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
Costa Mesa repeals law banning sex offenders from public parks
The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday night agreed to repeal an ordinance that banned registered sex offenders from entering city parks without permission from law enforcement. The council's unanimous vote comes after state appellate court rulings against similar ordinances adopted by the Irvine City Council and the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Costa Mesa is facing its own lawsuit, John Doe vs. City of Costa Mesa, filed...
Task Force on Restoration of Rights and Status after Conviction (Survey)
NACDL (National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) is in the midst of a major study that will lead to a report issued in 2014 on the countless ways in which a person’s rights, ability to work, and the like, are affected by a criminal conviction. As part of this effort, NACDL needs your help. If you are interested in sharing your story of lost...
Sex Offender’s Case Won’t Face En Banc Rehearing
PASADENA, Calif. (CN) - The full 9th Circuit should have been called to consider whether to let a sex offender challenge his parole conditions, as the question imperils "our constitutional system's respect for state sovereignty," five judges said Tuesday. ____ ____ alleges that California prison officials violated his civil rights by imposing residency and GPS monitoring restrictions typically reserved for sex offenders, even though...
WI: Sexting can be considered child porn, so what penalties should kids face?
MILWAUKEE —Research shows one in five teens are sexting -- the sending of sexually explicit text or email messages. WISN 12 News investigative reporter Colleen Henry looks into the problem facing parents, police and prosecutors -- what to do with kids caught sharing these explicit messages. It's a digital world, which can change as quick as the click of a camera. "I do think it has...
IN: Special Report – Stopping Near Sex Offenders
VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) - Thousands of students in the Tri-State ride the bus to and from school each day. Many of those stops are alarmingly close to registered sex offenders. 14 News followed several bus routes throughout the Tri-State and found children, some as young as five-years-old, waiting for the bus just feet away from registered sex offenders. Some parents are already vigilant, but for...
The Public Flaw in Megan’s Law
What illegal behavior is part of your past? Speeding? Underage drinking? Leaving a store with an item you didn't pay for? If you got caught, were you punished by a state-run website listing your offense and notifying others where you lived? Probably not. But what if those were your punishments? Would they have stopped your objectionable behavior in the future? Probably not. Because public humiliation generally doesn't...
UK: Children as young as 10 arrested for rape as 10 cautions given out for child sex crimes
Ten offenders have been given a ‘slap on the wrist’ by Cambridgeshire police over sex crimes involving children, as tough new rules are brought in over cautions for serious offences. New data has also revealed children as young as 10 have been arrested on suspicion of rape. A total of 52 under 16 year- olds have been arrested over alleged rape since 2009 and of...
FL: Village becomes refuge for sex offenders
Pahokee (United States) (AFP) - Deep in the swamps of southern Florida, Miracle Village lies miles away from the nearest town, surrounded by sugar cane fields. Nearby, the irrigation canals are swarming with alligators. While the name suggests an idyllic rural getaway, the former plantation near Pahokee now is almost exclusively home to men who spent time in prison for sex crimes. Full Article
Sexual Predators Online
Myth #4: Social media put teens at great risk from sexual predators. In a nationwide survey, boyd and her colleagues found that 93 percent of parents were concerned that their child might meet a stranger online who would hurt them, while only one percent of them indicated that any of their own children had ever had such an experience. By far the biggest fear...
GPS monitoring alerts overwhelm probation officers
SACRAMENTO — Electronic monitoring was supposed to help Los Angeles County deal with the influx of thousands of felons moved out of California's prison system to ease overcrowding. The nation's largest probation department strapped GPS ankle monitors on the highest-risk of those convicts, expecting the satellite receivers to keep tabs on where they spent their days and nights, and therefore keep the public safe. Instead,...
IL: From W.A.R, Action Alert for Illinois Voices
This week, an Illinois Senate Committee will be considering SB2912, a bill that negatively impacts registered sex offenders (RSOs). We need you to take the following action on this bill:Follow the link below to complete a witness slip OPPOSING this billCall or write the sponsors and committee members and tell them you OPPOSE this billPlease do this RIGHT NOW! Don’t put it off. Your...
IN: Sex offenders face hurdles rejoining society
Just mentioning the housing needs of convicted sex offenders is sure to raise the ire of many, with the prevailing attitude being “not in my neighborhood.” It’s an understandable reaction, because those who commit sex crimes often prey on the most helpless and vulnerable victims, our children. To say it’s an especially harmful crime falls short of describing the emotional havoc left in its wake....
Germany: Child pornography’s legal grey zone
A German ex-parliamentarian is being investigated for possessing child pornography. Prosecutors and other experts are often forced to make difficult distinctions on whether a given image crosses the line into illegality. When it comes to the legal definition of child pornography in Germany, a large grey area exists. Just by entering relevant terms in a search engine or trying to open a picture on...
Appellate court rejects “past as prelude” myth
In a strongly worded ruling, a federal appellate panel has ordered that a Native American man be freed from civil confinement due to evidence of his rehabilitation while in prison. Both a judge and an expert witness had downplayed this evidence, condemning the man as a future risk based on long-ago transgressions, the Fourth Circuit panel concluded. Full Article
Breaking our prison habit
It’s too soon to declare victory in the long struggle to end our tragic addiction to mass incarceration, but America shows unmistakable signs of finally shaking off the deadly craving — and not a moment too soon. More and more Americans are realizing our status as the world’s largest jailer comes at a shocking cost in dollars and human lives with little benefit to public...
Sentenced young: The story of life without parole for juvenile offenders
Opponents of juvenile life without parole point out that the same limitations that make children less culpable for their criminal actions also apply to their experience in the courtroom. “Many young adolescents … are not developmentally and intellectually mature enough to be legally ‘competent’ to stand trial,” Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote in their joint 2005 report. The report points out children’s...
Costa Mesa City Council to revisit sex-offender park ban [UPDATED]
UPDATE: Motion to repeal passes 5-0 The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to consider instituting a reward for help in identifying vandals and repealing a law that aims to rein in the movements of sex offenders. The Police Department has recommended that the council consider revoking a 2012 ordinance that bans registered sex offenders from entering city parks and sports facilities without law enforcement...
NH: Sex Offender Says He Should Be Able To Attend Church
CONCORD, N.H. —A convicted sex offender took his fight to attend church to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday. A lower court told Jonathan Perfetto that he couldn't go to church because his suspended sentence prohibits him from being around children. Perfetto was convicted in 2002 of possessing 61 images of child pornography. Barbara Keshen of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union told the...
Community notification of the Looters of society
This information is going to be a bit hard-core. In a recent blog talk radio show titled Viva La Revolution on Activist Central http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ActivistCentral the narrator put forth the point that the government has made war upon registered citizens, their parents, spouses, siblings and children as well as their employers and friends. As pointed out perhaps we should consider ourselves the resistance fighters in...
PA: Carbondale sued over Megan’s Law ordinance
A former Carbondale man forced from his home because his son is registered under Megan's Law is suing the city and the mayor, alleging he was targeted for enforcement because he challenged the constitutionality of a city ordinance that limited where sex offenders could live. ____ ____ of Archbald claims his son, ____, was among 15 Megan's Law offenders living in Carbondale in...