John T. Floyd Law Firm
Houston Criminal Lawyer
"Serious Criminal Defense Throughout Texas"
Experienced Criminal Defense Lawyer
Trials, Sentencings and Appeals
Federal And State Criminal Defense
Phone # (713) 224-0101
Toll Free 1-866-374-1327
E-mail jfloyd@JohnTFloyd.com
Top Lawyers: Criminal Defense - 2008, 2009 HTexas
SEXUAL ASSAULT ISSUES
![[Valid RSS]](images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}
November 7, 2009
THE RIGHT TO AN IMPARTIAL TRIAL STRUCK WITH CRITICAL BLOW
Failure to Strike Prosecutor, Victim of Sex Crime, from Jury not Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees every criminal defendant a right to an impartial trial. 1/ Selecting a jury of twelve men and women to hear a criminal case is perhaps the most critical stage in the trial process where a defense attorney must provide effective representation. He has a pool of prospective jurors representing a cross-section of the community from which to select the people who will hear the facts and fairly consider the case. This jury pool is a minefield of human experiences that range from concealed bias and prejudice to open fairness and impartiality. The task of the defense attorney is to navigate through the minefield without exploding a mine that will injure his client’s opportunity for an impartial trial. more...
October 7, 2009
ROGUE JUROR DID NOT PREVENT ACQUITTAL
Another Not Guilty: Client Falsely Accused of Indecency with Child Acquitted After Trial by Jury
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd
Every prospective juror summoned to court for jury duty in a criminal case is questioned by counsel for the State and defendant as to his/her willingness to follow the law as given by the judge at the conclusion of the trial. A prospective juror who cannot, for whatever reason, state unequivocally that he/she will follow the law is excused for cause. Thus, a juror accepted by both the defense and the State for jury service has a solemn duty bound by a sworn oath to follow the law. more...
October 1, 2009
SEX OFFENDER REGISTRATION LAWS BEG REFORM
Some in Law Enforcement, Legislatures, Find Federal Sex Offender Registration Laws Too Broad, Onerous
By: Houston Criminal Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In April 2009 CNN reported that there are 38 states in these United States which require juveniles convicted of sex offenses to “register” as sex offenders. The Houston Chronicle (September 21, 2009) featured a front page article by Renee C. Lee (“A Long Wait to Get Past Crime”) which reported that there are approximately 3,600 registered juvenile sex offenders in the State of Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The newspaper noted that eleven of these juveniles were ten years of age when they were registered. more...
September 23, 2009
COURT TAKES HARDLINE STAND IN CHILD EXPLOITATION CASE
Video Taped Consensual Sex with Minor Gets Federal Time
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The federal statute that governs the production of child pornography provides, in part, that “any person who employs, uses, persuades, induces, entices, or coerces any minor to engage in . . . any sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing any visual depiction of such conduct or for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction of such conduct, shall be punished as provided under subsection (e) . . . if that visual depiction was produced or transmitted using materials that have been mailed, shipped, or transported in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce by any means . . . .” 1/ more...
September 10, 2009
SEX TOURISM: AN INTERNATIONAL DILEMMA
Federal Initiatives Aimed at The Continuing Problems of Human Trafficking , Sex Slavery and Exploitation of Children
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was called “Operation Twisted Traveler”—a joint law enforcement initiative between the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that targeted American citizens traveling to Cambodia to have sex with children. Last month, the Justice Department announced the arrest of three American men charged with traveling to Cambodia to sexually abuse children. All three of the men were allegedly previously convicted of sex offenses involving children. more...
July 29, 2009
A GOOD FAMILY DOCTOR OR A SECRET PEDOPHILE?
Child Pornography and Exploitation
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Neighbors say the couple that lived in the $1 million home in the 11100 block of South Country Squire Road were “the sweetest on the block” who brought cakes to the new home owners that moved into the exclusive neighborhood. The 69-year-old orthopedic surgeon who lived at the residence was considered the “ideal grandfather figure.” He reportedly bought expensive gifts, including rent-free houses, for the economically deprived parents of several of his youngest child patients. Over a two-decade period he spent as much as $250,000 on these gifts. more...
July 25, 2009
THE UNRELENTING MARCH AGAINST FLDS
Texas Legislature Joins the Hunt
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair.
