A new study shows a correlation between sexting and depression among teens.

The study conducted by the Educational Development Center didn’t specifically cite causes, or suggest that sexting causes depression, or that depressed teens are more vulnerable to the allure of sexting – just that the correlation appears to exist.

The act of  ‘sexting’ as defined in the study describes it as “sending, forwarding or posting nude, sexually suggestive or explicit photos or videos”. The phenomenon of sexting continues to rise with the incredible ease of access of teens to cameras and video on their phones and computers. Add that to raging hormones, and bad and impulsive decisions can cause serious problems, not the least of which are criminal legal matters.

Sexting is a felony sex offense of distributing child pornography in many states – regardless of the relatively innocent circumstances. Laws have not caught up to the new technological reality, which is why so many state laws need reform.

But it makes sense that depression is related to sexting whether it is a cause or an effect. Teens who feel depressed, vulnerable, or lonely, might be more willing to act out unthinkingly and send a suggestive image to a boyfriend or girlfriend. Or, they might be more susceptible to peer pressure from a boyfriend who solicits such a “show of affection”.

And, after the fact, depression could result from shame, realization of bad judgement, or even more serious consequences of sexting, including cyber-bulling and taunting if such images end up being circulated more widely than anticipated – an unfortunate reality in so many cases.

All in all, there is nothing surprising about this study, but it does suggest that consequences of impulsive decisions by teens can have long lasting effects in the age of everything online (forever).

If you were to ask a member of the general public what criminals are most likely to reoffend after an initial arrest, many would guess sex offenders. As a whole, we’ve had it drilled into us that sex offenders will reoffend and reoffend and the only way to stop them is by incapacitation in prison. This whole notion, along with the fear of such a stigmatized offense has driven many of the modern sex offender laws and registration requirements.

But this assumption is wrong. As a matter of fact, sex offenders are some of the least likely to reoffend. Less likely than robbers, thieves, drug offenders, assaulters, and burglars, only 2.5% of all released rapists are again arrested for a similar sex offense.

But even if they aren’t as likely to reoffend as we might have initially thought, they still need to be tracked and monitored, right? Well, no, not exactly. Sex offender registration requirements and residency restrictions may actually do more harm than good.

One of the greatest barriers for any ex-offender in successfully rejoining society is finding proper housing and employment. The harder we make it for them to do so, the more likely they are to resort to old habits. This is true no matter which type of criminal behavior you’re talking about. But we make it especially difficult for sex offenders.

Several cities have found their sex offenders end up homeless because they simply can’t find suitable housing within the set parameters of the local registration requirements. And when someone is homeless, you certainly can’t keep tabs on them.

Perhaps more than any other criminal offense, sex offender laws have been driven by specific cases and victims. A tragedy occurs and a new law is passed. But these laws are often completely reactionary and based in emotion—hardly the formula for effective crime control and prevention. But because of the nature of these crimes and the overwhelming opinion of disgust by the general public, things won’t soon change.

There are an estimated 740,000 registered sex offenders in the United States. Some have been found guilty of horrific crimes and others for things like public urination or lewd acts. Laws and registration requirements vary quite widely from state to state though the law always seems to come down heavy handedly on such crimes.

If you are charged with a sex offense, you would be completely justified in being frightened about what these charges could mean for your life, your future, and your freedom. Contact with a local criminal defense lawyer today.

A Delaware group home that assists ex-offenders in reentering the community may have to shut its doors when all of the residents are forced to leave in coming months. The reason for their evictions? A new school is moving into the neighborhood, one that will be just 7 feet too close to the home, making some of the residents, who happen to be convicted sex offenders, in violation of the rules that dictate where they can and cannot reside.

While this case happens to be in Wilmington Delaware, it’s a story that’s being repeated again and again across the country as convicted sex offenders are required to adhere to increasingly strict, and sometimes impossible restrictions.

The Harriet Tubmans Safe House is actually made up of two different homes, opened by their owner Earl W. Woodlen Jr. Woodlen isn’t a sex offender but he did do some prison time on drug convictions. He wanted to assist men coming out of prison by giving them a safe place to live. He says he didn’t judge the residents on what their convictions were because he wanted to provide a fresh start.

