Recent Posts in Sex Crimes Category

As reported by Michael McKinney in the July 21, 2010 edition of the Providence Journal, a sexual assault trial involving four URI students began.  Two male students are charged with first degree sexual assault "by force and coercion."  The alleged victim is a fellow URI student and the alleged incident occurred at a party in a residence hall on URI campus.  In an interesting twist, a female URI student was also charged with first degree sexual assault in connection with this case, but her case has not yet gone to trial. 

As reported by Tatiana Pina in the May 27, 2010 Providence Journal, a Providence sex offender was charged with three new crimes, felony assault, breaking and entering and failure to notify the police of a change of address.  He broke into a woman's apartment and pulled out a knife.  The woman was able to defend herself and then forced the sex offender to leave her apartment.  The man was labeled a sex offender because of a 2003 conviction for sexual assault of a minor at gunpoint.  He served time at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) before being released last summer.

As reported by the Associated Press on May 17, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government has the power to hold inmates in prison after their prison terms are complete, if the prisoner is considered "sexually dangerous."  Labeling a prisoner sexually dangerous means prison officials have determined there is a "risk of sexually violent conduct or child molestation" if the prisoner is released.  The decision by the Court allows prisoners to be held indefinitely, beyond the term of their prison sentence, a form of civil commitment. A group of four inmates were challenging their commitment, after being held two years beyond the end of their prison terms.  The men were charged with possession of child pornography or sexual abuse of a minor.

As reported by Talia Buford in the May 11, 2010 Providence Journal, sexting was the reason behind the fight between mother and daughter.  The fight escalated to the point where the 14 year old daughter stabbed her mother in the chest.  The 14 year old has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and is being held at the Rhode Island Training School.  The girl's mother said her daughter has "sexted" before and she was trying to take away her daughter's cell phone when the fight broke out.

As reported by Talia Buford in the March 2, 2010 Providence Journal, a bill has been introduced at the General Assembly to protect minors engaged in "sexting."  Under current Rhode Island law, minors caught "sexting" can be prosecuted under the child pornography statute.  If convicted, minors would be labeled as a lifetime sex offender.  Under the proposed bill, minors caught sexting would be referred to Family Court and charged with a status offense.   If convicted, the minor would be treated with intervention and counseling instead of jail time.   On April 7, 2010, the House Committee on Judiciary held a hearing on the proposed sexting bill.

If you or a family member have been charged with a sex crime in Rhode Island, including sexting or other criminal offenses, please allow Attorney Robert H. Humphrey's reputation, experience and skill to successfully guide you through the legal process.  Contact Robert H. Humphrey at 401-816-5862 or e-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com.

A three (3) year suspended sentence with probation is the sentence received by a Barrington man charged in 2005 with video voyeurism.  The Barrington man pled guilty to one (1) count video voyeurism after he took an inappropriate photograph of a young girl at his Warren coffee shop.

As reported by Linda Borg in the March 24, 2010 Providence Journal, the video voyeurism law “was enacted in 2004 to protect people from being secretly photographed or videotaped.  The crime carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and a $5,000.00 fine.”  The Barrington man was also charged with one (1) count of possession of marijuana.  “At the time of his arrest, the police said they had found photos of the girl on Byrne’s digital camera along with images of more than fifty ‘unsuspecting’ adult women.”

If you or a family member has been charged with a sex crime in Rhode Island, including video voyeurism, please allow Attorney Robert H. Humphrey’s reputation, experience and skill to successfully guide you through the legal process.  Contact Robert H. Humphrey at 401-816-5862 or e-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com.

As reported in the March 2, 2010, Providence Journal by staff writer, Talia Buford, legislation proposed by the Department of Attorney General would decrease the penalty for minors who are caught sexting so they would not be prosecuted under the  child pornography statute.  “The proposed legislation would create a lesser offense, and allow for counseling and intervention rather than a lifetime sex-offender label.”  Under the proposed legislation, the cases would be referred to the intake unit of the Family Court and “minors who “knowingly and voluntarily” send sexually explicit videos or photographs of themselves to another person would find their case considered a status offense, which is less than a crime.”  The Department of Attorney General has stated that “the only other option has been to prosecute juveniles possessing, distributing or manufacturing child pornography – a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison and $5,000.00 fine, and which requires the person to register as a sex offender.” 

Whether the act of young people sexting to each other should be a criminal offense is a subject open to debate and it is likely that the proposed legislation will receive much scrutiny.

As an adjunct professor at Salve Regina University, located in Newport, Rhode Island, I am honored to teach the students regarding Rhode Island sex crimes.  The recently conducted Sex Crimes class at Salve Regina University addressed a broad range of Rhode Island  sex crimes including the following:

• First degree sexual assault
• Second degree sexual assault
• Third degree sexual assault
• First degree child molestation
• Second degree child molestation
• Bigamy
• Adultery
• Necrophilia
• Abominable and detestable crime against nature
• Disorderly conduct – lascivious purpose
• Disorderly conduct – indecent exposure
• Prostitution 
• Video voyeurism
• Child pornography
• Trafficking of persons for forced labor or commercial sexual activity

As reported in the January 18, 2010 Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly, the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has held that provisions of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act which “provides for the civil commitment of a sexually dangerous person already in federal criminal custody in lieu of that person’s release upon service of his full sentence, we hold that this civil commitment provision ‘comes within the legitimate scope of congressional power conferred by the Necessary and Proper Clause of the federal Constitution.’”  Furthermore, “the exercise of a federal commitment power embodied in [18 U.S.C.] §4248 operates to prevent the release into society at large of sexually dangerous persons as to whom the federal government has custodial responsibility.”

If you or a family member has been accused of a sex crime it can be one of the most embarrassing and traumatic events in a person’s life.  Please allow Attorney Robert H. Humphrey’s reputation, experience and skill to successfully guide you through the legal process when you have been charged with a sex offense in Rhode Island.  Contact Attorney Robert H. Humphrey at (401) 816-5862 or E-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com for a free consultation.

As reported by staff writer, Amanda Milkovits, in the December 22, 2009, edition of the Providence Journal, “for the second time in eight years, a former middle school teacher and church deacon has been accused of trying to solicit an underage girl over the Internet.”

In the past, the accused was caught in the same manner because the underage person he thought he was communicating with over the Internet was actually a member of the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.  Upon his arrest, the accused was arraigned before the Providence District Court on charges of possession of child pornography.  The accused “had recently completed five years of probation and served two years in prison, after pleading guilty in 2002 to attempted statutory rape and sending child pornography over the Internet.”

Pursuant to R.I.G.L. 11-9-1.3 child pornography is defined as any visual depiction, including any photograph, film, video, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, of sexually explicit conduct where:  (i) the production of such visual depiction involves the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; (ii) such visual depiction is a digital image, computer image, or computer-generated image of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; or (iii) such visual depiction has been created, adapted or modified to display an identifiable minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The penalty for violating the child pornography statute includes a fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than fifteen (15) years or both. 

If you or a family member has been accused of child pornography or any other sex crime it can be one of the most embarrassing and traumatic events in a person’s life.  Please allow Attorney Robert H. Humphrey’s reputation, experience and skill to successfully guide you through the legal process when you have been charged with a sex offense in Rhode Island.

For more information regarding Surveying Sex Crimes Laws in Rhode Island, which was published in the March/April 2005 edition of the Rhode Island Bar Journal and is reproduced here with the permission of the Rhode Island Bar Journal, please see my Attorney Profile page.

Call Attorney Humphrey at 401-816-5862 or e-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com for your free consultation.