Besides March winds, April showers, and June humid heat, the one thing you can go to bank on: when state lawmakers, either in Texas or any other state, get involved is trying to legislate religion and morality, you will have a witch-hunt. Lawmakers are generally panderers to public opinion, not servants of public interest. If they believe one vote can be had by manipulating public fears or social outrage, they will get involved in any issue that generates media attention. The Eldorado, Texas-based FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), therefore, became an ideal target for legislative scrutiny during this past session. more...
July 17, 2009
CHILD ADVOCATES OR HIRED GUNS?
Criminal Defense Attorneys Must Be Prepared To Aggressively Challenge Child Assessment Center, Child Abuse Experts
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The “Mission” statement of the Houston Children Assessment Center “is to provide a professional, compassionate, and coordinated approach to the treatment of sexually abused children and their families and to serve as an advocate for all children in our community.” In its 2008 Annual Report, Yolanda Green, President of the Board of Directors of CAC, added that CAC “is an agency where children whose lives have been torn apart are given hope and the opportunity to begin the road to recovery.” more...
July 6, 2009
SHOULD EVIDENCE OF PRIOR FALSE ABUSE ALLEGATIONS BE ADMISSIBLE IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES?
Inadmissible Evidence under 608(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence May be Admissible under 613(b), Rule 412 or Confrontation Clause
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
A Harris County federal jury recently awarded $5 million to George Rodriquez for the 17 years he spent in the Texas prison system after being wrongfully convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old girl. And a Harris County district court judge last December ordered Ricardo Rachell released after he spent six years in the Texas prison system after being wrongfully convicted of sexually molesting an eight-year-old boy. more...
June 23, 2009
A DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN THE HEAT OF BATTLE
Rule 606(b) of the Texas Rules of Evidence; Conducting Inquiry into Juror Misconduct
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Johnny Ray Ocon was put on trial in Ector County, Texas for the crime of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Sex offense cases involving children are the most difficult for a criminal defense attorney to try. Defense attorneys must be very careful and thorough during the voir dire of prospective jurors to identify any hidden biases a juror may harbor in such cases. It is not always easy to sift through an individual juror’s personality in the short period of time, and with a limited number of questions, to identify and isolate any prejudices the juror may have against the defendant. more...
April 11, 2009
CHILD PORN: AN INCREASING PROBLEM IN ALL SEGMENTS OF SOCIETY
Federally Funded Task Forces Make Online Crimes Against Children Top Priority
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There has been a recent rash of media reports about local residents getting arrested or sentenced for possession of child pornography. For example, on March 13, 2009, the Houston Chronicle carried a report about a Houston attorney being given a six and one-half year sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Sim Lake. Williamson possessed 84 child pornography images on his computer. After he completes his prison sentence, the suspended attorney will be under “supervised release” for the rest of his life, must register as a sex offender, and attend a sex offender treatment program. more...
April 8, 2009
WHAT IS SEXTING?
Sexting Among Children; Criminal Behavior or Brash Sign of the Times
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
First, and foremost, “sexting” among teenagers can be a crime. Second, it’s stupid, sophomoric behavior that can quickly ruin reputations, destroy employment opportunities, and cost a lot of money to deal with its legal consequences. more...
March 30, 2009
A TEXAS BIGAMY DEFENSE
The Constitutional Implications of Lawrence v. Texas on the Texas Bigamy Statute
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The State of Texas will probably experience of series of bigamy trials stemming from the mass arrests made in the “infamous FLDS case” last year. The John T. Floyd Law Firm has been asked on a number of cases if there is a legitimate constitutional challenge to the Texas bigamy statute. See: Tex. Penal Code, § 25.01. more...
March 26, 2009
FLDS REVISITED: ONE YEAR LATER
Aftermath of the Texas CPS Raid
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In the fall of 2003 members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) arrived in Eldorado, Texas. They purchased a 1700-acre ranch four miles outside of town. They called it the “Yearn for Zion Ranch” (“YFZ”). More members arrived. They constructed a mammoth temple and created their own community. They lived in peace. more...
