Judge Says Sex Offender Can Be Anonymous

A Utah state law requiring sex offenders to disclose their Internet screen names violates the constitutional rights of one man, a judge ruled.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday that U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell found that the unnamed man retains his First Amendment right to anonymous online speech on Internet networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

The judge’s ruling, which only applies to the Clearfield, Utah, man’s case, prohibits state Corrections Department from requiring him to reveal his online identifiers used in Internet chat rooms and for instant messaging.

The newspaper reported that the Utah ruling is the first in the nation to address whether convicted sex offenders have the First Amendment right to speak anonymously online.

The sex offender in the case served 13 months in the military corrections system after he was found guilty of carnal knowledge and sodomy of a minor.