Source: ACSOL Beware of attorneys offering to submit applications for gubernatorial pardons in California based upon the promise that a pardon will remove you from the registry. The California Department of Justice recently announced that it “will not terminate the requirement to register on the basis of a gubernatorial pardon unless it includes a finding of innocence.” The announcement is reflected on the Governor’s website Any attorney promising that a pardon without a finding of innocence will terminate the requirement to register is incorrect and should not be taking your…
Read MoreTag: California
CA: CDCR Agrees to Change Treatment Requirements for Registrants on Parole
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has agreed in writing to change treatment requirements for registrants while on parole. As a result of this agreement, the number of registrants who are discharged early from parole is expected to increase significantly. The improvements to which CDCR have agreed include the possibility of ending treatment in as little as one year. The improvements also require parole officers and treatment providers to decide after the first year of treatment and then once a year after the initial decision whether…
Read MoreCA: Hysteria over a registrant formerly labeled SVP
Source: abc30.com 5/17/24 MERCED COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) — A convicted sex offender is about to be released in the Central Valley. On Thursday, a Merced Superior Court judge ruled that Ciro Camacho should no longer be classified as a sexually violent predator. The judge ordered Camacho to be released from the California State Hospital. … “He intended to reside with his family here in Madera County,” said Sally Moreno, the Madera County District Attorney. Once he is released, the Merced District Attorney’s Office will notify the public. The agency said…
Read MoreCA: L.A. County puts 66 probation officers on leave for misconduct, including sexual abuse, excessive force
Source: nbcnews.com 5/14/24 [ACSOL is posting this to show abuse of authority] LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County Probation Department announced Monday that it has put 66 of its officers on administrative leave in the past five months for alleged offenses including excessive force, sexual abuse and drug possession. The department said the announcement was intended as an effort to “regain public trust” as it roots out employees who engage in misconduct at the nation’s largest probation agency with 2,800 sworn officers. “We are releasing this information in the…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court ruling will change how police interact with public when stopping, questioning
Source: abc7news.com 5/3/24 SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A new ruling by the California Supreme Court may change how police interact with the public. Community groups say it’s an important step to prevent over-policing. But some police unions say it’s going to make it harder for police to work effectively. “I think it’s a very important decision,” says Sujung Kim, a managing attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. She says with this ruling, the Supreme Court of California is finally recognizing instances of over-policing — especially in communities of…
Read MoreCalifornia Cops Locked an Innocent Man in a Sex Offender Unit for 3 Days
Source: reason.com 5/1/24 Victor Manuel Martinez Wario was jailed for a total of five days, spending three of those in special housing for sex offenders. In 2021, Whittier, California, police arrested Victor Manuel Martinez Wario on an outstanding warrant related to a 2012 child molestation conviction. The only problem? Police had arrested the wrong person. However, despite Wario frequently telling police he didn’t have any warrants out for his arrest, they didn’t bother to check—leaving Wario imprisoned for five days. Now, Wario is suing, claiming that police negligence amounted to…
Read MoreCA: Dozens arrested in Sacramento County child sex crimes sting operation
Source: kcra.com 4/22/24 One suspect was a San Jose fire captain, another was a Sunday school teacher and one was a US postal service employee SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. —Two dozen men were arrested in a three-day sting operation in Sacramento County, according to the sheriff’s office. The operation was aimed at finding people setting up meetings with children under the age of 13 with the intention of having sex with them. The sheriff’s office said the suspects range from men in their 20s to 70s. Officials said several of the…
Read MoreCA: Gov. Newsom signals support for bill targeting consumers of child sex trafficking industry
Source: kcra.com 4/18/24 SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signaled his support for a proposal targeting the consumers of child sex trafficking in California, but he suggested he has concerns about changes that were abruptly made to the proposal this week. “I look forward to getting this bill on my desk in a way that I’ll sign it, but we have some work to do,” Newsom said in a virtual news conference Thursday in response to KCRA 3’s question on the proposal. Republican State Senator Shannon Grove introduced the…
Read MoreCA: Bill to make purchasing children for sex a felony in California moves forward, but with some changes
Source: kcra.com 4/16/24 SACRAMENTO, Calif. —A key California Senate committee on Tuesday moved forward with a proposal to make purchasing a child for sex a felony in the state, but it was not necessarily a smooth process for the bill’s author. Because of that, it raises new questions about the future of the proposal. Democratic committee members forced Republican author State Sen. Shannon Grove to make changes to Senate Bill 1414 to only allow the felony classification for the purchase of minors under the age of 16. The Senate Public…
