Tag: California

CA: As California prisons face ‘wave’ of sex assault lawsuits, new audit highlights slow discipline

R H

Source: calmatters.org 12/9/25 Five California correctional officers who were accused of sexually assaulting incarcerated people over the last dozen years remain employed by the state, according to a new audit from the state prisons’ inspector general.  The audit, released last week, is a twice-a-year summary of how the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation addresses complaints about its staff members. Overall, the inspector general found fault with the internal affairs department’s investigations into prison guard misconduct. The audit labeled 86% of the prison system’s internal affairs disciplinary and criminal caseload as…

Read More

CA: Fresno County targets sex offender concentration with new ordinance proposal

R H

Source: kmph.com 12/8/25 FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Fresno County Supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Brian Pacheco, alongside Sheriff John Zanoni, have announced a proposed ordinance aimed at limiting the number of registered sex offenders in single-family homes in unincorporated areas. They are holding a news conference on Monday morning at 10 a.m. to announce the proposal at the Hall of Records in downtown Fresno. The move comes after residents voiced concerns about safety and quality of life. “This ordinance is long overdue,” Bredefeld said. “No neighborhood should be made to feel afraid…

Read More

CA: Family of 8-year-old girl sues LA school alleging sexual assault by older girl students

R H

Source: msn.com 12/3/25 The family of an 8-year-old girl is suing a school in Chatsworth, alleging their daughter was sexually assaulted by older students as part of a so-called “Kissing Club” and the school failed to do enough to stop it, or report it, once they found out. According to the family, their daughter, who was 7 years old at the time of the incident, was sexually assaulted in the bathrooms of Sierra Canyon School, a private school serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th Grade, during school hours. The lawsuit…

Read More

CA: Redding council calls for stricter rules on parolee housing at motels

R H

Source: redding.com 12/3/25 Two primary organizations are housing parolees, including sex offenders and arsonists, in Redding motels. A report found no concentration of parolees from outside the area being housed in the city. Some motels are being used for transitional housing without the proper legal classification or permits. Redding City Council has directed officials to enforce zoning laws and draft new rules for non-profits. At the Dec. 2 Redding City Council meeting, the City Manager’s Office gave a report on the housing of parolees — including registered arsonists and sex…

Read More

CA: For Incarcerated Students in California, Education Is a Collective Endeavor

R H

Source: truthout.org 12/1/25 Often denied access to the books and materials they need, incarcerated students rely on mutual aid to succeed. Kenneth Butler, an inside-outside prison education training coach who grew up in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, spent 15 years incarcerated prior to his release from prison in June 2021. He’s since implemented reentry programs and conducted recidivism research in Uganda while on a Fulbright Fellowship, and he has served as a mentor to formerly incarcerated youth and young adults in Southern California. Before all that, Butler was…

Read More

CA: Major Victory for Female Registrants on Parole

R H

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) agreed today to immediately stop using the FSORA tool for women on parole who have been convicted of a sex offense.  In addition, CDCR has agreed to reclassify all female registrants as low risk within 12 months.   Further, CDCR will review all female registrants on a case-by-case basis to determine whether they should be reassigned from parole to probation which has fewer restrictions.  These changes are the result of a lawsuit filed in July 2025 in which ACSOL challenged CDCR’s use of the FSORA…

Read More

CA: Fresno supervisor uses hysteria, public profanity and threats to evict “sex offenders he doesn’t care about”

R H

Source: yourcentralvalley.com 11/6/25 FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – Fresno County is considering a change to the law to deal with issues linked to two homes providing housing for convicted sex offenders. The homes are located in Fresno’s Old Fig Garden neighborhood, at the corner of Palm and Gettysburg. Garry Bredefeld, who represents that area on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, says he’s heard from homeowners worried for their safety – and their children’s safety. “During the campaign, when I was walking the precincts, interacting with people in the Fig Garden, they…

Read More

CA: Woman charged in shooting at Fresno sex offender home

R H

Source: yourcentralvalley.com 10/13/25 FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The woman accused of opening fire in a home for registered sex offenders was in court on Monday. 45-year-old Jennifer Cedano faces four felony charges, including assault with a semi-automatic firearm. Investigators say on Aug. 30, she broke into a home in Fresno’s Old Fig Garden, where several sex offenders live, and opened fire. One man sustained a gunshot wound to his lower body.  … Read the full article  

Read More

CA: Redding motel under scrutiny after police say 18 sex offenders and arsonists are housed there

R H

Source: actionnewsnow.com 9/25/25 REDDING, Calif. – A motel on Cypress Avenue is getting attention this week after Redding Police found out that more than a dozen registered sex offenders and arsonists are being housed there. Recently, Redding Police Chief Brian Barner and his staff found out that the ‘Guestplace Inn & Suites’ on Cypress Avenue is housing 18 registered sex offenders and arsonists. Those receiving housing are apart of the ‘No Boundaries’ program. No Boundaries works in collaboration with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to house parolees who are fresh out of jail.…

