ACLU seeking rights for sex offenders again

Well, there they go again, carrying water for their army of odd men in raincoats. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana is suing to strike down a state law forbidding convicted sex offenders from using social media such as Facebook.

The state argues that allowing released felons on social media opens up opportunities for them to troll for children on the Internet.

“It’s hard to come up with an example of a sexual predator who doesn’t use some form of social networking anymore,” said Steve DeBrota, an assistant U.S. attorney in Indianapolis who prosecutes child sex crimes, to the Associated Press in defense of the law.

The case, Doe v. Marion County Prosecutor, is in the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana.The ACLU of Indiana contends that Indiana’s prohibition overreaches, punishing people who have served their sentences.

“To broadly prohibit such a large group of persons from ever using these modern forms of communication is just something the First Amendment cannot tolerate,” Ken Falk, legal director of Indiana’s ACLU chapter, told AP.

Well, here’s hoping it’s not too large a group, given the nature of the offenses. State laws make distinctions for sex offenders, even after release. Convicted sex offenders who have completed their sentences cannot work as teachers, be youth-group leaders or work in jobs that put them in contact with children. Registered offenders in Louisiana, for instance, cannot hold certain jobs, such as operating a taxi, bus or carnival and amusement rides.