Documentary filmmakers are seeking interviewees for a film on child porn and Internet offenders

Facebook Source (Web Site)

Dear Illinois Voices Supporter,

We are passing along this announcement in case any of you are interested. If this is something you would like to participate in or get more information about, please contact the producers using the email and phone number provided below. Illinois Voices has no further information about this project.

Announcement:
Documentary filmmakers are seeking interviewees for a film on CP and Internet offenders. They are interested in meeting with families and offenders who have these specific type offenses. They have requested a national awareness posting as well as a specific push to Boston as they are going to be in that area in the next week or so. The criteria are given below as well as a contact email and telephone number.

If you contact them, tell the filmmakers Deb and Alex that you are responding to an announcement initiated by Gail of the Florida Action Committee.

Profiles of potential interviewees for documentary, End of Love

• Young men (25 and under) caught by law enforcement with child pornography on their computers/hard drives who began looking at adult Internet pornography and eventually encountered child porn.
• Youth and adult men entrapped in chat rooms by law enforcement and convicted of child porn and/or attempted sex with a minor.
• Youth charged with child porn because of sexting.
• Parents/family members of youth convicted of the above crimes.
• Youth and adult men who have an Internet pornography addiction that has impacted their families and intimate relationships.

Contact:
producers@endoflovefilm.com
Phone: 802-324-2098

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CA - Father (David Ray Mills), daughter and friend (Andre Edwin Dickerson) to stand trial in ‘vigilante’ attack

David Ray Mills

Original Article

06/07/2013

By SARAH BURGE

A Temecula father and his teen daughter must stand trial for attempted murder and mayhem in connection with the beating of a man the girl had accused of raping her, a judge ruled Friday, June 7.

“Obviously, vigilante justice isn’t a defense to a criminal charge,” Judge Michael Rushton said as he announced his decision, then wondered aloud how a jury would react to the case.

David Ray Mills, 36, his 16-year-old daughter, and her friend, Andre Edwin Dickerson, 20, have pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, mayhem, assault and vandalism, court records show. The girl has been charged as an adult.

Sheriff’s officials began investigating [name withheld], now 21, after the girl’s allegations came to light following the attack. He was charged in May with engaging in an act of sodomy with a minor, court records show. He was arrested at 2:15 p.m. Friday – as the preliminary hearing was in session – according to jail records. He is being held at the Southwest Detention Center on $50,000 bail.

The Press-Enterprise does not routinely identify possible victims of sexual crimes.

Riverside County sheriff’s investigators have said the girl, then 15, lured [name withheld] then 20, to a Temecula park the night of Jan. 13 where Dickerson beat him with a wooden baseball bat as Mills and his daughter watched. Dickerson then smashed the windows out of [name withheld]'s van and left him lying in the park, court records say.

Andre Edwin Dickerson

[name withheld], who said he was struck 15 or more times, suffered skull fractures, large cuts to his scalp that required more than two dozen staples, a lung injury, a mangled ear, missing teeth, several broken bones and more, Investigator David Gorlicki testified during a preliminary hearing Friday at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.

Prosecutor Scott Mason showed gruesome photos of [name withheld]'s injuries on an overhead projector in court.

Though badly hurt, [name withheld] managed to drive himself home after the attack. His mother found him and took him to a hospital. Initially, [name withheld] lied to a deputy about why he was at the park, but he later admitted he went to meet the girl. He told the deputy that he didn’t think she was responsible for the attack and didn’t want to involve her.

Gorlicki said the girl never reported the allegations of sexual assault to police, and she didn’t tell Dickerson or her father about it until the day of the attack. The girl said [name withheld] raped her in November when she spent the night at his Temecula home. She said she had been drinking vodka and passed out on [name withheld]’s bed.

Sitting in court wearing a yellow juvenile hall uniform, the girl began to cry as Gorlicki recounted her story. Her father, too, was teary-eyed throughout the hearing.

In the days leading up to the attack at Kent Hintergardt Memorial Park on Via Del Coronado, [name withheld] sent the girl a slew of obscene text messages suggesting they meet again to have sex, drink and smoke marijuana.

Her attorney, David E. Grande, read many of the messages in court, along with the girl’s responses.

“Can’t you take a hint,” she wrote. “I’m not interested.”

At one point, the girl sent [name withheld] a text asking why he was trying to have sex with a 16-year-old.

“It’s the thing I do,” he replied.

Grande said the girl, who maintains that the sex was against her will, didn’t report the rape to police because she was afraid of retaliation.

“He’s a cruiser. He’s a predator,” Dickerson’s attorney, Richard V. Swanson, said of [name withheld] after the hearing.

When investigators questioned the girl after the beating, she initially identified not Dickerson but another man as the attacker, Gorlicki said. She also accused [name withheld] of “coming on to” her at the park.

Later, she admitted asking Dickerson to beat [name withheld] up and said she, her father, Dickerson and another teen girl walked to the park together, Gorlicki said.

The girl said she planned to “act innocent” and tell [name withheld] she needed to use the bathroom, where Dickerson would be hiding with the bat.

