In what has become a high-profile case locally, a 52-year-old North Hills woman has been arrested in connection with an 11-year-old Southern California child pornography and molestation case. CBS Los Angeles reports that the woman was arrested 10 hours after federal investigators asked for the public’s help to identify two suspects – the woman and another man, who still remains at large. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials received five separate community tips that led to the woman’s arrest.

The public plea was put out after federal agents discovered a series of pornographic images depicting the man and woman sexually molesting a girl who appears to be 13 years of age. The woman has been charged in a federal complaint with one count of production of child pornography. If convicted, she faces 15 years in prison. The woman’s son has spoken out, saying his mother was not involved in child pornography and that the girl in the video was 18 years of age or older at the time.

The effects of a sex crime conviction can be felt long after an individual serves out his or her sentence. It can be difficult to reintegrate into society after serving time for any crime. This struggle is heightened for those convicted of sex crimes in California. Under Megan’s Law, a conviction for a sex-related crime can result in mandatory registration as a sex offender.

This means that anyone with a computer can look up where a sex offender lives and the type of crime for which he or she was convicted. Many California sex offenders even have their pictures posted on the official registry so that everyone can see what they look like and find out about their past record.

A 19-year-old woman has been arrested at a Los Angeles hotel on suspicion of prostitution. According to The Burbank Leader, the arrest was made at the Extended Stay America hotel on Empire Avenue in Burbank. Officials allegedly made the arrest after seeing the woman’s advertisement online. They allegedly found her with a client in a room at the hotel.

Under California Penal Code Section 653.20 (a), committing prostitution “means to engage in sexual conduct for money or other consideration, but does not include sexual conduct engaged in as a part of any stage performance, play, or other entertainment open to the public.”

A 51-year-old Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teacher pleaded guilty to charges of child molestation. According to a CBS Los Angeles news report, the teacher admitted to having a relationship with a 14-year-old between June and September of 2005. When questioned about the relationship on July 10, 2012, he led police on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed his pickup truck into a tree. He faced three counts of committing a lewd act on a child, two counts of oral copulation, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, and one count of evading an officer. He pleaded guilty to two counts of committing a lewd act on a child and one count of evading an officer.

According to California Penal Code Section 288: “Any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act … upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.”

A 67-year-old Torrance doctor faces years of incarceration after three patients have accused him of inappropriate touching. According to The Daily Breeze, the podiatrist who works at the West Torrance Foot and Ankle Group on Lomita Boulevard, will continue to practice until his December 13, 2012 court date.

Prosecutors have filed three counts of sexual battery by fraud against him. He faces fraud charges for allegedly touching patients on parts of their body that was not part of a legitimate medical exam. The doctor, who already faces accusations of molestation from his own daughter, allegedly touched patients inappropriately in three incidents dating back to 2009, 2008, and 2003. He faces up to six years of incarceration if convicted on all counts.

Proposition 35 passed on November 6 with 81 percent of the vote, but a federal judge has temporarily blocked its implementation. According to an ESR Check news report, a U.S. District Judge in San Francisco has blocked the proposition because of a civil lawsuit that has been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and two registered offenders. If the temporary block is lifted, approximately 73,000 registered sex offenders in California will have to provide their online screen names and Internet service providers to law enforcement officers. The civil lawsuit claims that Prop 35 violates the First Amendment right to free speech.

The ACLU suggests that Proposition 35 will require sex offenders to turn in their email addresses, usernames, and every identifier they use to comment on websites online. The proposition also increases prison sentences and fines for individuals involved in sex trafficking.