NJ sex offender sues for right to use social media, view pornography

A Camden County woman convicted of sexual crimes involving a minor is suing for her rights, and the rights of other sex offenders in New Jersey, to access social media and adult pornography.

In a new lawsuit, Carmen Ann Loniewski said the restrictions imposed on her by the New Jersey State Parole Board violated her First Amendment rights.

The lawsuit names the NJSPB, the state, and several state officials and employees as defendants. It was filed in Mercer County Superior Court last Friday.

Court records show Loniewski, 38, was sentenced in 2005 to a suspended five-year prison sentence and lifetime parole for endangering the welfare of a child. She was 21 years old at the time.

Her offense did not involve social media or the use of pornography, according to the lawsuit.

In 2007, the state parole board voted unanimously to impose a social media and chat room ban on offenders who were under parole supervision for life. As Loniewski was sentenced to parole for life, she was subjected to this ban.

Then in 2009, the parole board added another condition to Loniewski's parole, the lawsuit states. She was prohibited from viewing "sexually-oriented material," including pornography.

The new condition followed a search of Loniewski's residence by a parole officer, who reported finding "excessive amounts" of pornography. Along with nude photos of herself, the parole officer determined that Loniewski was displaying "inappropriate sexual behavior."

But in 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case out of North Carolina and found that overbroad bans on social media use were a violation of the First Amendment.

James Maynard, Loniewski's attorney, told the New Jersey Monitor that this should have been the end of the matter.

“Those cases were quite clear, and those cases were binding on New Jersey’s courts and institutions,” Maynard said.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling, Loniewski was arrested in 2018 for violating both aforementioned conditions of her parole. She was sentenced to one year in prison and served her full sentence despite objections raised by her attorney.

The lawsuit argues that since the bans on social media use and viewing of sexually-oriented material were unconstitutional, Loniewski suffered "false arrest and false imprisonment."

In May 2021, Loniewski was removed from parole supervision for life. She is also no longer listed on the state's sex offender registry.

A spokesman for the NJSPB said that the board "suspended the enforcement and imposition of the general social networking condition on Jan. 29, 2020."

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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