National Pedophile/Blog Witch-hunt Heats Up

[stewardess]

Who is the real enemy? It starts with a B.Most Americans are aware that, during the last two days, lawmen in several U.S. states have arrested dozens of registered sex offenders with MySpace accounts

Comments

[msilverstar]

Sexual predators get on the sites to pinpoint their next victim

Registered sex offenders = sexual predators => use the the sites to victimize children... There's a couple of huge leaps of logic there. Even the Illinois legislature seems to be smart enough not to criminalize social networking site use. I <3 Detective Anderson.

[stewardess]

Gah. The legislation is already happening.

Other pending legislation [in Illinois] also aims to protect young people from Internet predators.

House Republican Leader Tom Cross of Oswego unveiled a proposal earlier this year that would make it a crime for predators to use the Internet for an illicit conversation with a minor.

House Bill 2858 sailed through the House and Senate without any opposing votes and is on the way to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's desk.

[msilverstar]

I meant, at least there had to be a conversation, rather than criminalizing just BEING on MySpace.

[stewardess]

Yes, at least Illinois is trying to define what the crime is, instead of assuming there is one.

The sex offender = pedophile predator leap is really nuts. Sex offender covers everything, from the guy who flashes his dick at an adult woman, and the eighteen year old boy convicted of having consensual sex with a fifteen year old girl.

[elfwreck]

Sex offender has covered guys who piss in an alley behind a crowded bar.

There was a case (or situation, I guess) a while back, in Oregon: small bar that had concerts on weekends didn't have enough bathroom space, so guys would sneak out behind it and pee in the alley. The owners of the bar didn't like this, so they called the cops. Cops busted the guys for "public urination" or whatever the misdemeanor is. It goes to court... lawyers argue that if there's no public facilities within a certain distance, people have the right to pee (basic human needs, and all that) as long as they're discreet about it. It's a precedent established by some previous case, a kind of homeless rights thing that probably dates back to the Depression in the 30's.

So. Can't bust the guys for peeing... so they start busting them for "public exposure/lewd behavior"--a sex crime.

Now they're registered sex offenders for life.

[stewardess]

Yikes! Does it also include people convicted for prostitution? That would be terrible.

[elfwreck]

Not sure if it covers prostitution convictions or not. (Probably doesn't cover those who *purchase* prostitute's services. Blah.)

[elfwreck]

Wotdahell is "illicit conversation with a minor?"

I looked at California's laws. I can't find anything about what words or phrases are illegal to state in the presence of, or to, someone under the age of 18.

It's illegal to try to get them to commit crimes, I think... but we've already got laws against that.