Articles Posted in Sex Crimes/Rape

Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “What are the long term effects of being convicted of a crime?”

In an interesting case that was just decided this week in Raleigh, a state appeals court panel held that North Carolina’s current requirement that sex offenders be banned from social networking sites is unconstitutional. Specifically, the North Carolina appeals court decided that banning registered sex offenders from commercial networking sites such as Facebook amounts to an unconstitutional violation of the offenders’ free speech rights.

The panel of three judges decided Tuesday that North Carolina’s 2008 law on the subject, the “Protect Children From Sexual Predators Act” is too vague. The panel noted that the law broadly denies sex offenders the right to participate in a wide range of online activities without any attempt to explain how the blanket ban protects others.

The ruling about the unconstitutionality of the social media ban came as part of a case where the judges unanimously voted to overturn the conviction of a man from Durham who had been charged with creating a Facebook profile page. The offender’s attorney successfully argued before the Court of Appeals that the 2008 law was not narrowly written to serve any legitimate government interest. Moreover, the offender’s attorney claimed that the way the law had been interpreted meant that convicts would be prohibited from engaging in even simple Internet activity, even a Google search.

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Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?”

Authorities say that two sex offenders in the state were recently arrested in Salisbury, NC for various violations. One offender was arrested after failing to notify the local Rowan County Sherriff’s Office about a change of address and the other for living within 1,00 feet of a childcare center.

Police say they were searching for Phillip Berryman for more than a month after Berryman was found to be living too close to a childcare center. Berryman is now being held under $100,00 bond and has been charged with a sex offender residence violation for living too close to a child care center. This is not the first time Berryman was arrested for a violation of his terms of release. Back in 2006 and 2008 he was jailed for failing to register with authorities. His original sex crime took place in 2005.

Police say they received a tip back in June that Berryman was living too close to the Salisbury Child Care and Fine Arts Center. According to North Carolina General Statute 14-208.16(a), sex offenders in North Carolina are prohibited from residing within 1,000 feet of the property on which a school or childcare facility is located. Once the warrant was issued for his arrest, police say Berryman only made the problem worse by fleeing. The U.S. Marshals Service was then brought in to help track Berryman and ended up locating him a neighboring county.

The second offender recently arrested is Stephen Aydelotte who was charged with failure to register. Aydelotte is a sex offender from Utah who was originally convicted of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Aydelotte is in double trouble for having failed to tell Utah authorities that he planned to move to North Carolina in May of last year and then failing to register with North Carolina authorities upon his arrival.

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Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Should I talk to the police?”

The North Carolina General Assembly has passed legislation that would ensure that individuals who are convicted in the state of human trafficking must register with local sheriffs as registered sex offenders.

The legislation was passed unanimously by the North Carolina House this week which would add another crime to the list of those that require registration with the state. The measure says that if the trafficking involved minors, or was committed with the intent of creating sexual servitude then registration is mandatory. The Senate passed the measure last month which means the legislation will now head to the governor for his signature.

The legislation will require that registered human traffickers alert sheriffs about where they live or if they decide to move. It also means that they will not be allowed to live near schools or day care centers and must also avoid working in positions that require interaction with children.

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According to a recent report by Fox Charlotte, an increase in the number of high profile sex crimes investigations nationally has led to a rise in reports of child abuse cases here in North Carolina. Experts say incidents such as the Penn State debacle along with the Boy Scouts have had an impact that can be felt right here in Charlotte.

The Council for Children’s Rights says there were just over 13,300 reported child sex abuse cases in Mecklenburg County last year. That’s a big number and it’s on the rise, in fact, it’s up nearly eight percent from the 12,300 cases that were reported in 2010.

Experts believe that because people are watching other victims come forward and tell their stories it has given victims here in North Carolina the courage to come forward and confront their abusers.

Given the anger felt by many after hearing tales of the abuse inflicted at the hands of some, families of some victims are trying to increase the power of Jessica’s Law. The 2008 law increased penalties for adult offenders who commit certain sex crimes against children. The law required that offenders convicted of certain sex crimes against children or of sexual violence must remain on a state registry for 30 years, up from the previous requirement of 10 years. It also shortened the time period that offenders had to register with their local sheriff’s office and extended zones around schools and churches where offenders were not allowed to live.

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Chalk this one up to an odd legal battle, but advocates for those who enjoy engaging in rough but consensual sex say that a Missouri case could lead to the criminalization of their lifestyle.

One man, Ed Bagley, faces a federal trial early next year on 11 counts of abuse against a woman that law enforcement officials claim he groomed to be his personal sex slave. Bagley, of Lebanon, MO, is accused of luring a young woman into acting as his sex slave starting back in 2002, then holding her captive for years while selling images of her online and forcing her to work in strip clubs. Prosecutors argue that Bagley, known as “Master Ed,” tortured her and force her to engage in similar acts with other men.

Prosecutors have said they intend to use examples of consensual, though violent, acts between Bagley and his wife as evidence that he has a history of sexually abusing women. The prosecutors say they will focus on examples of “sadistic sexual assaults” committed by Bagley on his wife. Prosecutors have said that the fact that these encounters were consensual does not change whether they amount to assault. They have pointed to Missouri law which says that consent is not a defense to assault that results in serious physical injury.

Troubling to those in North Carolina is that our state’s law says much the same thing. In a BDSM case, the causing of physical harm is, in and of itself, criminal. Effective consent is a term used by North Carolina law that allows a person who is charged with causing or threatening to cause bodily injury to another person to use as a defense the fact that the alleged victim consented to the conduct. The problem in this case is that, under North Carolina law, Model Penal Code § 2.11, the defense is allowable only when the conduct does not result in serious bodily harm.

Some groups are worried this tough line could open up others, including those into BDSM, to criminal charges for the consensual acts they are engaged in. Advocates for the BDSM community argue that even the most horrific acts detailed in the recent federal indictment of Bagley are not criminal so long as there was consent.

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