14News: Sex offender sues Daviess Co. Attorney over new Kentucky law
The lawsuit comes in response to a new Kentucky law which would bring criminal charges against anyone using a fake name for a social media account if they’ve been convicted of sex offenses with a minor.
Jul 25
John Burlew has been the Daviess County Attorney for about a year and a half. He says the job requires lots of different types of work. This is especially true after he recently found himself in a unique position: as the defendant in a federal lawsuit.
“I hope the end result is that the statute is held to be constitutional, and it stays on the books, but we’ll see,” said Burlew
Burlew says the judge overseeing the case recently ruled that all 120 county attorneys in the state won’t be defendants collectively, it will just be him.
“I don’t know of a Daviess County Attorney that’s been sued for a reason like this, ever,” said Burlew.
Earlier this year, Kentucky legislators voted unanimously for a new law which would make it a crime for anyone who had committed sex offenses against a minor to have a social media account with anything other than their full, legal name.
Earlier this year, Kentucky legislators voted unanimously for a new law which would make it a crime for anyone who had committed sex offenses against a minor to have a social media account with anything other than their full, legal name.
The bill had bipartisan support, and Governor Andy Beshear signed it into law in April. It took effect on July 15.
“It’s to prevent child abusers out there from targeting children, and the children or their parents being none the wiser who it is,” said Burlew.
The person bringing the lawsuit is only identified as “John Doe,” and Burlew says all they know is they’re a sex offender from Daviess County.
That’s why the lawsuit came to him. He says he isn’t being sued personally, rather it’s in his capacity as the Daviess County Attorney.
That’s why the lawsuit came to him. He says he isn’t being sued personally, rather it’s in his capacity as the Daviess County Attorney.
Case documents say Doe’s arguing the new law isn’t constitutional, because it interferes with first-amendment protections, specifically free speech.
Burlew says the safety of children, and information which could be helpful to the investigators of future crimes, are more important.
“The governmental interest to protect children sort of outweighs his right to otherwise create a fake name on a Facebook account or Instagram account and start communicating with people,” said Burlew.
Burlew is being represented by the Kentucky attorney general’s office. He says he isn’t sure of exactly when the case will be resolved, and it could take a long time. He also says he doesn’t imagine we’ll learn the identity of John Doe.
Burlew is being represented by the Kentucky attorney general’s office. He says he isn’t sure of exactly when the case will be resolved, and it could take a long time. He also says he doesn’t imagine we’ll learn the identity of John Doe.
“I hope the end result is that the statute is held to be constitutional, and it stays on the books, but we’ll see,” said Burlew
Burlew says the judge overseeing the case recently ruled that all 120 county attorneys in the state won’t be defendants collectively, it will just be him.
The judge also issued an injunction keeping Burlew from bringing charges against John Doe connected to the new law, and he will be appealing that decision, but again, he doesn’t know who that is.
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Our Symposium aims to provide the most beneficial and practical experiences for our students. From providing resources, special guest speakers, and also networking and bonding experiences. All of this is costs for us at Intellect-LE. We do our best to cover the travel costs for our instructors as well as resource give aways for students and all of that is paid prior to the course dates. If we have a large amount of students cancel before class, this incurs a large out of pocket expense for use and we would not be able to sustain our course. When you or your agency registers and pays for class we believe you are attending. We understand that circumstances arise so while we do not refund paid seats, we do offer the following options;
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2. Your seat may be moved to our next available training date, even if it is in another location.
3. You can be granted 1 year's worth of access to our skills center and all the training it contains.