New La. law: Sex offenders must list status on Facebook, other social media

OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: (CNN) -- A new Louisiana law requires sex offenders and child predators to state their criminal status on their Facebook or other social networking page, with the law's author saying the bill is the first of its kind in the nation.

State Rep. Jeff Thompson, a Republican from Bossier City, Louisiana, says his new law, effective August 1, will stand up to constitutional challenge because it expands sex offender registration requirements, common in many states, to include a disclosure on the convicted criminal's social networking sites as well.

Thompson, an attorney and a father of a 13-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, said he hopes other states will follow Louisiana.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace have been removing sex offenders from their web pages for years, but Thompson said the law is designed to cover any possible lapses by social networking sites.

"I don't want to leave in the hands of social network or Facebook administrators, 'Gee, I hope someone is telling the truth,'" Thompson said Tuesday. "This is another tool for prosecutors."

The new law, signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal earlier this month, builds upon existing sex offender registration laws, in which the offender must notify immediate neighbors and a school district of his or her residency near them, Thompson said.

The law states that sex offenders and child predators "shall include in his profile for the networking website an indication that he is a sex offender or child predator and shall include notice of the crime for which he was convicted, the jurisdiction of conviction, a description of his physical characteristics... and his residential address."

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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: Several states now require sex offenders and child predators to register with authorities their e-mail accounts, Internet addresses or profile names to social network and other web sites, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. A few states such as Illinois and Texas even outright prohibit sex offenders, as a condition of parole, from accessing social networking websites, the group said.

The Louisiana law is the latest addition to statutes requiring public notice and registrations by sex offenders, Thompson said.

"It provides the same notice to persons in whose home you are injecting yourself via the Internet," Thompson said. "I challenge you today to walk down the street to see how many people and children are checking Pinterest, Instagram and other social networking sites. If you look at how common it is, that's 24 hour a day, seven days a week for somebody to interact with your children and your grandchildren."

At least according to Facebook's policies, the law would have no real impact. The site's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities already bars sex offenders from using it.

"You will not use Facebook if you are a convicted sex offender," the policy reads, in a section that also prohibits children under 13 and multiple accounts on the site.

In the past, Facebook has worked with various states on legislation to help law enforcement find, prosecute and convict sexual predators attempting to use the site.

Violators of the new law could face imprisonment with hard labor for a term between two and 10 years without parole and a fine up to $1,000. A second conviction carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment with hard labor for a term between five and 20 years without parole and a fine up to $3,000.

Thompson consulted prosecutors and the attorney general in Louisiana when drafting the law because last year, a federal court struck down a Louisiana law that outright banned sex offenders and child predators from using Internet. The court found the law too broad, Thompson said.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sought to block the enforcement of that state law that tried to limit sex offenders' use of the Internet, arguing that it infringes on constitutional rights. The law had targeted registered sex offenders convicted in crimes involving children and prohibited the "using or accessing of social networking websites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks," according to the legislation that was signed into law in June 2011.

Louisiana lawmakers, however, have not given up on that stricter law. In fact, a revised version was passed by the Louisiana legislature and signed into law in May, but Thompson is skeptical that latest version can survive a court challenge. The revised, new ban prohibits certain registered sex offenders from intentionally using a social networking website, Gov. Jindal said in a statement.

Said Thompson about that new law: "It may very well fall under scrutiny and attack. That's one of the reasons that I created the bill I did. I'm not trying to create a ban. I'm just trying to create an expansion of the existing notice requirements."
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: With all of the predators on the internet, I do believe this is a worthwhile step to take.
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lavendar_star
lavendar_star: We need that law introduce here, we've had at least one case where a man pretended to be a teen boy on FB then meet the girl, obviously he wasnt and then raped and killed her. these predators are using the net as new way to target victims and if this helps to stop them then its all good with me.
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LiptonCambell
LiptonCambell: Wouldn't that mean you'd hafta be "friends" with a child predator in order to keep up with where they are?
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: The interface between victim and predator is too ...open and easy. the internet can be very dark
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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: I'd rather that they are blacklisted from the internet, especially where paedophiles are concerned. Or, at the very least, they have to agree to their traffic being monitored.

I'm not one for informing the public about sex offenders, but that's mainly due to the minority of people who are falsely accused of such acts and have their lives absolutely destroyed.
(Edited by Sarcastic Dots)
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LiptonCambell
LiptonCambell: Personally, i find all this "lets keep watching them" shit to be pretty creepy...they did their time- if you think they're going to continue to commit crimes, then you should keep them behind bars- but don't try and meet it halfway, where they are constantly under big brothers watch....
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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: Sex offenders are a unique case, especially within the realm of paedophilia, because most people would agree you can't fully reform a sex offender without constant supervision. Rape and other sexual assaults can't be mistaken as accidental or crimes of passion--unless you have a pretty warped view of passion--so you can't apply the same amount of subjectivity to it-- if you steal, hell if you murder, I can see certain circumstances where it'd be acceptable, but sexual assaults have a singular purpose.

Most people would not contest that paedophiles are mentally insane, would they? When somebody is insane, you keep an eye on them, for the good of themselves and the people around them.
(Edited by Sarcastic Dots)
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: Having access to the internet, and therefore children, is voluntary. Social sites are voluntary. You go there to interact with people. I do believe that if a sexual offender is there in a setting with children, a warning is appropriate.
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davidk14
davidk14: .