The other teen girl – who has not been charged – told investigators that [name withheld] screamed as Dickerson beat him and described the “cracking sound” of the bat hitting his body. She said Dickerson yelled at [name withheld] during the attack, accusing him of liking to rape girls.

Dickerson and Mills are being held in jail, and the girl at juvenile hall. Bail for all three is set at $1 million.

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AUSTRALIA - Disturbing sexting case reinforces need for law reform around SMS, social media

Original Article

05/29/2013

By Louise Milligan

A disturbing sexting case in regional Victoria where photographs of scantily clad teenage girls were posted on Facebook has highlighted the need for law reform around sexting and social media.

The ABC's 7.30 program has revealed details of the case, as a Victorian parliamentary inquiry recommends new laws around sexting and disseminating photos publicly.

But the inquiry also recommended young people who receive sexts from people their own age should not be caught by child pornography laws.

The Victorian case involved a group of girls whose photos were used without their consent on a Facebook "sluts" page that published offensive comments about girls.

It is the third time the town has generated such a page in two years.

A group of girls, including two aged under 18 and one under 16, found "selfies" - shots taken by themselves in a state of provocative undress - wound up on a Facebook page.

Local mother Fiona Coe says the page displayed photos of the girls and splashed their names underneath with accompanying phrases.

"It said phrases like, you know, 'Your local slut', such and such a name with their photo or 'Look she wants this' or whatever. It was quite a put down and bullying, really," she said.

She reported it immediately to police and to Facebook, but the social network site wrote back to her and refused to take it down.
- And Facebook claims they are working on bullying, hate and removing sexual images?  Yeah right!

The Facebook response said: "After viewing your report, we were not able to confirm that the specific page you reported violates Facebook's statement of rights and responsibilities."

Facebook did remove one full-frontal nude photo of a girl in the shower, but Ms Coe said the other pictures are still up and she wrote back to Facebook to explain the word slut is offensive and degrading.

"In a small community like this, you walk down town or locally and you're bound to know a lot of people that you see and there's going to be finger-pointing: 'Oh, that's the girl that was on Facebook. Apparently she's a slut'," she said.

A previous page with photos of girls, removed after the local newspaper revealed it, was even more degrading, according to the mothers.

"There was a site that said that girls were having sex with their fathers, that people were having sex with dogs, all sorts of the most disgusting, derogatory things," said local mother Faith McLaren.

While Generation X and the Baby Boomers passed notes in class and Generation Y text-messaged, the current younger generation uses Facebook and Instagram and Snapchat.
- So parents need to stop purchasing cell phones for their children with all the works!  All they need is basic service in case of emergencies.

But differing from previous generations, their heady adolescence mistakes can now be found on the internet for permanent public consumption.

Many teens are unaware they could be accused of child pornography under current child pornography laws, meaning they could find themselves on the sex offender registry as a result.
- And this is also why the schools, or parents, should be teaching children about this.  Don't wait until they've been accused of a sex crime, then it's too late!

[name withheld], a 15-year-old student from Melbourne's University High, told the Victorian parliamentary inquiry that consenting teenagers should not end up as registered sex offenders.

But she is also concerned her generation is getting carried away with itself without considering the consequences.

She said sexting behaviour can start from age 13 onwards.

"I think just pictures, not fully naked but in very revealing clothing, sexual poses, sort of thing," she said.

The inquiry recommended that young people of similar age who exchange sexts have a defence to child pornography charges.

But it also recommended the creation of a crime of dissemination for cases wherein the subject has not agreed to the content being spread.

You will notice in the video below they, once again, use the magical "1 in 5" number. We are so tired of hearing this, it's just a number people throw out without real facts to back it up. It's used all the time in news reports and other online articles. It's a meaningless number now, in our opinion. They also make it sound like dirty old men are doing this, when in fact it's mostly their peers who are approaching them sexually online.

See Also:

• Victoria set to change laws on sexting

Video Link

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VA - Teens, technology, law: when sexting is not pornography

Original Article

05/22/2013

By Justin Jouvenal

When three US high school students from Virginia made mobile phone videos of drunken sex acts with fellow teens and shared them among themselves, they ended up in court last week facing charges usually reserved for adult predators: child pornography.

The case is one of a number where teens caught "sexting" have been charged with a crime that can carry a sentence of 20 years and could require registry as a sex offender.

In many other US states, the law has not caught up with the combustible mix of teens, technology and sex that has made sexting an issue. Prosecutors must rely on a patchwork of laws created before the rise of smartphones to handle such cases.

Some parents and rights groups are calling for a new law that would distinguish sexting from child pornography, create lesser punishments and focus on educating teenagers, not punishing them. But they also acknowledge that young victims can be devastated when embarrassing photos or videos are spread to their peers.

A mother whose 15-year-old son was charged with 12 counts of child pornography for sexting called the experience a nightmare. She said the teen, who has Asperger's syndrome, was naive when he sent out a topless photo of a classmate. ''He is thinking his life was at an end. He could be labelled as a sex offender,'' she said.

Parents of two teens in Ohio and Florida say their daughters committed suicide when they were ridiculed after sexually explicit images of them were forwarded to others. And sexted images and videos can be found by child pornographers, who trade them on the internet.

