Louisiana sex offender Facebook law: New law requires sex offenders post their criminal status

Besides my note below, and the fact that I think this is ludicrous, lets take a different look at this requirement. Are all social networks capable of storing this extra information, do they ask the questions and provide input fields for sex offenders to input the required information? Further proof lawmakers do not take the time to think about what they are proposing..

7-11-2012 Louisiana:

LOUISIANA -- 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 includes 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."

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."

Facebook applauded the new Louisiana law, even though it "will have no direct" effect on its service, the company said in a statement to CNN.

"Our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities already bars registered sex offenders from using Facebook," the firm said. "We take the safety and security of our users, especially the many young people on Facebook, very seriously. We have consistently supported legislation to help strengthen law enforcement's ability to find, prosecute and convict online sexual predators."

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 limits 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." ..Source.. by Michael Martinez, CNN

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

House approves bill banning sex offenders from social networking websites

This state just won't quit no matter how many losses they have in the courts. Here we see banning many folks that bears no relationship to the law, its like Lawmakers are mad at these folks so they choose to further punishment.

4-18-2012 Louisiana:

Baton Rouge -- The Louisiana House voted 97-1 Tuesday for a rewritten version of legislation banning sex offenders convicted of crimes against children from social websites, a replacement for one that was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court several weeks ago. House Bill 620 by Rep. Ledricka Thierry, D-Opelousas, now goes to the Senate. The lone vote against the bill came from Rep. Marcus Hunter, D-Monroe, who objected to the length of the prison sentences for violations in Thierry's bill.

The bill would ban from social websites individuals convicted of a sex offense involving minors, pornography involving juveniles, indecent behavior with juveniles, computer-aided solicitation of minors or video voyeurism.

Thierry said her bill is more tightly drawn than the law struck down by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Jackson of Baton Rouge. She said the bill does not ban an offender from access to the Internet as the previous version did.

"This applies to certain sites, the social networking websites," she said. Thierry said the main purpose of the bill is to prevent offenders from "setting up personal profiles" on the Internet.

Jackson, in throwing out the law that was enacted last year at Gov. Bobby Jindal's request, ruled the prohibitions were overly broad and could prevent offenders from reading news, job-search and governmental websites.

This year's bill, also backed by Jindal, bans the intentional use of social networking websites that require the posting of photos, personal profiles and for "facilitating social interaction with other users of the site."

The bill calls for a jail sentence of up to 10 years without suspension of sentence or early release, and up to a $10,000 fine; a repeat offense could result in a maximum fine of $20,000, and a minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison without suspension of sentence.

Hunter tried to remove provisions that would prevent suspension of sentence or early release of the offender. He called the sentences "quite excessive, stressing that the individuals have already served jail time for the main offense.

"The purpose of the law is for those who have used the computer to lure their victims," Thierry said, asking the House to reject Hunter's changes. Lawmakers complied with her request, 8-83.

Earlier in the day, a pair of Senate committees passed several other crime-related bills on to the floor.

Senate Bill 243, by Rep. Danny Martiny, R-Metairie, would impose penalties of up to a year in jail and a $500 fine on anyone who did not report the killing, rape or sexual abuse of a child. Martiny said the bill was inspired by the death of Caylee Anthony in Florida and the acquittal of her mother, Casey Anthony.

That bill was sent on to the full Senate, though members of the Senate's Judiciary C Committee said they were concerned it would cause problems in cases where someone might abuse both their spouse and their child, turning the victimized spouse into a criminal. Several bills in both chambers deal with similar issues.

Another measure, Senate Bill 686, was inspired by a text message sent to Sen. Robert Adley. The Benton Republican said he was sitting at home one night when he received a text that included a "picture of this elderly man and woman having sex," Adley told the committee. When he tried to figure out who sent the text, Adley said he was rebuffed with language that wasn't fit for the committee room.

After learning from police that there was no law against sending unsolicited, explicit texts, Adley said he decided to draft one. The bill would consider such actions as a subcategory of the crime of obscenity. ..Source.. by Ed Anderson

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Governor Jindal signs bill criminalizing use of social networking sites by sex offenders

6-19-2011 Louisiana:

BATON ROUGE – Yesterday, Governor Bobby Jindal signed into law HB 55 by Rep. Thierry – a Governor’s Package Bill – which criminalizes the accessing or using of social networking websites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks by registered sex offenders.

