Chatting Online with Underage Girl

[Disagreeable]

As a minor, she does not have an expectation of parental privacy. Can you prove they did not have monitoring software and only needed to access the logs created when she was a minor?

[PandorasBox]

Until a teen is of legal age (in most states, 18)...they have the RIGHT to monitor everything she does. Listen to her phone conversations, search her phone numbers. Know who/what/when/where/why/how. And yes, search her computer. And especially...if THEY purchased the laptop for her...THEY technically own it and can do whatever they want with it.

oh..and it is just called RESPONSIBLE parenting.

They can even buy a drug testing kit and test her....

[Conrad Hunter]

It does not seem clear if they accessed the email before or after she turned 18. If after, it was illegal.
I have not heard of any service keeping chat logs, but I never chat or use social networking type sites.
I would be surprised though if chat logs are kept.

If the email access was illegal though, it does YOU no good. The law and constitution protects you from the illegal activities of government. It does not protect you from individuals. If a person obtains evidence illegally and turns it over to the police, the police are free to use it. The police have done nothing wrong and you cannot do anything. In fact, you don't even have standing to complain about it. You can try, but it will do no good.

The fact of her turning 18 has no impact whatsoever on any offenses that might have been committed when she was under 18. Her being 17 at the time though would likely mean anything charged would be a misdemeanor. I speak in general terms and don't know the law of your state.

The 18 year old female certainly has a privacy interest in the contents of the computer and could sue to block their release to any third party. But there is nothing you can do in this regards.

Unless the 18 year old is going to be a complaining witness against you, I don't see that it makes any difference at this point if you communicate with her or not, other than pissing off the parents.

Of course, this is not legal advice and you should seek local qualified legal advice.

Generally this is not the type of case that a DA or SA is going to want to prosecute and it really boils down to the size of the bug under the parent's skin, and how good of salespeople they are. The speaky wheel gets the grease.

[LawResearcherMissy]

I have not heard of any service keeping chat logs, but I never chat or use social networking type sites.
I would be surprised though if chat logs are kept.

This is a user setting. Many people who use IM/Chat for business or school purposes save their chat logs. (I save mine for my CS class, because OMG. I need to read those things several times!) Some folks with more...prurient...interests do the same. Google Chat saves automatically, you have to shut saving off. AIM and ICQ, similarly. Some others are opt in.

If you're chatting about things your parents would be upset with, saving the chat logs is foolish.

[viol8te]

I'm wondering, what kind of proof could you possibly have that you waited until she was 18 to meet? You have already laid groundwork that supports that you have a history with an underage girl. Going to a secret rencezvous location would not be a far fetched idea for the parents to have. Regardless of what you say.

[knockblock]

(a) Any person who, by means of any machine, instrument, or
contrivance, or in any other manner, intentionally taps, or makes any
unauthorized connection, whether physically, electrically,
acoustically, inductively, or otherwise, with any telegraph or
telephone wire, line, cable, or instrument, including the wire, line,
cable, or instrument of any internal telephonic communication
system, or who willfully and without the consent of all parties to
the communication, or in any unauthorized manner, reads, or attempts
to read, or to learn the contents or meaning of any message, report,
or communication while the same is in transit or passing over any
wire, line, or cable, or is being sent from, or received at any place
within this state; or who uses, or attempts to use, in any manner,
or for any purpose, or to communicate in any way, any information so
obtained, or who aids, agrees with, employs, or conspires with any
person or persons to unlawfully do, or permit, or cause to be done
any of the acts or things mentioned above in this section, is
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one
year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170,
or by both a fine and imprisonment in the county jail or pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170. If the person has previously been
convicted of a violation of this section or Section 632, 632.5,
632.6, 632.7, or 636, he or she is punishable by a fine not exceeding
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
(c) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of
this section, no evidence obtained in violation of this section shall
be admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or other
proceeding.

I found this online. If I'm reading it correctly than what they did was illegal. And section C says anything they found couldn't be used in court. I don't think they fact that they bought the laptop would matter either, since there are gift laws. She was an adult over the age of 18 and her parents, who are also adults, went into her email against her will/consent and took her private property. With the chat logs being the only thing they have, I feel pretty safe.

[viol8te]

That won't apply to monitoring the activities of a minor. That law would apply to a person who is of adult age and has reasonable expectation to proviacy.

[knockblock]

If the email access was illegal though, it does YOU no good. The law and constitution protects you from the illegal activities of government. It does not protect you from individuals. If a person obtains evidence illegally and turns it over to the police, the police are free to use it. The police have done nothing wrong and you cannot do anything. In fact, you don't even have standing to complain about it. You can try, but it will do no good.

If it was accessed illegally it does me no good? Since when can illegally obtained evidence be used to convict anyone? And there are online privacy laws which were clearly violated. I think if an 18 year old can get in legal trouble by doing anything with a 17 year old on a technicllicty, than her parents shouldn't be allowed to go through her email on a technicllicty as well.

That won't apply to monitoring the activities of a minor. That law would apply to a person who is of adult age and has reasonable expectation to proviacy.

When they went into her laptop she was not a minor. She was 18, in California that is an adult. Plus I believe that since they went into her email, there is no way to prove the authenticity of anything they found.

[viol8te]

It really does not matter. The information was not obtained by the police illegally. I'd argue that the computer in question is a family pc and accessible to anyone within the house. If it supports the fact that a crime was committed to a minor, call your attorney and be prepared to spend money on fighting a long and exhausting case.

[LawResearcherMissy]

With the chat logs being the only thing they have, I feel pretty safe.

Safe enough to use that as your defense in court when her parents have you brought up on charges? See, here's the thing: The initial inappropriate contact happened BEFORE she reached 18.

Why are you trying to convince US that you're in the clear? We're strangers on the internet, whom you'll never meet and have no influence on your life. We are not the ones you need to convince.

Rather, there's a fella who traditionally wears a black robe and a stern expression, and some others who are typically clad in blue, and they have the authority to make your life absolutely miserable. THEY are the ones who will need convincing...and if all you've got is "Her parents went into her email without permission"? Well, I'd be putting my affairs in order in anticipation of a stay at L'hôtel du Greybar.