Charleston, WV – March 13, 2026 – The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) has filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of West Virginia challenging  West Virginia’s registry law that requires individuals on the State’s sex offense registry to disclose all internet accounts and online identifiers to law enforcement.

The class action lawsuit, Does et al. v Mitchell, filed on behalf of West Virginia’s 6,679 registrants, argues that the law imposes sweepingly overbroad reporting obligations that chill lawful online speech and undermine the constitutional First Amendment right to anonymous expression on the internet.

The complaint further argues that the statute is unconstitutionally vague because it does not define what constitutes an “internet account,” leaving individuals and law enforcement uncertain about what must be reported and exposing them to criminal penalties.

Under W. Va. Code § 15-12-2(d)(8), registrants must provide information relating to “any internet accounts” they possess, including screen names, usernames, and aliases. Additionally, registrants must report any new, removed, or changed internet accounts in person within ten (10) business days.

Failure to disclose the information can result in a felony conviction carrying a mandatory prison sentence of one to five years for a first offense.

The plaintiffs ask the Court to declare the internet ID requirement unconstitutional and issue an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the law.

The class action suit, represented by three West Virginia registrants, is partially funded by WVRSOL, NARSOL’s West Virginia state affiliate.

NARSOL will provide updates as the case progresses.

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws is a civil rights organization dedicated to promoting evidence-based policies and constitutional protections for individuals affected by sex offense laws.

Note to media: Court documents and supporting materials available upon request.

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HARRISBURG, PA – October 28, 2025 – The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) Advocates gathered at the Pennsylvania Capitol Rotunda today to mark thirty years since the enactment of Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law and to call for modernization of the state’s sexual offense laws which were signed into law by then- Governor Tom Ridge on October 21, 1995, launching the PARSOL #StuckIn1995 Campaign.

“Our lives have changed since 1995. You’ll all recognize Microsoft’s groundbreaking system, Windows 95. But is anyone still using that? Pennsylvania’s registry laws are stuck in 1995 while everything else has moved forward,” remarked Robert Ciccinelli (Havertown), PARSOL board member, who opened the event while advocates held signs showing nostalgia from that year including props from the era including the O.J. Simpson verdict headline news, a poster from the hit 90’s TV show “ER”, the dial-up internet modem, a 22-cent postage stamp, and the floppy disk drive.

Speakers included Josiah Krammes (Pottsville), PARSOL Chair, Joey Nicholson (Coatesville), founder of the Pathfinder Reentry Project, State Representatives Emily Kinkead (D-Pittsburgh) and Tim Briggs (D-King of Prussia), and Olivia Schmidt (Sharon), PARSOL Advocates secretary.

“Modernizing the system means focusing resources on current risk, not decades-old cases. That’s how you protect families,” he noted, citing multiple studies from the U.S. Department of Justice, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

Nicholson, sharing experiences from PARSOL’s statewide programs, told several personal stories of how the registry hinders successful reintegration—even among those who have completed treatment and proven stability. “When policies lack nuance, entire families carry the weight,” said Nicholson. “Modern times demand modern policies built on what we now know about accountability, growth, and rehabilitation.”

Reflecting on his fourteen years of incarceration, Nicholson added, “Real transformation doesn’t begin in a cell, it begins in the heart, and then it transforms your mind. I came home with one goal – to help others find that meaningful spark before the system or life breaks them. These programs are now supported by law enforcement, treatment providers, correctional administrators, and members of the faith community – people who believe in modernization over marginalization.”

Kinkead added that by using what we’ve learned over thirty years to modernize the law and actively include those who have committed offenses in the solution, “… we reduce the number of victims that happen. We prevent people from committing crimes because we are supporting not just survivors but the safety of the entire community.”

“People who are willing to do the work, get better, learn from their mistakes, make amends, and pay their debt to society deserve the opportunity to be a full member of it if we are willing as legislators to be bold, take a stand, and ensure we are making evidence-based policies,” she concluded. “These are common-sense reforms from thirty years of understanding what works and what doesn’t. [Legislators] cannot be held in the past because we are afraid to make changes, and how it will be perceived.

