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
CA: Riverside “cracking down” on registrants; “not supposed to be handing out candy on Halloween”
Source: ktla.com 10/31/23 In an effort to protect children, actively monitoring registered sex offenders is what a certain group of dogs are specially trained for. These aren’t just regular dogs. These K9s — named Chewie and Solo — are professionally trained to catch predators as part of their full-time job with the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team. Chewie and Solo are electronic scent detection...
MA: Hampden County Probation visits sex offenders on Halloween to ensure their lights are off
Source: masslive.com 10/31/23 SPRINGFIELD — Children dressed as superheroes, a ghost and one with an inflatable bat costume were running down the sidewalk trick-or-treating but when they hit Merimac Street they found one home dark and unwelcoming. While the children may have been disappointed to have to skip the house, a team of officers from the Hampden County Probation Department were happy to see...
General Comments Nov 2023
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Nov 2023. Contributions should relate to the cause and goals of this organization and please, keep it courteous and civil. This section is not intended for posting links to news articles without additional relevant comment.
TX: Texas City man found guilty in sex offender murder
Source: galvnews.com 10/27/23 A Galveston County jury Friday convicted a 23-year-old man of murder in connection to a 2021 bar beating death of a sex offender, according to court records. Taylor Christopher Requenes, 23, of Texas City, is set to return to court on Monday for sentencing. Requenes is one of five accused of beating Danny Sanders, 65, a registered sex offender, to...
Janice’s Journal: This Federal Court Got It Right — Mostly
Note: The beginning of this column was written on Friday, October 27. The end of this column was written on Monday, October 30. The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, got it right today when they granted our motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). The court looked at the facts presented to them and asked the right questions. In doing so, the...
Missouri good news! 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds TRO, Denies AG’s Motion
In a terse two-sentence decision issued today, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the federal district court on Friday. As a result, registrants in Missouri are not required to post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween this year. "We are grateful that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to protect...
DE: Hawkins: Bill allowing options for Sex Offender Registry removal is gift to children
Source: baytobaynews.com 10/26/23 Kudos to our legislators for passing House Bill 186 during Delaware’s 2023 legislative session and to Gov. John Carney for signing the bill into law. HB 186 will provide pathways off the Delaware Sexual Offender Central Registry for our children. It is important for Delawareans to know that the multitude of sexual offense laws in our state apply to every single...
Brief Opposing AG Attempt to Block TRO Has Been Filed
Updated 10/30: The 8th circuit upholds TRO! Click here to read the good news Click here to read Janice's Journal about this Original article: A brief opposing an attempt by the Attorney General (AG) of Missouri to block a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued last week by a federal district court has been filed. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals is...
TN: Tennessee’s legal struggles with its sex offender registry could cost taxpayer
Source: tennessean.com 10/29/23 NOTE: since we posted this article the website blocked it with pay-only access Dozens of people have scored legal wins against Tennessee’s sex offender registry law since federal judges ruled it violates constitutional protections against retroactive punishment. The situation could cost Tennessee taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney fees. Judges have repeatedly ruled against the law, and a...
TN: Prosecutors said she was a victim. She still had to register as a sex offender in Tennessee
Source: tennessean.com 10/29/23 NOTE: since we posted this article the website blocked it with pay-only access As things stand, she’ll be considered a violent sexual offender the rest of her life. She’s had to say this hundreds of times, and she knows how people tend to react. But she hopes you’ll give her a chance to explain this time. A newspaper headline about...
GA: Effingham County Sheriff’s Office continues to keep “dangerous” sex offenders off the streets during Halloween weekend
Source: wsav.com 10/26/23 EFFINGHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) — Law enforcement in Effingham County is upping their presence in the public during the holiday weekend, and they are making sure sex offenders are not on the streets during trick-or-treating. “We want to make sure that the kids have a stressless event for Halloween,” Brian Bailey, public information officer with the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, said....
On Resilience: In the criminal system, having your life constrained and restricted, even after your sentence is over, has become a fact of life
Source: inquest.org 10/26/23 Often people will say that when you leave prison you should try to forget it, walk away, and never look back. Fair enough: Anyone would wish to forget the horrors they had endured while in prison. But that’s simply not possible. People walking out the door of prison into the free world are resilient, remarkable beings who have survived the dehumanizing...
Missouri TRO Challenged by Attorney General
The Attorney General of Missouri has filed a motion for emergency stay that, if granted, would allow the government to enforce a state law that requires registrants in that state to post a sign on the front door of their homes on Halloween. This motion was filed in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals after business hours on Friday. According to this motion, the...
UT: More than 100 convicted sex offenders missing from the registry
Source: youtube.com / KSL 10/26/23 The Utah Department of Corrections is auditing the state’s sex offender registry and hiring additional staff after the KSL Investigators discovered more than 100 convicted sex offenders missing from the registry. Watch the video
Canada: Liberal bill updating sex-offender registry in response to court decision becomes law
Source: ctvnews.ca 10/27/23 OTTAWA - A Liberal bill that adds victims' input to the process for publication ban decisions and changes how the national sexual offender registry works has received royal assent. The new law requires judges to ask prosecutors if they have sought a victim's input when seeking a publication ban, and requires victims' preferences about receiving information about their case after an...
ME: Registrant falsely accused of mass murder because he has the same name
Source: usatoday.com 10/26/23 The claim: Image shows suspect in Maine shooting, previously arrested for child pornography An Oct. 26 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a photo of a man it claims is the suspect in a mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, that left 18 people dead. “Lewiston Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Robert Card Has Been Previously Arrested For Child Pornography & Is A...
Federal Court Grants TRO Stopping Halloween Sign Requirement for Registrants in Missouri
A federal court today granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that, in effect, stops a Halloween sign requirement for all registrants in Missouri. Specifically, the court order rules that state and local governments in Missouri "are temporarily enjoined from enforcing" the Halloween sign requirement. The court order leaves in place additional Halloween requirements such as turning off all outside residential lighting after 5 p.m....
GA: If I Join a Church After Prison, How Much of My Past Is Safe to Disclose?
Source: filtermag.org 10/25/23 Last Sunday, I tried to work up the courage to go to church. I did some Googling of the churches sprinkled around the Georgia county where I currently live. There are dozens; I could take my pick. But when I think about meeting a new congregation, I freeze. Do I introduce myself as trans? As someone who just got out of...
FL: Accused sex offender released back into community after being found incompetent to stand trial
Source: wftv.com 10/23/23 PINE HILLS, Fla. — A community learned on Monday that an accused repeat sex offender will be released back into their community, again. Channel 9 first reported on 56-year-old Joseph ____ since 2020. ____ has recently been found incompetent to stand trial and is not currently facing time for any of his charges. In the courtroom, parents of the alleged victims...
ACSOL Online Meeting November 18, 2023
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday November 18, online on Zoom beginning at 10 a.m. Pacific time, 1:00 PM Eastern, and will last at least two hours. You can use the Zoom app or call in using a Zoom phone number. There is no registration needed for this meeting....