Governor Jindal said, “We don’t let sex offenders on our playgrounds and online social networking sites will now be no different. We must always be one step ahead of the monsters that prey on our children, and with the development and popularity of social networking websites, such as Facebook and chatrooms, sex offenders have new tools for communicating with our children. Law enforcement officials will now have a new mechanism to deter sex offenders from interacting with our children by criminalizing their use of these sites.”

The new law will apply to registered sex offenders who were previously convicted of indecent behavior with juveniles, pornography involving juveniles, computer-aided solicitation of a minor or video voyeurism; or were previously convicted of a sex offense in which the victim of that sex offense was a minor.

Under the bills these criminals, upon first conviction, will be fined up to $10,000 and imprisoned for up to 10 years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. Upon a second or subsequent conviction, they will be fined up to $20,000 and imprisoned with hard labor for five-20 years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. ..Source.. by Press-Tribune Staff

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Legislature unanimously passes social networking ban for sex offenders

6-10-2011 Louisiana:

Sex offenders in Louisiana will soon no longer be allowed to have Facebook or MySpace pages or participate in any other social networking websites.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the bill, once signed into law, can withstand the constitutional testing it is sure to eventually face or even emerge in enforceable form after those challenges.

On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously approved (34-0) the bill that would prevent sex offenders from taking part in social networks. The bill would make it a crime to use networking websites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks by anyone convicted of a list of sex offenses against a minor.

"It's not all sex offenders," said Rep. Ledricka Thierry, D-Opelousas, who proposed the bill. "It's for sex offenders who were convicted for pornography involving juveniles, computer-aided solicitation of a minor, video voyeurism and sex offense with a minor."

The bill also passed in the House unanimously, 76-0.

"It is definitely a good thing," 30-year-old Lafayette resident Eric Oubre said. "I don't think they should be allowed to be on social networking sites because of the risk they pose to young people. I definitely agree with the bill, because if they are allowed to have those pages, then it puts young kids in jeopardy. "

If Jindal signs off on it, as he is expected to, Louisiana would join New York, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Connecticut as states banning sex offenders from social networking sites.

"I know that North Carolina has caught 100 sex offenders since they've passed the law," Thierry said. "But unlike some of the states, this law actually has provisions that would allow a sex offender to access some sites."

But not everyone is in favor of the bill, including Executive Director of American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana Marjorie Esman.

"The bill is almost certainly a violation of federal law," Esman said, "and it is absolutely unenforceable. Any regulation of Internet is exclusively federal. States don't have the legal right to regulate in that area."

When contacted for comment on how they would enforce the bill, Lafayette Police Department Cpl. Paul Mouton declined comment, citing that the bill hasn't been written into law.

According to the bill, sex offenders could be granted access by probation and parole officers as well as judges.

"If they had a legitimate reason why they needed to access the sites, there are ways they can be granted permission," Thierry said. "We're not trying to single sex offenders out or prevent them from moving on with their lives, but my objective is the concern of children."

"The Internet is a good place to attract young and naive people," Iota resident Sonya Miller said. "It is definitely a good thing because someone has to look out for the children."

Lafayette resident Svonnie Trailer agreed with Esman, saying "everyone deserves a second chance."

"I really believe this is violating their rights," the 32-year-old Trailer said. "I think they should be allowed to be on social networks, but I also feel that they should be monitored."

But Tonia Bertrand of Iota strongly disagreed.

"This bill is a great thing," Bertrand said. "I believe sex offenders lost their rights when they committed those crimes. We have to protect our children. Cyber world is completely different, and unfortunately not for the better. As good as the Internet can be, it can really be harmful."

Thierry said so many children are beginning Facebook and MySpace pages at such a young age that something was needed to protect them.

"Anybody who has children should understand the necessity of this law," Thierry said.

"All of the kids that I've come into contact with, even as young as six years old, have told me they have Facebook pages. Even Facebook and MySpace have policies in place that sex offenders aren't allowed on their websites."

