[ACSOL] Registration procedures currently vary greatly at local law enforcement agencies in the state of California. While some agencies, such as the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), are remotely registering individuals by telephone, there are other agencies that continue to require individuals to register in person. “It is difficult to understand why local law enforcement agencies continue to require individuals to register in person during a pandemic after issuance of both the Governor’s Executive Order and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bulletin,” stated ACSOL Executive Director Janice Bellucci. Based upon…
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NJ: Obscure New Jersey ‘Treatment’ Facility Has A Higher COVID-19 Death Rate Than Any Prison In The Country
[theappeal.org – 6/4/20] With its innocuous name, the Special Treatment Unit (STU) sounds like a hospital. It’s a building in Avenel, New Jersey, housing 441 “residents,” as it calls them. It has what state officials have described as a “comprehensive treatment program” with cognitive behavioral therapy delivered by mental health experts. But the STU is actually a prison in all but name—it’s run by the state’s Department of Corrections and located on the grounds of the East Jersey State Prison. So-called residents live there involuntarily, often for decades on end,…
Read MoreFL: Sex offender blames COVID-19 quarantine for not registering
[ocala-news.com – 5/27/20] A convicted sex offender from Ocala says he failed to register in April as required by law because he was in quarantine. Christopher Anthony Votos, 65, of 4064 SW 50th Road, was charged recently with failing to register biannually as a sex offender. Votos was convicted in August 2015 of using a computer to solicit or lure a child to engage in sexual conduct and is required to register twice a year – in April and October. Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show he has registered…
Read MoreCA: Federal Judge Denies TRO Request to Stop In-Person Registration
A federal district court judge denied today a request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that would have immediately stopped in-person registration in Fresno County. The judge accepted statements from the county that the current registration process is “no contact,” socially-distanced, and takes places outdoors. The judge did not allow registrants an opportunity to dispute those statements in a reply brief. Nor did the judge make reference to the Executive Order issued by Governor Gavin Newson on May 8, 2020, encouraging remote registration. “The court’s decision to deny our TRO…
Read MoreCA Supreme Court Denies Review of Challenge to In-Person Registration
The California Supreme Court issued an order today denying ACSOL’s challenge to in-person registration requirements by local law enforcement agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Court’s decision to deny review is based upon the fact that the Governor issued an Executive Order earlier this month that encourages, but does not require, local law enforcement agencies to remotely register individuals. In its short decision, the Court cited only part of the Executive Order which suspends the taking of fingerprints and photographs as well as the requirement to sign and initial the…
Read MoreCA: Hollister PD to continue registering sex offenders in person
[sanbenito.com – 5/19/20] The Hollister Police Department will continue to register local sex offenders in person—with social distancing protocols in place—despite an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom allowing law enforcement to conduct such registration remotely. “The Hollister Police Department is aware of the seriousness and the need to monitor convicted sex offenders in our community,” reads a May 18 press release from Hollister Police. “The department has a barrier in place at our front lobby that protects our staff. Our personnel are also trained to use masks, gloves and…
Read MoreCA: Riverside County to Begin Remote Registration
[ACSOL] The Riverside County Sheriff has issued instructions in which he told the county’s Station Commanders to “develop and immediately implement procedures allowing registrants to complete their registration remotely, telephonically or in ways that allow for social distancing.” The instructions were issued on May 11 and are meant to implement the Executive Order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom on May 8. According to the Sheriff’s instructions, Station Commanders may also “choose to accomplish registration and fingerprinting by offering in-person registration outside the station facility, or in-home registration (utilizing sworn deputies…
Read MoreCA: Oakland police suspend sex offender registrations during COVID-19 pandemic
Due to the threat from the coronavirus, the Oakland Police Department has closed its registry unit where many of the city’s sex offenders are required to check in every month, officials said. Now, the city of Oakland has no up-to-date addresses or other important information on hundreds of offenders – particularly transient sex offenders – raising concerns from victims’ advocates and offenders who are trying to register alike. “We’ve put a whole population at risk and I find that very, very concerning,” said Nina Salarno-Besselman, an attorney with Crime Victims…
Read MoreJanice’s Journal: The Stage Is Set, But Will the Players Play
California Governor Gavin Newsom has set the stage for the end of in-person registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. He did so by issuing an Executive Order that authorizes and encourages law enforcement agencies to remotely register individuals telephonically and by other means. The reason for these remote procedures, according to the Order, is to protect both law enforcement personnel as well as registrants. We acknowledge that the Governor’s order is a suggestion, not a mandate. There are no penalties for law enforcement agencies that choose to disregard it. But the…
Read MoreCA: Governor’s New Executive Order Encourages Remote Registration
