A number of school sex abuse scandals have hit the headlines in California recently. Many allegations of sex crimes involving teachers are proven, but unfortunately, as San Diego sex crimes lawyers know, many are not. Across the pond, authorities are proposing the prosecution of students who make false allegations of abuse and other crimes against teachers.

A recent study in the UK found that a majority of the allegations of sex crimes, sex abuse, assault and other crimes made by students against teachers were unsubstantiated. The UK's largest teachers union is reacting to this increase in baseless and unfounded allegations against teachers.

The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers represents teachers throughout the United Kingdom. According to data from the union, less than one out of every 20 allegations made by children against schoolteachers resulted in any kind of court action. These allegations included everything from assaults to threats. According to the union, in 2011, most allegations that were made by children against teachers did not result in court action. A total of 103 claims were made that year. However, no legal action was taken in more than 60 of these claims. Another 39 claims are yet to be concluded, but the union estimates that it is very unlikely that most of these claims made it to court either.

Now, the union is insisting that children who make false allegations against teachers be prosecuted. They want schools to have procedures in place under which a child who makes any allegation against a teacher is made aware right at the beginning of the investigation that if, later down the line, he or she is found to have lied, there will be serious consequences.

Some new measures are now in place to protect teachers. For instance, a new piece of legislation gives teachers the right to anonymity until they are actually charged with a criminal offense. Additionally, schools have been ordered to speed up investigations into claims made by children against teachers. However, many teachers believe that these measures are insufficient to protect them from such unsubstantiated allegations.

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According to a report by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, there was an increase in the number of teachers charged with sex crimes in California last year. However, there was also a decline in the number of teacher misconduct complaints that were reported to the Commission during the same year.

During the year 2010-2011, the California State Commission on Teacher Credentialing opened 129 cases that involved allegations of sex crimes, an increase of 112 cases in the previous year. The Commission also saw an increase in the number of teachers charged with non-sexual crimes in the same period of time. These increased from 240 in the previous year, to 254 in 2010-2011.

However, what San Diego sex crime lawyers find really interesting is that the overall number of teacher misconduct complaints that were reported to the Commission actually declined from 5,662 the previous year, to 5,400 last year.

San Diego criminal defense attorneys are also not surprised to find that complaints alleging teacher sex crimes increased after the Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse scandal broke recently. A veteran teacher of that school has been charged with 20 counts of lewd conduct.

While San Diego criminal defense attorneys have sympathy for any victims who have been subjected to any kind of abuse by their teachers, it's also worrisome to see that when teachers are charged with sex crimes, they are treated as guilty until proven innocent. Accusations against teachers are widely reported in the media, and a teacher’s character and conduct is subject to great scrutiny even before the charges are unsubstantiated. Sometimes, when a teacher is charged with a sex crime, other children in the school are subjected to suggestive questioning by parents, leading to more alleged ‘victims’ coming forward.

The popular belief is that the practice of sexting, or sending or transmitting of nude, seminude and explicit sexual images via electronic communication devices, is widespread among teenagers. However, a new study that has just been published in the Journal Pediatrics indicates that that is far from the truth. According to the study, the number of teenagers who indulge in sexting- a practice which could actually place them at risk of being charged with sex crimes in California - is quite low.

The study found that 1 in 10 minors between the age of 10 and 17 have sent or received nude, semi nude or sexually explicit images or other material on their cell phones over the past year. According to previous studies, the number of minors engaging in sexting was as high as 1 in 5. The problem of sexting involving teenagers has been painted by many as something of a national crisis, especially after a series of incidents in which teenagers, who were found with sexually explicit material on their cell phones, were charged with sex crimes. According to this latest study, however, the practice of sexting may be much more common among adults than teenagers.

Overall, according to the study, 149 youths or just 9.6% of the people in the survey admitted that they had sent or received sexually explicit material on their cell phones at least once over the past year. Among those who had indulged in sexting, just over 2% said that they had sent or received messages that included pictures of themselves. About 7% admitted that they had received sexually explicit content on their cell phones from someone else.