Read More

CA: California shrank prisons with sentencing changes. A new study shows how that’s working

R H

Source: calmatters.org 9/25/25 California over the past dozen years enacted a series of criminal justice laws that were meant to give more people an opportunity to be resentenced and thin out the state’s severely overcrowded prisons. This week a state agency released the most-comprehensive look yet at how those changes are playing out among formerly incarcerated people.  The report found low recidivism rates among people who were older and had served lengthy sentences. Those patterns contrasted with people serving shorter prison sentences for nonviolent crimes, which showed higher rates of recidivism, the…

Read More

CA: Fremont murder suspect allegedly admits to targeting sex offenders

R H

Source: kron4.com 9/23/25 A man accused in a deadly Fremont stabbing last week allegedly admitted to police that he was targeting registered sex offenders as potential victims. Varun Suresh, 29, of Fremont, has been charged with murder in connection to the stabbing death of a 71-year-old man that occurred Thursday in the 600 block of Upper Vintners Circle. He also faces charges for residential burglary and armed individual causing great bodily injury. … Investigators said Suresh had targeted the victim “because of the victim’s age and previous offenses,” according to Fremont police.…

Read More

CA: Bay Area sex offender with cancer denied mercy release

R H

Source: mercurynews.com 9/9/25 A state inmate convicted of child molestation in Marin County in 1989 has been denied early medical release because of terminal cancer. Victor Wayne Cooper, 69, lived in Novato when the crimes occurred. He allegedly molested a 6-year-old Novato girl, the daughter of an acquaintance, over a five-month period. Cooper was convicted of four counts of lewd acts against the girl. A judge sentenced him to 60 years to life in prison. Cooper had two prior rape convictions. Last year, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation…

Read More

CA: SF Judge to Continue Case Despite Claims of Mental Incapacity

R H

Source: davisvanguard.org 7/26/25 San Francisco – On July 23, 2025, in Department 17 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Deputy Public Defender Maria Avalo Cruz argued that her client’s intellectual disabilities rendered him incapable of navigating the digital world, and thus he lacked the intent to possess child pornography—grounds, she said, for dismissing the charges. Cruz asked Judge Brian J. Stretch to grant a motion to dismiss the case, contending that her client’s cognitive limitations made it impossible for him to intentionally obtain or store illicit content. Deputy District…

Read More

B.R.A.V.E. San Quentin CA program provides safe space to discuss shame and trauma

R H

Source: sanquentinnews.com 6/28/25 A new 26-week self-help program has been established at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, designed to help those convicted of a sex offense to understand why they committed the crime. The program’s name, B.R.A.V.E., stands for Bridging, Responsibility, Accountability and Vulnerability through Empathy. It began in January 2025 with 38 participants in attendance, which included volunteers and administrative and medical officials. The program gives participants a safe place to understand the trauma they have caused without fear and stigma. This environment will encourage participants to freely discuss the…

Read More

CA Extreme sentencing: OC tutor gets 235 years for molesting 2 students at after-school program

R H

Source: ocregister.com 7/18/25 [ACSOL is posting this to show an example of extreme sentencing] A tutor who sexually assaulted two boys for more than a half-decade while working with them in an Orange County after-school program was sentenced on Friday, July 18, to 235 years to life behind bars. The sentence of Zeta “Jimmy” _______, 53, in a Santa Ana courtroom — officially 235 years, eight months to life — came a little more than two months after a jury convicted him of a dozen felony counts of lewd acts…

Read More

CA: Humboldt County compliance sweep fails to find any registrants who reoffended

R H

Source: lostcoastoutpost.com 6/6/25 Between May 19th and May 30th, 2025, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office conducted a sex offender registration compliance sweep throughout the County of Humboldt. Representatives from the Arcata Police Department, Rio Dell Police Department, Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office and State Parole assisted during the operation. During compliance sweeps, law enforcement attempts to contact registered sex offenders in Humboldt County to ensure each offender is following their registration requirements. Pursuant to California Penal Code 290, sex offender registrants are required to register in person with the law…

Read More

CA: Senate Approves Senate Bill 680 As Amended

R H

Source: ACSOL The California Senate approved Senate Bill 680 (SB 680) on June 4 by a wide margin.  The only person who voted against SB 680 was Senator Scott Weiner, author of the Tiered Registry Law. “We commend Senator Wiener for once again protecting individuals charged with or convicted of a sex offense,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci.  “It is unfortunate that the remaining state senators chose to ignore the fact that registrants have a low rate of re-offense.” The original version of SB 680 could have added up…

Read More

CA: CASOMB Approves Point Paper Opposing Bill That Could Add 30,000 People to Registry

webmaster

The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) today approved a point paper opposing Senate Bill 680, a bill that could add 30,000 people to the California sex offender registry.  Specifically, the bill could require individuals convicted of illegal intercourse (Penal Code Section 261.5), also known as statutory rape, to register for the first time if the difference between the age of the perpetrator and the victim was at least 10 years.  If passed, the bill would be applied retroactively and include convictions that are 30 years old or older. “The…

Read More