Chairman Briggs echoed Kinkead’s resolve, adding, “Too many times this issue seems too difficult for legislators to get their heads around, and they want to continue that thirty-year-old approach. Despite this, we need to modernize the registry to allow individuals who no longer pose a risk to be removed from the list and ensure the tools necessary for safe communities, including evidence-based assessments, ensuring individuals who need services are receiving them.”

“There is no time better than the present to start tackling these issues. Today’s kickoff reinforces the desire to keep our communities safe by using modern thinking to address these issues in a fair and compassionate way. We look forward to working with PARSOL moving forward,” Briggs concluded.

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About PARSOL – The Pennsylvania Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (PARSOL) works to modernize the Commonwealth’s sexual offense laws through advocacy, education, and evidence-based practices. PARSOL is the Pennsylvania affiliate of NARSOL.

The post Pennsylvania Rally Marks 30 Years of Failed Sex Offense Policies first appeared on NARSOL.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
communications@narsol.org

Charleston, WV – October 15, 2025 – The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) has filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of West Virginia challenging a new state law that imposes a $125 annual fee on individuals required to register as sex offenders.

The class action lawsuit Kaso, et al. v Mitchell, filed on behalf of West Virginia’s 6,450 registrants, argues that the fee—set to take effect January 1, 2026—creates an unconstitutional, punitive fine rather than a legitimate administrative cost.

Under this law, registrants must pay $125 annually or face property liens, regardless of their ability to pay. The state expects the fee to generate over $800,000 per year.

“The statute enacted imposes a fee that does not go towards any registration function, and we contend that is a fine,” stated NARSOL’s staff attorney Larry King, who filed the complaint jointly with a West Virginia attorney.

According to the complaint, none of the collected fees are earmarked for sex offender registration functions. Instead, the funds will:

• first support mental health counselors, seminars, and training for current and former West Virginia State Police employees—whether or not they work with the registry; and
• then fund any other expenses “essential to the general operations of the State Police.”

The complaint emphasizes that no fees will be used for “sex offender notification, registration, verification, or compliance.”

The lawsuit alleges that the annual fee violates:

The Eighth Amendment – by imposing a punitive fine, often for life, that serves no registration purpose;

The Fourteenth Amendment – by requiring payment regardless of ability to pay, violating due process and equal protection.

The class action suit, represented by three West Virginia registrants, is partially funded by WVRSOL, NARSOL’s West Virginia state affiliate. The complaint requests that the Court:

• issue a declaratory judgment declaring the law unconstitutional both on its face and as applied;
• grant an injunction prohibiting enforcement of W. Va. Code Ann. § 15-12-2(o).

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) is a civil rights organization dedicated to promoting evidence-based policies and constitutional protections for individuals affected by sex offense laws.

They will provide updates as the case progresses.

Note to editors: Court documents and supporting materials available upon request.

The post NARSOL Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging West Virginia’s $125 Annual Registry Fee first appeared on NARSOL.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sandy Rozek, Communications Director <communications@narsol.org>
2nd Contact: John Dawe, Marketing Director <marketing@narsol.org>
3rd Contact: Brenda Jones, Executive Director <bjones@narsol.org>

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) condemns both the letter and the Change.org petition recently circulated in the Atlanta area, which contain false information and doxxing content. These materials incite fear-based harassment and potential violence against law-abiding citizens, including venue staff and their families.

The letter and petition are filled with factual inaccuracies, misleading claims, and defamatory statements that misrepresent NARSOL’s mission, leadership, and activities. The allegations are demonstrably false, distort legal facts, and mischaracterize the purpose of NARSOL’s advocacy.