The three students on trial were charged in January with possession and distribution of child pornography after they filmed themselves engaging in sex acts with at least six teenage girls. All the sex acts were consensual and the 10 videos were filmed at parties at the teenagers' homes, beginning in December 2011. Legislators say they worry a law to make sexting a misdemeanour could unintentionally open a loophole that might be exploited by pedophiles.

In addition, the circumstances of such cases vary widely. They range from a girl willingly texting a racy photo of herself to a boyfriend who does not share it to teens secretly recording sex acts and maliciously spreading the videos.

In the US, at least 20 states have passed legislation on sexting since 2009, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. States have generally moved to create more lenient punishments for sexting teens and to shield them from having to register as sex offenders. A University of New Hampshire survey found 7 per cent of young people had received a nude or nearly nude image, while 1 per cent said they had created sexually explicit images of themselves.

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Why I Had to Talk to My Kids About Sex Offenders

Original Article

03/21/2013

By Amanda Morin

I have always been fairly frank with my kids. I started the difficult conversations about things like sex, sexuality, drugs, and peer pressure when they were very young. As they grew older, the conversations evolved and I felt confident that they were comfortable talking to me. So, I patted myself on the back, thinking I'd done my job well.

Last year, though, I was blindsided when someone in my family was sentenced on charges of possession of sexually explicit material. This was a difficult conversation I never thought to have with my kids — a conversation about child pornography and sexual predators.

Keep reading.

"Stranger Danger" Isn't Always From a Stranger

Sure, I taught my kids about "stranger danger" and I'd read stories about kids being charged with possession of sexually explicit materials as a result of sexting, but this was different. This was personal.

I had to explain to my two older kids why they wouldn't be having any more contact with their relative, and (thankfully) confirmed they hadn't been victimized in any way.

This was a conversation about someone they knew, loved, and trusted, which, as Circle of Moms member Barb S. points out, is the scary thing about this type of situation. Though her circumstance was a little different, she's right when she says, "He's not the creepy stranger danger that everyone fears will hurt their child."

Talking About the Circle of Trust

When you consider that the National Child Traumatic Stress Network reports (PDF) that in three quarters of reported cases of sexual abuse involving a child, the perpetrator is a family member or someone in that child's "circle of trust," I can't imagine why I hadn't had this conversation with my kids sooner.

So, I sat down with my teenager and told her what was going on. I asked her flat out whether or not she'd been exposed to any inappropriate imagery or touched in an inappropriate way. I talked to my younger child about what child pornography is and how it exploits children. We talked about things we should have talked about a long time ago.

Why Didn't I Have the Tough Conversation Sooner?

Why hadn't I had this conversation before? To be honest, I was one of the people a member named Roberta refers to when she says, "You'd be surprised at how many people live with their head in the sand, always thinking it will never happen in 'their' family."

I didn't think my kids would ever come in contact with a sexual offender, despite knowing the odds. I was a better mother than that. I was naive. I was arrogant. I was wrong.

It was a very difficult conversation, but it was also a real eye-opener to me that these things can happen to anyone and kids need to know about this stuff so they feel comfortable talking to their parents.

Continuing the Conversation

It's been over a year now, and we've continued to have an ongoing dialogue about the issue. I've learned that my daughter has friends who were not so lucky to have their parents talk to them about sex offenders in their "circle of trust."

Not everybody in my family agrees with my decision to talk to my kids openly about this, but I'm glad I did. As Barb says, "This should never be kept a dirty little secret."

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WV - New West Virginia law pairs youth sexting ban with education efforts, diversion

Original Article

We see nothing wrong with trying to educate kids and keep them off the registry, that is a move in the right direction, for once.

05/12/2013

By Lois M. Collins

West Virginia has new rules that outlaw sexting by youths. But the state is also trying to pair the rules to education and diversion so that young people learn why it's a bad idea to sext and can fix their mistakes without having to register forever as sex offenders.

The Associated Press reported that the law, signed Monday by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, makes it illegal for youths to make, possess or distribute photos, videos or other media that show a minor in an inappropriate sexual manner.
- Not all sexting is about sending / taking underage photos of kids, so this law is geared toward a specific issue, not sexting in general, at least that is how we read this.

The charge would be delinquency, but the law directs the state's Supreme Court to create an educational diversion program that, once completed, could lead to having the delinquency charge dropped.

"That program would show offenders the consequences of sexting, including the potential long-term harm on relationships and school and job opportunities," the AP story said.

Unlike some states, youths caught sexting would not be required to register as sex offenders.

That's important to Maureen Kanka, whose 7-year-old daughter Megan was abducted, assaulted and murdered by a neighbor who had previously been convicted of assaulting young girls. Her efforts helped lead to the crafting and passage of New Jersey's Megan's Law in 1994. It forces sex offenders to register when they move into a community. It was never meant to target juveniles who sext, she said, but it does and that's one of the changes she's pushing for in amendments, including providing more support for parole officers.

“We wanted to make sure that wouldn’t happen under any circumstances,” Kanka told the New Jersey Independent Press, referring to making teens register for sexting.

