AR: Arkansas tightens sex offender registry with new legal definitions

Source: 5newsonline.com 3/21/25

Acts 361 and 362 clarify and add requirements to existing legislation to provide stronger protection for minors in sex offender cases.

ARKANSAS, USA — According to the Child Welfare League of America, human trafficking is the second-largest criminal industry in the world. This week, lawmakers in Arkansas made progress to tackle the issue through legislation. 
On Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law two bills that prosecutors said would help put away sex offenders.
 
Senator Missy Irvin of District 24 says, “There was a case whereupon appeal, some of the images that were used in the conviction of a sex predator were overturned based on the definitions around how these images were displayed,”

The predator involved in that case ended up going free. That prompted Senator Irvin and her constituents to draft a bill clarifying that definition.

Act 361 changes the definition of a “child” from anyone under 17 years old to anyone under 18 years of age. The goal is to protect more minors from online exploitation.

Act 362 adds new criteria to the sex offender lifetime registry. An offender over 24 years old at the time of the crime whose victim was under 15 will now be required to register. 

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When people hear ” child” they assume a pre-pubescent child. A child should be anyone under the age of 12, while a minor is everyone under the age of 18. Tired of politicians changing the meaning of words to make them more scary. Need a registry for useless politicians.

This is the power of CSAM vs CP!

If the images in question were CP, then no matter of “Framing” would matter. The image is “Pornographic” and depicts a person under 18. Problem is, the image may not meet the definition of Pornographic, thus it doesn’t matter that the person is under 18… not Pornographic means, not CP.

CSAM, on the other hand, is anything you want it to be so long as you can fabricate some kind of story that involves sex!

Picture of a 17 year of girl in a bikini… NOT CP… but it most certainly can be CSAM. The intention of the image makes all the difference!

However, not all images like this are CSAM, just some! ADA Karen will decide these things on an image by image basis, as needed. Bear in mind, because this determination is made based on intentions, not all copies of this image will be deemed CSAM. The intention of the possession also matters.

ADA Karen will first determine the intention of the production of the image, then the intention of the possession… all on a case by case basis. Sometimes a perfectly legitimate image can be magically transformed into CSAM by a groomer!

You + 🏃‍♀️= All good

Me +🏃‍♀️ = Felony

Had legislators in Arkansas have been smart about it from beginning they either would have put 17 and under or under 18. They shot themselves in the foot on this one and wasted taxpayers money with a second effort.

I’m sure those two bills will solve the problem of world wide trafficking because a 9 yr age difference is obviously driving the entire industry.

In other words, Senator Missy knows of a case where a “predator” had an image of a 17-year-old, but they got off on a technicality because Arkansas defines a child as 16 and under, not 17 and under. Although the age of consent in Arkansas is 16…….and I thought we had dumb laws & politicians in Indiana.

“Put away” is very telling. It implies what I’ve suspected all along – they want everyone with a sex offense in prison or dead.