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 MoreTag: California
CA 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…
Read MoreCA: Neighborhood council collapses after new member is suspected of being a registered sex offender
Source: ktla.com 9/12/23 LOS ANGELES – Studio City’s neighborhood council has imploded after members found out that they may have voted in a convicted sex offender – even after they alerted Los Angeles city leaders, KTLA has learned. Ian Mitchell King, a self-described a “non-practicing lawyer” and business consultant, joined the council in mid-August. At the time, he told councilmembers that he had served in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy. What council members did not yet know, however, is that there is an individual who is listed on…
Read MoreTX: FBI sting for an ‘experienced sadist’ who would be paid $6,000 to ‘break’ a young woman
Source: dailymail.co.uk 9/11/23 The California sommelier found guilty of flying to Texas to ‘break’ a young woman for sex work was living with a married couple and engaged in a three-way relationship where he’d openly sleep with and torment the man’s wife, sources tell DailyMail.com. The 37-year-old married mother Ian Justin Ranney, 35, had been living with was too traumatized to discuss her own relationship with the now-convicted felon. ‘I have a family and I’m not interested in dredging anything more up,’ she told DailyMail.com. DailyMail.com can also reveal that Ranney,…
Read MoreCA: Still no housing option for convicted sex offender Michael Cheek following state committee meeting
Source: lookout.co 9/8/23 Michael Cheek’s release remains in limbo as a state-mandate committee did not identify any viable housing options for him at its Thursday meeting. Cheek is due back in court Tuesday, when Liberty Healthcare Corporation — the state contractor trying to find him a home — is expected to bring more options. A state-mandated committee tasked with consulting on where convicted sex offender Michael Cheek should live in Santa Cruz County did not identify any viable housing options at its meeting on Thursday, prolonging a process that has…
Read MoreCA: Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life in prison
Source: nbcnews.com 9/7/23 [ACSOL note: This case is significant due to lengthy sentence.] LOS ANGELES — “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson was sentenced Thursday to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women more than two decades ago at his Hollywood Hills home. Masterson, 47, displayed no visible emotion after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo threw the book at him. “Mr. Masterson, I know that you’re sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that…
Read MoreCA: Elk Grove will (of course) exclude people who have committed sex offenses from their homeless shelter
Source: msn.com 9/6/23 Elk Grove plans to open a temporary winter shelter for the city’s unhoused, starting later this year and lasting for five months. Officials on Tuesday announced the plan for the vacant Rite Aid drug store at Elk Grove Boulevard and Waterman Road. The city-owned site would open Nov. 1 through March 31, officials said. Dubbed an “Enhanced Winter Sanctuary,” the site will be able to house up to 30 people and will provide opportunities for people to access social services, resources and housing, said Elk Grove housing…
Read MoreACSOL Demands Removal of Registrants from CA Megan’s Law Website
ACSOL demanded today that the California Department of Justice (CA DOJ) remove from the state’s Megan’s Law website the profiles of every individual that lack two important pieces of information — year of conviction and year of release. The demand was sent to Attorney General Rob Bonta, who leads that agency, by email and U.S. mail. “We believe that the California Megan’s Law website is in violation of state law which requires that profiles on that website include the year in which a person was convicted as well as the…
Read MorePlease Join ACSOL in Placer County Protest on September 1
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) will protest ongoing efforts by Placer County, California, to block the release of a registrant in that county. The protest will be held on September 1 at 7:30 a.m. in front of Placer County Superior Court, 10820 Justice Center Drive, in Roseville, CA. The protest will move inside the court to Department 23, if possible, where the District Attorney has scheduled a meeting of those who support the county’s efforts. “We must take a stand on the important issue of where a…
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