March 16, 2009
COLD SHOULDER FROM LUBBOCK OFFICIALS IN COLE CASE
DNA Exonerations: Improper Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Poor Police Work; A Deadly Combination
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Dying in prison is a sad, tragic affair. Timothy Cole died in a Texas prison in 1999 from asthma complications. He was 39 years of age. The prison’s health care officials notified the security staff of the inmate’s death. In all likelihood, a prison guard escorted an inmate orderly to Cole’s “bunk” where his blanket and sheets were stripped from a thin plastic-covered mattress. The guard used a master key to open a commissary-purchased combination lock on a foot locker that contained Cole’s “personal belongings.” The orderly sorted through the items to separate “state-issued” property from Cole’s personal belongings (letters, legal files, photos, etc.). The state and personal items were placed in separate plastic trash bags. The meager items in those trash bags represented the sum total of a man’s life in prison. more...
February 7, 2009
OBSCENE EMAILS AND CARTOONS NOT PROTECTED BY FIRST AMENDMENT
Obscene Drawings, Cartoons, Sculpture, Paintings that Depict Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct Not Protected Free Speech
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
On March 30, 2004, Dwight Whorley visited a public resource room maintained by the Virginia Employment Commission in Richmond. The room is equipped with Commission computers, printers and copiers which may be used by job seekers. A woman in the room noticed that Whorley was receiving what appeared to her as child pornography on a Commission computer. She promptly alerted Commission staff about suspicions. An officer manager and two supervisors went to the resource room where they found Whorley standing in front of a printer with some papers in his hand. One of the supervisors requested that Whorley show him the documents. Whorley complied. The documents depicted Japanese anime-style cartoons of children engaged in explicit sexual conduct with adults. more...
January 25, 2009
CSAAS IN TEXAS CRIMINAL TRIALS
Rule 702 Expert Testimony v. Bolstering, Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In 1983, Roland Summit in a published paper coined the phrase “Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome” (CSAAS). See: 7 Child Abuse and Neglect 177 (1983).Summit’s syndrome set forth five specific characteristics children may exhibit following sexual abuse. Summit intended that CSAAS be utilized by law enforcement and child protective services investigators, as well as clinicians, to explain the coping behavior of children sexually abused by adults. He did not intend for CSAAS to be used, as it has been in some states, as a diagnostic tool to tell juries in criminal trials that sexual abuse has in fact occurred. The five CSAAS characteristics are listed below: more...
January 19, 2008
CHILD PREDATORS AND PUNISHMENT
Disparate Treatment of Sex Offenders, Punishment and Public Policy
By: Houston Criminal Defense Lawyer John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
“Child predator” is now among the two worst words in the American lexicon. A 42-year-old Houston resident, we will call him John Doe, recently learned as much. According to allegations by law enforcement, the Magnolia High School institutional aide decided last October to look up former students on Facebook from high schools where he had worked. more...
October 18, 2008
THE PITFALLS OF DELAYED OUTCRY TESTIMONY
Hearsay Statements of Child Abuse Victims and Delayed Outcry
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
“Hearsay” is a statement, other than one made by the declarant while testifying at a trial or hearing, offered into evidence to prove the truth of some matter being asserted. See: Tex. R. of Evid. 801. In English, hearsay is testimony about what somebody heard from somebody else. Hearsay testimony is generally inadmissible in a criminal trial. See: Tex. R. of Evid. 802. However, Article 38.072 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure provides an exception to the hearsay rule by allowing hearsay testimony in the prosecution of an offense committed against children twelve years of age and younger. more...
October 15, 2008
FABRICATION:
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Only Defense In Sexual Assault Cases Not Subject To Rebuttal Evidence, Keeping Extraneous Crimes, Wrongs, and Acts Out
Writing in her book “The Cross-Examination of a Young Child in a Sexual Assault Case: Voice for the Defense” (Oct. 1999), Annabelle Hall said that jurors following a sexual assault trial involving a child raise the following questions: more...
October 9, 2008
THE ACQUITTAL
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
A former Precinct 4 deputy accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child was found “not guilty” after three days of trial and six hours of jury deliberation. The State argued the defendant, in 2000, sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl when he was a detention officer at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center where the girl was detained. more...
