Source: ACSOL A judge in San Bernardino Superior Court ruled on December 13 that the time during which a registrant resided overseas does not qualify as registration. As a result, the court decided that the registrant is not eligible to petition for removal from the registry. “The language in the Tiered Registry Law is unclear regarding whether time spent overseas counts for the purposes of registration,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “We believe this case is the first case in which a court has been asked to interpret that…
Read MoreTag: California
CA: Heartwarming story of man missing 25 years is darker. He’s a registered sex offender.
Source: usatoday.com 12/5/24 After a fruitless 25-year search, a California woman found her long-lost brother in a USA TODAY story. But the case may not be the heartwarming reunion it first appeared. When Marcella Nasseri, a native of northern California, saw a May USA TODAY story asking for readers’ help to identify a nonverbal man at a Los Angeles County hospital, she was shocked. Local law enforcement confirmed that the man was her brother, Thomas ______, who vanished in 1999. But new details uncovered by USA TODAY reveal that Thomas…
Read MoreCA DOJ Issues Guidelines Regarding New Tier Assignments for Attempted Offenses
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) has issued guidelines regarding the reassignment of tiers for those convicted of an attempted offense. According to CA DOJ, there are more than 3,000 registrants who have been convicted of an attempted offense. The guidelines state that the majority of registrants who will be re-tiered are those who have been assigned to tier 3. They noted, however, that not all registrants assigned to tier 3 due to a conviction of an attempted offense will be reassigned to tier 1 but could…
Read MoreCA: CDCR Kicks Off ‘Operation Boo’ Halloween Safety Campaign
Source: cdcr.ca.gov 10/28/24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Halloween is fast approaching, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is helping to keep kids and families safe. Throughout the week, CDCR parole agents will be providing safety tips for trick-or-treaters via social media and as part of a comprehensive parents’ guide on our 2024 Operation Boo webpage. (Follow us on the following social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, X) THE BIGGER PICTURE: Hundreds of parole agents across the state, in collaboration with local law enforcement partners, will conduct compliance checks on sex offender supervised…
Read MoreCA: Public opposition thwarts success of sexual predator placement program, state says
Source: dailybreeze.com 10/21/24 Public opposition is making it difficult to reintroduce sexually violent predators into California communities even though they have undergone post-prison treatment that makes them much less likely to reoffend, according to a new state audit. The 57-page audit released last week said it can take months or even years to find community housing for SVPs, as sexually violent predators are called, after they have finished treatment through California’s conditional release program. … California designates those convicted of specific sexually violent crimes who also have significant mental health…
Read MoreCA: New CDCR Regulations Limit Treatment Requirements for Parolees
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has issued new regulations that limit treatment requirements for registrants while on parole. The regulations were issued on October 14 and became effective on that date. According to the regulations, registrants on parole will be evaluated annually to determine whether treatment beyond the first year of parole is required. If additional treatment is required, that decision must be written and a copy of that decision must be provided to the registrant within 30 days. “The new regulations will benefit many…
Read MoreCA: LA Archdiocese agrees to pay $880M to settle clergy abuse claims
Source: dailyjournal.com 10/16/24 The deal, subject to approval from all the plaintiffs, would provide compensation to 1,353 victims. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles agreed Wednesday to pay $880 million to victims of clergy sexual abuse. With the $740 million paid to victims in 2007, the church has now agreed to pay a record $1.5 billion. “It’s been a long time coming and a huge amount and work to get to this point. I’m convinced that the archdiocese has done everything they could to make this thing work and compensate clients.…
Read MoreCA: Federal court ruling leads to removal of mugshots on Lake County Sheriff’s Office website
Source: lakeconews.com 9/19/24 LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A federal court ruling handed down earlier this month has resulted in changes to inmate and arrest information posted on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website. The Houston V. Maricopa County ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court led to the sheriff’s office temporarily disabling its “recent arrests” and “in custody” online tools on its website at www.lakesheriff.com. The Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that Maricopa County, Arizona’s practice of posting photographs of arrestees — which is common across the United States — is not…
Read MoreCA: New CDCR Treatment Regulations Delayed
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) reported today a delay of up to 30 days in issuance of new regulations that are expected to clarify how long registrants on parole must undergo treatment. The projected date for issuance of the regulations is no later than October 30, 2024. CDCR previously entered into a settlement agreement regarding this matter several months ago in response to a lawsuit challenging an unwritten CDCR policy that required all registrants on parole to undergo treatment the entire time they are on…
Read MoreCA: Federal court ruling leads to removal of mugshots on Lake County Sheriff’s Office website
