DA Drops Teacher 'Sexting' Case, Cites Ruling
FORT WORTH (AP) -- Prosecutors have dropped a case against a teacher accused of exchanging sexually explicit texts with a 13-year-old student, alleging that an appeals court ruling found them to be protected speech.
The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office dropped the case against Sean Arlis Williams, a junior high teacher in the suburb of Everman. DA's spokeswoman Melody McDonald told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram the decision resulted from an October ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. That court ruled a state law against sexually explicit online communication between adult and minor violated First Amendment free speech rights.
The ruling came in the case of a Houston man accused of sending sexually explicit text messages to a student. His attorney, Mark Bennett of Houston, argued the statute was too broad.
(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Latest News:
Top Trending:
- Driveway Robbers Threaten Grandparents With 4-Year-Old
- The First, Legal Gay Marriage In Texas?
- Woman Dies In Fort Worth Stockyards Shooting
- Cowboys Pre-Combine Mock Draft
- Dallas Firefighter Remembered At Funeral
- PHOTOS: Your Pet Pictures
