The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has agreed to permanently eliminate on a statewide basis its requirement that registrants post a sign on their residences on Halloween. This agreement is the result of a lawsuit filed in 2015 by California RSOL and two individual plaintiffs in San Diego and Los Angeles. “In the past, CDCR placed registrants they supervised and their loved ones in danger of significant harm, even death, by their requirement that registrants post a sign on their residence on Halloween,” stated ACSOL president Janice Bellucci.…
Read MoreTag: Halloween
IL: Sex Offender Pleads No Contest
52-year-old blind man, ____ ____ of South Roxana, was convicted in 2000 of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. ____ pleaded no contest Thursday to a violation of the state sex offender registration law. The violation comes after a police compliance check on Halloween of 2014. ____ was sitting just inside the front door of his living room as his step-daughter was handing out candy. State law prohibits registered sex offenders from distributing Halloween candy. ____ was sentenced with 12 months of conditional court supervision. Article
Read MoreHalloween 2015 Recap
This is for all personal Halloween stories or media articles.
Read MoreWichita sex offender speaks out about Halloween treatment
A local registered sex offender is speaking out about what many parents call ‘Halloween’s biggest danger’: kids trick-or-treating at a registered sex offenders home. From the media coverage to police sweeps, the registered sex offender who does not want to be identified says fearing sex offenders on Halloween is being afraid of a problem that doesn’t exist. “The facts don’t match the hype,” he said. Full Article
Read MoreEnd Halloween hoax that wastes millions
Cambridge, Mass.—RSOL, Inc., a civil rights organization that advocates for evidence-based laws and the civil rights of law-abiding, registered citizens, calls for law enforcement entities to end the huge expenditure of tax dollars which are needlessly squandered each Halloween on a problem that experts in the field insist simply does not exist. (1) This year, a letter will be printed and sent to all parents in Barstow County, Georgia regarding registrants’ obligations at Halloween. This is in addition to various restrictions and requirements that apply only to those on parole…
Read MoreCDCR Withdraws Halloween Sign Requirement Statewide
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) today announced in federal district court its decision to withdraw a statewide requirement that sex offender parolees post a sign on the front door of their residences on Halloween. Immediately following that announcement, CA RSOL withdrew its request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). “This is a significant victory for more than 10,000 registered citizens and their families,” stated CA RSOL president Janice Bellucci. “They are no longer faced with the risk of significant injury.” CA RSOL and plaintiff John Doe were…
Read MoreCDCR Lawsuit Expanded, TRO Hearing Set October 26
A lawsuit challenging CDCR’s requirement that registered citizens post signs on the front door of their residences on Halloween has been expanded to include an individual in Los Angeles. Similar to the original plaintiff in the case who lives in San Diego County, the man in L.A. was told by his parole officer that he must post a sign on the front door of his home. “Both plaintiffs believe their lives will be in danger if they post a sign on the front door of their homes,” stated CA RSOL…
Read MoreHow Safe Are Trick-or-Treaters?
States, municipalities, and parole departments have adopted policies banning known sex offenders from Halloween activities, based on the worry that there is unusual risk on these days. The existence of this risk has not been empirically established. National Incident-Base Reporting System crime report data from 1997 through 2005 were used to examine daily population adjusted rates from 67,045 nonfamilial sex crimes against children aged 12 years and less. Halloween rates were compared with expectations based on time, seasonality, and weekday periodicity. Rates did not differ from expectation, no increased rate…
Read More“BE AFRAID. BE VERY AFRAID.”
