article, a state judge in California gave new meaning to the term "mass incarceration" by imposing a prison sentence on a rapist that will not be completed until the year 3519. ... In addition to the prison sentence, Sarkisian said Lopez will have to register as a sex offender. Full Article Related Rape, Incest And Retribution http://www.co.fresno.ca.us/uploadedFiles/Departments/District_Attorney/PDF/2016.10.21_Lopez%20News%20Release.pdf
Sex offenders in nursing homes issue begs for answers
... Others responding to the investigation said it’s a complicated issue in need of more study. “The question is what do we do with these people,” said state Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering. “You obviously have people who are in need of nursing home care who happen to be sexual predators. And what is the alternative for them?” The investigation explored an idea other states...
ACSOL Conference Call October 26 – Halloween (with Recording)
ACSOL’s will hold a public conference call on Wednesday, October 26, at 4 p.m. Pacific time. The topic of the call will be “Halloween” and the call will follow the same format as the previous calls. There will be a brief presentation of the topic to be followed by a Q&A session where call attendees may ask questions pertaining to the topic. Dial-in number: 1-712-770-8055 Conference Code:...
CA Sex Offender Management Board Releases New Statistics, Discusses Tiered Registry Bill
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) released new statistics regarding registrants during its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on October 20. In addition, the board discussed a tiered registry bill expected to be introduced in the state legislature in early 2017. The total number of registrants is 104,369 according to CASOMB. Of that total, there are 16,294 in violation (about 16 percent) of registration...
IL: Sex offender internet law constitutional
SPRINGFIELD — The state’s highest court has upheld a law that requires sex offenders to disclose information about their internet identities and websites. In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Charles E. Freeman, the Illinois Supreme Court held that a provision of the Sex Offender Registration Act survived First Amendment scrutiny because it bolsters the government’s interest in protecting the public without restricting more...
Asperger’s, autism, and sex offenders
... Then he talked about his son’s diagnosis: Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder on the autism spectrum. As a young child, Nick flapped his arms and jumped a lot. At three, he barely spoke. As an adult, he still cannot tie his shoes, making it all the more impressive that he has achieved so much. Then the dad added one more item to his son’s...
LARGE RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY, PROFESSOR FINDS
A University at Albany assistant professor has begun looking into how sex offender registries reveal the inequalities of the criminal justice system. The findings of Trevor Hoppe, an assistant professor of sociology, have been published in his paper, “Punishing Sex: Sex Offenders and the Missing Punitive Turn in Sexuality Studies.” The study indicates that approximately 1 percent of African American males in the United...
Sex offender registries need reform
Twenty-five years ago, with activist Patty Wetterling by his side, Minnesota governor Arne Carlson signed America's first law establishing a public registry system for sex offenders. The law, which Wetterling helped to write, aimed to give police a starting point for tracking down sexual predators like Danny Heinrich, the man who had kidnapped, molested and murdered Patty's son, Jacob Wetterling. Full Article
AUS: Dangerous offender laws the antithesis of free and democratic society
DETAINING people after they have served the sentence imposed on them by a court is unconscionable. Yet this practice, which has its origins in Nazi Germany, has become common across Australia, and the Turnbull Government’s plan to keep people convicted of terrorism offences locked up potentially until they die is the latest incarnation of this trend. Full Article
OH: Convicted rapist says his care hurt by his offender status
Sex offender who lives in Columbus nursing home talks about difficulties in getting housing. Full Article
Lawsuit is filed against FUSD because of sex offender policy
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring civil rights for those accused and/or convicted of a sex crime, filed a lawsuit against the Fontana Unified School District on Oct. 11 in response to the sex offender policy that was adopted last month. Full Article
LA: Too Poor for Freedom: Sex Offender Registry and the Fourteenth Amendment
If a school mandated uniforms and suspended a child too poor to afford them, there would be an uproar. Media would excoriate the school for denying the impoverished an education due to their financial circumstances. Many would wonder at the cost of a uniform relative to the school’s budget, suggesting that the school simply offer the child a simple uniform. As ever, our instinctive...