The Child Protection eNewsletter
 June is National Internet Safety month and the Advertising Council, in a joint effort with the Justice Department, has created an awareness campaign to alert parents and teens to the dangers of online sexual predators. http://www.komotv.com The new Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are available online at http://www.adcouncil.org. A report published by the Pew Internet and American Life Project http://www.pewinternet.org found 87 percent of teens use the Internet. Of those with an online presence, at least one in five have received a sexual solicitation. While some are starting to complain that states are getting too tough with sex offenders (really, see http://www.latimes.com), state and federal officials continue efforts to tighten up holes in sex offender  registries. Florida officials have unveiled a new “neighborhood search” feature that will allow parents and grandparents to search within a predetermined radius of an address such as a home, school or bus stop. http://www3.fdle.state.fl.us The search software was developed by Pitney Bowes subsidiary Group One Software and uses technology from mapquest to display registered sex offenders on a map with address searched. Florida’s tough registration statute was recently upheld by a three judge panel of the 11 th Circuit Court of Appeals. vol3_iss36 Meanwhile, the federal registry proposed by Attorney General Anthony Gonzales vol3_iss34 is getting a better than hoped for response from states. AG Gonzales had hoped for 20 states to express an interest within 60 days and we are told 30 states have done so in half that time. For a comprehensive list of sex offender registries see http://www.childprotectionprogram.org/sor/index.php. For information on how to keep a child or teen that you love safe on the internet, we suggest that you start by moving your computers into a public area of your home such as the kitchen or family room, and never in a child’s bedroom. We also recommend Donna Rice Hughes’ site http://www.protectkids.com.
 The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has formally adopted constitutional changes aimed at preventing and punishing sexual abuse by clergy. http://www.boston.com The ratification of 11 constitutional changes by presbyteries, or regional governing bodies, of the Louisville-based denomination impose stricter requirements for reporting abuse to civil authorities and give accusers more say in the disciplinary process. Roman Catholic Bishops overseeing a review of their church’s three-year-old policy have recommended that dioceses continue permanently barring guilty clergy from all church work. http://www.foxnews.com Some Catholic leaders have been concerned that the punishment is too severe. And in Iowa, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport unveiled a monument that is dedicated to the dozens of men and women sexually molested by eastern Iowa priests in the past 50 years. http://desmoinesregister.com
Despite a recent federally funded study that concluded attitudes about sex are changed when students participate in an abstinence-until-marriage program, http://www.family.org the Public Broadcasting Service is about to air a blatantly left-of-center documentary blasting abstinence education and pledges—a film funded in part by Playboy. http://www.family.org
 The Supreme Court's recent medical marijuana decision is having some fallout in the area of child pornography. http://www.family.org Earlier this month, the Supreme Court affirmed that the federal government has jurisdiction when it comes to prosecuting marijuana, even if it is grown in someone's back yard at a doctor's suggestion, consumed by the grower and never crosses state lines. Now the Court sent a child pornography case back to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals for rehearing—and told the justices to look closely at the medical marijuana decision .
A man was sentenced to life in prison for raping two boys younger than 6, a crime the judge called one of the most egregious cases he has heard. http://www.nola.com During the sentencing, the boys' relatives lashed out at the man by mocking his purported Wiccan faith and listing the boys' ongoing psychological trauma. At least two jurors in the case returned to court for Wednesday's sentencing. After hearing the emotional testimony, one juror approached the boys' relatives outside the courtroom. "I pray for those boys every day," she said. "I can't get it out of my head, so I can't imagine what it's like for you all."
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