Source: ACSOL The Second District Court of Appeals has issued a decision that overturns a decision by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denying a registrant’s petition for removal from the registry. According to today’s appellate court decision, the trial judge’s decision was improper because the District Attorney failed to prove that the registrant poses a current danger to public safety. “This decision is very important because it upholds a prior appellate court decision, People v. Thai, which ruled that the burden of proof is upon the District Attorney, not…
Read MoreTag: California
CA Survey: Did CDCR spend your parolee $200 release allowance for you?
Source: rootandrebound.org and prisonerswithchildren.org [ACSOL’s comment: CA parolees, ex-parolees, and supporters, please take a few moments to take this survey share your personal experiences with CDCR spending your parolee $200 allowance.] From: Claudia J. Gonzalez, cgonzalez@rootandrebound.org As advocates for justice and fairness, we need your help to address an ongoing issue affecting individuals released or paroled from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) institutions. By law, individuals leaving CDCR facilities are entitled to a $200 release allowance known as ‘Gate Money.’ Unfortunately, there’s a concerning practice within CDCR where…
Read MoreChange IS afoot at CASOMB – Occasional Musings by the President of ACSOL, Catherine L. Carpenter
Occasional Musings by the President Change IS afoot at CASOMB By Catherine L. Carpenter President, Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws Slowly, change is taking place at California Sex Offense Management Board (CASOMB). It is not change with a capital “C,” nor is it the widespread overhaul ACSOL is demanding. But even small positive changes are important in an advocacy movement. So, I want to take a moment to celebrate the small, but powerful shift I witnessed at this week’s CASOMB board meeting. On Thursday, January 18, I attended the…
Read MoreCA: Number of CA Registrants Continues to Decline
Source: ACSOL The number of individuals required to register in California continues to decline, according to a report made by the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) during the January 18 meeting of the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB). Specifically, the number of individuals required to register decreased by 896 from 105,738 to 104,842 between November 2023 and January 2024. Of that total, there are 76,575 registrants in the community of whom 19,789 are in violation due to registration issues. There are also 6,503 individuals required to register who…
Read MoreCA: CASOMB Issues Report Proposing Changes to Tiered Registry Law
The California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) has issued a report which recommends to the state legislature several changes to the Tiered Registry Law. If the legislature adopts these changes, thousands of individuals required to register who are currently ineligible to petition for removal from the registry will become eligible. However, no one will be automatically removed from the registry if the legislature adopts these changes. The largest group of registrants who would be helped by these changes are those convicted of felony possession of child pornography. The members of…
Read MoreCA: ‘Halfway house’ draws protests from Ontario neighbors
Source: foxla.com 1/4/24 ONTARIO, Calif. – Ontario police began to notice a puzzling pattern when they saw eight convicted sexual predators all registered under the same address in the area. While that doens’t necessarily mean that all eight of the convicted residents live there at the same time, police say they had to follow up on some calls. Police also say they couldn’t find a business license for the home off East La Avenida Drive. Residents are accusing the controversial home of operating like a “halfway house,” drawing protests from…
Read MoreCA: Danny Masterson mugshot released: Disgraced actor seen for first time since rape convictio
Source: foxnews.com 12/27/23 Danny Masterson was transferred from the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles to the North Kern State Prison on Wednesday, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Masterson, 47, was pictured wearing an orange jumpsuit in a mugshot provided by the CDCR to Fox News Digital. In September, the “That ’70s Show” actor was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty in May on two counts of forcible rape. A jury was hung on a third charge. Read the…
Read MoreCA: California sues Ralphs supermarket, alleging it broke the law by asking job-seekers about their criminal records
Source: fortune.com 12/22/23 California sued the Ralphs supermarket chain on Thursday, alleging that it violated state law by asking job-seekers whether they had criminal records and illegally rejecting hundreds of applicants. The California Civil Rights Department contends that Ralphs Grocery Co. “has ignored and continues to ignore” the Fair Chance Act “by screening out otherwise qualified applicants on the basis of criminal histories that do not have any adverse relationship with the duties of the job for which they were applying,” according to a departmental press statement. The law, which…
Read MoreCA Court Denies Government’s Demurrer
Source: ACSOL A judge in Los Angeles Superior Court today denied a demurrer filed by the government in a case that challenges CDCR’s blanket policy that requires all registrants on parole to continue treatment the entire time they are on parole. Treatment includes group counseling, individual counseling and/or polygraph examinations. According to the lawsuit, CDCR’s policy is in violation of state law because that law requires CDCR to assess on a case-by-case basis whether a registrant requires more than one year of treatment. The state law also allows superior court…