Under Delaware law, registered sex offenders cannot live within 500 feet of a school. And there are no exceptions in place—even if the school is built after the offender has moved into a particular neighborhood. One of the two houses is 493 feet from the new school, just seven feet short of being in a safe zone. Woodlen and the residents are filing suit in the U.S. District Court to hopefully gain an exception to this, the closer home.

Without the home opening their doors, these men may have had a difficult time finding somewhere else to live. And if they are evicted, there’s a chance some of them will be homeless. Homeless sex offender communities have popped up in several cities as these men cannot find suitable and affordable housing in areas that still comply with the many restrictions put upon them.

There’s a common misconception about sex offenders—that they always reoffend. This was the argument used by many lawmakers to get these restrictive laws passed in the first place. The truth is, however, that sex offenders are no more likely to reoffend than other offenders. But, like others with prior criminal convictions, the inability to find housing and employment can serious impact their recidivism rate.

While all states have some differences in their sex offender laws, many of the restrictions are similar, putting limits on where you can hang out, live, work, and how often you have to renew your registration. If anything, these restrictions add to the already heavy stigma associated with these sort of crimes.

When you are first charged with a sex offense, it can be difficult to hold your head up. You are likely ashamed and embarrassed and are probably going through one of the most difficult periods of your life. A criminal defense attorney can’t take away your shame, but they can be the one person in the system who is concerned with your rights.

If you are accused of rape, molestation, or another sexual offense, contact us for a legal defense consultation today.

The Governor of Nevada signed a bill into law to reform that state’s laws on teen sexting.

Under the new law, as of July 1, “sexting” by a minor, will be considered a non-criminal act. If a juvenile has sexual images on his or her computer, mobile device, or cell phone, judges will now have the option of treating the offender as a “child in need of supervision”, instead of a child pornographer and registered sex offender.

This sensible bill recognizes that harsh penalties for dumb behavior is not the way to treat kids who make a foolish and impulsive decision. Sexting is a cultural phenomenon, and is something that is readily accessible to all teens.

The laws on possession of child pornography in Nevada where written in a different era, when it wasn’t so trivially simple to snap and share photos instantly. And there intent was clearly to punish adult predatory behavior, not adolescent experimentation.

Facing serious and life changing criminal penalties, and the prospect of being a registered sex offender is clearly overkill for the majority of these cases.

Judges do have the discretion to impose harsher sentences for repeat offenders, and if the circumstances may appear more nefarious.

More on Nevada criminal charges.

A Texas lawmaker defends the bill passed by the legislature and awaiting signature by the governor. 

It is a very positive development in the debate over sexting laws reform that one legislator is looking to protect kids from potential felony sex offender charges for dumb behavior. And the criticism of this effort is from those who believe it shouldn’t be dealth with in the criminal courts at all.

The ground is slowly shifting toward sensible attitudes toward this inevitable type of behavior by our kids, and that is a great thing.

If signed, a new law would be on the books in Texas that would classify sexting by minors as a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a $500 fine.

Receiving, and deleting a sexting message or image with no further action would not be considered a crime. Under current law, even having been the recipient of such an image could result in a possession of child pornography charge.

Story and video here.

The Florida State Senate has made the first steps in this legislative session to try again to decriminalize a first offense of sexting between teenagers.

According to Tampa Bay Online, if the bill passes, a first offense charge of sexting, or sending nude or explicit pictures via cellphone or computer, would result in a penalty or 8 hours of community service and a $60 fine. A second offense would be a misdemeanor criminal charge, which could result in up to a year in jail, and $1000 fine.

The bill is in response to a case from several years ago where a teen sent a nude picture of his girlfriend to several friends, and was charged with multiple counts of child pornography. He was ultimately sentenced to 5 years probation, and required registration as a sex offender.

That case sound more egregious that most, since he did actually send the picture to other people. Under most current state laws, you can be charged with a felony sex offense just for sexting, or receiving a photograph from a willing boyfriend/girlfriend, if that picture happens to be of a suggestive nature of an underage person.

Reforming these laws to catch up to the reality of teens behaving stupidness while in the presence of camera phone technology just makes sense. Few people honestly think these actions live up to the threat of adults exploiting children, and distributing child pornography, so the laws should be updated to reflect their proper intent and the actual threat to public safety.