Esman says sex offenders should not be held to a different standard than any other criminal. "This isn't a second chance for sex offenders, because they have already completed the sentence for their action," Esman said. "We don't have laws like this in place for kidnappers, bank robbers or murders. They treat sex offenders more harshly even though their acts are no worse."

Thierry said she doesn't buy that argument.

"We have very strict penalties for murdering children," Thierry said. "There are life and even death sentences for murdering children. Child murderers aren't walking the street free. We take child kidnappers and murderers very seriously.

"Just because they have completed their sentence, that doesn't mean anything," Thierry continued. "People are sometimes placed on probation for 15 years after completing their sentence. We tell convicted felons that they can't have a gun, so why can't we keep sex offenders from having access to social networks? They've already demonstrated from previous acts that they can't be trusted. I don't want to give them the opportunity to prove to us they can't be again." ..Source.. by Eric Narcisse

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Ban on Facebook, social networking sites for certain sex offenders headed to Jindal's desk

Again we see Louisiana violating rights of its registrants. If there ever was a state that violates more rights of registrants than other states, it is Louisiana. That makes it a perfect state to find Plaintiffs to make claims and get their registry overturned, but where are the lawyers?

6-9-2011 Louisiana:

BATON ROUGE, La. — Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites will soon be off-limits to certain sex offenders.

The Senate gave final passage to the ban Wednesday, sending it to the desk of Gov. Bobby Jindal, who supports the bill.

The measure by Opelousas Rep. Ledricka Thierry would make it a crime to use networking websites, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks by anyone convicted of a list of sex offenses against a minor. Probation and parole officers and judges could make exceptions.

Conviction of the crime of unlawful use or access of social media would carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years. A second conviction would require a prison sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years. ..Source.. by The Republic

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

House passed sex offender bill clears Senate committee

6-1-2011 Louisiana:

Certain sex offenders would be banned from social networking websites and chat rooms under a bill approved Tuesday by a state Senate committee.

The measure, House Bill 55, cleared the Senate Judiciary C Committee without objection and next faces a vote on the Senate floor.

It has already passed the Louisiana House.

The legislation would apply to registered sex offenders convicted of indecent behavior with a juvenile, pornography involving juveniles and other offenses.

Violators would face fines of up to $10,000 and 10 years in prison.

The same committee approved another bill that would force convicted sex offenders who are 60 and older to pay $18 for an annual state identification card. The state now provides such cards free to those 60 and older.

The state has 685 registered sex offenders who fit that profile, said state Rep. Bobby Ba-don, D-Carencro and sponsor of the bill.

The measure is House Bill 187. ..Source.. by Will Sentell

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Bill banning sex offenders' use of Internet temporarily stalled in House committee

Lawmakers are fools at times, here they wish to ban use of the Internet, guess they have never heard of laws declared unconstitutional because they are OVERBROAD; maybe they just don't care. Well, today the 3rd Circuit (USA -v- Albertson) declared that, for someone with a child porn conviction using the Internet, that banning his use of the Internet later was OVERBROAD. If this becomes law, a court will knock it down with a quickness, and all their work is for naught; and these guys get paid?

5-5-2011 Louisiana:

BATON ROUGE -- Legislation that would ban the use of social networking sites and the Internet by convicted sex offenders who had used the devices to commit their previous crime bogged down in a House committee today when lawmakers questioned how it could be enforced.

"The bill is voluntarily deferred for a little repair," said Rep. Ernest Wooton, I-Belle Chasse, chairman of the Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice.

Rep. Ledricka Thierry, D-Opelousas, the sponsor of House Bill 55, said she will bring the bill back with changes to address questions raised at the meeting.

Thierry's bill started out banning the use of e-mails, instant messaging, chat rooms and social networking sites on the Internet to anyone who had been convicted of a sex offense using a computer on a previous occasion.

The bill also banned convicted sex offenders from using the same means to contact a minor if they used an electronic method to contact the minor to commit the previous crime.

But Rep. Joseph Lopinto, R-Metairie, a lawyer and former police officer, said that the bill presented a problem for prosecutors because they would have to show a previous conviction involved using a computer to commit the sex offense.

"I think you have a problem enforcing this law," Lopinto said.