NARSOL is a national non-profit civil rights organization advocating for fair, evidence-based laws governing individuals required to register as sex offenders. Our work promotes rehabilitation, successful reentry, and prevention of sexual harm through education, research, and constitutional safeguards—never illicit activity. We do not advocate for sexual conduct between adults and minors nor condone child abuse. Public statements, litigation, and conference agendas confirm our commitment to due process and public safety.

The inflammatory “300-pedophile festival” description is wholly inaccurate. NARSOL conferences attract attorneys, researchers, advocates, family members, and individuals with lived experience — most of whom have no convictions involving minors — and are professional gatherings focused on legal reform and policy analysis.

The documents also misstate Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 42-1-15), which addresses residency, employment, and loitering restrictions for certain registrants. Attendance at lawful conferences, hotel stays, or educational events is not prohibited.

Personal attacks against NARSOL staff rely on unverified or false assertions, attempting guilt by association instead of fact-driven discourse. Targeting a hotel employee with no NARSOL affiliation is reckless and potentially harmful to that person, their coworkers, and their family.

Opposing overly broad or unconstitutional laws is not opposing public safety. Research consistently shows residency restrictions and public shaming fail to reduce reoffense rates and may undermine rehabilitation and community safety.

The authors of these documents claim to wish to prevent harm, yet strategically and methodically directly perpetrate harm instead. The hypocrisy of this action is alarmingly disturbing. Citizens should take care before believing or acting on what they read in an unsubstantiated online petition.

NARSOL invites those interested in learning the truth to visit ExposingNARSOL.com or NARSOL.org.

The post NARSOL Condemns False Info/Doxxing in Advance of Atlanta Educational Conference first appeared on NARSOL.

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By Florida Action Committee… NARSOL Florida State Affiliate the Florida Action Committee (FAC) is outraged by the recent actions of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, which has forcibly displaced individuals attempting to rebuild their lives after serving their sentences. By clearing out a trailer park he described as a “cesspool of sex offenders” and calling its residents “perverts,” the sheriff’s office has not only dehumanized these individuals but also undermined their efforts to reintegrate into society as law-abiding, productive citizens.

“These people are not clustered in the trailer park because they want to be there,” said the president of FAC. Residence restrictions leave them nowhere else to go. Municipalities pass these misguided ordinances and then complain about the unintended consequences they created themselves.”

Stable housing is a cornerstone of successful rehabilitation. For many of these individuals, the trailer park provided a rare opportunity to establish a home, maintain employment, and access support systems. He might not care about these individuals, but the Sheriff should care about the safety of the community. By displacing them, the sheriff’s office has created a crisis of homelessness and instability, increasing the likelihood of recidivism and endangering public safety. “How can we expect individuals to rehabilitate when they are denied the basic dignity of a place to live and are subjected to public shaming?” asked FAC’s President.

The use of derogatory language like “perverts” is not only unprofessional but also counterproductive. Such rhetoric perpetuates stigma and fear, making it even harder for individuals to find acceptance and support in their communities. Rehabilitation requires a level of compassion, not condemnation. It requires opportunities, not obstacles. The sheriff’s actions demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to create safer communities.

The FAC calls on the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to reconsider its approach. Instead of displacing and demonizing individuals, we urge law enforcement to work collaboratively with community organizations, social services, and policymakers to develop solutions that prioritize both public safety and rehabilitation. Stable housing, access to social services, and employment opportunities are not privileges—they are necessities for reducing recidivism and fostering safer communities.

The Florida Action Committee stands ready to work with all stakeholders to ensure that individuals seeking to rebuild their lives are given the support they need to succeed. Public safety and rehabilitation are not mutually exclusive—they are two sides of the same coin.

The post Florida Action Committee Condemns Sheriff’s Office for Evicting Registrants as “Perverts” first appeared on NARSOL.

