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
NY: Bronx Dad’s Case Tests Restrictions on Sex Offenders
MANHATTAN (CN) - With a name resembling a kindergartner's alphabet primer, the lawsuit ABC v. DEF takes on far more insidious themes - namely the parental rights of a Bronx man who spent eight years in prison for raping his ex's teenage niece. A federal judge issued an order in the case last week that could earn that man unspecified financial compensation from New...
ME: Residency restrictions for sex offenders offer false sense of security (Editorial)
Old Orchard Beach is considering placing restrictions on where sex offenders can live in the seaside, southern Maine community. While such restrictions could make residents and visitors feel safer, registries and limits on where offenders can live and work haven’t been shown to make much difference in their two-decade history. Instead, a heightened focus on treatment and rehabilitation would likely be more effective at...
‘Right to be forgotten’ threatens free speech
Last year the European Union's highest court ruled that European citizens have a "right to be forgotten" when it comes to search links to unfavorable Internet posts that are harmful and irrelevant. The court ruled in favor of a Spanish citizen who complained that Google's links to an old notice about his house being repossessed violated his privacy rights because the issue was now...
Report a sex offender on Craigslist, win cash prize (SLO PD)
The San Luis Obispo Police Department and SLO County nonprofit Crime Stoppers have issued a cash reward to a tipster who reported a Craigslist post containing a photograph of a man’s genitalia and a message soliciting “young girls” for sexual acts. Full Article
IA: Break up Iowa’s sex-offender clusters (Opinion)
Three previously convicted sex offenders living in a west Davenport mobile home park are heading back to prison for abusing more kids. Full Op-Ed Article
Ruling in sex assault case: Doe vs. Regents of UC San Diego
This is believed to be the first judicial ruling in recent years to find that a university failed to provide a fair trial in a sexual misconduct case. Some legal experts say the finding could have a broad national impact. Full Article
Senate Committee Passes SB 448 after Author Promises to Amend
The Senate Public Safety Committee passed Senate Bill 448 in a vote of 7 to 0 after the bill's author, Senator Ben Hueso (Democrat, San Diego), promised to amend it. According to Committee Chair Loni Hancock, the amendments are to include a narrowing of those to whom the bill would apply and a tiering so that the scope of the bill would be limited...
CORONA: Sex offender ordinance may change
Long-standing housing restrictions for convicted sex offenders in Corona could be amended Wednesday, July 15, bringing the city into compliance with a state law passed in March. Full Article What: The Corona City Council may change city rules to allow sex offenders to live within 2,000 feet of a school or park. When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15 Where: City Council chambers, 400 S....
Here’s an IUD–but wait! You can’t have sex yet! [Opinion]
By now virtually everyone in the “sex offender laws reform” camp knows the story of Zack Anderson, the 19 year old Indiana youth who faces imprisonment and sex offender registration for a sexual liaison with a 14 year old who pretended to be 17. His parents have pushed and pushed for publicity on this—good for them!—and they have it. The story made the New...
Another State Senator Chooses to Ignore Court Decisions
In my personal opinion, We have another state senator who has no concept of the Constitution and the fact that it is designed to protect individual rights , not the rights of the majority and not the rights of the popular or powerful people and most definitely not the rights of the government. The Declaration of Independence the Constitution and the Bill of Rights...
Statutory Rape Laws [Letter to the Editor]
“Teenager’s Jailing Brings a Call to Fix Sex Offender Registries” (front page, July 5), about statutory rape, raises important issues. In a recent review of a decade of statutory rape cases, I found that both the apparatus to police sexual violence against minors, as well as its application against consenting minors, creates legally untenable results that frequently impose legal and extralegal burdens on minors....
The Sex-Offender Test
How a computerized assessment can help determine the fate of men who’ve been accused of sexually abusing children. Full Article
IL: Sex offender rule unconstitutional
BLOOMINGTON — A requirement that Illinois sex offenders report all Internet sites they use to police is unconstitutional because it violates the offenders’ free speech rights, according to a ruling by a McLean County judge. Judge Robert Freitag agreed with arguments from the defense lawyer for _____ ____, 22, of Normal, that state law is overly broad in its mandate that all email addresses...
Have Sex-Offender Registries Gone Too Far?
Some 800,000 registered sex offenders can't live near parks or schools — or sometimes even in the homes of their own parents. Is it time to re-visit sex-offender registries that cast a wide net and often treat juvenile offenders as if they were adults? Full Article
Sex offender sues city of Grover Beach
A Grover Beach man is suing the city, claiming its restrictions limiting where registered sex offenders can live are unconstitutional. The city attorney says the city will fight the lawsuit. ... Bellucci and Lindsay filed the lawsuit against the city of Grover Beach on June 16. The city originally had until Thursday to file its official response to the suit but requested and was...
The heat is turned up (one hopes) against sex offender registry statutes
As I’ve noted a number of times here on the VC (most recently here) I’ve gotten involved over the last few years in a series of constitutional challenges to various State “sex offender registry” statutes, which typically impose a series of reporting requirements (e.g., tell your probation officer of every address change, or email address you use) and disabilities (on owning property near a school, say,...
CA RSOL Meeting August 29 in Berkeley
The last California RSOL meeting of the summer will take place in Berkeley on August 29, 2015. Please join us for networking, support and an update about CA RSOL's effort to restore the Civil Rights for those required to register pursuant to PC 290. We welcome registrants, friends, family, supporters and pertinent service providers. Media and law enforcement are not invited in an effort...
Sex Offender Registries And Calls For Reform
For more than 20 years, states have been keeping public lists of convicted sex offenders. These registries are intended to help police and communities monitor the whereabouts of nearly 800,000 pedophiles and others found guilty of sexual crimes. Many people are listed for crimes committed when they were minors and not all are egregious: Sending a lewd text or public urination, for instance, can...
VA: Devoy – Has Virginia’s sex offender registry kept us safe?
Recently, Gov. Terry McAuliffe set up an independent commission to look at the 20 years since parole was abolished and determine whether it should be revived. "It's time to review whether that makes sense," he said during a radio appearance. "Is it keeping our citizens safe? Is it a reasonable, good, cost-effective way? Are we rehabilitating folks?" he asked. "Are sentences too long for...
General Comments July 2015
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of July 2015. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.