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Charges dropped against teacher sexting student in the name of free speech!
Are the laws keeping up with digital world to protect our kids?
A Texas court dismissed charges against a teacher for sexting a 13 year old student multiple times, 688 times in one week – to be precise. “According to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, an appeals court ruling found those text messages to be protected speech.” Apparently, an adult sending inappropriate sexualized messages to young teens is an expression of free speech unless they specifically solicit the teen to have sex or meet or they are considered “obscene.” Clearly the laws have not kept up with the rapidly evolving online world and technology to protect children. Online predators have now been given the green light to craft sexts to vulnerable kids. Where are our legislators?
The law that enabled this teacher to have charges dismissed was created in 2005. Think about how much has transpired in the online world since that time. There must be a review of the laws at least annually to keep them current and applicable to today’s online world. After all, what is the point of the law if it’s meaningless?
The online world and offline world are one and the same for kids today. Parents can’t rely on laws to protect their children online. They need to know what’s happening in their children’s online world and take appropriate action the same as they do in the offline world. The online world is an interactive environment where kids can engage with anyone across the globe.
