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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North State Psychotherapist wants changes to Megan’s Law
Dawn Horwitz-Person is a Sex Offender Treatment Specialist in Chico. She deals with some of the most violent and dangerous convicted sex offenders in the north state. She has also been featured on "Oprah," and "Anderson Cooper 360." Oprah Winfrey flew to Chico in 2010 to meet with Horwitz-Person and four of her patients, who openly discussed how and why they chose their victims....
Neel Kashkari trails registered sex offender in new governor poll
Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari was already facing an uphill climb to unseat Gov. Jerry Brown this year, and now a new poll shows just how steep that hill is — he’s trailing a registered sex offender. Full Article
Cities scramble after sex offender ruling
Three cities and San Diego County are reviewing their bans on sex offenders being near schools and parks this week after the California Supreme Court declined to review lower court rulings declaring similar restrictions illegal. National City, La Mesa, Santee and the county have all adopted ordinances that prohibit sex offenders from being within 300 feet of a school, day care center, arcade, playground,...
Is there a loophole in CA’s tracking of sex offenders?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —Certain sex offenders are supposed to be tracked and monitored, even after they’re released from prison. But according to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, hundreds of them have registered as transient -- and some are doing so to avoid detection and certain living restrictions. Full Article
APPELLATE COURT INCREASES ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTIFICATES OF REHABILITATION
The California Court of Appeal issued a decision today (April 25) that increases the eligibility of registered citizens who may apply for a certificate of rehabilitation. That is, the court determined that individuals convicted of Penal Code 288(a) may apply for such a certificate. "The court's decision today is important to a small group of registered citizens who wish to apply for a certificate...
Sex offender data threatening home values, tarnishing neighborhoods and frustrating real estate agents
Allan Van Inwegen said he received some unsettling news almost immediately after moving into a home with his wife and two children about 14 years ago. His neighbors told him they were living in a property right next door to a sex offender, “who happened to be 17 with a green mohawk,” said Inwegen, a broker in Denver. But after some digging, he discovered...
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS BAN ON CITY, COUNTY ORDINANCES
[Updated with media links] The California Supreme Court today denied review of a lower court’s decision that, in effect, bans cities and counties from enforcing ordinances that restrict where a registered citizen may be present or near. Review by the Court was requested by the Orange County District Attorney. “Today’s decision is a major victory,” stated CA RSOL President Janice Bellucci. “Through its denial...
Santa Maria attorney files sex offender lawsuit against Lompoc
A Santa Maria attorney has filed a complaint in federal district court on behalf of a Grover Beach resident against the city of Lompoc over a sex offender ordinance the city adopted, claiming it violates both the federal and state constitutions. Attorney Janice Bellucci, who also serves as president of the California chapter of the nonprofit organization Reform Sex Offender Laws, filed the complaint on behalf of...
Supreme Court sets aside $3.4-million verdict for child-porn victim
WASHINGTON — Victims of child pornography whose images of sexual abuse have circulated on the Internet may claim damages from every person caught with illegal images, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. But justices rejected the idea that a single person who possesses such images may be assessed the full amount due to the victim, setting aside a $3.4-million verdict against a Texas man in...
NM: Court urges rewrite of state’s child porn law
New Mexico’s highest court on Monday overturned more than two dozen convictions in separate child pornography cases in a ruling that drew sharp criticism from Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, a former prosecutor. The state Supreme Court said the defendants can be charged with only one felony count of possessing child pornography despite having many pornographic images of children. Martinez spokesman Enrique Knell said the ruling...
Police can stop vehicles based on anonymous 911 tips, justices rule
WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court has upheld the authority of police officers to stop cars and question their drivers based on an anonymous tip to a hot line. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Clarence Thomas, the justices ruled that such stops do not amount to an unreasonable search or seizure, even if the arresting officer did not observe the vehicle speeding or swaying while driving...
Revolt over school’s honor for sex offender folk icon
Folk singer and convicted sex offender ____ _____ will be honored by La Guardia HS for the Performing Arts next month, enraging parents and prompting a dozen “uncomfortable” students to refuse to sing for him. Full Article
LOMPOC SEX OFFENDER ORDINANCE CHALLENGED IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT
Lompoc is the fifth city whose sex offender ordinance is being challenged in federal district court. The lawsuit was filed on April 21 in the U.S. District Court Central Division. "The City of Lompoc was notified in January that its ordinance violates the state and federal constitutions yet the city failed to either repeal or stay enforcement of that ordinance," stated attorney Janice Bellucci....
Steinberg seeks sex offender review beyond ‘what sounds good’
SACRAMENTO-- California Senate leader Darrell Steinberg says he'll seek a state investigation into California's supervision of sex offenders that goes beyond the circumstances of two Orange County transients recently accused of killing multiple women while they were supervised by state and federal agents and tracked on electronic monitors. Steinberg's staff said Friday that the Sacramento Democrat planned Monday to formally request a probe by the office...
MO: How robbing a pot dealer puts you on the sex offender list
On a January evening in 2004, four young men were visiting an acquaintance who lived in an apartment in Maplewood. Also living in the apartment was a 17-year-old who attended an alternative high school. His name was Eddie. Word was that Eddie sold pot. Full Article
Keeping kids safe
'In response' letter to the editor on National City's sex offender ordinance, for April 19, 2014 I think the point of our ordinance was missed by the April 16 editorial “Sex-offender laws lead to more crimes.” The state has full control of residence requirements for predatory sex offenders of children. Our ordinance has nothing to do with where a person resides, but instead it...
FTR – sentenced to life without parole
____ ____ ____, who was convicted last week for failure to register as a sex offender, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole on Thursday. Fifteenth District Attorney Hal Kittrell said ____ was given a life sentence because of his status as a habitual offender. He said ____ has been convicted of three previous felony charges in Pearl River County before being convicted for...
IA: Restaurateur closes every Monday to feed needy
Ellen DeGeneres was yelling for him — Derrick Walton, c'mon down. He ran down the Los Angeles studio steps, sat in the big chair on her national talk show and was cheered as a former homeless man who closes his Chef D's Rock Power Pizza every Monday to feed the homeless and needy. Full Article
Register Now for Webinar: “An Overview of Sex Offender Reentry: Building a Foundation for Professionals”
The challenges associated with reentry after incarceration are intensified for individuals who have been convicted of sex offenses. Research reveals that upon return to the community, sex offenders are more likely to be rearrested for a non-sex crime than a new sex crime, and that supervision violation rates are high. The field struggles with developing effective comprehensive reentry strategies that respond to the myriad...
Two convicted of murder in Fresno stabbing of sex offender [UPDATED]
Two friends were found guilty Friday of first-degree murder in the killing of a registered sex offender who was stabbed 58 times and his body dumped near Chandler Downtown Airport in southwest Fresno. David Barrera and Patricia Ann Perez, both 50, face life in prison when they are sentenced next month in Fresno County Superior Court. The jury deliberated over three days before convicting...