A Sexting reform bill has unanimously passed the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee, and moves forward towards the votes needed to becoming law. If it passes, it will allow lesser penalties for teens accused of transmitting sexual images via cell phone, and provide them much better opportunities for legal advocacy and defense under Pennsylvania’s juvenile justice system.

This article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has some very tough quotes from the Senators behind the bills. They accuse judges from the recent Luzerne County juvenile justice scandal of railroading teens into juvenile detention for cash.

The Senators also want access to legal defense in juvenile cases for there foolish, but relatively innocent acts of “sexting”, instead of sex offense charges.

If sexting offenses are allowed to be charged as misdemeanor, or summary offenses, it gives juveniles an opportunity to seal those records, and not have a mistake follow them for the rest of their lives.

Sexting reform allows for lesser penalties for stupid behavior, and normal teen curiosity in the age of ubiquitous camera phones. Common sense says teens snapping pictures of themselves is not the same thing as felony distribution of child pornography, so the law should allow for reasonable penalties, and education programs for juveniles, not a lifetime as a registered sex offender.

The Adam Walsh Act, named after the killed son of America’s Most Wanted host John Walsh, puts some significant burdens on states in an effort to streamline the tracking of sexual offenders and solve outstanding offenses. But many states are opting to lose federal funding rather than take on the new rules, stating the law doesn’t improve upon systems already in place.

According to the Wall Street Journal this week, only four states have complied to the strict standards of the new law. The remaining states have until July 27 to make significant changes or lose federal funding. Many of those remaining have legislation pending that would get them into compliance, though some are choosing to not participate.

In Texas, where there is an anticipated $27 billion budget deficit in the next two years, lawmakers would rather see federal funding fall by the wayside than take on the new law that they say would cost $38.8 million. By contrast, the federal funding they would lose by not complying is about $1.4 million.

The executive director of the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment states the new law and regulations would not make the general public any more safe and that the act “contradicts what our research over 30 years indicates.”

Other opponents of the measure are worried that the federal law would include the monitoring of juveniles and some who are considered “low risk” for reoffending. States like Arizona which uses a ranking system to determine who is more likely to reoffend and therefore should be monitored more closely, would have to change this highly specialized approach to a method prescribed by the Adam Walsh Act, one they are concerned is less effective than the approach in place.

Supporters, mostly the federal government, state that the costs to implement the program are overstated, pointing to Ohio who initially estimated the cost to be $18 million but found it only to cost $400,000.

They also state the Act has done well in catching sex offender fugitives who cross state lines. The U.S. Marshalls estimate they have made 1,000 arrests thanks to the new federal law.

It seems the problem comes in when states who believe their own methods are superior to those suggested by the Adam Walsh Act are essentially forced into making changes that would cost money and even perhaps weaken their sex offender enforcement programs already in place.

While a streamlined tracking process would be good, there are indications the federal law isn’t without problems, problems many of these states aren’t willing to take on.

A bill has passed the New Jersey State Assembly that would reform that states laws on teen sexting, and take felony sex offender penalties off the table for dumb teen behavior. 

NJ Assembly Bill 1561 awaits the signature of the governor. The bill would put in place an educational diversion program for teens who foolishly transmit sexually explicit images. The programs would teach the dangers of sexting, and the fact that is is illegal criminal behavior. But successfully completing the program takes further criminal penalties off the table, and gives teens a chance to have a clean slate moving forward.

We hope the Senate will follow up with a quick passage, and the New Jersey governor is prepared to sign this bill. Via NJ Defense Lawyer.

While the Journal-News has been writing great editorials on the subject, the Legislature in the Buckeye state has been slow to action on Sexting laws reform in Ohio.

The latest editorial hits all the key points about how sexting laws that potentially punish teens with felony sex offender status for willingly exchanging suggestive or nude pics make no sense. These laws meant to protect kids from adult sexual predators don’t reflect the current reality of teens with camera phones and raging hormones.

The law has still not caught up with the technology and the reality of adolescent behavior. No teen should face threats of being a registered sex offender for inappropriate behavior, that is not a threat to others.

Unfortunately, Ohio has been slow to act to update its sex offender laws. This sexting issue has come up before, with no action. In fact, some prosecutors still want to unfairly hold onto threats of  felony punishment to use as leverage in these cases.

In any case, we’re glad that their are people following up and trying to get action on these important legal reform issues.