October 6, 2008
A DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S PROFESSIONAL INDISCRETION
Prosecutor Hands Jury Sour Grapes After Not Guilty Verdict
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The John T. Floyd Law Firm faced a recent difficult three-day trial in a Harris County courtroom. The District Attorney’s office had charged a defendant with aggravated sexual assault of a child. It was a classic delayed “outcry” case. The case was assigned to one of the very best prosecutors in sexual assault cases. She signaled early in the motion practice stage of the case that she would be a determined adversary willing to go to extraordinary lengths to secure a conviction against our client. more...
October 4, 2008
DOES CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE LEAD TO FUTURE MENTAL ANQUISH?
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
If you were raped at age nine by your local YMCA counselor, do you think you would endure what is known in legal parlance as “future mental anguish?” more...
October 2, 2008
CYBERSEX CONVERSATIONS NOT A CRIME?
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
“Role Playing” in Cybersex Conversations Could be a Legitimate Defense in § 2422(b) Internet Solicitation Cases
18 U.S.C. § 2422(b) prohibits the use of a computer by an adult to send messages on the Internet to “persuade and entice” a person under 18 years of age to engage in sexual activity that constitutes a criminal offense. more...
September 11, 2008
CPS VERSUS FLDS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Since the April 2008 military-styled raid, led by the Texas Rangers and the state’s Child Protective Services, on the Yearning for Zion Ranch owned by Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (FLDS) in Eldorado, Texas, we have been consistently been critical of the methods used by law enforcement and the CPS efforts to destroy the FLDS church. These official efforts stem from allegations that some male FLDS members used religious practices to engage in “spiritual marriages” with underage teenage girls. CPS reported in August 2008 that it was still investigating 10 cases involving marriages of girls ranging in ages from 12 to 16. As we have previously reported, these investigations have already cost Texas taxpayers at least $12 million. more...
September 6, 2008
MORE FLDS INDICTMENTS: THE UNHOLY SAGA CONTINUES
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In July 2008 a Schleicher County grand jury indicted five members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, including FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, on sexual assault of children charges and a sixth member for failure to report a child abuse charge. more...
July 25, 2008
FLDS MEMBERS INDICTED BY GRAND JURY
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The grand jury is a powerful weapon in the hands of state and federal prosecutors. An old legal adage says that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich if it the “target” of a criminal investigation. more...
July 5, 2008
FALSE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In April 2008, after coming home late from a party, a Wunsche High School student told her father that she had been sexually assaulted at the party by a fellow student. The following day 54-year-old Ruben Cuellar-Romo went with his daughter to her school, and when the daughter pointed out a student as her attacker, Cuellar-Roma stabbed the male student in the chest, stomach and hand. Police quickly determined that the assaulted student, Joshua Chapa, had not been at the party and, therefore, could not have assaulted the girl. Cuellar-Roma was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and remains in the Harris County Jail under a $30,000 bond. more...
June 27, 2008
FLDS GRAND JURY TAKES NO ACTION, YET
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
A West Texas grand jury sitting in Schleicher County heard testimony from a few of the dozens of witnesses subpoenaed to testify concerning allegations made by the Attorney General’s Office that members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints forces underage girls into “spiritual marriages.” more...
June 8, 2008
FLDS: A LOOK AT AN UNNECESSARY TRAGEDY
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
This column has examined the FLDS case extensively since the military-style raid on the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas on April 3, 2008. There are two things that stand out about this tragic case: First, the raid was totally unnecessary and most certainly unlawful; and, second, the financial cost to the state of Texas is a staggering $7 million and the emotional cost to the FLDS parents and children is immeasurable. More...
May 25, 2008
FLDS: THE RULE OF LAW FINALLY PREVAILS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
(Read the Opinion: In re Sara Steed)
The FLDS case began with two anonymous telephone calls from a “16-year-old” girl on March 29, 2008 to a local hot line crisis center in Eldorado, Texas. The anonymous caller told a terrified tale of being forced into a “spiritual” marriage to a man named Dale Barlow who she said frequently beat and raped her at the Yearning for Zion Ranch owned by the FLDS church. The anonymous caller said she was forced into this marriage at age fourteen, had an eight-month-old child, and was pregnant again by Barlow. The hot line crisis center reported the anonymous calls to law enforcement officials. More...