By Sandy Rozek, NARSOL Communications Director & John Dawe, NARSOL Marketing Director
When families face emergencies and are driven from their homes, they need quick and equitable access to emergency facilities. Families should be allowed to stay together during crises. However, a new bill, The Safe Shelters Act, proposed by Nancy Mace, a former South Carolina state representative who is now a U.S. congresswoman, seeks to deny this fundamental right to families with a member on a state sex offense registry. “Women and children deserve safety,“ she has said in defense of the bill. While protecting vulnerable populations is a goal we all share, this bill fails to achieve that and instead imposes unnecessary harm.

About the Safe Shelters Act

Mace’s legislation, the Safe Shelters Act, states: “Except for the purpose of seeking information on designated shelters, a covered sex offender may not enter or use the services of an undesignated shelter.”

Under the proposed bill, “designated shelters,” as determined by FEMA, would likely include federal buildings or prisons deemed suitable for registrants by the General Services Administration. This bill is cruel and unfairly targets registrants with families, particularly those with small children. Non-registered spouses depend on their partners for help and support during emergencies, and registered single parents would be made to choose between their children’s safety and forced separation. We believe that requiring families to separate during a crisis is contemptible.

The following signers have endorsed this opinion-editorial:

• Brenda Jones, Executive Director National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL)
• Robin Vander Wall, Chair, NARSOLJohn DawejohndEdit Profile
• James Ward, NARSOL representative, Alabama
• Audrey Kelly, NARSOL representative, Alaska
• Patricia Borden, Director, Arizonans for Rational Sex Offense Laws
• Susan Walker, Executive Director, Coalition for Sex Offense Restoration, Colorado
• Cindy Prizio, President, One Standard of Justice, Connecticut
• Margaret Hawkins, President, Delaware Advocates for Rational Sexual Offense Laws
• Gail Colletta, President, Florida Action Committee, Inc.
• Waleisha Wilson, Chair, Restore Georgia
• Adele Nicholas, Executive Director, Illinois Voices
• Michael Harris, Executive Director, Indiana Voices
• Amanda ******, Executive Director, Iowans Unafraid
• Teresa Butell, NARSOL representative, Kansas Coalition United Against Registry
• Jeff Goetz, NARSOL representative, Kentucky 
• B.V. Jones, Executive Director, Maryland Families Advocating for Intelligent Registries
• Kathie Gourlay, NARSOL representative, Michigan
• Tim P, NARSOL representative, Sex Offense Reform Specialist. ACLU of Michigan
• Timothy Davich, NARSOL representative, Minnesota for Our Rights
• Ken Roberts, NARSOL Gatekeeper, Mississippi
• Erik McInnis, NARSOL representative, Missouri
• Kevin Nunez, NARSOL representative, New Jersey
• Larry Neeley, NARSOL representative, New Mexico
• Dwayne Daughtry, Executive Director, North Carolina RSOL
• Justin Hillman, NARSOL representative, North and South Dakota
• T. Jackson, NARSOL Representative, Ohio RSOL
• Mary Krehbiel, NARSOL representative, Oklahoma RSOL
• Lori Hamilton, Executive Director, OK Voices, Inc.
• Dr. David Mayer, Chair, Oregon Voices
• John Dawe, Managing Director, Pennsylvania Assoc. For Rational Sexual Offense Laws
• Don Thurber, Executive Director, South Carolina RSOL
• W.G. Crump, NARSOL representative, Tennessee
• Mary Sue Molnar, Executive Director, Texas Voices for Reason and Justice
• Timothy R. Burgess, Executive Director, Vermont Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants
• JP Welch, Board member, Safer Virginia
• Philip Kaso, Executive Director, West Virginians for Rational Sexual Offense Laws 
• Robert Thibault, NARSOL representative, Wisconsin
• Amber Vlangas, Executive Director, Restorative Action Alliance New York 
• Danell Puglisi-Knutson, Board member, SHINE-VOICES
• Shawn Barrera-Leaf, United Voices for Sex Offense Reform (UV4SOR) Michigan
• Janice Bellucci, Executive Director, ACSOL

The post ACT NOW: The Safe Shelters Act: Unsafe, Unjust, and Cruel first appeared on NARSOL.