A state senator sponsoring amendments agreed. “No one is trying to defend sexting, but the intention here is to not have them live with the lifelong designation of ‘sex offender,’” said Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro). “With younger people, you still have the concept of rehabilitation. You don’t want them to make a mistake and live with it for the rest of their lives.”
- We are so sick and tired of hearing this!  Adults can also be rehabilitated, if you give them a chance.  Not all want to be, but most can.  So stop pretending that all adults are beyond repair.

Sexting charges vary from state to state. The Washington Post carried a story about one case this week from nearby Virginia, where three local teens took videos "of drunken sex acts with fellow teens" and shared them with each other. They each will be tried on charges of child pornography.

"In Virginia, Maryland and many other states, the law has not caught up with the combustible mix of teens, technology and sex that has made sexting an issue. Prosecutors must rely on a patchwork of laws created before the rise of smart­phones to handle such cases," wrote the Post's Justin Jouvenal.

"Some parents and rights groups are calling for a new law that would distinguish sexting from child pornography, create lesser punishments and focus on educating teenagers, not punishing them. But they also acknowledge that young victims can be devastated when embarrassing photos or videos are spread among their peers," the article said.

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KS - Former Wichita police officer (Greg P. Nicks) sentenced to life for child sex crimes

Greg P. Nicks

Original Article

05/03/2013

By HURST LAVIANA

A former Wichita police officer received consecutive life prison sentences Friday for sexually abusing a 15-month-old girl.

Greg P. Nicks, 32, was given a life sentence on each of four counts of sexual exploitation of a child, and he was ordered to serve two of the sentences consecutively. He will have to serve 50 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Prosecutors said Nicks was arrested after sending sexually explicit cellphone pictures of himself and the girl to a woman he was having a sexual relationship with. The woman, Luz Coronado, 29, is serving a sentence of life without parole for 25 years on similar charges. Prosecutors said police were tipped off by the girl’s mother.

Defense lawyer Mark Schoenhofer said his client never had sexual contact with the girl. At the time, he said, Nicks was a body builder who was using steroids.

“The steroids not only increased Mr. Nicks’ muscularity, (they) also increased his appetite for sex,” Schoenhofer said in a written motion seeking a lighter prison sentence. “Mr. Nicks began leading a life of debauchery and over-indulgence in carnal pleasure. … The illicit relationship with Ms. Coronado advanced down a dark and perverted course of sexual promiscuity, including explicit text messages rife with sexual content.”

Nicks told District Judge Terry Pullman that his relationship with Coronado was an aberration.

“What I did is not what I am,” he said. “I’m just asking for a second chance. I won’t need a third.”

Prosecutor Justin Edwards introduced three written statements at the hearing, including one from the victim’s mother. She said Nicks had used her daughters — the 15-month-old and a 4-month-old — as sex objects to fulfill his sexual fantasies.

“I feel that Greg Nicks is beyond help and will act again on the impulse if given an opportunity,” she said in the statement.

Schoenhofer argued that no one was physically injured by Nicks’ behavior, and that the girls will have no memories of what Nicks did with them. Pullman said that doesn’t lessen the magnitude of the crime. He likened the crime to raping a comatose victim in a nursing home.

“A victim is no less a victim if there is no recollection of the injuries,” he said before imposing the sentence.

Nicks worked for the Wichita Police Department for just over three years beginning in 2006. He is a former football player for the Wichita Wild and the University of Kansas.

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OK - Juveniles on Oklahoma's Sex Offender Registry. Report Says It Violates Human Rights

Original Article

See the video at the link above.

05/03/2013

“35 states put juveniles on sex offender registries,” said Fox 25 Legal Analyst David Slane.
- We believe this is part of SORNA (PDF), so if states want to comply, then they have to put juveniles on the registry.

Oklahoma is one of those states.

“In Oklahoma you can be put on their as young as 15.”

But a recent Human Rights Watch Report claims placing juveniles on a sex offender registry does more harm than good and calls it a violation of human rights.

“Teenagers sometimes do really stupid things and to be punished for the rest of their life is pretty harsh,” said Slane.

Slane said in Oklahoma juveniles end up on the registry for offenses ranging from sexting all the way to rape.

“In some cases they face lifetime registration for something they did when they were 14 or 13 years old.”

Something he said can ruin a young person's future.

“There's certain jobs they’re not going to get. They will never have the chance to be a fireman, a police officer or a teacher because of that one indiscretion.”

“The judge should be able to put them in there regardless of their age,” said State Senator Kyle Loveless.
- If it was your child on the list, we're sure you'd say otherwise.

Loveless said the registry does not violate any human rights.

“They're responsible for their actions so they should be responsible for their crimes.”
- They are children, not adults!

He said regardless of age the sex offender registry is there for a reason.

“To keep them away from our kids. That’s what it comes down to.”

Some parents we spoke with are on board for putting minors on the list.

“I would want access to the information,” said mother of 7, Elizabeth Hannah.
- And we'd like access to ALL criminal records on an online registry for the world to see.

Others say it goes too far.

“That means in today’s world there’s no chance for that young man or woman to be redeemed after that. They’re basically lost to society,” said parent Ed Sniffin.