May 24, 2008
THE FLDS CASE: THE TEXAS SOLUTION,
PRISON FOR THE MEN, SHAME FOR THE WOMEN
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) is the largest Mormon fundamentalist denomination. The FLDS broke from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“LDS”) in the 1930s. Located in southern Utah and northern Arizona, the fundamentalists rejected the LDS’s renunciation of polygamy. After the ex-communication of members who continued to practice plural marriages, the fundamentalists decided break all their religious ties to the LDS Church. More...
May 15, 2008
FLDS: EXPLORING THE SUBJECT OF ABUSE
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The law enforcement raid last month in Eldorado, Texas on the Yearning for Zion ranch operated by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ for Latter Day Saints has morphed into the largest child custody case in state history. Charges of polygamy, sexual and physical abuse of children, and forced “spiritual” marriages between older FLDS men and underage girls have become part of the national political and social debate, particularly with respect to sexual and physical abuse of the church’s children. More...
May 5, 2008
FLDS: A TEXAS-SIZED LEGAL DILEMMA
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been a series of startling developments in what has become known as the “FLDS case.” This unprecedented child custody case began on March 29, 2008 when an anonymous female caller, identifying herself as a pregnant 16-year-old, reported twice to a hot line crisis center in Eldorado, Texas that she had been a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the local Yearning for Zion ranch by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Those anonymous telephone calls triggered a massive military-styled police raid on the YFZ compound several days later resulting in mothers being separated from children and fathers accused of being “pedophiles” for allegedly marrying girls as young as thirteen. More...
April 22, 2008
FLDS: THE VICTIM THAT WASN’T
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The largest child custody case in Texas began with at least two telephone calls on March 29, 2008 from a terrified voice claiming to be a victim of sexual and physical abuse at the Yearning for Zion ranch by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Eldorado, Texas. The calls made to a local hot line crisis center triggered a massive military-styled police raid on the YFZ compound several days later that resulted in mothers being separated from children and fathers accused of being “pedophiles” for allegedly marrying girls as young as thirteen. More...
April 13, 2008
The FLDS Raid and the Extension of the Police State
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“FLDS”) is the largest Mormon fundamentalist denomination. The FLDS broke from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (“LDS”) in the 1930s. Located in southern Utah and northern Arizona, the fundamentalists rejected the LDS’s renunciation of polygamy. After the ex-communication of members who continued to practice plural marriages, the fundamentalists decided break all their religious ties to the LDS Church. More...
March 5, 2008
VIOLENT SEX OFFENDERS: IS CIVIL COMMITMENT A LEGITIMATE SOCIAL RESPONSE?
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The New York Times reported last year (March 4, 2007) that there are approximately 2,700 pedophiles, rapists, and other sexual offenders being held indefinitely by 19 states, mostly in medical treatment centers. The NY Times report was in response to the State of New York joining the parade of states that use “civil commitment” as a way of “protecting” society from “dangerous” sexual predators. Several New York legislators hailed the state’s decision to adopt civil commitment as an opportunity to create a “national model” for not only in isolating dangerous sex offenders but in treating them as well, including “intensive supervision” of those who secure release from their commitment. The following bullet points from the Times report offers a glimpse of “civil commitment” programs nationwide: More...
March 1, 2008
THE WALSH ACT AND ITS “SORNA” IMPLICATIONS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In July 2006 President George W. Bush signed into law the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (“Walsh Act”). Title I of the Walsh Act is called the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”) which expanded the National Sex Offender Registry and established sanctions up to a maximum of twenty years for sex offenders who do not comply with the law’s registration requirements. More...
January 25, 2008
CAN DELETED PORN BE USED IN A POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE?
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
FBI agent Randall Clark is part of the Houston Area Cyber Crimes Task Force. His job is to track and catch sex predators looking for child victims on the internet. In a recent interview with the Houston CHRONICLE, Clark said that “we know whenever there are kids online, there will be predators, so we try to get into those places [like MySpace].” More...
December 5, 2007
TEXAS STIFFENS PUNISHMENT FOR SEX OFFENDERS
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
The 2007 Texas Legislature enacted a number of measures that severely increased the punishment for sex offenders. One of those measures makes second convictions for first-degree "sexually violent offenses" involving victims 14 years of age or younger a capital crime punishable by death or life without parole. A "sexually violent offense" is indecency with a child involving contact, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, sexual performance by a child, aggravated kidnapping involving intent to violate or abuse sexually, and first-degree burglary committed with intent to commit one of the sex offenses in this list. More...
