A couple of weeks ago, parents in Maine became outraged after it was discovered that a sex offender had taken pictures of a child and posted them on social media. Police didn’t arrest the man because it wasn’t illegal. The Constitution protects the photographing of people, places or things in public.
The pictures were not sexual in nature and there was nothing inherently illegal about what this man did, but is it appropriate for a sex offender to take pictures of a child? For that matter, is it appropriate for any adult to take pictures of children?
The reality is; what business does a grown man have taking and posting pictures of children who are not his own children or grandchildren? The same holds true with entering schools or playgrounds. Unless you are accompanying a child who attends the school or taking a kid to the playground and you are the guardian of that child, what business do you have being on a school property or in a playground? It would be inappropriate no matter what your history.
Maine, however, wants to make it illegal so Representative Matthew Pouliot introduced a bill that would make it a Class D Felony to photograph a child without the parent’s consent.
It seems like a harmless bill, but here’s where it gets dicey. In today’s world of selfies and snapchats, people are constantly using their camera phones to take pictures of the most random stuff. What if you snap a picture of a national monument and there, in the crowd, is a child? What if you take a selfie of yourself at a baseball game and two rows behind you is a kid? You may not have known the kid is in the frame, but in the midst of this witch hunt who is going to believe you?
I have a terrible feeling things are going to worse – I just saw a news story that those DNA rape kits that were not checked for so long returned results that one rapist was a RSO. When I read it I got a sick feeling because this person will be used as the poster child for making the laws harsher.
Sorry, but I could never do that to a family member or friend. Something about ‘bilging a shipmate’. These requirements are not related to criminal activity but political activity. To not register a family member’s vehicle is a ‘political’ crime. Are we going to start setting up gullags (sp)? What’s this nation coming to?
Only a matter of time before one of these knee jerk laws gets thrown out as being unconstitutional. The vehicle registration law should also be challenged by the owner of the vehicle not on the registry why hasn’t that happened
I’ll tell you exactly why. Money. If we had enough money to bring that PLUS Ex Post Facto PLUS people who leave FL are deported or dead remaining on the registry PLUS maintain our current suits, we’d have brought that case, which is a great one to bring. Forcing non-registrants’ cars to be “registered” is punishing the vehicle owner. There’s no reason a roommate or a registrant’s child or spouse should be stigmatized.
It is completely absurd and punishes not only the driver, but their job too. I. E. My roommate euros for a contracting company and drives a work vehicle, and I have to register it. He probably doesn’t even know that when he drives for work the cop car behind him is probably profiling him hardcore. Totally unfair to him and violating his rights.
Then ask us for money. Put up a page that has each law suits goals and show how much we have in each law suit. Give us transparency that will show what is needed and remind us each week. Each day if necessary.
I know that each one of us can contribute 1 dollar a month. Show us the progress and let us respond.
Remember that the Defendants will see this page also if it’s public. That’s not a good strategic move.
No. You misunderstand the intent. This page, that will be attached to this website, is only to show how much money is needed to file this kind of law suit or how much more we need in order to file. It does not matter if my enemy knows that I am going to sue him/her. It only matters that I obtain legal counsel so I can accomplish what i set out to do.
It would benefit our community to show what our legal goals are and how much more money needs to be contributed. We can ask members “each week” to contribute to one other the other law suit or all of them if they can.
Don’t ever think that an RSO can’t come up with at least a dollar (that’s only $1.00) per month to help our legal fund. What could FAC do with over $30,000.00 (I use this as a conservative figure) a month contributed to our legal fund. Just tell us what your doing by providing us a place to see it and tell us how much more your need.
I understand we don’t want to give our legal strategy to “Ms You Know Who” and her father or to our enemy the Florida politicians. We as FAC supporters just want to know how we are fighting them and how much more you need on order to retain counsel for the next battle. A page to look at that tells us “we are going to challenge this law, or we are going to challenge that law” is all I am asking for.
We don’t have a Janice Bellucci in FAC, so we have to hire one…or two. We just want to know what problem the politicians created that we are going to fight next and how much money do you need from us to get it started. That’s all I am suggesting.
” Next year we have a law that requires you register every vehicle in your household even if it does not belong to you and you never used it. Your brother stays with you for 5 days (or potentially 3, now) during the hurricane and you forget to “register” his vehicle… third degree felony! Five years in Prison ”
FAC,
This law I believe already passed. Since about a year or so ago.
County police even notified me about it and have been registering every family household car ever since. A couple of officers at the registry office even thought it was ridiculous, but informed me that they don’t use it(it’s not for them), but it is for a separate system they have in Tallahassee.
Correct – this is a current law in Florida.
I wonder if i could challenge many of these laws due to being overbroad. Most of these are very broad spectrum and are not tailored to address certain convictions, but are blanket statutes instead. One size fits all of you will.
In the federal court system I’ve read of many case laws where charges were dismissed due to a lack of specifics. I’m thinking the same may apply here?
So, I have a question. If someone works in my home for 24 hours a day for two days every week do I have to register that person’s car? Or is the requirement for three days in a row?
NO – below is the rule, which has not changed.
(p) “Vehicles owned” means any motor vehicle as defined in s. 320.01, which is registered, coregistered, leased, titled, or rented by a sexual predator or sexual offender; a rented vehicle that a sexual predator or sexual offender is authorized to drive; or a vehicle for which a sexual predator or sexual offender is insured as a driver. The term also includes any motor vehicle as defined in s. 320.01, which is registered, coregistered, leased, titled, or rented by a person or persons residing at a sexual predator’s or sexual offender’s permanent residence for 5 or more consecutive days.