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GA - Bill would lighten teen sexting penalty in Georgia

Original Article

04/18/2013

By Tim Omarzu

The age of consent is 16 in Georgia.

But teens can face felony child pornography charges for "sexting," or sending one another nude photos via cellphone.

That would change under legislation sponsored by state Rep. Jay Neal, R-Chickamauga, that would make it a misdemeanor for someone at least 14 years old willingly to send a sexually explicit photo to someone who's 18 or younger.

"We don't want to criminalize stupid teenage behavior," said Neal, who referred to it as a "Romeo and Juliet clause."

"We don't want to make a felony out of it. It would still be a misdemeanor." said Neal, who preaches occasionally at his church in Ringgold, Ga. "We certainly are not encouraging that type of behavior. We still wanted them to understand it is not appropriate."

Under the bill, it still would be a felony for a teen -- for example, after a bitter break-up -- to distribute the explicit photos to harass, intimidate or embarrass another teen, or for commercial purposes.

Neal's House Bill 156 (PDF) passed the state House and Senate without a single vote in opposition. He expects Gov. Nathan Deal will sign it.Catoosa County, Ga., Sheriff Gary Sisk said he doesn't have any "heartburn" over the bill.

"It's more of a moral issue, not a criminal issue," he said. "We're not talking about pedophiles."

"The age of consent is 16," Sisk said. "Two 17-year-olds could have sex, and it's not against the law. But if one of them decided to take [and send an explicit] picture of themselves, they would now be in violation of the law."

A teen convicted of felony sexting would have to register as a sex offender, Sisk said.

"That stays with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

Walker County, Ga., Sheriff Steve Wilson said a felony conviction can limit a person's college and career options.

"It's like a ball and chain around your ankle," he said.

"The question is, should they get a break and not be charged with a felony?" Wilson asked. "I think so. I think they should probably be slapped with a misdemeanor."

"Right now, a D.A. had no other options than either to turn the other cheek or prosecute some serious felonies," Sisk said.

Lawmakers in other states have considered similar legislation. In 2009, Utah was one of the first states to make teen sexting a misdemeanor, not a felony.

Neal's bill also makes it illegal for someone to use online services to contact a child's parents or guardian to arrange to have sex with a child. Current law only makes it illegal for an adult to solicit the child directly or someone the adult believes is the child.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation asked Neal to introduce that.

"It closed that loophole," Neal said.

Video Link

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DC - FBI's New Crisis: Too Much Sexting

Original Article

02/22/2013

By Matt Cantor

FBI agents have received a stern rebuke in internal reports: Time to stop the sexting. An assistant director says the agency has been dealing with a "rash" of dirty texts and naked photos, some sent on government-furnished devices, CNN reports. "When you are given an FBI BlackBerry, it's for official use. It's not to text the woman in another office who you found attractive or to send a picture of yourself in a state of undress," the official says.

Some 1,045 employees faced disciplinary measures—although that accounts for both sext- and non-sext-related offenses—between 2010 and 2012. Eighty-five of these employees were fired. One was linked to child pornography; another "hid a recording device in (a) supervisor's office"; another engaged in a drunken "domestic dispute." CNN reports a few of the sex cases:

• A worker "paid for a sexual favor from (a) masseuse," prompting a two-week suspension.
• Another sent a "nude photograph of herself to (an) ex-boyfriend's wife," landing a 10-day suspension.
• An employee sent nude photos "to other employees" that "adversely affected the daily activities of several squads."

"I still get files and I think, 'Wow, I never would have thought of that,'" says the assistant director.

See Also:

• FBI battling 'rash of sexting' among its employees
• Read the FBI's internal reports (PDF)
• More FBI, Pentagon Child Porn Videos

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NJ - 14-Year-Old New Jersey Girl To Register As Sex Offender After Posting Nude Photos On Myspace?

Original Article

02/18/2013

By Evan Bleier

A 14-year-old New Jersey girl is facing child pornography charges for posting almost 30 nude photos of herself on MySpace. If she is convicted, the girl may have to register as a sex offender.

According to The Daily News, this case is just one example of a larger effort by law enforcement officials across the country to crack down on child pornography. Prosecutors now routinely bring charges resulting from kids sending nude photos to one another over cell phones and e-mail. This case may be unique in that it is the first one where charges were filed based on a teen posting photos on a social networking site.

The explicit posting was brought to the attention of law enforcement by The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. MySpace has yet to comment on the matter. The company does have an internal team that is supposed to review image postings but it appears they may have missed this one.

After the Passaic County Sherriff’s Office began their investigation, the photos that they discovered online were “very explicit.” The sheriff’s spokesman, Bill Maer, said that girl posted the photos of herself because she wanted her boyfriend to be able to see them. “We consider this case a wake-up call to parents,” Maer said.

After officially being charged with possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography, the girl was released into the custody of her mother. The girl’s name has not been made public because of her age.

If the girl is found guilty of the distribution charge, she would have to register with the state as a sex offender because of the provisions set forth by Megan’s Law. She would also be facing up to 17 years in prison.

No matter what happens, it sounds as if this case is a first.