October 3, 2024 . . . CorrLinks, a private company that manages the federal prison email system, began as a pilot program in 2005. It has since then served as the primary method by which persons in custody in the federal Bureau of Prison (BOP) system send and receive emails from family and friends as well as access and receive information about employment and newsletters from legal, educational, and religious/supportive resources.

The format for newsletters from the beginning has been that groups of subscribers were created and could be emailed with email blasts directed to everyone in the group. A group could be as large as 1000. Now, effective October 1, 2024, a group can be no larger than ten (10).

For family members and friends, this will most likely make no difference. They use CorrLinks to correspond with one person. If someone knows several persons in custody in the BOP and wanted them each to receive the same information, they would create a group of three, or seven, or ten and send the same message to all of them with one email.

But for organizations sending legal, educational/informational, or religious/supportive newsletters, this makes a huge, huge difference. Prior to October 1, 2024, one email could be sent, and it would go to 1000 people. Now it will require 100 emails to get the same information to the same 1000 people.

Thomas Root of the highly respected Lisa Foundation  lays the blame directly at the feet of BOP Director Peters. “The worst change – made at the request of unnamed ‘correctional agencies’ (undoubtedly Director Peters’ BOP) – is to limit group size to only ten names (1 pct of the [previous] total).”

He makes the purpose crystal clear. “The BOP has thus been able to do with computer science what it could not do with a direct ban on free speech, which is to cut off inmates from legal reporting services and advocacy, religious and educational groups.”

Regardless of who or why, this drastic move will see remarkable changes in many organizations, from allocating more volunteers or hiring more staff to deal with the enormous increase in time required for the same task to discontinuing their CorrLinks newsletters altogether.

“I hope everyone understands,” said Sandy Rozek, communications director of NARSOL (the National Assc. for Rational Sexual Offense Laws), “there is no doubt that the big loser in this is free speech and, of course, those who already live with so many losses in their lives—persons who are behind bars with little to no other access to the information that the rest of us take for granted every day. This is information that they need to get legal help and information, to learn how to advocate for themselves, and to receive spiritual support.”

The post And the loser is—free speech! first appeared on NARSOL.

NEWS

 Contact Sandy Rozek: communications@narsol.org

Minnesota’s mental disorder: civil commitment

09 August 2024

As well intentioned as state lawmakers are in protecting its citizens from harm, Minnesota fails in providing adequate sexual violence prevention. Rather than invest in proven primary prevention strategies, the state sinks virtually all of its sexual violence prevention capital in a failed civil commitment program.

In April, 2024, the Mitchell Hamline Sex Offense Litigation and Policy Resource Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law released a report detailing the decades-long failures of the Minnesota Sex Offense Civil Commitment Program.

In response, the Center has issued a letter to the governor and state legislature of Minnesota, a letter signed by more than 50 organizations and individuals, members of the legal, mental health, public policy, law enforcement, human rights, civil rights, and criminal justice reform communities, all concerned about the need to reduce sexual violence. The letter calls for them to eliminate Minnesota’s sex offense civil commitment program and redirect its budget into evidence-based primary prevention programs.

The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws (NARSOL) fully supports this position and adds its voice to the call for Minnesota’s lawmakers to overturn this failed program.

The report cites research findings showing that the Minnesota Sex Offender Civil Commitment Program (MSOCC) has failed as a viable sexual violence prevention strategy. In spite of its consuming one hundred million ($100, 000, 000) dollars each year, research has found it has ““no discernible impact’ on the incidence of sexual violence” (p. 1).

The report’s findings include decades of deficiency in providing adequate living conditions, medical needs, protection, treatment, or results. It focusses on the prevention of a fraction of recidivist offenses. It fails to address the harm done by sexual violence and does nothing toward the prevention of such violence before it occurs.

