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.
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I Married a Sex Offender
In 2001, about six months before Gretchen met her husband, David, he was charged with sexual assault. After a night of drinking, police found him and a friend drunk and half-dressed on the side of the road; she was passed out, and he fled when the cops arrived. Gretchen (names have been changed) says that initially, David thought he would be getting a DUI....
Law and Disorder: A minister, sex offender and advocate
Ten years ago videographer/photographer Max Schulte and I did a project about sex offenders in Monroe County. ... While reporting, we met the Rev. David Hess, the minister at West Henrietta Baptist Church. Hess was a Level 1 sex offender — considered the least dangerous — who advocated for thoughtful laws. I did not know much of his story; he was instead a conduit to others...
We’re Rethinking Prisons. Is It Time to Rethink Sex Offender Registries?
"Despite their failure to prevent or interrupt injury to children, registries are resilient. People want to feel safe, and policy makers are invested in delivering these feelings." When police arrived at her house to arrest her on May 8, 2013, Tammy Bond turned to her niece and said: “Aunt Tammy did something wrong.” At age 45, she had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old....
TX: Defending Sex Offenders One City at a Time
Richard Gladden might be considered a superhero among civil rights activists if he weren’t representing one of the most despised segments of the population: sex offenders. The 55-year-old attorney has been defending them in court for more than a decade, fighting for their rights in a society hell-bent on taking them away. Full Article Texas Voices for Justice and Reason
WI: Senate passes residence restrictions for sex offenders
The Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill creating uniform restrictions on where violent sex offenders can live. Municipalities currently use local ordinances to create zones where sex offenders can't live. The bill would create statewide regulations barring violent sex offenders from living with 1,500 feet of any school, day care, youth center, church or public park. Full Article Related http://www.startribune.com/wisconsin-lawmaker-seeks-to-change-state-s-sex-offender-law/326659501/ https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/proposals/ab290 http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate/lazich/Pages/pa-show.aspx?id=The+State+Should+Leave+Local+Sex+Offender+Ordinances+Alone
CASOMB Letter Regarding Residence Restrictions (AB 201)
The following document presents a written statement provided to the Assembly Public Safety Committee regarding Assembly Bill 201, a proposed Bill which addresses local regulation of sex offender residence restrictions and exclusion zones. CASOMB Letter Regarding Residence Restrictions (AB 201)
Collateral damage: hearth and home and dreams of Paris
In spite of strong opposition on the part of advocacy groups and from a significant number of very credible journalists and media outlets, the legislation known as International Megan’s Law passed and was signed by the President. For all who have ever been convicted of a sexually based offense, this has serious implications for any future plans regarding an overseas business trip or a...
Tiered Registry #1 Recommendation of CA Sex Offender Management Board
The California Sex Offender Management (CA SOMB) published today its Year End Report for 2015. The #1 recommendation in that report is creation of a tiered registry. The other recommendations are to limit the use of residency restrictions, continue to fund sex offender risk assessments, bridge gaps in what is known about registrants, encourage collaboration between victim advocates and sex offender management professionals and...
1998 molestation conviction expected to be thrown out due to false testimony
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A man sent to prison 18 years ago for molesting a child is expected to be released from state prison within a matter of weeks because it has been revealed that the key testimony used to convict him was fabricated. Full Article
Senator Runner Introduces New Residency Restrictions Bill [updated with PSC Hearing Date]
April 19, 2016 at 9:30 am - Public Safety Committee Hearing [PSC Agenda] Senator Sharon Runner (Republican, Lancaster) introduced a new bill (S. 1021) on February 11 that would prohibit registrants on parole from living within 2,000 feet of public or private schools or parks where children regularly gather. The deadline for introducing new legislation was February 11. "The California Supreme Court ruled in March...
Police: Wrong man arrested for grabbing child
RED BLUFF, Calif. - Red Bluff police said Friday they arrested the wrong man on February 5 for allegedly grabbing a 12-year-old's hand. Police said they believed it was ____ ____, 83, a registered sex offender. However, ____has an ankle monitor that proved he was not at the scene at the time. Full Article
IN: Senate unanimously passes legislation to create child abuse registry
New legislation is making its way through the Indiana General Assembly to create an online public registry for convicted child abusers. Indiana State Sen. Carlin Yoder authored the bill known as Kirk's Law in honor of a 19-month-old boy who died under the care of his babysitter in Northern Indiana. The Senate unanimously passed the bill 49-0. It is currently in the House, recently...