Oh great… So when I take my car to the shop and they say they need to keep it for three days… If the law passes then I have to register ford’s loaner vehicle??
Ridiculous.
Yes
My question is how far do they want to stretch the law. Will it go as far as any vehicle that could be possibly used by me even if its the neighbors, my parents that live 30 miles away etc. I know for sure neighbors wouldnt be willing to give up their info. What about co-workers. Many times I have had offers from my boss or co worker to loan me their car to get to and from work till mine was fixed. Where does the insanity stop.
Good Afternoon,
Is it possible to post a link or a separate post on where an RSO (low level offender) can successfully expatriate to and what steps are needed AFTER probation is over?
I read every article everyday on this site and it makes the levels of my Anxiety go into Hyper-Drive. There is honestly no winning here.
I was born in this country but what does it matter how much good you do or successfully you integrate into civilization if at EVERY corner your freedom is threatened with the absolute Mundane???
My heritage moved here but this Land is no longer the land of opportunity this Land is now the Land of Paranoia, Vilification, and Demonizing.
Anon – I get how reading this stuff can be stressful. If you read our site, you get only info on sex offender registration laws. If you read a newspaper, at least you get comics and human interest stories mixed in with the bad news.
Occasionally, I get burned out myself. Depressed from reading all the BS that’s being passed. Anxious, wondering what new law is next that will displace me from my home or render my job impossible to perform.
To your point of going someplace else. There is a whole world out there. RegistrantTag has a travel matrix where they list which countries don’t have a registry. You can try moving there and living free.
Others of us have extended family or responsibilities here that we can’t just leave behind.
Our forum exists as a medium through which we can disseminate information and exchange ideas. Some may find it depressing, others find it a source of community and our efforts hopeful. Truth is; it’s both. These laws suck and we need to band together to fight them. That’s what we’re doing. Mixed in with the depressing we get exciting news from time to time. Remember – one Doe v. Snyder wiped out a bunch of crappy restrictions for a lot of people!
This was not an insult hurled toward FAC in the slightest. The reality is that the entire system SO or otherwise in this country does not allow you to mess up again once in it unless you are extremely affluent or powerful and sometimes even then….
My point was more to bring about a post that you may use again one that is overly abundant in the heart and minds of your readers but better to come from an outside IP address so you may use as an example.
Suppose every single person that has gone through the system up and left. The reality is that the backbone of this country would collapse. That is the point that I am making. There will be more posts from me only Anon until off probation.
Thanks.
start with Anne Geddes her baby pictures have been making me sick for years. i usually have no hope in cases that involve RSO’S but this will never pass its way to broad. and they didnt say why the pictures were posted to social media, was it a gathering where everyone was taking photos and this just happened to be a sex offender? so many unanswered questions and yet another knee jerk reaction from everyone involved. the days of pitchforks and torch’s is coming back in full force.
This is so insane! I just cannot even get my head around it!
While the world runs rampant in all sorts of questionable actions, as sex offenders all are classed as “Jack the Ripper”. We must be especially careful in all that we do. Unfortunately in today’s times, if one sex offender commits an illegal act it reflects on all sex offenders. It ‘rags me’ but is a fact of life. Innocent picture taking is now on the ‘chopping block’ and becomes just another act that we must be careful about. The intentional taking of pictures of children not related to the photographer should run up a ‘red flag’ for all sex offenders and be avoided if at all possible.
I agree. There are many activities and behaviors that sex offenders should instinctively avoid. An elevator door opens and you see someone who looks to be under 18 inside… wait for the next elevator. See a kid choking on something… doesn’t matter if you are Henry Heimlich, you look the other way!
Registrants should always have, in the back of their minds, an internal dialogue which asks, “how will this be perceived” or “how can this go wrong”. It’s sad, but to navigate the laws, it’s necessary.
The problem with criminalizing activities FOR SEX OFFENDERS that would be innocent FOR NON SEX OFFENDERS is that it creates an endless possibility of “crime traps”. You no longer have to worry about never repeating whatever behavior landed you in trouble – you now have a limitless arena of lawful behaviors that can get you in trouble too.
When Cherish Perrywinkle was abducted and killed, the perpetrator borrowed the van from his mother. Next year we have a law that requires you register every vehicle in your household even if it does not belong to you and you never used it. Your brother stays with you for 5 days (or potentially 3, now) during the hurricane and you forget to “register” his vehicle… third degree felony! Five years in Prison!
Can you imagine if you take a selfie at a Heat game – someone recognizes you as a registrant – they find a kid somewhere in the background and you go to prison for 5 years?
Absurd, all of this. Completely and utterly useless for preventing any future criminal actions.
Americans in general need to stop with the chicken little syndrome.
I’m a little embarrassed to say that live in this country lately.
I’m trying to think of how any of this is logical in any light but come up empty. I’m equally clueless on how measures like this are made into laws? I’m sure there is a bigger picture in mind and all of these laws are but smaller pieces of it but, again, I’m not seeing it.
I’m sorry but if I see a human in distress I can not turn my back on that human. It is not in my DNA. There is a place in the Bible where I find strength in doing what is right in God’s eyes even if man finds fault in it.
“For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God”. (1 Peter 2:19-20). I find more pleasure in serving God’s purpose for my life than pleasing man who would just as well destroy me.
Yeah…. Always being paranoid…. Might as well be ptsd x2 now.