Lawsuit challenges sex offender law regarding computers

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Apr 9, 2008 at 7:32 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 19, 2008 at 4:26 PM EST

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A state legislator says he is confident that a state law that would allow police to search the computers of sex offenders long after their sentences end will withstand a legal challenge.

Sen. John Waterman, R-Shelburn, said Wednesday that the bill was another way to protect children from sexual predators, in this case those who seek out victims through the Internet.

"There are millions of children who go on those (Internet) chat rooms," he said. "It's a huge problem in protecting our youth and we should take any steps needed."

The Indiana Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a federal lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis challenging the constitutionality of the law.

Waterman's bill originally had nothing to do with sex offenders. But late in the session, a conference committee inserted several provisions — including the ones dealing with computers — that Waterman said he supported.

Starting July 1, the law will require sex offenders enrolling in the state's public registry to submit e-mail addresses and user names for instant messaging, chat rooms and social networking sites.

Offenders who provide that information must sign a consent form allowing searches of their computers or other Internet-enabled devices at any time. They must also install software that monitors their Internet activity at their expense.

Those restrictions already are conditions of probation. The ACLU is challenging their use for sex offenders who still must register but have finished serving parole or probation, claiming it is a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

"These are people who have been restored to all civil rights, and nevertheless the law explicitly requires these free people to give permission to a search of their computers and purchase software and hardware," Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, said Wednesday.

"What this means is that at 2 o'clock in the morning someone can show up and say let me look at the computer," he said. Falk said the computer might belong to a spouse or someone else living in the residence and include private financial information.

Sex offenders generally must register for 10 years after their release from prison, but some face the restriction for life. Waterman said that the computer provisions would not apply to those who are removed from the sex offender registry.

The state ACLU is seeking class action status and has two plaintiffs. One is a Marion County man using the name "John Doe" who has been convicted of child molesting. The other is a Scott County man who has convictions for child molesting and sexual misconduct with a minor.

Both are required to register for life as sex offenders, the suit says, and have concerns about the privacy of financial and business information on their computers.

Falk said no initial hearing has been set.

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