He amended Thierry's bill to ban the use of the Internet and any computer site to any person convicted of a sex offense.

Rick Schroeder, a lobbyist for the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said that would make the bill "overbroad, vague and probably unenforceable. It would make it virtually impossible for a convicted sex offender to even use a computer to engage in communications with his work, his family or his church."

State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson, a backer of the bill said that one way to address the problem would be to list in the bill the various previous offenses that could be used to gain a conviction on Thierry's proposed law.

Edmonson said her bill is needed to help law enforcement crack down on child predators. "This will give us another tool," he said.

Edmonson said in the last three years, State Police alone have made 95 arrests of offenders using computers to commit sex crimes with juveniles.

The panel, at the urging of Wooton, killed another sex-offender bill that would have required future sex offenders to live no closer than 2,000 feet of a school, playground, child day care center or other facilities where children congregate. It also would have banned them from coming within 2,000 feet of those facilities.

Existing law bans offenders from being within 1,000 feet of those facilities.

Rep. Henry Burns, R-Haughton, the sponsor of House Bill 9, said offenders who now abide by the 1,000-foot radius would not have to move but offenders convicted after Aug. 15 would have to double their distance from child-related facilities.

Burns said that six other states -- California, Iowa, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas and Arkansas -- have a 2,000-foot radius in force now.

"Why is it important to have 2,000 feet instead of 1,000 feet?" asked Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, a former assistant Orleans Parish district attorney. "You are not going to stop someone at 2,000 feet. It is not logical enough."

"People want sex offenders as far away from their kids as possible," Burns said. But he conceded that "tracking and monitoring sex offenders" are the best ways to reduce the chances they will commit another sex crime.

The committee approved House Bill 131 by Rep. Rickey Templet, R-Gretna, that would make it a crime for sex offenders to obliterate the words "sex offender" stamped in orange on their state-issued driver's licenses or identification cards.

Templet said that many sex offenders are "whiting out" the phrase to apply for jobs. His bill, which goes to the full House now, sets a maximum fine of $1,000 and a minimum of two years in jail, and a maximum of 10 years, for a first conviction. Subsequent convictions can be punished by a mandatory $3,000 fine, and at least five and up to 20 years in prison.

The panel also sent to the House floor House Bill 13 by Rep. Jerry "Truck" Gisclair, D-Larose, that requires any college student, faculty member or employee who has been convicted of a sex crime to register with campus police as well as the local sheriff's office.

"This will make our universities a lot safer," Gisclair said. ..Source.. Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...

Sex offender pleads guilty to networking

This is absolute bounder dash, nonsense, social networking sites ARE NOT OWNED by children nor are they designed ONLY for minors. The law is over-breadth, if anything, states should force social networking sites to build in blocking mechanisms for minor accounts.

2-12-2011 North Carolina:

DURHAM -- A second man among eight sex offenders charged last summer with participating in Facebook or Myspace pleaded guilty Friday, but two others will fight the charges next week, calling the law unconstitutional.

A state law passed in 2008 prevents registered sex offenders from maintaining accounts on commercial social networking sites. On Friday, Raquim Watson, 23, pleaded guilty to violating that law and will serve 18 months' probation. In 2008, he was sentenced to two years' probation for taking indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl in Rowan County when he was 19.

With his latest charge resolved, Watson can return to N.C. Central University, his attorney Matt Cook said.


Another former NCCU student, Brandon Whitehurst, 22, will be in prison until this summer because his guilty plea on the social networking charge yielded him a probation violation on a prior incest conviction, resulting in a 16-month prison sentence.

So far, only Whitehurst and Watson have resolved their cyber-crimes. Two other defendants, Christian Johnson and Lester Packingham, are fighting a law they say violates their constitutional rights.

"The regulation does not just keep a registered sex offender from engaging in obscene speech with a minor," wrote Johnson's lawyer, Glenn Gerding of Chapel Hill, in a motion filed in December. "It prohibits any and all speech, however innocent, even if it's a religious conversation between the offender and his priest, or a discussion of family matters between the offender and his mother."

A judge is to hear the attorneys' motions next week. ..Source.. by JESSE JAMES DECONTO - Staff Writer

Read More of Article...

Article Summary only...