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Florida Tigthens Penalties On Sex Offenders

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Oct 1, 2007 1:28 pm US/Eastern

Florida Tigthens Penalties On Sex Offenders

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TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) ― Florida now has some of the toughest laws on the books when it comes to punishing sex predators.

New measures that went into effect October 1st triple the maximum sentences for those convicted of child pornography and solicitation. Under the new classification, possession of child pornography is a second-degree felony; promotion and distribution become a first-degree.

CBS4's news partners at the Miami Herald report Florida also becomes the first state in the nation to specifically criminalize trips to meet minors for sex; regardless of whether a child is actually contacted. Sex offenders will also be required to register their e-mail and instant message names with police so the information can be shared with social networking sites like Myspace.com and Facebook.com.

The new law also provide increased penalties for "grooming," or posing as a child to gain another child's trust, and pornography which includes victims under the age of 5, sadomasochistic abuse, bestiality and sexual battery.

State Attorney General Bill McCollum says Florida ranks fourth in the country in child pornography on computers, and he believes one in five Florida children are sexually solicited online.

((© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this repo)

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