“I’m not sure I’ve seen a prosecution like this coming out of a social networking site,” said Seth Kreimer, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

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CO - Douglas County Sheriff's deputy (Robert "Mike" French) fired after child sexting allegation

Robert "Mike" French

Original Article

02/11/2013

By Laurie Cipriano

DOUGLAS COUNTY - A Douglas County Sheriff's deputy has been fired after being tied to a child sex exploitation investigation, 9Wants to Know has learned.

The sheriff's office said investigators received information about inappropriate text messages involving a juvenile last week. Investigators determined a deputy was alleged to be involved.

The investigation does not currently involve the direct involvement of other deputies, 9Wants to Know has also learned.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office identified him as Robert "Mike" French. He was taken into custody and posted a $50,000 bond.

On Monday, French's employment with DCSO was terminated for department policy violations and alleged criminal conduct.
- So much for innocent until proven guilty in a court of law!

French faces two charges of sexual exploitation of a child. The first arresting charge is for causing, inducing, enticing or permitting a child to engage in, or to be used for, any explicit sexual conduct for the making of any sexually exploitative material.

The second arresting charge is for possessing or controlling any sexually exploitative material.

French was arrested early Saturday morning, Hanavan said. Originally, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said the deputy was arrested Friday night.

French is scheduled to be back in court March 15. He is expected to formally learn the charges against him at that court hearing.

French worked in Support Services for the sheriff's office. Support Services includes areas such as dispatch, information technology and civil, which serves court papers.

His current assignment did not include working with children.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office confirmed French was housed in Arapahoe County Saturday as a courtesy to Douglas County.

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The predatory justice of juvenile sex-offender laws

Original Article

01/20/2013

By Michael Zoorob

When lawmakers crafted laws to combat sexual violence, they probably never expected that children as young as 10 would end up on public sex offender registries. Law enforcement probably never expected that they would have to notify neighbors that a 13-year-old sex offender lived nearby. Yet that is the reality of America’s sex offender registration laws: Though the judicial system tends to distinguish between youth and adult offenders, 35 states subject minors convicted of sex crimes to the same registration, notification and restrictions as adults. Seven states require juveniles to stay on the registry for life. These crimes aren't always violent, either: A recent Human Rights Watch report notes that teens have found their way onto sex offender registries for benign acts like sexting, public urination and consensual sex with other teens.

In fact, 36 percent of all sex offenders who victimize children are themselves juveniles — and more than half of these juvenile offenders are 14 years old or younger, according to a recent study commissioned by the Department of Justice. It is understandable that laws should be created to curb sexual violence — but imposing the stigma of longtime and sometimes lifelong sex offender registration on juvenile offenders creates unnecessary harm both to them and their families. Juvenile offenders often experience emotional problems, difficulty securing employment, social ostracization and difficulties at school. There are, incredibly, cases of teens being barred from attending school due to their presence on sex offender registries because they sexted, the act of which the law considers child pornography. As adults, these offenders can expect restrictions on their residency, employment and mobility, and a significant minority will be fired, harassed, assaulted or even murdered because of their sex offender status.

Registration may also hinder crime rehabilitation of youth offenders. Depriving juvenile offenders of access to education, employment, religious services and healthy relationships — all common consequences of sex offender registration — could actually raise the probability that these children become lifelong delinquents. Unfortunately, registration requirements may deter families from reporting sex crimes committed by their child against a sibling for fear of the legal consequences, thus denying access to rehabilitative services.

Registration of juveniles has also been shown not to reduce sex crime. Studies by Elizabeth Letourneau of the University of South Carolina have found that registering juvenile offenders neither reduced overall rates of offenses nor reduced recidivism. This makes sense. It’s hard to argue, for example, that public safety was enhanced by the eviction of a 26-year-old married woman from her home in Georgia because a daycare center opened nearby. Her crime was that she had oral sex with a 15-year-old when she was 17.
- The same applies to adults.  Sex laws do nothing to reduce recidivism.

Moreover, juvenile offenders are distinct from their adult counterparts. Children who commit sex crimes, even violent ones, usually do so as a way of “acting out,” not because they eroticize aggression. Consequently, psychologists have found that rehabilitation is very effective for juvenile sex offenders, and very few juvenile offenders re-offend as adults. Most studies find the recidivism rate of juvenile sex offenders to be less than 5 percent.
- Recidivism rates are the same for adults as well.

Sex offenders deserve special opprobrium in our society. But we shouldn't let our visceral disgust with sex crimes bar us from making sensible public policy. Children are not miniature adults, and the law should not treat them that way.

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PA - 2 Westmoreland Co. Teens Charged Under New Law Regulating Sexting

Original Article

01/03/2013

GREENSBURG (KDKA) — Two Greensburg Salem Middle School students are among the first to be charged under a new state law that regulates sexting among teens.

“A 13-year-old girl took a photo; she was naked from the waist up, took a picture of herself and sent it to a 14-year-old boy at his request,” said Detective Sgt. Henry Fontana, of Greensburg Police.

The boy deleted the photo and did not forward it to friends. It was the girl’s mother who later found the photo on her phone and called police.

