Massachusetts court overturns child predator conviction

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February 8, 2010

Boston, Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Supreme Court overturned, on Friday, February 5, the convictions of a man accused of sending explicit messages through an online chat to a minor. The Supreme Court threw out the convictions saying that the law bans the sending of "any matter harmful to minors" including "handwritten or printed material," and since online chats are technically neither, the man is not guilty of any crime. States across the country are now reviewing sexual predator laws in order to close this apparent loophole.[1][2]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Business Insider "Mass. Court: Lewd Instant Messages To Minors Are Totally Legal," February 8, 2010
  2. ↑ The Boston Globe "SJC says lewd IMs to minors not illegal," February 6, 2010

Massachusetts courts

Federal courts:

First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Massachusetts • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Massachusetts

State courts:

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court • Massachusetts Appeals Court • Massachusetts Superior Courts • Massachusetts District Courts • Massachusetts Housing Courts • Massachusetts Juvenile Courts • Massachusetts Land Courts • Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts • Boston Municipal Courts, Massachusetts

State resources:

Courts in Massachusetts • Massachusetts judicial elections • Judicial selection in Massachusetts

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