• Home
• In The News
• Bulletin Board
• How You Can Help
• Contact Us

Our Story

A few years ago, we would never have considered reforming sex offender laws in Virginia and the U.S. It was not our problem; however, we can no longer ignore the injustice that is quickly becoming everyone’s problem.

The RSOL of Virginia board consists of volunteers who know firsthand that the Virginia Sex Offender and Crimes against Minors Registry has become an ineffective public safety tool. The general public can no longer use the registry to differentiate between truly violent predators and those who have no prior criminal record, committed a single offense, and are no threat to society. Current laws stigmatize everyone on the registry and make no distinction to assist the public in determining the actual risk to their communities.

We are:
• Wives whose husbands were falsely accused.
• Mothers whose sons, as minors, are serving lengthy mandatory prison sentences.
• Mothers whose sons had no prior criminal record, but were incarcerated following federal pornography sting operations.
• Fathers who have healed, and remain open to healing, compromised relationships.
• Blended families whose mentally-challenged children made false accusations and found social service agencies siding with the children.
• Children with loving parents serving lengthy federal sentences thousands of miles from home after being convicted of receiving child pornography.
• Families who have lost housing, relationships and freedom to worship together because one family member appears on the registry.
• Citizens supporting rational registration laws. Thousands once classified as nonviolent are now listed as violent. They didn’t change. Virginia law did.

Citizens on the registry and their families constantly face the very real threat of new restrictions imposed by state and federal legislators. The punitive legal system and stifling registration requirements cause us to live in constant fear that some routine act, like using a new email address without notifying law enforcement, will result in another conviction and prison sentence.

We have endured arduous, expensive court proceedings and lost jobs following routine law enforcement visits to our workplaces. We believe our governments are wasting precious tax dollars on growing sex offender registries which no longer serve their intended public safety purpose. Incarcerating citizens whose backgrounds clearly indicate they are no threat to society, and subsequently requiring their registration for decades or for a lifetime, simply overcrowds prisons and wastes resources.

We are your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and parishioners.

We are dedicated to educating the public, establishing laws based on research and not hysteria.

We are dedicated to a fair and just Virginia.

We are dedicated to helping our loved ones rebuild their livelihood and their lives.

We are RSOL of Virginia.