As any San Diego criminal defense lawyer knows, the intent behind sexting involving most teens is not malicious or criminal in nature. Many cases where teenagers are found exchanging sexually explicit material, involve pranks, an exchange of content between 2 teenagers in a relationship, flirtatious gestures or something equally harmless.

A former San Diego Police Department officer, who was accused of demanding sexual favors from women he pulled over for DUI and other offenses, has been found guilty on multiple counts.

The former cop, Anthony Arevalos was convicted of 12 counts, including 4 misdemeanors. The charges against him included assault and battery by a police officer, assault and battery by an officer asking for a bribe, and others. However, he was acquitted of other felony charges.

Some of the woman who accused him testified in the trial of the San Diego County Superior Court. According to one of the women, she was pulled over by Arevalos, who asked her to take a breath test. The woman registered a .09% on the test. Later, she was asked by the police officer to drive to a nearby 7-11, where he allegedly propositioned her, informing her that he would make the DUI go away, if she did what he asked her to do. The woman testified in court that Arevalos then asked to see her breasts, and touched her genitals. The next day, the woman reported the incident to police.

Arevalos is due to be sentenced on December 9. He's looking at a possible prison sentence of 10 years and 4 months, and will be required to serve at least half of that time. San Diego criminal defense lawyers also expect that Arevalos will be required to register as a sex offender.

Some of the women who accused Arevalos have already filed a claim against the city, stemming from their treatment by the former cop. During the trial, it became more and more evident that other officers in the San Diego Police Department had suspected that Arevalos’ conduct was not exactly above board, but failed to report this to higher-ups. The Department has assured people that it will investigate this matter.

A bill that would require even out-of-state persons who have been convicted of sex offenses, to register in a sex offender registry when they move to California, is likely to become law. The bill SB 622, was approved unanimously by the Assembly earlier this month, and is already on its way to the Governor's desk.

Under SB 622, a person who has been convicted of a sex offense in another state, and has established residency in California, will be required to register as a sex offender in this state. Until last year, not all persons convicted of sex offenses who moved to California were required to register as sex offenders here. The Department of Justice in California would first scrutinize these persons to determine whether the crimes that they were convicted of were comparable to the ones that require registration in the sex offender registry in California. Only those persons convicted of sex offenses in other states with crimes comparable to California's sex offender registry requirements, would need to register.

For instance, in California, persons convicted of sex crimes that involve some degree of force are required to register, but in some other states, the use of force is not a requirement. Currently, people who have been convicted in these states may not be required to register in a sex offender registry in California. However, San Diego sex offender defense lawyers are concerned that could change.

If the Governor signs the bill into law, then the Department of Justice will have total discretion to review a case involving a person convicted of a sex offense outside California, and can use broad criteria to determine whether the person needs to register here. A number of crime victims’ advocacy groups, including Crime Victims United of California, as well as the California State Sheriffs Association and the California District Attorneys Association have supported the bill.

California criminal defense attorneys have found it extremely unfair to offenders who have been released from prison or are on parole that they have severely limited housing options. However, more and more San Diego sex crimes defense attorneys are mounting successful challenges to these restrictions, and are winning reprieves. Most of the legal challenges against such provisions have arisen in Southern California. Approximately 856 offenders on parole have filed petitions in the Los Angeles and San Diego counties.

A provision in Jessica's Law prohibits a sex offender on parole from living within 2,000 feet of a school, day care center, or park or any other place where children regularly gather. However, these unreasonable provisions have meant that sex offenders, who have been released from prison on parole, cannot find reasonable accommodation after they are released from prison.

This is especially so in congested cities like Los Angeles, where accommodations are at a premium. Across California, this problem has led to large numbers of homeless sex offenders. When an offender is not able to find reasonable living arrangements, he is forced to live on the street. The increase in homeless sex offenders has also caused great concern, and many offenders have now been able to mount a challenge against these provisions.

Last year, a task force across California found that the ban on living too close to schools, day care centers and parks has led to a staggering 24 percent increase in the number of homeless sex offenders across California. The task force recommends the repealing of such limits on residency for sex offenders. Since Jessica's Law went into effect, the number of homeless sex offenders has increased from about 100 to more than 2,100.