Happy 20th Birthday, SORA, may you die soon.
Friends, New Yorkers, Countrypersons! Lend us your ears! We come not to praise SORA but to bury it. For the courts say its purpose is not to punish, but to protect public safety. And courts are honorable persons, otherwise they wouldn’t have “Hon.” in front of their names. SORA was enacted in 1996 to create a class of persons permanently labeled “sex offenders,” based...
Sext Offenders
By Bill Maher - A school in Newtown, Connecticut is in the news, but this time not for a tragic shooting. At least not with a gun. Some kids at the high school there got to texting and Snapchatting each other naked pictures of themselves, as kids of that age will sometimes do, and some of the nudey photos got circulated, as pics of...
OK: Hundreds of convicted sex offenders missing in Tulsa area
TULSA — According to Tulsa Police, there are hundreds of convicted sex offenders missing in the Tulsa area. However, just because they're missing doesn't mean they're gone, said Sgt. John Adams with the Tulsa Police Department. ... According to Adams, the places where a registered sex offender can live in Tulsa have been greatly restricted since 2006.During that year, Oklahoma lawmakers passed a 2,000...
Janice’s Journal: Silver Linings to the Dark Cloud of the International Megan’s Law
International Megan’s Law is a terrible law. Its notification provisions trap registrants in a country that continues to punish them and its passport provisions expose them to significant risk of harm due to the addition of a “Scarlet letter”. Having said that, however, there is a silver lining to that dark cloud -- our community came together and we acted in concert for the...
OH: House Passes Legislation To Require Mandatory Prison Sentences For Sex Offenders
The Ohio House of Representatives has pushed forward legislation that will require a mandatory prison sentence for sex offenders. House Bill 405 establishes a mandatory prison sentence for soliciting a child under 13 years old to engage in sexual activity. The bill also stipulates that if an offender is more than 10 years older than a victim, who is 13 to 16-years-old, the offender...
IML Lawsuit Media Articles (updated 2/19)
Added 2/19 http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/19/21st-century-public-shaming/ http://www.downtownexpress.com/2016/02/18/dont-brand-sex-offenders-passports/ http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/news-sex-offenders-megans-law-obama/Content?oid=4486073 Added 2/12 https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2016/02/12/civil-rights-group-files-lawsuit-questioning-constitutionality-of-international-megans-law/ http://kron4.com/2016/02/10/sex-offenders-to-be-identified-federal-passports-law/ Added 2/11 https://pcjc.blogs.law.pace.edu/2016/02/11/international-megans-law-h-r-515-necessary-constitutional/ http://wemeantwell.com/blog/2016/02/11/u-s-passports-of-sex-offenders-to-be-marked/ http://nationalrsol.org/blog/2016/02/09/first-lawsuit-challenging-intl-megans-law-filed-in-ca-federal-court/ 2-10-16: International Megan’s Law Conference Call (National RSOL) https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-authorized-create-angel-watch-center-expand-child-protection-efforts-following Added 2/10 http://reason.com/blog/2016/02/10/lawsuit-says-scarlet-letter-passports-fo http://www.courthousenews.com/CNSNEWS/Story/Index/86768 http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/02/09/civil-rights-group-opposes-law-identifying-sex-offenders-on-passports/ http://www.newsweek.com/civil-rights-group-sex-offender-passports-marking-state-department-424754 http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sex-offender-passport-20160209-story.html http://fox40.com/2016/02/09/sex-offenders-challenge-new-federal-passports-law/ http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/02/obama_signs_international_megans_law.html
Obama Just Signed a Really Bad Criminal Justice Law
Is this really the best Congress can do? - After months of hype about the historic bipartisan consensus that we must make the American criminal justice system less harsh, President Obama finally signed a justice reform bill into law Monday. There’s only one problem: Instead of making the justice system more fair and less punitive, the new law will make it more vindictive and...
President Signed HR 515, International Megan’s Law
President Obama signed HR 515 into law on February 8. The law will require federal agencies to notify destination countries that registered citizens are coming to visit as well as to require the Secretary of State to add a "unique identifier" to the passports of some registered citizens. "The President's decision, if unchallenged, would require the Secretary of State to add a Scarlet Letter to the...