It’s Halloween again. It’s my first Halloween since being released from prison. and until Monday, I didn’t really care. Seriously, I didn’t care. I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween. It was always a pain-in-the-ass “holiday” where it’s socially permissible for kids I don’t know to bang on my door. Annoying. Go away. But if I don’t give them candy, I’m the asshole. And it wasn’t much better when I was a kid. I always felt like a mooch asking people I didn’t know to just give me candy.…
Read MoreLawsuit challenges Halloween sex offender requirement [update 3 with more media links]
This story has been picked up by Reuters News Service and was on the main page of US msn.com (screenshot). http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/california-sex-offender-sues-over-halloween-sign-and-rules/ SAN DIEGO — The group California Reform Sex Offender Laws and a sex offender on parole filed a lawsuit in San Diego federal court Wednesday challenging a requirement that sex offenders on parole post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween, as required by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Full Article Related Media http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Registered-Sex-Offender-Sues-Halloween-Safety-Program-333742971.html http://www.kogo.com/onair/demaio-report-56776/demaio-report-commentary-lawsuit-seeks-to-14038184 Carl DeMaio asks tough questions of the attorney…
Read MoreCA RSOL Challenges Halloween Sign Requirement in Federal Court [updated with complaint]
California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) and a registrant on parole filed a lawsuit in federal court today challenging a requirement that registrants on parole post a sign on the front door of their home on Halloween. The requirement is levied by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as a blanket restriction on all registrant parolees in San Diego. “CDCR’s requirement that all registrant parolees post a sign on the front door of their residence violates the First Amendment because it compels speech,” stated Janice Bellucci, attorney…
Read MoreWe are all sex offenders now — Happy Halloween.
2008 – One can almost bet that a politician is, right this moment, concocting some new stupid piece of legislation. And he will crow if he manages to pass the new absurdity into law — and the more absurd it is, the more likely it is that it will pass. Consider that we are now about to enter Halloween. It is not a holiday I have ever particularly enjoyed, not even as a child. And my general response has been to ignore it. I don’t wear a costume and I…
Read MoreCIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY JANICE M. BELLUCCI NAMED TO TOP 100 LAWYERS IN CALIFORNIA
The Daily Journal newspaper will recognize civil rights champion Janice M. Bellucci as one of their prestigious “Top 100” most influential attorneys in California at on September 9, 2015. The editors annually recognize elite lawyers whose work has the greatest impact on the legal industry and modern society. Candidates are chosen from thousands of submissions every year. The Daily Journal profile acknowledged Bellucci’s extensive work to protect the U.S. Constitution by restoring the civil rights of sex offenders (“registrants”). Bellucci’s accomplishments include filing more than 35 federal and state lawsuits,…
Read MoreCars kill more kids on Halloween than Registered Sex Offenders, so we should ban Trunk or Treat
Over the past few years, we see the barrage of Halloween stories designed to scare the people in a different way. There was no shortage of news stories warning parents to check the registry before they send their kids out trick-or-treating. Still, there has not been a “stereotypical kidnapping” of a child by a “Registered Sex Offender” on Halloween so long as the registry has existed. In 2014, no child was murdered by a Registered Sex Offender. Full Blog Item
Read MoreDeadly Halloween Across the Nation
Halloween took a deadly turn for trick-or-treaters, paradegoers and party guests across the country, on a holiday that federal safety regulators say is one of the deadliest on America’s roadways. At least 15 people were killed and nine others were injured in accidents and a fire connected to the festivities in the past few days, in states from California to New York, and Washington to Maine. Full Article
Read MoreTX: 89-Year-Old Grandmother Required To Post Sex Offender Sign
ALVARADO (CBSDFW.COM) – Police in Alvarado aren’t bending the rules for 89-year-old ____ ____, whose son is a registered sex offender. “I haven’t hurt anybody. I haven’t violated or done anything to anyone,” said ____. Her home is her son’s official residence, thus ____ must post a “sex offender warning” sign on her lawn this Halloween. And it doesn’t matter, that she’s home alone. Full Article
Read MoreLA: Open Letter to Louisiana’s Sheriffs Regarding Halloween (ACLU)
NEW ORLEANS – The ACLU of Louisiana delivered an open letter today to all of Louisiana’s parish sheriffs, concerning regulation of the Halloween holiday. The letter reads as follows: Full Letter In response to: Plaquemines placing sex offender signs on lawns for Halloween
Read MoreAre Sex Offenders Unfairly Persecuted on Halloween?
On Halloween night, Andrew will celebrate the holiday the way most married fathers do: He and his wife will go trick-or-treating with their two kids, who are nine and 12; maybe afterward, they’ll head to their church to finish off the night with games and snacks. But Andrew’s family isn’t like other families, because Andrew is a registered sex offender. … “Just because you’re on the registry doesn’t mean the Constitution doesn’t apply,” said Janice Bellucci, an attorney and president of California Reform Sex Offender Laws. Full Article
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