Read MoreCA: Purchasing a child for sex is a misdemeanor in California, lawmakers to debate classifying it as a felony
CLICK HERE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION (as of 4/16/24) Source: kcra.com 4/13/24 SACRAMENTO, Calif. —California lawmakers next week are set to debate a proposal that would ramp up the consequences for consumers of the child sex trafficking industry. Under California law, purchasing or soliciting a child for sex is a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail, or a minimum of two days in jail, and a $10,000 fine. Republican State Sen. Shannon Grove is trying to change that with SB 1414, which would classify…
Read MoreCA Dept. of Justice Agrees to Reduce Some Tier Assignments
Source: ACSOL The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) has agreed to reduce tier assignments for individuals convicted of an attempted offense. That agreement has been formalized in an order issued by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge this week. “This is a significant victory for those convicted of an attempted offense,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “In the past, CA DOJ assigned those people to the same tier as if they had completed their offense. As a result, thousands of registrants became ineligible to petition for removal from…
Read MoreCA: Woodland serial sex offender receives multiple life sentences
Source: kcra.com 3/26/24 [ACSOL is posting this as an example of extreme sentences] A Woodland man received multiple life sentences for the sexual assaults of four minor female victims, according to the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office. On Monday, 30-year-old Miguel ___ was sentenced to two indeterminate life sentences in state prison, totaling 30 years, with an additional term of 10 years after his life sentence is served. In January, Miguel pled guilty to three counts of committing a lewd or lascivious act upon a child under 14 for three…
Read MoreCA: Victim was carjacked, kidnapped, assaulted in Central California by registered sex offender, police say
Source: cbsnews.com 3/21/24 [ACSOL is posting this article to show how the actions of one registrant can negatively impact our efforts for justice] ELK GROVE – A person of interest in a kidnapping case out of Madera has been arrested in Elk Grove, police announced Wednesday. City of Madera police were looking for 54-year-old Otis McKinzy, a parolee and registered sex offender. Police say McKinzy was living out of his car in Madera and was staying on the streets near the victim’s home near Yosemite Avenue and L Street. Early…
Read MoreCA: A Beverly Hills middle school is investigating students sharing AI-made nude photos of classmates
Source: nbcnews.com 2/27/24 Students at a middle school in Beverly Hills, California, used artificial intelligence technology to create fake nude photos of their classmates, according to school administrators. Now, the community is grappling with the fallout. School officials at Beverly Vista Middle School were made aware of the “AI-generated nude photos” of students last week, the district superintendent said in a letter to parents. The superintendent told NBC News the photos included students’ faces superimposed onto nude bodies. The district did not share how it determined the photos were produced…
Read MoreAppellate Court Reverses Denial of Petition (Good News!)
Source: ACSOL The Second Appellate District Court today issued a decision reversing a trial judge’s decision to deny a petition filed on behalf of a California person required to register. As a result of this decision, the trial court judge must grant that petition which will in turn terminate the person’s requirement to register. “Today’s decision is the third appellate court decision reversing a trial court judge’s decision to deny a petition,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. “In all three decisions, the appellate court found that the District Attorney…
Read MoreCA: People With Criminal Records Should Not Have to Hire a Lawyer Just to Get a Job
Source: truthout.org 2/4/24 State laws are restricting people with convictions from working as nurses, counselors and janitors. Finding work can be difficult for anyone, but Fernando Herrera faces an extra challenge. California has banned him for life from his dream job as a firefighter because of two felonies he committed as a teenager. Herrera went to prison for assaults he committed at ages 14 and 15. But he took responsibility for his actions and turned his life around. He worked as an unpaid firefighter while in prison and found his…
Read MoreCA: New California bill proposes law change to stop transient release of sexually violent predators
Source: cbsnews.com 2/2/24 ROCKLIN — Outrage in Placer County over the placement of a legally designated sexually violent predator (SVP) was met with a possible solution Friday put forward by Republican Assemblyman Joe Patterson of Rocklin. Patterson introduced a new bill looking to ban all release of SVPs as transients into California communities. He wants to strengthen the definition of acceptable housing when these offenders are released from state hospitals after they complete their mandated treatment. “If they are going to be released, they have to be released in a…
Read MoreCA: A Constitutionally Dubious California Bill Would Ban Possession of AI-Generated Child Pornography
Source: reason.com 1/26/24 The proposal seems to conflict with a Supreme Court ruling against laws that criminalize mere possession of obscene material. Back in 2016, a study found that it was increasingly difficult for subjects to distinguish between actual photographs of people and computer-generated simulations of them. The researchers suggested that development would complicate prosecution of child pornography cases. That concern has been magnified by rapid improvements in artificial intelligence, prompting a California bill that would, among other things, make it a felony to possess virtual child pornography when it…
Read More