Source: lakeconews.com 9/19/24 A federal court ruling handed down earlier this month has resulted in changes to inmate and arrest information posted on the Lake County Sheriff’s Office website. The Houston V. Maricopa County ruling in the Ninth Circuit Court led to the sheriff’s office temporarily disabling its “recent arrests” and “in custody” online tools on its website at www.lakesheriff.com. The Ninth Circuit ruled unanimously that Maricopa County, Arizona’s practice of posting photographs of arrestees — which is common across the United States — is not constitutionally permissible because it…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB Reports Increase in Petitions Files, Decrease in Persons Required to Register
Source: ACSOL The California Sex Offender Management Board (CAOSMB) met today and during that meeting several reports were presented that reflected both an increase in the number of petitions filed, a decrease in the number of persons required to register and other information. Below is a chart listing those and other statistics presented during today’s meeting. Category Current Former Change Total number of registrants 104,571 104,795 -224 Registrants in violation 19,543 19,602 +59 Transient registrants 6,322 6,578 -256 Petitions filed 9,590 8,982 +608 Petitions granted 7,565 6,927 +638 Petitions denied…
Read MoreCA: Man killed within 45 min. of being placed in Alameda Co. jail cell with SVP
Source: kron4.com 9/5/24 [ACSOL is posting this to show how the actions of one registrant can negatively affect all registrants] DUBLIN, Calif. (KRON) – Alameda County is facing a federal civil rights lawsuit after an inmate, Yuri Brand, was slain inside Santa Rita Jail. Attorneys claim Alameda County Sheriff Deputies – who are Santa Rita Jail’s guards – “negligently placed” Brand and a violent sex offender into the same cell. Approximately 45 minutes later, the complaint alleges the inmate with mental health issues killed his new cellmate by choking him…
Read MoreCA DOJ to Send Notices to Those Convicted of Attempted Offenses
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) will send notices to those convicted of an attempted offense regarding the lowering of their tier assignment, according to a message received from that agency. The notices will be mailed to the homes of those who are affected by this change. CA DOJ sent an email message yesterday to an attorney who requested in June 2024 a new tier assignment for an individual convicted of an attempted offense. This request was made after a court issued a decision in March 2024…
Read MoreCA: California courts now required to advise defendants of possible SVP plea consequences
Source: kpbs.org 8/26/24 The California Supreme Court ruled Monday that trial courts will be required to advise defendants of the consequences of pleading guilty to crimes that could make them eligible for designation as a sexually violent predator, in a ruling stemming from a case out of El Cajon. The state’s highest court found that typically, defendants are not informed that their pleas to certain charges could result in being designated as a sexually violent predator, or SVP, which could lead to an indefinite commitment to a state hospital for…
Read MoreCA: Sacramento County DA’s Office accuses judge of creating an illegal plea deal with a man accused of grabbing five different women
Source: msn.com 8/17/24 SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A disagreement in a courtroom is spilling out into the public arena. The Sacramento County District Attorney (SCDA) is accusing a judge of creating an illegal plea deal with a man accused of grabbing five different women from behind in the Natomas area. “After five incidents of him approaching five separate women, touching their buttocks,” said Sonia Martinez-Satchell, Deputy District Attorney with the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. The District Attorney’s office says those incidents happened in parking lots in Natomas over two months beginning in September…
Read MoreCA Alert: California Governor’s Pardon will generally NOT terminate a duty to register
Dear registrants, family members, and supporters: Many private attorneys and public defenders indicate that a pardon by the California governor will terminate your duty to register. Some attorneys charge thousands of dollars to submit pardon applications. However, California Attorney General’s Office, which is responsible for maintaining California’s sex offender registry, will NOT terminate sex offense registration following a gubernatorial pardon grant, unless the Governor makes an express finding that the grantee is factually innocent of the sex crime triggering the registration requirement. Governor Newsom has granted no pardons…
Read MoreCalifornia budget watchdog opposes prison for child-sex buyers — too expensive
Source: thecentersquare.com 8/8/24 The California Department of Finance filed formal opposition against a bill that would create stronger criminal penalties for individuals who solicit sex from children, saying imprisoning more buyers of sex from underage prostitutes would be too expensive. SB 1414, by State Sen. Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, originally would have made attempted or successful solicitation of sex with a minor for money a felony with a prison sentence ranging from 2 to 4 years, a fine not exceeding $25,000, and registration as a sex offender — regardless of whether…
Read MoreCA: Prostitution Surveillance Video Recording Tower Goes Up in San Diego
Source: reason.com 8/5/24 Warrantless surveillance, Comic Con “sex trafficking,” and the persistence of trafficking myths Moral panic about sex work leads to law enforcement practices that reach far beyond anyone engaged in or with erotic labor. The latest example comes from San Diego County, California, where cops are putting up a creepy surveillance tower under the auspice of stopping sex sellers and sex buyers from meeting. The prostitution surveillance tower, stationed along National City’s Roosevelt Avenue, will record video of anyone who happens to be in the area. Read the…
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