[ACSOL] California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a new Executive Order that encourages law enforcement agencies “to adopt telephonic, remote, or other procedures for registration” for a period of 60 days. The Order also encourages law enforcement agencies to “post or publicize” any new registration procedures it adopts “through means calculated to reach any person subject to the (Sex Offender Registration) Act.” “Governor Newsom has demonstrated both leadership and compassion by issuing an order that encourages law enforcement agencies to stop in-person registration for 60 days,” stated ACSOL Executive Director…
Read MoreOH: Coronavirus In Ohio: People With Sex Offenses Risk Health For In-Person Registration
[radio.wosu.org – 5/7/20] Even as most Ohioans are encouraged to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, people convicted of sexual offenses are still required to register in person. Some Ohio counties and even nearby states have waived that in-person requirement, but most, including Franklin County, have not. “So we are crossing over to the records department here in Franklin County where they make everyone start their registration journey,” says Zach Ruppel. Ruppel is familiar with this journey: He often walks people through the sex offender registration process for their first…
Read MoreFL: Court: Miami jail can’t be forced to give inmates soap, tests during coronavirus outbreak
[miamiherald.com – 5/5/20] A federal appeals court has blocked, for now, a judge’s order forcing Miami-Dade County to give masks, soap and cleaning supplies to inmates at a jail wracked by the novel coronavirus. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday said that Miami District Court Judge Kathleen Williams overstepped the law when she ruled that inmates at the Metro West Detention Center must get the supplies — and also be tested for COVID-19, as well as people who have been in contact with them. “To avoid contempt,…
Read MoreCA: Sexual assault suspect released from Santa Rita jail due to COVID-19
[kron4.com – 5/5/20] An emergency order to release non-violent inmates from jail due to COVID-19, appears to have been used to release a violent sexual assault suspect, according to an East Bay city official. The council that wrote the order says that was not the intention. “When the bail motion was made we strenuously objected to it,” Alameda County District Attorney spokesperson Teresa Drenick said. “The attorney specifically petitioned Judge Reardon to reduce his bail,” Livermore Mayor John Marchand said. There is controversy regarding the an Alameda County Superior Court…
Read MoreCA: ACSOL Sues Fresno Cops For Forcing Sex Offenders To Appear Amid COVID-19
[law360.com – 5/3/20] Authorities in Fresno, California, are inflicting “cruel and unusual punishment” on registered sex offenders and violating the U.S. Constitution by requiring the individuals to appear in person for registration updates during the coronavirus pandemic, three offenders contend. In an April 28 complaint filed in the Eastern District of California, those John Doe plaintiffs say the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office are running afoul of the Eighth and 14th Amendments and the California Sex Offender Registration Act by requiring convicted sex offenders to physically…
Read MoreCA: 7 Sex Offenders Released Early Due to COVID-19 in Orange County Despite Parole Violations
[nbclosangeles.com – 4/30/20] Seven sex offenders who violated parole were released from jail early as part of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reducing its inmate population during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sex offenders were released months before schedule, despite being charged with violating their parole by cutting off their GPS monitors and tampering with their tracking devices, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Public Information Officer Kimberly Edds. California law requires sex offenders who violate their parole in this way to serve six months in jail, but many of…
Read MoreBipartisan coalition calls on SBA to roll back record-related restrictions in COVID-19 small business loan programs
[womenagainstregistry.org and ccresourcecenter.org – 4/18/20] On April 17 a diverse bipartisan group of civil rights, advocacy, and business organizations, including CCRC, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and SBA Administrator Carranza expressing concern over the restrictions imposed by the SBA on people with a record of arrest or conviction under two programs recently authorized by Congress in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The letter points out that these unwarranted restrictions on loan programs intended to aid small businesses and non-profits will have a significant and detrimental impact in communities across the…
Read MoreACSOL Files TRO Application in Los Angeles Superior Court
The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws (ACSOL) has filed an application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in Los Angeles Superior Court. If granted, the TRO would require both the Attorney General and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to temporarily stop in-person registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. The TRO application, filed yesterday, requests a hearing or a decision without a hearing on April 14. “In-person registration continues to threaten the lives of registrants, their families, law enforcement and the public because it increases the risk of infection from COVID-19,” stated…
Read MoreIL: Lawsuit – Release Sex Offenders Who Have Served Their Time
Sex offenders who have completed their sentences but are still being held in Illinois prisons should be released as part of the effort to reduce the state’s prison population during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. The request for a temporary restraining order was filed on behalf of Marcus Barnes, a sex offender held at Graham Correctional Center, and about 300 other sex offenders who remain in prison because they have not located state-approved housing required for their release. Full Article
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