January 20, 2010

Ala. House passes bill to seize property of sex offenders who use computer to lure victims

1-20-2010 Alabama:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Adults using a computer to solicit a juvenile for sexual activity could find themselves without a home, car or computer.

The Alabama House voted 95-0 to pass a bill by Democratic Rep. Ken Guin of Carbon Hill that allows authorities to confiscate the property of a person convicted of using a computer to lure a young person to meet for sexual reasons. An exception is the house, car or other property can't be confiscated if it is needed by a spouse or child who did not know the computer was being used to solicit a child.

The bill was originally sponsored by Democratic Rep. Lea Fite of Jacksonville. Fite died of a heart attack in October. The bill was named the Lea Fite Child Protection Act. ..Source.. WHNT19News

1 comment:

Dave Krueger said...

As seizure laws go, this could be a lot worse. Often, especially in the case of drug crimes, a conviction (or even a charge) isn't necessary and it's hard to get your property back in those cases. And it doesn't matter if the wife was a half owner. Seizures are being counted on more and more as a source of funding by governmental agencies (including those who actually do the seizing).