A report from MySanAntonio.com this week has characterized child sex trafficking as a “huge problem” in the state of Texas and around the country. But reports of this type have been criticized in the past for being exaggerated and misrepresenting the numbers. While any single case of child sex trafficking is serious and is definitely a problem, the truth is that we don’t know how big the problem actually is. [Read more…]
Texas Allows Some Sex Offenders Second Chance (Romeo and Juliet Law)
There is a segment of sex offenders who are required to register and subject to the same stigma as rapists but who believe they aren’t getting a fair shake. This group is made up of people who had a relationship with a younger partner and who were convicted of a sex offense for it. Now those offenders may have the opportunity to get their name dropped from the sex offender registry. [Read more…]
Texas Passes Sexting Reform
As of September 1, “Sexting”, or sending sexually explicit images between consensual minors will only be a misdemeanor offense at worst, and no longer subject to felony sex offender status. [Read more…]
Houston News “Hottest” Sex Offender List
When you think of sex offenders, you rarely think of attractiveness or appeal. For many people, this would be the absolute last thing on their mind. But a writer for the Houston Press Blogs decided it would be a good idea to publish a story on the “10 Hottest” female sex offenders in Texas. [Read more…]
Texas Weighs Cost/Benefits in Federal Sex Offender Mandates
The federal government is requiring all states to comply with new standards of sexual offender control or face loss of funding. The state of Texas, with the second largest sex offender registry in the nation, is grappling with the costly mandates during a budget crisis, questioning the need for such costly measures. [Read more…]
Texas Bill Would Reduce Juvenile Sexting Penalties
Currently, a minor caught transmitting or possessing images of another minor on their phone can be charged with felony child pornography. Considering the popularity of the albeit troubling trend of “sexting”, the current laws could serve to criminalize numerous teens engaged in the practice. A new bill would change that. [Read more…]
Former Texas Convict Shares Story of Mistaken Eyewitness Testimony
Although the woman who was raped in 1983 initially told police Michael Anthony Green wasn’t one of the four who hurt her, she later changed her tune when Green was in a lineup. This changed account would end up sending Green, then 18, to prison for 27 years. [Read more…]
Houston Sexual Assaults Seldom Solved
A story in the Houston Chronicle this week shows just how rare arrests are in sexual assault cases. They state that according to FBI data, 42% of cases in the surrounding eight counties resulted in arrests in 2009. This is out of a total of 1,700 rape cases reported. [Read more…]
Governor Perry Proposing Tougher Sex Offender Laws
Governor Rick Perry announced this week that he is proposing tighter restrictions on sex offenders. No matter how the system seems to lighten up on criminal offenses overtime, sex offenses are not likely to be included. [Read more…]
Questions in Texas “Sexting” Case
A teen in La Joya, TX is was arrested on criminal child pornography charges for possession of a nude photo of another teen. He admitted to having the photos, and was found with suggesting pictures of several other girls. [Read more…]
