Thursday, April 26, 2007

Straight-Talking Judge Weighs In On Web Predators

Republican Rep. Ted Poe of Texas, a legend in the American court system, shared his thoughts with us on Wednesday evening about the ongoing congressional debate over what to do to fight Internet-based child predators. Poe, a former felony court judge from Houston, gained national notoriety for his "shame punishment" of criminals -- and his tough-as-nails beliefs carry over into this arena.

"We ought to be relentless in tracking and finding [online predators and pedophiles] and bringing them to court," said Poe, who was a featured guest at a Capitol Hill reception for the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. The problem "is only going to get worse" as Web technology evolves, he added.

Helping parents educate their children so they do not become victims of online crimes is paramount, Poe said, especially since "predators can probably work around almost any type of control put on a [social-networking] site." While some have called for instituting age-verification mechanisms (like credit-card authentication) on sites like MySpace and Facebook, Poe worries about the potential privacy implications of such proposals.

RAINN, whose representatives lobbied on Capitol Hill earlier in the day, runs a national sexual assault hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local rape crisis centers across the country. The group also recently launched an online hotline that offers real-time help via Web chat.

Elfin actress Christina Ricci provided the star power for RAINN's lobbying blitz. She most recently played a sexual assault victim in the film "Black Snake Moan." During Hill visits, Ricci asked legislators to fully fund the Justice for All Act, which could help solve rape cases through DNA evidence, and the Adam Walsh Act, which creates stricter requirements for sex offender registration.