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
Shift scrutiny to Pierce County’s worst sex offenders
‘Sex offender” is a scary label. But it shouldn’t scare us into stupidity. Roughly 2,400 convicted sex offenders officially live in Pierce County. By law, they must report their addresses to law enforcement, which maintains a public database of their whereabouts, and officers must theoretically pay a visit to each one of them at least once a year. Full Article
Canada: RCMP considers outsourcing creation of Harper government’s planned public sex offender registry
The Mounties are considering outsourcing the replacement and modernization of the national sex offender registry — and the creation of a proposed new public website — to the private sector. This is in advance of new legislation, expected this fall, which will toughen penalties for sexual predators. A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the force is taking a “proactive approach” by exploring...
ID: How to guard against violent offenders (Opinion)
The tragic, horrific death of Nampa resident Selena Thomas has once again brought the uncomfortable topic of domestic violence to the forefront. It has also inspired the city’s former police chief and city councilman to call for the Idaho Legislature to create a new criminal registry for violent offenders, similar to the state’s sex offender registry. Full Article
Wasco sex offender ordinance adopted in 2007 thrown out
WASCO, Calif. - A sex offender ordinance in Wasco challenged by a law firm has been thrown out. The ordinance adopted by the city in 2007 restricted offenders from getting 300 feet near of public or private places. This involved public libraries, schools, parks, bus stops and child care centers. A Central Coast law office challenged that ordinance on grounds that it was too...
AL: Alabama pastor sues over closure of sex offender camp
BIRMINGHAM – An Alabama pastor who let convicted sex offenders live in a camp behind his rural church filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming a state law that forced him to shut down the operation violated his religious rights. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the complaint on behalf of Ricky Martin, pastor of Triumph Church in rural Chilton County south of Clanton. Full Article
MO: Defense attorney raises concerns about Missouri proposal on evidence in child sex abuse cases
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — A Missouri ballot measure that would allow allegations of past actions to be used against people facing child sexual abuse charges could lead to more wrongful convictions of the falsely accused, a prominent defense attorney said Wednesday. The proposed constitutional amendment is backed by prosecutors, sheriffs and police chiefs' groups. It would allow past criminal acts — even alleged crimes...
I was taking pictures of my daughters. A stranger thought I was exploiting them.
After my family arrives on the Cape May ferry for our annual vacation to the Jersey Shore, I take pictures of our two daughters on the ferry’s deck as we leave the harbor. I’ve been doing this since they were 3 and 4 years old. They are now 16 and 17. ... Totally engaged with the scene in front of me, I jumped when...
MD: Weakening the Shield: Reforming Sex Offender Registry Laws for the Worse?
The sex offender registry has long been a system relied upon by the government to keep track of the residence and activities of sex offenders, including ones who have completed their court-ordered sentences. It is also a shield designed to protect the public; however, the shield could soon be weakened when at least 1,200 names disappear from the State of Maryland’s registry. Full Article
LA: Confusion Remains Surrounding Sex Offender Photos Law
Confusion, mis-information or no information continue to be a theme for Louisiana State Representative Barbara Norton's law on posting sex offender photos in schools where *kids* can see them. At the end of last school year KTBS spot checked 4 local schools. 1 in Bossier and 3 in Caddo, most were not in compliance with the law. Photos of sex offenders were posted in...
Liberty and justice for all – and yes, that includes sex offenders
As thousands of students poured through the Spine and milled about the Student Union on the first day of classes, phones and computers all over campus buzzed and beeped, announcing an incoming email that would set one of their classmates apart. When SUNY recommended to UB students be contacted directly about the presence of a Level 2 sex offender on campus, it singlehandedly brought...
Federal Cybersecurity Director Found Guilty on Child Porn Charges
As the acting cybersecurity chief of a federal agency, ____ ____ should have been well versed in the digital footprints users leave behind online when they visit web sites and download images. But ____ —convicted today in Nebraska on three child porn charges including conspiracy to solicit and distribute child porn—must have believed his use of the Tor anonymizing network shielded him from federal investigators. ......
California passes ‘yes-means-yes’ campus sexual assault bill
Californian lawmakers passed a law on Thursday requiring universities to adopt "affirmative consent" language in their definitions of consensual sex, part of a nationwide drive to curb sexual assault on U.S. campuses. Full Article LA Times Article
Scotts Valley sex offender treatment center closes days before school starts
SCOTTS VALLEY >> A sex offender treatment center that drew the ire of some parents because it was located near Scotts Valley Middle School closed Monday. The announcement came Tuesday on the eve of the first day of school in Scotts Valley, months after the Scotts Valley Police Department asked the center to find a new location and almost two years since the facility...
MO: No place for sex offenders to go
Ol' Chaplain Farris Robertson is at it again — housing multiple registered sex offenders in a residential Springfield neighborhood despite a city order to vacate. Attorneys with the city of Springfield, busy defending the city's position in federal court, have decided to leave the residents of 1809 E. Crestview St. alone, for now. City officials are hopeful a court hearing, expected in early September,...
Polygraphs don’t work. So why do we still use them?
The FBI gives a polygraph test to every single person who's considered for a job there. When the DEA, CIA, and other agencies are taken into account, about 70,000 people a year submit to polygraphs while seeking security clearances and jobs with the federal government. Polygraphs are also regularly used by law enforcement when interrogating suspects. In some places, they're used to monitor the...
MA: SJC upholds GPS monitoring of sex offenders
The state’s highest court has rejected a challenge to the state law that requires GPS monitoring during probation for people convicted of certain sex offenses involving a child. The court said the law gave judges no discretion on whether to impose the GPS monitoring during probation, and the Legislature had good reasons for enacting the law. Full Article
FL: Air Force aiding Florida police in sex stings
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Not only have Central Florida law enforcement officers violated federal rules in conducting "To Catch a Predator"-inspired sex stings, but WTSP in Tampa has learned they may also violate longstanding federal law that prohibits the use of military resources to enforce state laws. Full Article
Child-porn sentencing questioned
Are federal sentencing guidelines for possessing child pornography too harsh? Calling the guidelines “draconian,” U.S. District Judge James L. Graham has become increasingly vocal in his criticism from the federal bench in Columbus. Full Article
Sex Offenders Housing Restrictions Are Pointless (Opinion)
On Thursday, Joseph Goldstein of the New York Times reported that “Dozens of sex offenders who have satisfied their sentences in New York State are being held in prison beyond their release dates because of a new interpretation of a state law that governs where they can live.” In short, since 2005, sex offenders in the state can't live within 1,000 feet of a school, and a...
Two decades later, has Megan’s Law delivered? (Opinion)
It's been 20 years since New Jersey's Legislature passed Megan's Law. The two decades since have been filled with legal challenges and disappointment it didn't accomplish what many thought it would. It's what happens when politics and emotion team to shortcut the legislative process. Full Opinion Piece