Was this really a case of child pornography?

In Chattanooga, a 23-year-old man was convicted of taking naked photos of his 14-year-old girlfriend. But the judge who sentenced him wondered if this was really child pornography.

"He was ... having sex with a 14-year-old. I don't think society gives out medals for that," U.S. District Judge Harry S. "Sandy" Mattice said at the Monday sentencing. "But let's face it, some individuals like to photograph their sexual activities."

The judge argued this was primarily a case of statutory rape, not child pornography. The man's defense attorney said he didn't fit the profile of a typical offender and was actually in love with the teen.

Police didn't have to go far to catch child-porn suspect

In Adams, Mass., a police officer is accused of downloading and "enjoying" child pornography -- in his department's evidence room.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

Man drugged ice cream, took pictures of naked girls, feds allege

James Phillip “Phil” Edwards of south Kansas City is facing child-pornography charges in federal court, Tony Rizzo reports. Specifically, the authorities say Edwards would feed ice cream laced with sedatives to girls who were 6 to 12 years old, then photograph them naked. Investigators say they found the images on a file-sharing site and tracked them back to Edwards' machine. He's a former computer programmer who's been on disability.

Man posed as girl on Facebook to get nude pix of boys, feds allege

Michael Cowley of Shawnee has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney for Kansas reports. He pretended to be a 19-year-old girl on Facebook, where he asked boys to send him naked, sexual pictures of themselves. (In exchange, he sent a naked photo that he found online.) Seven boys say they sent photos to "Ashley." Cowley worked as a youth coach, teacher and camp director in Johnson County.

14 years for KC man in child-porn case

From Mark Morris: A federal judge Wednesday sentenced Steven E. Robbins, 53, of Kansas City, to 14 years in prison for sending child pornography to someone who he believed was a 13-year-old girl. Actually, Robbins was corresponding with an undercover investigator. A search of his computer uncovered 130 still images, many of children under the age of 12, and two child porn movies.

Some criminals practically arrest themselves

In Brookfield, Wis., a customer didn't have the money to pay his bar tab, so he left his cellphone with the bartender and promised to come back the next day to settle up and get his phone back. Which was probably a good idea ... except this guy allegedly had child pornography on his phone. When he came back, the police were there to arrest him.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Searching!

Parkville man gets 36 years for child porn

The Platte County prosecutor's office makes a point to note this is David Liberty's second go-round in the past eight years. He did 180 days for that first one, but Eric Zahnd notes that he's been asking the legislature to up the penalties for a while now. From the official release:

Prosecutors proved at trial that Liberty posted descriptions of sexual contact with young boys on an Internet forum dedicated to those who are sexually attracted to young boys. The posts were brought to the attention of law enforcement officers by Wikisposure, a group of volunteers who monitor the Internet for potentially illegal activity by child predators.

A search of Liberty’s computer conducted pursuant to a May 2008 search warrant turned up multiple images of child pornography. Some of the images depicted boys under the age of 14 participating in sexual conduct. Another showed a naked young boy hog-tied. Still others showed boys ages eight to 12 in diapers. Liberty had also taken hundreds of pictures of young children in public at local fairs and festivals.

Detectives discovered that Liberty had tried to erase child pornography from his computer after he learned he might be the subject of an investigation. Liberty later made a phone call from the Platte County Jail in which he was recorded saying that his computer contained information that would justify “hundreds” charges.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors recommended Liberty serve the maximum possible prison term of 71 years. Judge Owens Lee Hull, Jr. sentenced Liberty to 36 years in prison. Hull ordered Liberty to serve 12 years in prison for promoting child pornography to be served consecutively to three year terms on eight counts of possession of child pornography.

Among the evidence prosecutors presented at the sentencing hearing was that Liberty was convicted of possession of child pornography in 2002. When he was arrested for that crime, officers found rope, bailing twine, scissors, a dog collar, and luggage straps. Liberty was wearing a diaper and had a pacifier at the time.

Was Wal-Mart right to report parents for kids' nude photos?

In Peoria, Ariz., a couple is suing Wal-Mart and the state because the store called police when workers found photos of naked kids on a memory stick that the couple had left to be processed. The naked kids were their daughters -- ages 5, 4 and 1 -- and the pictures were taken while the girls took a bath. Mom and Dad weren't charged, but the girls were removed from the home for a time. Snip from the Arizona Republic:

One lawsuit names the state of Arizona, Peoria and the state Attorney General's Office as defendants, claiming that employees from each party defamed them by telling friends, family members and coworkers that they had "sexually abused" their children by taking pornographic pictures of them.

Report: 4 million-plus sites show child porn

That depressing statistic is courtesy of the Internet Watch Foundation, whose research was heavily quoted during a U.N. presentation yesterday. Other notes:

- It's not just a "hobby" -- it's an industry that does $3 billion to $20 billion every year.