September 24, 2007
PENILE PLETHYSMOGRAPHY:BIG BROTHER AND PUNISHING THOUGHT
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
What kind of condition is penile plethysmography? More to the point, what is plethysmography?
The word “plethysmograph” Greek words “plethysmos” and “graphos.” The former mean “enlargement” and the latter means “to write.” A penile plethysmorgraph, therefore, is an instrument that measures the volume of the penis (or its erection). See, Odeshoo, Jason D., “Of Penology and Perversity: The Use of Penile Plethysmorgraphy on Convicted Child Sex Offenders, 14 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L.Rev. 2004, p. 6. More...
August 22, 2007
Expert Testimony in Child Pornography Cases
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
In a previous Web Front Page Column (CHILD PORN: WHAT IS VIRTUAL, WHAT IS REAL), it was pointed out that in federal child pornography prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(B) the Government is under no statutory or constitutional obligation to present “expert testimony” that the alleged pornographic images are of a real child. See, United States v. Rodriquez-Pacheco, 475 F.3d 434 (1st Cir. 2007). While the government has a constitutional burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged pornographic images are of a real, non-virtual child, the matter is an issue of fact to be decided by the jury and those determinations can be based on the actual images, videotapes, photographs, etc., absent expert testimony. Id,, at 444. More...
August 20, 2007
CHILD PORN: WHAT IS REAL, WHAT IS VIRTUAL?
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It is a federal crime to possess child pornography. See: 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(B). See also: Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 (CPPA), 18 U.S.C. § 2251.
The United States Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, 535 U.S. 234, 122 S.Ct. 1389 (2002) held unconstitutional those provisions of § 2252(a)(B) that extended child pornography to any sexually explicit image that “conveys the impression” that it depicts “a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.” Id., 535 U.S. at 258. See also: United States v. Rodriquez-Pacheco, 475 F.3d 434 (1st Cir. 2007). More...
July 12, 2007
INTERNET SEARCH FOR TEEN SEX A COSTLY PROPOSITION
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Chris C. was really a small town gentleman living in a big city, Houston, Texas. He was married, mid-40s, professional with a nice home, and a secure job. All outward appearances indicated he was a normal, hard-working husband/father, but he had a problem. He had a perverse desire to have sex with a teenage girl. He wanted the sex to be safe, anonymous, and away from home. He had heard of the opportunities to find such sex on the Internet. He was initially hesitant, afraid, knowing that the Internet was filled with traps. More...
June 9, 2007
Punishments for Convictions Upon Multiple Counts of Indecency with a Child, Sexual Assault of a Child, Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child, and Incest Can be Stacked and Run Consecutively
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Multiple counts in an indictment can charge different discreet and specific criminal acts. Multiple instances of certain sex crimes involving children have been specifically defined as arising out of or being part of the same criminal episode. Section 3.03 of the Texas Penal Code expressly authorizes sentences arising from convictions on multiple counts of sex crimes against children to run concurrently or consecutively. Stacking punishments can therefore be authorized in cases involving multiple acts against a single victim or single acts committed upon multiple victims. Therefore, it is possible that a single indictment against a single defendant could allege hundreds of counts of sexual assault of a child upon which a conviction could be had on each count and the sentences for each count stacked. More...
May 15, 2007
Online Solicitation of a Minor The Impact of Adam Walsh on 18 U.S.C. § 2422(B)
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
It was a perfect photo op: President George W. Bush surrounded by crime victim advocates and key Congressional leaders as he signed on July 27, 2006 the “Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006.” More...
April 22, 2007
Rule Against Multiplicity and Child Pornography Crimes, United States v. Buchanan, No. 04-41364 (5th Cir. 04/10/07)
By: Criminal Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John T. Floyd and Senior Paralegal Billy Sinclair
18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) provides:
(a) Any person who –
(2) knowingly receives or distributes, any visual depiction that has been mailed, or has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or which contains materials which have been mailed or so shipped or transported, by any means, including computer, or knowingly reproduces any visual depiction for distribution in interstate or foreign commerce or through the mails, if – More...
[ Back to top ]
