ACLU ex-president charged in child-porn case

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070223-104642-1644r.htm

ACLU ex-president charged in child-porn case

By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 24, 2007

Federal authorities yesterday charged the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, who serves as a leader of youth sports organizations in the state, with receiving and possessing child pornography.

(NOTE: content was tied little girls being raped)

Charles Rust-Tierney, 51, of Arlington, was named in a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Alexandria and was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and Arlington County police.

His arrest was announced by Arlington police after an initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry R. Poretz. The arrest, according to court documents, came after ICE agents and Arlington police -- armed with federal warrants -- searched Mr. Rust-Tierney's home.

Mr. Rust-Tierney, a former public defender in the District, was identified in court documents as having coached various youth sport teams in and around Arlington County. He is being detained pending a preliminary hearing on Wednesday.

A call to his home went unanswered yesterday.

ICE officials had no comment on the case. One agent said in a sworn affidavit yesterday that Mr. Rust-Tierney has subscribed to various child-pornography Web sites over the past several years.

The affidavit states that Mr. Rust-Tierney also admitted to an agent yesterday that he had downloaded videos and photos, which were found in a search of his home, from child-porn sites.

ICE officials noted that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales last year created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. attorneys' offices nationwide, the program marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute people who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims.
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[Brian Ellis]

Bad news reporting. Note that I'm not defending the accused, who should have known better, being a lawyer himself. What is bad is "who serves as a leader of youth sports organizations in the state". There is a subtle implication in this phrase that his interest in child porn had passed to the act with real live kids. There is no evidence that this is the case and he was not charged with molesting kids (thank goodness).

There is an admin thing I don't understand though. It appears that this is a federal offence, fair enough. But why Immigration & Customs, rather than the Feebies?

[Dr Mordrid]

ICE was involved as part of an international investigation and specifically the illegal inportation of a banned commodity, making it a customs case. The source was a group of European outfits who were busted last week. They basically followed the credit card usage back to their customers.

Here there is a correlation between kiddie porn users and actions, especially among those who also involve themselves in kids activities. When you backtrack offenders 99.9% of the time you find a computer loaded with the stuff.

[Brian Ellis]

OK, thanks for the explanation re the different agencies involved in the prosecution.

However, whereas I can acknowledge that many (99.9%???) kid molesters may have child porn on their computers, but that does not make everyone with child porn on their computers guilty of molesting kiddies. In fact, I would venture to say that most (99.9%???) of them don't, any more than a man having watched an erotic film on TV goes out and rapes the first woman he sees. That is why the implication of a much more serious crime in the article is gratuitous, without proof.

[schmosef]

Brian,

I'll be the first to agree with you that the media often gets the story wrong.

Wath this: link

Having possession of this stuff, that is, creating a market of it, creating incentive for more to be produced, is just wrong.

[Brian Ellis]

If you read what I said earlier, I don't condone, in any way, the crime he is accused of committing. What I was complaining about is that the media make snide implications that, because of this, he committed more serious crimes, without an ounce of proof.

I wonder just how many very honourable teachers, scoutmasters, youth leaders, youth trainers etc. go in for their vocation because of a latent paedophilia, without ever dreaming, for one instant, of passing to the act or downloading child porn? Would a guess of 50% of them be too high, do you think? The very few of them that do go beyond the limit of what is deemed decency are probably just a tiny tip of a very large iceberg.

[schmosef]

And if you read what I wrote earlier, you'll see that I don't disagree with you.

The media got the story wrong.

Rather than play up the unsubstantiated possibility of his direct paedophilia, the basis for the charges (ie., what he had in his possession) should be the focus of attention.

[Gurm]

ICE was involved as part of an international investigation and specifically the illegal inportation of a banned commodity, making it a customs case. The source was a group of European outfits who were busted last week. They basically followed the credit card usage back to their customers.

Here there is a correlation between kiddie porn users and actions, especially among those who also involve themselves in kids activities. When you backtrack offenders 99.9% of the time you find a computer loaded with the stuff.

All mackerel are fish, and all fish live underwater. Therefore, all things which live underwater are mackerel, right?

All murderers are violent people. All violent people get into fights. So let's lock up everyone who gets in a fight because they're MURDERERS!

All drug kingpins have armed bodyguards. All armed bodyguards need guns. So everyone with a gun distributes tonnes of cocaine, right?

As usual, everyone assumes that if A implies B and B implies C, that C must necessarily imply A. NOT SO.

[Dr Mordrid]

I agree, but it does open a new thread for their investigation and you can bet every kid he's been in contact with will be interviewed.

BTW: simple possession of such images on your computer is a federal felony (and most states) in the US. To meet the standard (called "Dost factors" after the test case) the following must apply;

1 whether the focal point of the visual depiction is on the child's genital, pubic or anal areas

2 whether the setting of the visual depiction is sexually suggestive, i.e., in a place or pose generally associated with sexual activity

3 whether the child is depicted in an unnatural pose, or in inappropriate attire, considering the age of the child

4 whether the child is fully or partially clothed, or nude

5 whether the visual depiction suggests sexual coyness or a willingness to engage in sexual activity

6 whether the visual depiction is intended or designed to elicit a sexual response in the viewer

[Gurm]

I agree, but it does open a new thread for their investigation and you can bet every kid he's been in contact with will be interviewed.

BTW: simple possession of such images on your computer is a federal felony (and most states) in the US. To meet the standard (called "Dost factors" after the test case) the following must apply;

Not saying that he shouldn't be punished for the felony he has committed. Simply saying that C doesn't imply A.

[Dr Mordrid]

We can agree that he's a slime and needs to be hung by his berries for about 70 years?

I know just the place: Jackson State Prison in Jackson MI.

Lotsa Bubba's looking for girlfriends there

[Gurm]

See, I'm just not sure.

Does thinking something mean you should die? Because that's what happens to pedophiles in federal prisons. That's a bit too 1984 for me, really. Especially when someone is sick, and can't help what they think. I'm not certain this is the case here, but maybe it is.

Thinking... looking... should thinking and looking get you death? I can't honestly say I think they should.

Is it unconscionable? Certainly. But not worthy of a death sentence.

[Dr Mordrid]

The only hope he'll have is to be put in the protected unit, which is basically solitary confinement similar to a SuperMax. I don't think he'd be safe even in Club Fed.

[Gurm]

See but again, I just don't know. What's he ACTUALLY being charged with? Possession of kiddy porn? First time offense? If he gets a fair defense - which is only partially likely, really - he'll get community service, counseling, etc.

I just don't see anyone really DESERVING hard time for what amounts to "receiving illegal goods".

[Dr Mordrid]

Depending on the specifics Federal sentencing guidelines for kiddie porn run from 5 to 30 years, and parole in the Federal system was all but done away with so you do it all.

States vary, but some exceed the Federal guidelines.

Some have recently passed death penalties for raping a small child while others passed sentences of a 25 year minimum to life with lifetime electronic monitoring if released.