Read MoreCA: OC Babysitter Gets 700+ Years To Life In Prison For Molesting 16 Boys
Source: patch.com 11/17/23 COSTA MESA, CA — A 34-year-old child care service provider from Costa Mesa was sentenced Friday to 707 years and eight months to life in prison for molesting 16 boys and showing another victim child pornography. Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was convicted Oct. 3 of 34 felony sex charges related to 17 victims aged 2 to 14 in crimes that prosecutors said took place from 2014 to 2019, according to court records. Jurors in the trial also heard evidence relating to two other boys, including one who was…
Read MoreCA: Issa Introduces Federal Bill to Stop Placement of Convicted Sex Predators in Residential Areas
Source: timesofsandiego.com 11/10/23 Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Fallbrook, introduced legislation Friday intended to prevent the placement of sexually violent predators in residential communities. At a press conference in Poway on Friday, Issa introduced The Stopping Sexually Violent Predators Act, which would end federal funding for SVPs outside correctional or medical facilities and require states to report all SVPs to the federal Department of Justice for review of potential federal charges. “In California, Governor Newsom has made our communities less safe by essentially compelling communities to accept the relocation of dozens of…
Read MoreCA: Operation Boo: Shasta County Law Enforcement arrests 4 sex offenders on Halloween
Source: msn.com 11/1/23 Operation Boo: Shasta County Law Enforcement arrests 4 sex offenders on Halloween Watch the video
Read MoreCA: Riverside “cracking down” on registrants; “not supposed to be handing out candy on Halloween”
Source: ktla.com 10/31/23 In an effort to protect children, actively monitoring registered sex offenders is what a certain group of dogs are specially trained for. These aren’t just regular dogs. These K9s — named Chewie and Solo — are professionally trained to catch predators as part of their full-time job with the Riverside County Child Exploitation Team. Chewie and Solo are electronic scent detection dogs that can sniff out a variety of devices and tech that may hold potential evidence police may need. They work as part of a task…
Read MoreCA: Trial Date Set for Case Involving Attempted Offenses
Source: ACSOL A trial date has been set in a pending case that challenges the tiering of individuals convicted of an attempted offense. The date for the bench trial (no jury) is March 25, 2024. The trial will be held in Los Angeles Superior Court, Department 76, starting at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to last no longer than one day. The California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) is currently assigning individuals convicted of an attempted offense to the same tier as individuals completed of a completed offense. As a…
Read MoreCA: Still many unknowns surrounding placement of sexually violent predator William Stephenson
Source: kcra.com 10/17/23 Placer County hosted a housing committee meeting Tuesday to inform the community about the release of William Stephenson, a man classified as a sexually violent predator. The Department of State Hospitals, along with Liberty Healthcare, which has been contracted out by the state to facilitate placement services, hosted the meeting which was attended by the public at the Placer County Community Development Agency building, and virtually, for people who couldn’t attend in person. According to the Placer County District Attorney, the Superior Court judge overseeing the case…
Read MoreCA: Lake County Probation Department hosts Resilient Re-entry event
Source: lakeconews.com 10/7/23 LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Probation Department, in collaboration with the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College, hosted a Resilient Re-entry event designed to provide valuable resources and guidance to justice-involved individuals. The event aimed to facilitate the reintegration of justice-involved individuals into society by offering a range of services, including record expungement, information about college education opportunities, and even free tattoo removal services. Additionally, attendees had the valuable opportunity to learn from inspirational keynote speakers who have successfully transitioned from incarceration to leading…
Read MoreCA: Large Online Retailer Settles Suit for FCRA Violation
Source: pre-employ.com An online retailer recently announced it reached an agreement in a California federal court. This agreement ends a lawsuit with a former associate. According to the case, the associate accused the retailer of illegally using information about a past conviction to deny him a full-time job. The online retailer did not detail the terms of the agreement. However, it did file a notice stating that it had agreed to settle the lawsuit under the California Fair Chance Act (FCA). The FCA first took effect in January 2018, intending…
Read MoreCA: Gavin Newsom Can Sign a Bill to End Price-Gouging in California Prisons
Source: theappeal.org 9/18/23 California prison canteens currently sell essential items—such as snacks and medication—at a markup of between 65 and 200 percent. With just one signature, California Governor Gavin Newsom can significantly curtail the state’s long-standing practice of price-gouging imprisoned people for vital items like toothbrushes or deodorant. Last week, the Basic Affordable Supplies for Incarcerated Californians Act, or the BASIC Act, overwhelmingly passed the state Senate and Assembly. The bill is now with the governor, who has until October 14 to sign it. If signed into law, the…
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