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
OR: Registrant died trying to stop Safeway shooting rampage
Source: foxnews.com 9/2/22 A man lauded as a hero for confronting a shooter inside an Oregon grocery store Sunday was convicted of child sex crimes while in the Army decades ago. Donald Surrett, Jr. died while trying to stop 20-year-old Ethan Blair Miller’s shooting rampage. Police said Surrett’s decision cost him his life but likely saved the lives of others. ... Information from state...
CA: 26-year-old registered sex offender in Sacramento County accused of sexually assaulting two teens
Source: kcra.com 9/1/22 SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —A 26-year-old Sacramento County man who is a registered sex offender is accused of assaulting two teens, authorities said in a release. ______ was arrested and booked in the Sacramento County Main Jail on Tuesday, the sheriff's office said. "He is known to frequent public recreation areas, parks and movie theaters throughout Sacramento County," the sheriff's office said....
FL: FAC sends letters to Sheriffs asking them to warn scam targets
Source: Florida Action Committee 9/1/22 FAC has sent letters to the Sheriffs of all 67 Counties in Florida, asking them to warn registrants of the scam targeting registrants across Florida and all states. FAC also calls on the affiliate organizations in each State, encouraging them to send a similar request to the registration offices in their States. Scams targeting people on the registry have...
General Comments Sept 2022
Comments that are not specific to a certain post should go here, for the month of Sept 2022. 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.
PA Attorney Aaron Marcus to Speak at ACSOL Conference
ACSOL is pleased to announce that Aaron Marcus, lead attorney in a recent successful case in Pennsylvania, has agreed to speak at this year's virtual conference on Saturday, October 1. Marcus will provide an in-depth analysis of the Torsilieri decision, describe the significant efforts leading to that success as well as possible future applications of that case. Marcus' presentation will begin at 9:20 a.m....
ME: Sex offenders find refuge at hotels funded by FEMA, investigation reveals
Source: ktxs.com 8/30/22 SOUTH PORTLAND, ME (WGME) — Some hotels in a Maine city have been in the spotlight since the start of the pandemic, as they began housing individuals experiencing homelessness as well as asylum seekers. Some hotels in a Maine city have been in the spotlight since the start of the pandemic, as they began housing individuals experiencing homelessness as well as...
Janice’s Journal: A Model Court Decision
A court in Pennsylvania ruled recently in favor of one registrant and that is a good thing. The even better thing the court did was to provide the registrant community with a model that can be followed in other state courts. To be sure, this week’s decision issued by the Court of Common Pleas in Chester County, Pennsylvania, is binding precedent only upon courts...
UT: Former prosecutor for AG’s Child Protection Unit arrested in child porn investigation
Source: ksl.com 8/25/22 SPANISH FORK — A man who used to work for the Child Protection Division of the Utah Attorney General's Office has been arrested and accused of possessing child pornography. Gary ___, 66, of Spanish Fork, was arrested Wednesday by Utah County sheriff's deputies for investigation of six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The investigation began Aug. 4 when investigators...
IN: ‘We don’t want you here’ Sheriff says over 1,800 sex offenders live in Marion Co., 52% aren’t from here
Source: wrtv.com 8/24/22 INDIANAPOLIS — There are more than 18,000 sexual or violent offenders living in Marion County, more than half of which were convicted and sentenced from out-of-area, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. As part of the office's efforts to drive down the number of sex offenders in the community, the sheriff's office conducted a sweep Wednesday morning near Brookside Park....
PA: Pennsylvania Court Decides State Registry Laws Violate State Constitution
Source: ACSOL A court in Pennsylvania decided this week that its state registry laws violate the state's constitution for two reasons. First, the laws are based upon a false presumption that all registrants have a high risk of reoffending. Second, the laws are punitive. "This decision by a Pennsylvania court is the clearest statement available to date regarding how registries punish individuals convicted of...
CA: California Lawmakers Allow Lawsuits Against ‘Cyber Flashers’
Source: usnews.com 8/22/22 SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Victims who receive unsolicited sexually graphic material by text, email, app or other electronic means could sue the sender under a bill that California lawmakers sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday. The bill targets what's known as “cyber flashing,” where victims receive such unwelcome surprises often from strangers. Read the full article
WA: Dogs trained to sniff out electronic devices help catch child predators
Source: katv.com 8/22/22 WASHINGTON (TND) — Chewie is one of this country’s most highly-trained work dogs. He works on the front lines in the fight to track down child predators by detecting and locating electronic storage devices. There are less than 100 canines certified to do this type of work. and Todd Jordan has trained nearly 70 of them. The dogs are trained to...
CA: A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal.
Source: sfgate.com 8/21/22 Mark noticed something amiss with his toddler. His son’s penis looked swollen and was hurting him. Mark, a stay-at-home dad in San Francisco, grabbed his Android smartphone and took photos to document the problem so he could track its progression. It was a Friday night in February 2021. His wife called their health care provider to schedule an emergency consultation for...
ACSOL September 17, 2022 Meeting
Please join ACSOL Executive Director and civil rights attorney Janice Bellucci as well as ACSOL President and criminal defense attorney Chance Oberstein for our next meeting. The meeting will be held on Saturday, September 17, 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...
AZ: Judge limits privilege defense in AZ Mormon sex abuse case
Source: msn.com 8/19/22 An Arizona judge overseeing a high-profile lawsuit accusing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of conspiring to cover-up child sex abuse has ruled that the church may not refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under the state’s “clergy-penitent privilege.” Clergy in Arizona, as in many other states, are required to report information about child sexual abuse or...
CA: A bill that would seal certain criminal records could open doors for millions of Californians
Source: latimes.com 8/18/22 SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation that would allow some Californians with criminal convictions to have those records sealed if they maintain a clean record, a move cheered by criminal justice reform advocates and harshly criticized by law enforcement. Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a Los Angeles Democrat who wrote Senate Bill 731, said sealing the records would remove burdens on previously...
Compelling Law Review Article Provides New Tool for Challenging Sex Offender Laws
There is a new and compelling law review article that provides a new tool for anyone who is considering a challenge to a sex offender law. That article, Panicked Legislation, is written by law professor and ACSOL vice president Catherine Carpenter who will speak about the article on October 1 during ACSOL's annual conference. The tool described in the law review article is the...
CA Petitions Filed, Granted and Denied
Source: ACSOL The total number of petitions filed during the first year was 2,798 according to the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ). Of that total, 1,442 petitions have been granted and only 30 petitions have been denied. The remaining number of petitions are pending. The CA DOJ has reported that 1,306 of these petitions filed were filed by or on behalf of individuals...
****Fifth Update: SORNA Regulations Hearing Rescheduled for Sept 12, 9am PT. Zoom available.
Source: ACSOL Update as of Aug 17, 2022: The hearing date has again changed. The new hearing date is now set for Sept 12, 2022 at 9:00 am Pacific Time. Click below to read the document filed with court requesting that the judge change the hearing date from Aug. 29 to another date to be determined. The reason given is that the assistant U.S....
TN: From registry to life sentence: Has Tennessee’s sex offender registry gone too far?
Source: newschannel5.com 8/15/22 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Attorneys have called for a change to the Tennessee sex offender registry they said created an unconstitutional punishment as legislators added more restrictions each year. Thomas has lived in Nashville almost all his life, but he’s rarely seen beyond work and the occasional grocery store run. Those trips are usually done within 15 minutes of the store...