I agree with Sub that pedophiles are mentally insane. We're not talking about the 18 year old boyfriend of a 17 year girl. We're are talking about the pedophiles that hunt young children for their own sexual fantasies. There are only a few ways to make sure these sicko's do not hurt children...One, don't let them ever out of jail or two...terminate their lives. To not watch them if they are released is criminal.

.
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Sarcastic Dots
Sarcastic Dots: As it happens, David, there is a fantastic documentary by the BBC's Louis Theroux that involves him visiting a permanent detention centre that involves holding paedophiles after their sentence is served because, frankly, they are too dangerous to be released. The documentary, like all of Theroux's, cuts through the opinions and talks to the people directly involved in the situation-- sadly, this makes for uncomfortable viewing, but hey, that's the point.

(Edited by Sarcastic Dots)
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: I believe some states here actually have a law that if they believe a sexual predator will reoffend, then can keep them past their "out" date.
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Agricola
Agricola: Facebook. Greatest CIA tool ever?!?


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LiptonCambell
LiptonCambell: >>>Sex offenders are a unique case, especially within the realm of paedophilia, because most people would agree you can't fully reform a sex offender without constant supervision.

Are all "Sex offenders" rapists and child rapists? I've heard stories of people peeing in a playground at 1:30 in the morning because they were drunk being put on the sex offenders list. I've heard stories of a 11 year old getting texted images of another 11 year old's breasts being put on the sex offenders list.

Its not as simple as saying "everyone on the sex offenders list are rapists"

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LiptonCambell
LiptonCambell: >>>We're not talking about the 18 year old boyfriend of a 17 year girl.

Aren't we?

We are talking about people ON THE SEX OFFENDERS LIST- and like it or not, judges have put the kinds of people you just suggested ON THAT LIST. That not everyone who on that list are rapists or are attracted to children.
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: do you believe they have a right to their anonymity on the internet?
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LiptonCambell
LiptonCambell: "They" meaning anyone on the sex offender registry? Absolutely.

Had the sex offender registry only contain rapists, I don't think there would be much of an argument from me- but that's not the case.

"Mooning, streaking or Urination in public is a sex crime in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Vermont. Some of these states have proposed to remove these offenses as a sex crime."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_offender_registration#Application_to_offenses_other_than_felony_sexual_offenses

Come on- you think people should be monitored for their entire life because they've mooned someone? Because they've steaked?

Get real! This registry is clearly not being used in the fashion you wish the people in this thread to believe. You are suggesting people be monitored for far greater crimes than they ACTUALLY COMMITTED- with no room to appeal their case, or get removed from these lists...

"More than a third of sex crimes against juveniles are committed by juveniles, according to new research commissioned by the Justice Department.

Juveniles are 36% of all sex offenders who victimize children. Seven out of eight are at least 12 years old, and 93% are boys, says the study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

The report comes as states toughen penalties for adult sex offenders and wrestle with how to handle juveniles.

...

He says too many end up on sex offender registries. "They shouldn't be stigmatized for the rest of their lives," Berlin says.

...

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, however, requires states to adopt uniform registry rules or risk losing certain federal funds. The act, passed in 2006, requires teens 14 and older to register if they commit serious sex crimes, which can include touching the genitals of someone younger than 12.

Offenders have to register every three months; failure to do so is a felony. The Justice Department says only Ohio has put the law into effect. "

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-01-03-kid-sex-offenders_N.htm

CHILDREN are appearing on sex offender registries- they should spend their entire life being tracked by the government? CHILDREN?
(Edited by LiptonCambell)
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OCD_OCD
OCD_OCD: I do agree that some of these things should not be labelled as sexual offenses, for sure. But the hard core predators should be closely watched and they have no business being in contact with children on the internet.
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LiptonCambell
LiptonCambell: I can agree with you on that- but to date, there is no real legitimate way to track these people- and the careless and excessive nature of the sex offender registry makes sure that it is, essentially, useless. Far too many people saw the list as a means to control people, track people, and harasses for unrelated charges- and thus, its ruined.

Basically, they saw a means to start big brother, and everyone wanted THEIR case to support the use of such means....thus, we have a registry that no longer only registers rapists. And for that reason alone, it should be scrapped and restarted.

And, again, since the core of this thread is "The people on the Sex Offender Registry should have either their online actions monitored, or be denied access to the internet"....yea, it's bullshit....you'd be monitoring the actions of 11 year old's and immature people alongside the rapists, judging every message and every "share"

Another problem; the infrastructure. Facebook is not designed to have other people "track" your actions and give them outside access to your information, federally or otherwise. In fact, if Facebook did implement a way for this to happen, whats stopping these sexual predators from using whats already there to gain access from people when they didn't even give that person permission to search them? Stalkers and sexual predators would have a field day....and the internet was not designed to keep track on what everyone does in every IP....the bullshit with the MPAA is an excellent example- the MPAA has made a list of ip's that they want tracked and everything they've done collected from their provider and given to the courts.....but the providers simply don't record everything their clients DO- because of this, gaining the information has been a slow and tired progress, because the infrastructure to simply "track" what an IP is doing simply does not exist....no internet service provider offers this service, because it would take insane amount of data, and would be completely unprofitable to do so- not to mention it would create animosity between them and their customers....no one likes to be treated like they are a potential criminal or child molester...

(Edited by LiptonCambell)
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