Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Florida Republicans keep passing legislation with the intention of protecting children, but their failure to address the issue of minors engaging in illegal sexual activities themselves amounts to a disregard for the fundamental "Rule of Law."
In addition to Florida statutes 847.0135(3)(a) and 847.0135(4)(a), which apply to anyone who uses a computer to solicit minors for sexual activity, there are also laws regarding lewd battery and lewd molestation. Florida Statute 800.04(5)(c) makes it a felony of the second degree for a minor to commit lewd or lascivious molestation upon or in the presence of a child under the age of 16. Similarly, Florida Statute 800.04(4)(a)(1) makes it a felony of the second degree for anyone to commit lewd or lascivious battery on a child under the age of 16.
While these laws are designed to protect minors from sexual abuse and exploitation, it is important to recognize that they apply to all individuals, regardless of age or gender. However, if law enforcement, in proactive stings, is selectively enforcing these laws only against adult males, while ignoring the same behavior from minors or females during the stings, it must be seen as a violation of equal protection under the law.
Furthermore, it is important to note that the First Amendment right to free speech is not absolute. Speech that incites violence, is defamatory, or is obscene can be restricted by law. However, laws restricting speech must be narrowly tailored and serve a compelling government interest. In the case of laws prohibiting lewd battery and lewd molestation, the compelling government interest is the protection of minors from sexual abuse and exploitation. As such, these laws are narrowly tailored to serve this interest.
Therefore, it is important for Florida Statute 847.0135(3)(a) and (4)(a) to be applied fairly and uniformly, without discrimination based on age or any other protected characteristic. This is not only necessary to protect the principles of free speech and equal protection under the law, but also to ensure that all those who commit crimes are held accountable for their actions and that victims receive justice through due process.
The Florida laws, age-restricted sites, and proactive stings, raise significant concerns about the violation of freedom of speech and equal protection under the law. However, these concerns are only exacerbated when it comes to sites or apps that are intended for adults only, yet still have minors present. In such cases, it becomes virtually impossible to ensure that the laws are applied fairly and uniformly to all individuals, regardless of gender or age. As a result, the fundamental principles of due process, textualism, and misprision of a felony are compromised, that has been leading to harm and injustice for adult males in Florida. Therefore, the only solution to this problem would be to ensure that there are no minors at all, real or imaginary, on these adult websites or apps.
Therefore the purpose of this GoFundMe campaign is to advocate for legislation that restricts harmful content and communication with minors by adults, without parental permission on smartphones based on the age incorporated into the device.
According to Florida Law, you as a parent are to be charged if prosecutors can prove you were aware of the text messages between minors, and failed to report it. Also Note: A false report is a crime.
This could happen to you or your minor child
The statute 847.0135 does not provide for any affirmative defenses.
Florida law treats any crime of a sexual nature an extremely serious offense. It may surprise some people that juveniles who are accused of committing sexual offenses face extraordinarily harsh consequences even when they believe the alleged sexual conduct is mutual and voluntary.
Many parents feel inhibited and anxious when discussing sexual matters with their kids. But some families are forced to face the issue when their sixteen or seventeen-year-old is arrested by police and charged with “unlawful sexual battery.”
As a parent, it's crucial to inform your children that sending sexually explicit text messages is against the law, regardless of age, and can put them at risk of being targeted by child predators. The law was written to safeguard children from harm.
The designation of a person as a sexual offender is not a sentence or a punishment but is simply the status of the offender which is the result of a conviction ...
The state attempts to prosecute a minor
If it is believed that there is no possibility of prosecution, the State attempted to overturn a dismissal in a case involving a minor. Read below, in a 2015 case, the Appellee allegedly sent an SMS photograph of her own vagina to a 13-year-old female classmate and admitted to doing so because she was 'bored'.