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
NJ: Megan’s Law 20 years later: Pros and cons of sex offender rules still debated
Two decades after a convicted sex offender lured a 7-year-old named Megan into his house with the promise of seeing a new puppy, then killed her, the law that bears her name remains broadly popular, but gets mixed reviews. Full Article
LA: Open Letter to Louisiana’s Sheriffs Regarding Halloween (ACLU)
NEW ORLEANS – The ACLU of Louisiana delivered an open letter today to all of Louisiana's parish sheriffs, concerning regulation of the Halloween holiday. The letter reads as follows: Full Letter In response to: Plaquemines placing sex offender signs on lawns for Halloween
MD: ‘Vigilante justice’ leads to prison time in fatal beating of sex offender
A 20-year-old Reservoir Hill woman was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison for what prosecutors called an act of vigilante justice when she led a group beating of a sex offender that turned fatal. Her father was also sentenced to jail time for his role. Full Article
Collateral Consequences: Why Bar Sex Offenders From Business Loans?
February 2012 - The principals of a small business seeking government-backed loans expect to be asked about their commercial backgrounds and credit histories. They probably do not expect to be asked whether they are former sex offenders. Full Opinion Piece
CA Supreme Court to Hear Residency Restrictions Case
The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on December 2 in Los Angeles on a case in which the constitutionality of residency restrictions have been challenged. Following oral argument, the Court has up to 90 days to render its decision. "Current residency restrictions violate both the state and federal constitutions," stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. "As applied, they constitute banishment which has...
Are Sex Offenders Unfairly Persecuted on Halloween?
On Halloween night, Andrew will celebrate the holiday the way most married fathers do: He and his wife will go trick-or-treating with their two kids, who are nine and 12; maybe afterward, they’ll head to their church to finish off the night with games and snacks. But Andrew’s family isn’t like other families, because Andrew is a registered sex offender. ... "Just because...
DE: When Halloween fun is against the law (Opinion)
Halloween is a time for costumes, parties and seeking out some chills and thrills. It is also when sex offenders are placed in the spotlight as law enforcement, neighborhood watch groups and local media tell parents their little ghosts and goblins are in imminent danger of becoming prey. The result is a slew of policies aimed at keeping sex offenders off the streets and...
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT
A sex offender ordinance adopted by Los Angeles County is the subject of a lawsuit filed today in federal district court on behalf of a registered sex offender (“registered citizen”). This is the 25th in a series of lawsuits challenging sex offender ordinances adopted by local governments. “The California Court of Appeal ruled in January 2014 that city and county ordinances that restrict the...
MS: Registered Sex Offender Emerges as Star College Football Player
A registered sex offender has emerged as a star player on a top tier college football team, resuming his athletic career after being expelled from the Air Force Academy where he was court-martialed for sexual assault. No NCAA rule prevents a person with a criminal conviction from playing college athletics, a spokesperson told ABC News. It is left up to the individual college or...
NY: Nonprofit To Expand Nassau County Sex Offender Program
MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) – Starting next year, the Long Island-based group Parents for Megan’s Law will begin monitoring the online activities of Nassau County’s registered sex offenders. The monitoring will include tracking posts on Facebook and Twitter and forwarding leads to police, Newsday reported. Full Article
VA: revisiting penalties for teen sexting
RICHMOND — Should teenagers who exchange sexually explicit messages and photos face the same punishment as adults charged with producing and distributing child pornography? The Virginia State Crime Commission is revisiting the teen sexting issue and may again consider legislation that would lessen penalties — primarily intended for pornographers — in consensual cases involving suspects who are minors. Full Article
Halloween & Sex Crime: Myth vs. Reality
It is almost Halloween, and as we begin to feel a chill in the air in the northern hemisphere, we also feel the excitement of that annual ritual of trick or treating. But while children look forward to a night of ghouls, ghosts, goblins and goodies, parents ponder the presence of real-life demons in the neighborhood: registered sex offenders. States, municipalities, and parole departments...
This is getting boring, but it’s Halloween again
I really thought this year was going to be different. Last year the "big, bad sex offender at Halloween" hype started as early as August and was in full swing in September. This year, all was quiet on the scare tactics front through the end of September and was slow going into October. However, the past few days have picked up speed, and some...
Prof. Alan Dershowitz: “Harvard’s policy was written by people who think sexual assault is so heinous a crime that even innocence is not a defense.”
It's a great quote, and it appears in this week's Time Magazine in a story about the letter published last week in the Boston Globe signed by 28 Harvard law professors voicing strong objections to the school's one-sided, feminist-inspired sexual misconduct policies. But when Dershowitz continued and said that people accused of rape should have a full and fair opportunity to defend themselves, Time...
The “Sex Offender” Regime is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
If it’s true that all seven of the football players arrested for hazing in the Sayreville, New Jersey, War Memorial High School locker room are students of color, that is one more reason not to prosecute them as sexual felons. I don’t mean not to prosecute them in adult court. I mean not to prosecute them at all. If they’re guilty, they should be...
UK: Man Guilty of Owning Sexy Images of Cartoon Children (Opinion)
A man in Britain has been convicted for his fantasies. ____ ____, 39, was found guilty of downloading "prohibited images" of cartoon girls, some in school uniforms, doing dirty deeds. The fact that these manga drawings are available on legitimate sites did not sway the judge. Nor did the fact that—oh yeah—there were no actual humans in the pictures. Full Opinion Piece
AL: Schools adjust sex offender policies
The Tallapoosa County Board of Education made adjustments to its sex offender on campus policy to take into account laws that allow registered sex offenders some rights to visit their children at school. Full Article
FL: ACLU Challenges Miami-Dade Housing Restriction Forcing Former Sex Offenders to Live by Railroad Tracks
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida filed suit against Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Corrections, seeking a permanent injunction against a housing ordinance that is extraordinarily difficult for former sex offenders to follow without becoming homeless. The law prohibits former offenders from living 2,500 feet (almost half a mile) from any building the county labels a...
FL: Inside Miami’s Hidden Tent City For ‘Sex Offenders’
In 2009, Miami-Dade County drew national criticism when reports emerged that more than 100 individuals on the sex offender registry were camping under the Julia Tuttle Causeway in the middle of the Biscayne Bay with the blessing of the corrections department, because a patchwork of restrictive laws made it so they had nowhere else to go. In response, officials cleared out the camp and...
NY: West Seneca Neighbors Dismayed Albany Judge Will Hear Sex Offender Group Home Case
WEST SENECA, N.Y. -- The battle to move sex offenders out of a group home in West Seneca will continue in Albany. On Tuesday, the judge moved the case on the state's policy on sex offenders and housing from Erie County Court to Albany County.Since February, residents have repeatedly expressed outrage that seven registered sex offenders are living in a group home on Leydecker...