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
City of Carson Fails to Repeal or Revise Ordinance [updated with CC Video]
The Carson City Council failed to repeal or revise its sex offender ordinance during its meeting on August 5 despite recommendations to do so from both the City Manager and City Attorney. According to a staff report dated August 5, the City's ordinance is inconsistent with state law due to presence restrictions which limit where registered citizens may visit. The City's ordinance also includes...
WI: De Pere, Allouez take different paths on sex offenders
One issue, but two outcomes. Elected leaders in two Green Bay area communities Tuesday night took distinctively different positions on where convicted sex offenders can live. Major restrictions are now official in Allouez, but just to the south in De Pere leaders turned down a proposed rule on the same issue. While leaders in both communities have different views on the issue, they agree...
NY: New Law – Sex Offenders Need Not Apply
A new law prohibiting anyone with previous sex offense convictions from becoming a volunteer firefighter is an important advancement, but will not drastically change the firefighter vetting process, several area fire chiefs said Tuesday. The legislation prevents registered sex offenders from joining or remaining members of volunteer fire and ambulance companies by requiring applicants to submit to background checks for prior sex offense convictions,...
Hesperia City Council Modifies Existing Sex Offender Ordinance
In a vote of 4 to 1, the Hesperia City Council approved significant modifications to its sex offender ordinance by reducing both presence and residency restrictions. Specifically, the Council voted to end provisions that prohibited registered citizens from loitering within 500 feet of public places and replaced them with restrictions from being present at schools or public places where children gather. The Council also...
FL: Judd – men cleared of crimes still ‘sexual predators’
Polk County, Florida -- Sheriff Grady Judd assembled a press conference Tuesday morning of nearly a dozen local law enforcement leaders to recognize their efforts in "Operation Cyber Vigilance," a March-through-June crackdown that already received thorough coverage in local media. However, he either didn't realize - or didn't care - that a number of the 132 men whose faces appeared on his mugshot "big...
Carson City Council to consider revoking restrictions on sex offenders
Carson’s wide-reaching laws restricting registered sex offenders from approaching parks, child-care centers, public pools or other places where children gather will be on the chopping block Tuesday night when the City Council considers a lawsuit challenging the Municipal Code. Full Article
OWNER OF WEBSITES LOSES CASE IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT
Charles Rodrick, owner of a family of websites that publishes the names, photos and other personal information regarding registered citizens and sometimes members of their families, today lost a case filed against him in federal district court when the court entered a default judgment. The case alleged that Rodrick and others he controlled violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by extorting...
Council to consider bond issue, reconsider sex-offender laws
HESPERIA — The City Council will consider and reconsider a number of issues at a specially scheduled 3 p.m. Tuesday meeting. Included on the agenda is a resolution approving issuance of multi-family housing revenue bonds, revisions to regulations concerning registered sex offenders and amendments to the fine schedule under emergency water conservation conditions. Full Article
California not following recommendation on parole agent caseloads
California never adopted the recommendation that the caseloads of agents supervising sex offenders be reduced, despite the urging of a blue-ribbon task force that was set up after an arrest in the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, and the deaths of others at the hands of those under the state's watch. Instead, agent caseloads remain at levels as much as twice what the task force...
Google email scan helps police arrest a sex offender
Google has long used automatic image scanning to fight online child exploitation, but it's now clear that this monitoring applies to email, too. Houston police have arrested a registered sex offender after Google tipped them off to illegal photos of children in his Gmail account. The notice only led to a warrant at first, but it helped the cops discover locally stored images that...
We’re becoming paranoid about kids, parks (Opinion)
A couple of weeks ago, the Debra Harrell story made national headlines. Harrell was arrested in North Augusta, S.C., and charged with a felony for letting her 9-year-old daughter play at a park while Harrell worked a shift at a local McDonald’s. Now, it has happened again, in Port St. Lucie, Fla., where a mother was charged with child neglect after letting her son...
General Comments August 2014
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of August 2014. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil.
TX: From convicted sex offender to millionaire, man gets new life
Dallas (CNN) -- ____ ____ has has been spending most of his time these days living in a tiny room in a no-frills northeast Dallas nursing home. Until recently, he had a roommate who slept in a bed 2 feet away, and staff brought him three square meals a day. Only a few hours passed each day in which he didn't think about his burden...
UK: Teacher who sniffed children’s feet given suspended prison sentence
A TEACHER who sniffed and tickled pupils' feet for sexual gratification has been handed a suspended prison sentence. ____ ____ , 51, would play a game of 'smell and tickle' with pupils at a Blackburn primary school, which involved him making the pupils take off their shoes and pick a post-it note. He would then do to them whatever was written on the paper they picked. ... Judge...
FL: Mom arrested after allowing her 7-year-old son to go to a nearby park alone
A mother faces a charge of child neglect after she allowed her son to go to a local park alone. She says he's old enough but Port St. Lucie Police disagree. Now she's fighting back. ... The officer wrote in the report that Dominic was unsupervised at the park and that "numerous sex offenders reside in the vicinity." Full Article
TX: Rise in Sex Offenders in the Basin, Officials Explain Their Tactics
MIDLAND/ODESSA - A rise in sex offenders in the Basin, all because of the boom. But where are these criminals more likely to prey?The mall, playgrounds and parks are where many families and children come out to enjoy the summertime. Coincidentally, that's where sex offenders tend to enjoy themselves as well. Because of the rise in sex offenders in the Basin, NewsWest 9 set out...
Bell Gardens Repeals Section of Sex Offender Law
Faced with the threat of lawsuits, the Bell Gardens City Council Monday voted to repeal an ordinance restricting the movement of registered sex offenders in the southeast city. The council’s decision comes following recent court rulings striking down local sex offender laws that exceed state regulations. In 2009, Bell Gardens adopted an ordinance that bans registered sex offenders from being within 300 feet of...
Restrictions on Where Sex Offenders Can Reside Countywide Preserved
An ordinance limiting where convicted sex offenders can reside in Riverside County will stay on the books, but local restrictions on where they can hang out will no longer remain in force, following a 5-0 vote this week by the Board of Supervisors. Full Article Also: http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/79726/
People Confront Exclusion Zones
Steven Yoder has written a wonderful piece which describes how people in various communities are fighting back against the use of exclusion zones, especially as a condition of electronic monitoring. Exclusion zones most frequently are used against people with sex offense convictions. The rules for exclusion zones typically ban certain groups of people from coming within a certain distance of places where children are...
City to alter sex offender restrictions
STOCKTON - Seemingly without a say in the matter, and with a lawsuit filed against Stockton, the City Council appears likely tonight to repeal an ordinance that restricts some movements of registered sex offenders in places frequented by children. According to a staff report included in tonight's meeting agenda, the city has no choice because recent court decisions have decreed that state law on...