15-year-old offender can't lose right to use social media, court rules

A teenager who was put on probation for molesting a 2-year-old, and restraining a 13-year-old, still can't have his rights to use social media taken away, a California Appeals court ruled.

The 15-year-old defendant, whose first name is given as Andre, was found guilty of holding the 13-year-old's arms while he ground his pelvis against her; and of touching the toddler's genitals. He was put on parole with a variety of conditions, including some relating to his use of computers.

Some of those computer-related conditions were unconstitutional, however, a panel of appeals court judges ruled last week. Andre's probation would have prohibited all computer use "unless supervised by a responsible adult over the age of 21 who is aware that the minor is on probation and of his charges." He was also banned from using "a computer for any purpose other than school related assignments," had to always be supervised while using a computer, and was barred from using Twitter or having "a MySpace page, a Facebook page, or any other similar page."