“Under the new law that just went into effect on Christmas Eve, that is a summary offense,” said Detective Sgt. Fontana.

The new law creates a tiered system for adjudicating sexting cases that differentiates between those who make bad decisions and those who have bad intentions.

Under the new law, minors over the age of 12 charged for the first time will get a summary citation. A second offense will result in a misdemeanor charge.

Felony child pornography laws remain on the books and could still apply if the photos are distributed with malicious intent.

Attorney Anthony Bompiani, who does not represent anyone involved in the Greensburg Salem case, says this is important for young people who may make a bad decision without realizing the potential consequences.

“Now with the times and the technology and the way students interact between each other, they make mistakes, they make bad judgment calls, stupid calls; and instead of having a felony record, they’re going to have a summary offense, which is going to be like a traffic ticket – won’t be on the record, it won’t affect them later in life,” said Bompiani.

The law also provides an important tool for police who previously had no alternative to a child pornography charge when dealing with less serious sexting cases.

“It’s still wrong, it’s still against the law and the kids need to know that, but this makes it a little easier to cope with,” said Detective Sgt. Fontana.

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Facebook Said To Have Sexting App In The Works

Original Article

I can foresee more registered sex offenders coming next year. So are they going to allow children to use this? If so, then wouldn't that be promoting child porn?

12/17/2012

By Adam Popescu

Guess who just might be the newest addition to the sexting community? Facebook. That's right, the nearly 9-year old company is growing up. Big time.

The house that Mark Zuckerberg built is reportedly set to launch a new standalone app aimed at competing with Snapchat, a disposable photo and video chat service best known for... well... sexting.

Technically, the service is about creating private, “self-destructible” picture and video messages that users can send and choose the amount of time that the photo will be available for viewing. After the allotted time, the content deletes itself from the sender’s and receiver’s phone, and from Snapchat's server. Like it never happened. You can imagine the appeal to those who want to send "cheeky" images.

Details for the release are still sketchy (Facebook's official response to ReadWrite's inquiry was: "We're not going to comment on rumor and speculation."). But we do know that Snapchat boasts a community that sends 50 million photos per day, and Facebook is likely betting its users, 1 billion people, who upload about 300 million photos a day, want to play. Although this app would a stand-alone product, operating like Facebook's Instagram app, the coming service would be able to draw from a huge user base.

Read the entire article here

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UK - Study: 13-Year-Old Children Regularly Exchange Nude Photos on Cell Phones

Original Article

And with the sex offender hysteria, how many of these kids will be ruined for life by being forced to wear the "sex offender" label?

12/10/2012

By Michael Allen

According to a new study by Professor Andy Phippen of the Plymouth University, boys and girls as young as 13 often swap sexually explicit pictures of themselves.

Phippen told Channel 4 News in the UK: "This is mainstream; this is normal. This is almost mundane for some of the people we spoke to. In pretty much every school in the country, people aged 13 and 14 are talking about this stuff and dealing with this stuff."

The study, which was based on 220 students, ages 13 and 14, found they were becoming sexualized earlier, because pornography was so easy to find online.

One girl told researchers: "I get asked for naked pictures at least two or three times a week."

A boy said: "You would have seen a girl’s breasts before you’ve seen their face."

Another boy added: "It might shock parents this is what kids get up to but it’s just everyday life. It’s natural, it’s all part of growing up."

A 14-year-old from Berkshire, England said she received messages asking her to reply with a smiley face if she wanted sex or another symbol if she wanted to perform a sex act on the sender.

A 15-year-old girl said that boys expected certain things of girls because they had become used to seeing it in online porn.

Another 15-year-old added: "They’re put under pressure to get these photos of girls, to have muscles, to look this certain way, to be able to like do all these positions and to be able to last the longest in bed."

Video Link

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TX - 12-year-old US student arrested for 'accidentally' taking nude photo of classmate

Original Article

Laws meant to "protect" children are ruining their lives!  So if she immediately deleted the photo, then what's the problem?

12/09/2012

A 12-year-old student was detained by police after accidentally taking a photo of a half-naked classmate in a locker room. Though she immediately deleted the picture, she was reportedly arrested and handcuffed by the police the next day.

­The unidentified student said on Thursday that she wanted to photograph herself with a friend using one of her iPhone’s two cameras, but accidentally selected the wrong lens, according to an ABC report. The result, she claimed, was an unintentionally racy picture of another young girl.

"She was just pulling down her pants, but not all the way – barely," the girl said.

The girl said she immediately deleted the picture she snapped by mistake in front of the girl involved. But on Friday, she was arrested for illicit photography.

The girl was pulled out of class at the Alice Johnson Junior High in of Harris County, Texas. Police reportedly handcuffed her, put her into a patrol car and took her into custody.

"They took me to the cop car and told me to put my hands behind my back," the 12-year-old told KRIV.

"I'd say this is akin to a child being kicked out of school for buying an aspirin," attorney Jack Carroll said. "It reminds me of the overreactive, overzealousness by school districts."

The girl has been suspended from school for three days and is being sent to an alternative school for another 30 days; her family is appealing the latter sentence.

