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
Florida Youth Registration Story Collection
Source: jlc.org (Juvenile Law Center) email Juvenile Law Center is working on a report on the registration of youth as sex offenders in Florida. The report will address state registration law, county and municipal ordinances, and data on individuals required to register as youth in Florida. We are collecting stories from individuals who were or are required to register as sex offenders in Florida...
States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2021
Louisiana once again has the highest incarceration rate in the U.S., (Rates calculated per 100,000 people) unseating Oklahoma to return to its long-held position as “the world’s prison capital.” By comparison, states like New York and Massachusetts appear progressive, but even these states lock people up at higher rates than nearly every other country on earth. Compared to the rest of the world, every...
Emily Horowitz to Speak at ACSOL Conference on September 17
Professor and Sociologist Emily Horowitz will deliver a thought provoking presentation during the ACSOL conference on Friday, September 17, at 11 a.m. (Pacific). Her presentation will focus upon "The Failure of Legal Responses to Sexual Violence" and will include a new perspective on how and why false claims about sex offenses have become so pervasive. "Professor Horowitz understands the daily challenges faced by registrants...
Critics seek reform of Colorado sex offense laws they say can do more harm than good
Lawmakers, researchers and even some victims seek reform of Colorado’s Sex Offense Management Board. By ALEX BURNESS | aburness@denverpost.com | The Denver Post September 6, 2021 Close to 30 years ago, Mr. Bethurum was living in Wray, in his late 40s, when he groomed an underage family member and entered into what he wrongly thought of as a relationship. He says he now understands...
Canada: Naked in river, but not guilty
Source: castanet.net 9/4/21 Naked man in river at Pioneer Park beach not indecent, judge rules naked in river, but not guilty A naked sex offender in the river at a busy downtown Kamloops beach this summer was not indecent, a judge has ruled, finding the Crown case against him too thin to convict. Kenneth Wickstrom stood trial on one count of committing an indecent...
CA: Sex Offender Who Goes By ‘Mr. Rape, Torture, Kill’ Has Left CA
Source: patch.com 9/4/21 COSTA MESA, CA — Authorities on Friday said convicted child molester Cary Jay Smith is believed to have relocated out of state. However, it's unclear if Smith, who gave himself the moniker Mr. RTK (rape, torture, kill), has registered as a sex offender in his new state. It is certain that his move was not widely publicized in his new community....
Founder
"I was in prison for 15 years on a sex offense (288), and was just told that I will be on probation, Post release community supervision. How will this be different than parole?
Recent Registration Experience
This is basically a check in on my most recent visit to the Sheriffs office to do my annual registration. One thing that surprised me was I was able to register for my annual registration 26 days before my birthday. I knew they required an appointment to register, so I called on September 1st, and much to my surprise the told me to come...
UK: Screwdriver held to man’s neck before he jumps from first floor over fake sex offender claims
Source: coventrytelegraph.net 9/2/21 A young man was punched repeatedly and told he would be stabbed with a screwdriver at the hands of two men who suspected he was a sex offender. Having been the subject of the "appalling attack" for around half an hour, the victim managed to make a run for it and, as he was so terrified, he jumped out of a...
FL: Letter to the Editor: Sex offender registry issue needs to be addressed
Source: nwfdailynews.com 9/2/21 As a counselor in the state of Florida, I think it’s time to address challenges concerning social media and illegal sex with minors, and the growing number of designated sex offenders in our state (356/100K – total 76,000 in Florida - 800K nationally). All sex offenders are not child molesters. Pedophiles and rapists are. The US Bureau of Justice reports the average age of...
Indecent exposure charges filed against trans woman over L.A. spa incident
Prosecutors filed multiple counts of indecent exposure this week against a transgender woman whose alleged conduct was at the center of a viral video that sparked a pair of violent protests outside a spa in Westlake this summer, officials said Thursday. ______ Merager was charged Monday with five counts of indecent exposure, relating to an incident inside the Wi Spa on June 23, according...
CT: Changes To Sex Offender Registry Will Be A Tough Sell
Source: ctnewsjunkie.com 8/27/21 Sentencing Commission weighs need for change versus public perception by Lisa BackusAugust 27, 2021, 5:00 am The proposal to move some people off the state’s sex offender registry is going to be a “heavy lift,” according to members of the state Sentencing Commission. But members said it should lead to greater public safety by allowing police to focus on high-risk registrants instead...
A Culture Without the Possibility of Redemption Is a Toxic Culture
Source: thriveglobal.com 8/31/21 The paradox of social media, and so much of our technology, is that it keeps us locked in an eternal present, while at the same time creating an eternal archive that never fades away. The result isn’t just higher levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness, it also makes it harder for us to grow and evolve — which is, after all,...
General Comments Sept 2021
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Sept 2021. 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.
An old arrest can follow you forever online. Some newspapers want to fix that.
Source: washingtonpost.com 8/31/21 The Boston Globe has joined a handful of newsrooms around the country doing something once unthinkable: changing old articles because they are ruining a person’s life. The newspaper on Friday launched its Fresh Start initiative, which allows people to petition to have information about them removed from or added to old stories, to have their names anonymized, or to have the...
ACSOL President Chance Oberstein to Discuss Travel Law Updates
ACSOL President Chance Oberstein will discuss travel law updates on September 17 at 11 a.m. (Pacific) during this year's ACSOL annual conference. Mr. Oberstein's presentation will address both domestic and overseas travel. "Registrants are traveling both domestically and internationally during the pandemic for both personal and business reasons," stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. "Not only must they be careful of COVID-19 restrictions, they...
MN: Long Weekend Protest Rocks Minnesota’s Shadow Prisons
Source: texansagainstcivilcommitment.com 8/29/21 MOOSE LAKE MN. Behind barbed wire fences a protest movement is swelling for an end to Minnesota’s Shadow Prisons, “treatment facilities” that detainees say are an unconstitutional death sentence. Nearly 800 people are held indefinitely outside of any criminal proceedings, after finishing prison sentences or without being convicted of a crime on civil allegations of being “mental ill” and “sexually dangerous”....
PA: Life sentence for Edwardsville man convicted of child pornography
Source: timesleader.com 8/27/21 WILKES-BARRE — In what attorneys believe to be the first in Pennsylvania, an Edwardsville man convicted by a Luzerne County jury of possessing child pornography was sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life in state prison. Joseph J. Davis’ apology had no effect on Judge Tina Polachek Gartley, who expressed compassion for the jurors when they viewed video of...
Kansas Supreme Court Ruling: City Conviction Requires Sex Offender Registration
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a man's municipal conviction for sexual battery requires him to register as a sex offender. The 5-2 decision comes in the case of a man, who was convicted in 2018 of sexual battery in violation of the Shawnee municipal code. At issue was whether he was required to register as a sex offender under the Kansas Offender...
FL: FBI Agent, Army Reserves Col. charged with sex crimes against children in Florida
Source: cbs42.com 8/27/21 FRANKLIN COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) — An FBI agent who investigated sex crimes against children has been arrested and charged with multiple sex crimes against children across several states, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies said Supervisory Special Agent David ____ was tasked with investigating crimes against children, including child pornography. But in February of this year, he was accused...