When you can legally have sex with a 17-year-old, can you be prosecuted for possessing lewd nude photos of her?

From Commonwealth v. Kushmanick, which was decided last year by a Pennsylvania appellate court, but which I just came across last week (all quotes are from the opinion): 1. The facts: Kushmanick started dating S.C. when he was 18 or 19, and she was 16 (according to defendant, just a week shy of her 17th birthday). The age of consent for sexual activity generally in Pennsylvania is 16. (There is the possibility that someone may be prosecuted for “corrupting the morals of a minor” when the minor is 16 or 17,…

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Debate over sex offenders moves to court as California undertakes prison parole overhaul

A Los Angeles-based nonprofit is claiming California prison officials have undermined last fall’s ballot measure to overhaul the state’s parole process by excluding sex offenders from consideration for early release. The Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws, which advocates for the rights of those convicted of sex crimes and their families, says the exemption — written into newly released guidelines to implement Proposition 57 — “impermissibly restricts and impairs the scope” of the initiative. Full Article

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Janice’s Journal: Next Two Weeks Could Make Huge Difference

The next two weeks could make a huge difference in the lives of more than 100,000 registrants and their families. That difference could be a decision by the Senate Appropriations Committee to release the Tiered Registry Bill (SB 421) from the committee’s Suspense File on May 25, the deadline for this action to be taken. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s decision will be based, in part, upon the budget analysis for SB 421. Therefore, it is important to understand what the analysis has to say. First, the budget analysis for SB…

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