Courts struck down previous law as unconstitutional
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law Friday that makes it illegal to talk with children in sexually explicit terms online or by text message.
"It is regrettable that this bill is necessary," Abbott said in a press statement.
The state's previous statute, created in 2005, was struck down by the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals in Octobter 2013 as a violation of free speech rights for being overly broad. That ruling halted the prosecution of public school choir teacher John Christopher Lo for sending salcious text messages to a 15-year-old former student. Read about the ruling on houstonchronicle.com.
That ruling resulted in dozens of people being released from probation or prison, having that felony conviction cleared from their records and having their names removed from the state sex offender registry, according to a Chronicle analysis of court and district attorney records.
"The Court of Criminal Appeals was wrong on the law, and its decision has dangerous consequences for Texas children," Abbott said.
The new version of the law approved by Abbott follows court recommendations to narrow the statute. It only applies to offenses committed on or after September 1, 2015. The governor also championed the bill for eliminating some defenses previously used to prevent successful prosecution.
Senate Bill 344 was carried through several unanimous legislative votes by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Rep. Tony Dale, R-Cedar Park. ..Source.. by Jayme Fraser
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