Police refused to comment on the investigation because of the involvement of minors.

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OH - Local cop(s) sexting on the job

Original Article

11/14/2012

CLEVELAND (WOIO) - A local woman says she's not proud of what she's done, but she wants the public to know about her experience with a veteran police officer.

"What he did was very wrong."

19 Action News Chief Investigative Reporter Carl Monday isn't naming the officer, but we can tell you he works for Garfield Heights Police.

The woman, who says she's known the cop for some time, kept some of the text messages she says were sent by the officer.

"U out? Go to Warner Rd. Ah my dirty girl. Waitin."

Two minutes later, the impatient patrolman sends a second text, too crude to print, much less show on TV.

"What did he want you to do?" asked Monday.

"Perform oral sex with him," she replied.

She says the two met twice. Once at a city park off Canal Road in neighboring Cuyahoga Heights. She says the officer was in full uniform, on-duty in his police car.

"He pulled my pants down and had me perform oral sex on him," she said wiping her tears.

"In the police car?"

"Yes."

Monday took the allegations to Garfield Heights Police Chief Robert Sackett. The Chief confirmed that the same woman came to him several months ago, but never revealed the cops name or the text messages.

"I'm glad you brought this to my attention," said the Chief. "Certainly, we can't have things like this and we'll investigate it."

Last week, Monday caught up with officer in question as he approached his patrol car.

"Officer, wondered if we could ask you a few questions? What about this woman's allegations that you engaged in sexual activity in a patrol car?" The officer politely declined comment.

Chief Sackett says it's not the kind of behavior he would tolerate from any police officer, including the sexting on-duty.

If the practice of a cop sexting on duty sounds familiar, it should.

Recently, 19 Action News introduced you to Detective Vincent Lucarelli, Cleveland's "Sexting Cop." Monday and his team uncovered some thirty thousand text messages sent or received by Lucarelli to woman involved in cases he was investigating.

Ron Turner, now a private investigator, was a Cleveland officer for twenty one years. He, too has been looking into Lucarelli. He interviewed nine women who exchange texts with the finger happy cop.

"Even the girls in his own neighborhood were victims of him," Turner said.

When one neighborhood girl turned eighteen, she told Monday that Lucarelli began driving her around in his detective car.

She showed 19 Action News texts from Lucarelli, and said he began giving her hundreds of dollars to buy shoes and clothing.

"What did he expect in return for this money?" asked Monday.

"Pictures," she answered.

"What kind of pictures?"

"Um, nude, in panties and bra."

She says the two engaged in sexual activity, but unlike the Garfield case, it didn't involve a police car.

Read the entire article here

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CA - Teen Stunts Landing Kids On Sex Offender List... For Life

Video Description:
In 1947 California became the first state to implement a public sex offender registry. Today with over 93,000 people, our state has more registered sex offenders than any other. The laws are meant to keep kids safe … but some local parents may be shocked to find out that even common adolescent stunts such as ‘sexting’ or risque Facebook pictures can sentence a teenager to a ‘life on the list.

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PA - Hey kids, you can have sex, just don't take and send naked photos

Original Article

10/22/2012

By ERIC BOEHM

HARRISBURG — Under state law, two 17-year-olds in Pennsylvania can legally have sexual intercourse, but they might soon face fines if caught sending naked pictures via their cell phones.

Legislation headed to Gov. Tom Corbett's desk would ban minors from engaging in the so-called practice of "sexting," in which individuals send naked pictures of themselves or others via cell phone or other mobile device.

Offenders could be subject to anything from a summary offense, which involves only a fine, to a second-degree misdemeanor, which carries a potential penalty of two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

The bill prohibits judges from sentencing teens to prison if they are caught "sexting," and the second-degree misdemeanor would only kick in if the images were being used in an abusive way or to bully someone.

If signed into law, HB 815 will apply to individuals between the ages of 13 and 17, even though the age of consent for sexual activity in Pennsylvania is 16.

The state House voted 188-3 to approve the bill after it passed the state Senate by a vote of 37-12.

State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, who sponsored the bill, said the law was a response to cases in which sexually explicit images were spread beyond the two people involved in the relationship. In York County, a "sexted" picture wound up on a sex offender's computer, he said.

"It's not just about two people in a relationship, it's getting out there," Grove said.

Under current law, "sexting" would be punished under child pornography laws — if it was punished at all — and since that is a felony, it would follow those teens for the rest of their lives, Grove said.

Since the new offense would be a juvenile offense, it would be eligible to be expunged.

If the picture involved someone younger than 13 or older than 18, it could still be prosecuted under child pornography laws.

State Sen. Mary Jo White, R-Venango, said the legislation was well-intentioned but ultimately harmful.

"I don't think these issues belong in criminal court," she said. "They're just kids being kids and being stupid. I really think we need to rethink this."

State Sen. Jim Ferlo, D-Allegheny, said the measure "makes no sense whatsoever in my opinion."

The bill also allows police to seize any cell phone used for "sexting" and hold it under the state's forfeiture laws, which eliminate the owner's right to the property.

See Also:

• Teens Can Have Sex in Pa, but 'Sexting' Could be Outlawed

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