- "A study by the U.S. National Center on Missing and Exploited Children found 83 percent of people who had child pornography possessed images of children aged 6 to 12 years old, 39 percent had images of children between the ages of 3 and 5, and 19 percent had images of children younger than 3 years old, she said."

Man hires teenage girls in bikinis to wrestle in his basement, takes photos

Which is why he's been found guilty of child porn. Story is from Pennsylvania.

Worst Older Brother Ever?

A Spanish teenager, 18, allegedly tried to trade nude photos of his 11-year-old sister for a car.

Man confesses to kiddie porn, underage sex during job interview -- AT A POLICE DEPARTMENT

You probably won't see this on lists advising you what to say during a job interview, but it's probably not a good idea to confess your undying love of underage flesh to any prospective employers. (In this case, the man is getting 30 years.)

Man accused of kiddie porn says he was trying to download Kid Rock videos

Story is from Cincinnati. I like this photo of K-Rock because he looks almost offended.

Man claims that cat downloaded kiddie porn on his computer

Story is from Florida. I really hope he sticks with this defense through the trial.

15 years for KCK man who secretly taped women undressing

Frankly, the undressing stuff is relatively tame compared to the other videos that were found on James E. Rincon's computer and in his home. Snip from Tony Rizzo's article:

When investigators searched Rincon’s home, they also found homemade videotapes, including one titled “Rape in the Boy’s Bathroom,” which showed him trying to fondle a girl before she fought him off and ran away.

Another tape showed Rincon masturbating while driving behind a school bus full of children who could see him. One video appeared to have been shot from outside a bedroom window and depicted a girl changing clothes and putting on a cheerleading uniform.

Parkville man guilty of child porn

From Platte County prosecutors: A Parkville man faces up to 71 years in prison after being found guilty of using his home computer to view child pornography and to share obscene material depicting children engaged in sexual conduct. David D. Liberty, 50, was convicted on July 28 of one count of promoting child pornography and eight counts of possession of child pornography following a two-day trial.

Zahnd said, “Children in Platte County are safer today because this defendant is facing several decades in prison. This is a man who was intensely attracted to young boys, and we hope he will never have another chance to act on that attraction.”

Emporia man sentenced to nearly 7 years on child porn charge

Norman Kidd, 41,was sentenced six years and eight months in federal prison for distributing child pornography. He pleaded guilty to the charge in March.

Kidd stored pornographic images of young girls on his computer and then used a program that lets users access the files from other users' computers over the Internet.

| Bob Cronkleton

Elementary teacher liked to watch kiddie porn in his classroom, IN police say

But he was responsible and only did it "after hours," he says.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tim P!

Oh, good -- MO legislature intervenes in the sexting controversy

The Senate has approved an amendment that would make it a misdemeanor for minors to "'knowingly or recklessly create, receive, exchange, send or possess' sexually explicit material, even if the material is of the minor possessing it," the Post-Dispatch reports.

WSJ on the Pennsylvania sexting case

You might remember this one: A prosecutor in Pennsylvania is threatening to charge some local teenagers with child pornography because there are "provocative" photos of them circulating at the local school. They're not naked, just in their underwear or wearing towels. He says he'll forget the charges if they take a special class.

Not everybody feels the girls did anything wrong, though, and have gone to court to prevent any charges. One of the girls didn't even know that her picture had been taken.

What kind of punishment -- if any -- should teens face for emailing nude photos of themselves?

A quick followup from a story we had last week: A Pennsylvania prosecutor will NOT charge three teenage girls with child porn for emailing partly clothed photos of themselves. (He'd wanted them to participate in an afterschool program.) I liked how the ACLU guy put it:

"This country needs to have a discussion about whether prosecuting minors as child pornographers for merely being impulsive and naive is the appropriate way to address the serious consequences that can result" when teens send sexually suggestive photos of themselves and others to one another, he said.

Should they face ANY punishment? I think most people would say child-porn charges are overkill. But I don't think anybody would say this kind of behavior is OK, either.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, MIkeybackwards!

Technology helps track child porn's tiniest victims

Investigators can see the faces of real children being abused in pornographic images. But figuring out who they are, rescuing them and prosecuting their abusers isn't easy. New developments in technology are helping.

From Laura Bauer's weekend story:

“There is nothing — nothing — like hearing a small child screaming as they’re being raped. People who see that never again ask why this is an important issue. Never.”

| Sara Shepherd

Quote of the day

“It seems like the children seemed to be the victims and the perpetrators here. How does that make sense?”

-- Judge James Munley, asking why three Pennsylvania teenagers should be charged with child porn for sending seminude (BUT NOT FULLY NUDE) photos of themselves to their boyfriends.

Florida woman appears to have misjudged how close her friend was

Everybody knows there are different levels of "friends," like friends from work, friends you invite to your wedding, friend who help you move.

A Florida woman thought she had a friend who would enjoy watching a video of her having sex with two dogs, police say.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Jewwells P!

Jersey girl, 14, accused of child porn for posting photos of herself

Police say she put about 30 nude, explicit photos of herself on MySpace, so her BF could see them.