Convicted Sex Offenders Essay
Protecting Children From Being Solicited By Convicted Sex Offenders On The Internet: The Need For A Federal Mandate
Introduction
The Internet has taken a number of society’s problems and vices, and exacerbated them. This paper will touch upon one of those vices, the sexual solicitation of children. The Internet has provided convicted sex offenders with virtually unfettered access to society’s most vulnerable victims. No longer are convicted sex offenders relegated to stalking their victims at places that youths tend to physically congregate, such as the local malls and movie theatres; they now have the advantage of preying on their victims in relative anonymity from the comfort of their own homes. At the click of a mouse they can access networks of millions of unsuspecting children. They stalk their victims with methodic …show more content…
Limitations Of State Legislation
The New Jersey statute, in relevant part, provides: “[I]nternet access conditions: (1) Prohibit the person from accessing or using a computer or any other device with Internet capability without the prior written approval of the court; (2) Require the person to submit to periodic unannounced examinations of the person's computer or any other device with Internet capability; and (3) Require the person to submit to the installation on the person's computer or device with Internet capability, at the person's expense, one or more hardware or software systems to monitor the Internet use.”[30]
Laws that impose broad restrictions, such as the New Jersey law, are not limited by the shortcomings that plague New York’s E-Stop statute. Attempts by convicted sex offenders to circumvent Internet restrictions such as creating multiple undisclosed user names and the masking of identities is irrelevant if Internet access is prohibited. Similarly, issues regarding whether legislation accurately targets the tendencies likely to reduce recidivism is irrelevant if a broad prohibition is
Introduction
The Internet has taken a number of society’s problems and vices, and exacerbated them. This paper will touch upon one of those vices, the sexual solicitation of children. The Internet has provided convicted sex offenders with virtually unfettered access to society’s most vulnerable victims. No longer are convicted sex offenders relegated to stalking their victims at places that youths tend to physically congregate, such as the local malls and movie theatres; they now have the advantage of preying on their victims in relative anonymity from the comfort of their own homes. At the click of a mouse they can access networks of millions of unsuspecting children. They stalk their victims with methodic …show more content…
Limitations Of State Legislation
The New Jersey statute, in relevant part, provides: “[I]nternet access conditions: (1) Prohibit the person from accessing or using a computer or any other device with Internet capability without the prior written approval of the court; (2) Require the person to submit to periodic unannounced examinations of the person's computer or any other device with Internet capability; and (3) Require the person to submit to the installation on the person's computer or device with Internet capability, at the person's expense, one or more hardware or software systems to monitor the Internet use.”[30]
Laws that impose broad restrictions, such as the New Jersey law, are not limited by the shortcomings that plague New York’s E-Stop statute. Attempts by convicted sex offenders to circumvent Internet restrictions such as creating multiple undisclosed user names and the masking of identities is irrelevant if Internet access is prohibited. Similarly, issues regarding whether legislation accurately targets the tendencies likely to reduce recidivism is irrelevant if a broad prohibition is