Only a few days ago, the police arrested a middle-aged man from Florida for soliciting a minor on Facebook. Social media is a prominent breeding ground for pedophiles, sourcing victims for human trafficking and all different kinds of crimes involving minors. Yet, our judicial system still requires a formal hearing before judgement and sentencing of the accused take place.

The consensus with these kinds of charges is however that authorities do not take care to make these arrests with discretion and like in the case of Mr Richard Wewer of Jacksonville, they published his identity in local papers and his neighbors reacted with shock over his arrest. “In these kinds of cases, it is very hard to protect the identity of the accused. We deal with a society that plays prosecutor, judge and jury and often acts out against the person in question before there has been a trial. While it can be a challenge for people to consider the rights of an accused and opt to view the person as a monster, it goes against all rights of the person to be ostracized in this manner without having a fair trial,” says Blake Nolan, media consultant to the leading legal experts in Rhode Island, John Grasso.

Being lawyers in cases of solicitation of minors in Rhode Island is only of the many challenging legal services the team of experts provide. The local legal system considers the solicitation of minors as sex crimes. According to Nolan, there is a very fine line which you need to cross to take your actions on social media from being completely innocent to being charged with a criminal offense. While it is often the case that the victim in these cases are young and innocent children and the criminals found guilty in these cases often used fake identities, it is today possible for an adult to speak to someone and truly believe
the recipient is an adult as well, while they are actually a minor.

As social media is leaving the door for deceit wide open, it can be challenging to determine exactly who you are having a conversation with on the other side. Yet, while there is plenty of room for honest mistakes, the stigma attached to your name after even merely an arrest can affect your family life, your finances and your personal life.

Once the court finds you guilty of these charges, the consequences are also quite severe and vary from a long sentence to having your name added to the national sex offender’s list.
“Please take these kinds of charges in the serious light which they are, for they can alter your life completely,” Blake concludes.

About Us: John R Grasso is an attorney admitted to practice in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He is also admitted at the Federal District Courts. He is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court and has an experienced support team working at his side to help focus on securing a resolution in the shortest period of time. John Grasso represents criminal defendants on misdemeanors and felony charges throughout the area. He handles a wide range of cases on a daily basis including domestic violence cases, immigration disputes, DUI cases, robberies and so much more. To find out more, visit https://www.johngrassolaw.com/.