The report claims, “Instead of asking ‘How can we best prevent incidences of future harm?’ the state has asked ‘How can we lock up the people we fear the most?’ ”

“I have to agree,” said Paul Shannon, a NARSOL board member who has worked closely with some of the detainees of the Minnesota SOCC. “When a state spends virtually all of its budget allocated for sexual violence prevention on a program shown to be so ineffective in addressing sexual violence prevention, it needs to take a long, hard look at what it is doing. As conscientious as Minnesota’s lawmakers are in fiscal responsibility, this is an area needing their serious attention. It should be disconcerting, also,” Shannon continued, “that more than five times the number of detainees have died while locked up than have been released from the program.”

“By contrast,” he added, “effective evidence-based prevention programs have been identified, programs that address sexual violence before it occurs, before harm occurs. The Minnesota civil commitment program has been plagued with problems and has been shown to be utterly wasteful, ineffective, and harmful from the onset. It is more than time that it is demolished. Today would not be too soon.”

The post Minnesota’s mental disorder: civil commitment first appeared on NARSOL.

NARSOL Newsroom

Advocacy group denounces Louisiana legislation as useless, barbaric, and costly

2024-04-29

Proposed law does not address issue of child abuse, could cost the state millions says the National Assc. for Rational Sexual Offense Laws

“No other state in the union has this requirement. Do you want Louisiana to be responsible for getting this barbaric practice into law? It is now targeting people who have committed certain sexual crimes. Who could it target tomorrow? When would it stop?” Sandy Rozek, the communications director of the advocacy organization, questions the reasons behind this legislation. “All of the research is there, has been there for years,” she continues. “This is not a viable law.”

Currently, several states allow the choice of castration by the affected person, but it is something chosen by the offender, not required as part of punishment, which is what Louisiana Senate Bill 371, proposed by Sen. Regina Barrow, does. The bill applies to both male and female offenders.

The bill has been accepted in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.

“The National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws—NARSOL—advocates for evidence-based strategies to help prevent child abuse,” Rozek says. “However, we totally oppose forced castration, both chemical and physical, for those who have committed sexual crime because it is, at best, ineffective and, at worst, barbaric.”

The research Rozek referred to, addressing forced chemical castration and other statistics, includes:

• Negligible positive benefits and medically serious negative ones;(1)
• Very low recidivism achieved through more acceptable forms of therapy and self-motivation; (2) (3)
• Universal moral and constitutional objections; (4)
• The failure of the procedure to result in any significant reduction in future offenses as most future child molesters are not those already convicted but rather family members and other trusted individuals who are unlikely to be in the criminal justice system. (5)

“And,” interjected NARSOL’s chair Robin Vanderwall, “as abhorrent as non-consensual chemical castration is, forced physical castration goes many steps beyond. Physical castration cannot be undone when it is later discovered that individuals are, after all, not guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted, sentenced, and surgically maimed at the hands of the state.”

Senator Barrow, the author of the bill, admitted in an interview about the legislation that Louisiana has a higher-than-usual percentage of wrongful convictions. Every year DNA evidence now reveals such persons nationwide.

Vanderwall asked, “How many more victims of mistaken identification or malicious wrongful accusation exist? In addition to the violence wreaked upon innocent individuals, such situations are an open invitation to litigation against the state and the awarding of enormous amounts of taxpayer funds to be paid to those who were so brutally wronged.”

Summing up, Rozek said, “No valid reasons exist for legislation that mandates forced, non-consensual castration, either chemical or physical. NARSOL protests in the strongest possible terms the use of these practices in the treatment or management of persons with sexual crime convictions. If the people of Louisiana do not approve of state-sanctioned mutilation and placing the state at risk for expensive lawsuits, they need to make their opposition heard.”

The progress of the bill here can be followed here: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=246652

Louisiana legislators may be located here: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/findmylegislators.aspx

Judiciary C Committee: https://senate.la.gov/Sen_Committees/JudiciaryC

Contact the National Association for Rational Sexual Offense Laws or email communications@narsol.org for information or questions.

The post Press release re forced physical castration legislation in Louisiana first appeared on NARSOL.