Utah Professor Charged With Watching Child Porn On Flight To Boston

[MikeG]

Utah Professor Charged With Watching Child Pornography On Flight To Logan Airport In Boston « CBS Boston

See above link for story. Kudos to the observant passenger who had relatives call police to meet the flight.

In the category of "Best public statement from a police organization" - the nominees are: State police spokesman David Procopio

In the view of the State Police, child pornography is a form of child sexual abuse–nothing less. Those who possess it — a crime unto itself — foster an evil network that sexually abuses and exploits children irreparably.

Stopping child pornographers is a critical part of our mission to protect children. Along with our federal and local partners, we execute dozens of warrants related to this wicked crime each year. One hopes there is a special place in Hell for the evil people who make, trade, and possess child pornography. Until they get there, we are committed to putting them in jail.

[explcdt8]

According to this other article, it gets worse:

High bail for passenger accused of viewing child porn - BostonHerald.com


Apparently this guy is not only a pervert, but also an idiot. Hope he likes cellmates named Bubba...

[Andrew G.]

This is sad, to say the least. There are some truly sick people in the world.

[MikeG]

According to this other article, it gets worse:

High bail for passenger accused of viewing child porn - BostonHerald.com


Apparently this guy is not only a pervert, but also an idiot. Hope he likes cellmates named Bubba...

It's not a good sign if you have to debate "What is Child Pornography" with the state police.

I'm sure RDS has better insight into these types but it's my understanding is that they don't see themselves as doing something wrong or perverted. They might abstractly understand it's illegal but they don't see themselves as criminals or the children as victims. They believe their relationships are beneficial and victimless. Look at the Penn State coach and his response to the question "Are you attracted to young boys?" A normal response would be a "heck no" with an angry "how dare you even insinuate that." He was caught off guard and tried to explain his attraction. Same thing with this guy. Any normal person asked if a picture they had was "child pornography", the answer is "heck no" with angry "how dare you even imply it." That's the difference between a normal parent that might have a naked pic of their kids playing in the tub vs. a child molester. Ask a normal parent if that picture was CP and it's emphatic "No!", ask this clown and he wants to debate what CP is. There was a recent story about a child molester trying to get his restrictions removed and a quote from his interview was about the child he molested while in daycare and his exact quote was "She knew what she was doing. She was 4 going on 40." That's pretty twisted.

I suspect interviewing these people from an empathetic viewpoint to gain their trust has to be very trying for the interrogator.

[MikeG]

Man who tipped authorities off to child porn viewer speaks out

The tipster was from Arizona. Took a snapshot of the screen on his cell phone, used it to alert police. Apparently the Professor admitted to frequenting child porn chat rooms, as well. The state of Utah isn't going to be employing him for much longer, I suspect. Their IT department I hope is working overtime to to help police gather evidence.

[Rlong1985]

I am no expert on these crimes but it took me awhile to personally understand, besides pure disgust, people who target young children. Why would you risk your entire life for a sexual urge if it was a contentious decision?

Unless it was a primal urge. This is not a defense but it has helped me understand to limited degree adults who have these desires to target children; they have an equivalent urge that is comparable to natural sexual urges if not more powerful. Rather than attraction to an adult female past the age of puberty, these men and women are attracted to something else.

Outside of this, could exposure to sexual acts at an early age form persons mind set on normal sexual behavior? The reason why I ask this, it seems as though, many Predators were targeted by Predators themselves at an early age. Has being a victim, and not dealing with that occurrence formed a weird abnormal sexual desires?
In to Catch a Predator they interview a DA, she is asked, why do these men do this? She said there are multiple reasons why men target children. Some may only target young boys or girls, while others are attracted to all age groups rather than just children primarily going after power they feel while being in control of a relationship.

Clearly it is not up to the minority, predators, to determine what is considered acceptable in society, but what is outcome when you have a man who has these desires. What is society to do? I am not sure there are cure, but continued therapy should be able to target the desires and allow some release of the urge. If these people are left to their own devices I strongly believe they will continue to offend.

[explcdt8]

I think what society should do is put these people away in a place where they have no access to children, and thus, no way to act on them (ie. prison, for life).

Plus, I don't think the issue is the urge, its impulse control. Everyone has had "primal urges" as you say, whether it is to punch someone, engage in risky activity, or have sex at 16. The difference is whether or not you control them or just do whatever you want and act on them.

[Rlong1985]

I think what society should do is put these people away in a place where they have no access to children, and thus, no way to act on them (ie. prison, for life).

Plus, I don't think the issue is the urge, its impulse control. Everyone has had "primal urges" as you say, whether it is to punch someone, engage in risky activity, or have sex at 16. The difference is whether or not you control them or just do whatever you want and act on them.

Not everyone has the ability to control themselves. The brain works in a verity of ways and sexual desires can be very strong. Its a very weird subject as attraction can very greatly between cultures and sex. Being attracted or rather carrying out the attraction to Children is illegal, but what to you say to feet, obesity or bestiality. Obviously animals is also illegal, but these attractions go against the natural desire to mate with the best possible genetic match to pass on genes. This is something that needs to be worked out in a doctors office and any contact with children, such as their own, be heavily monitored. Your solution to put them on an island is a very easy solution, but raises some human rights flags, especially after the sentence has been carried out. These men and women still have some rights to carry out their lives after they have been sentenced and the sentence is carried out to the fullest extent of the law.

[explcdt8]

The human rights questions are raised when they are held beyond the bounds of their criminal sentence. If the legislature were to get together tomorrow and decide that child molestation is an automatic sentence of life without the possibility of parole, there would be no human rights issues.

Plus, the solution of having their contact with children monitored is unworkable, short of having a team of police officers living with this person 24 hours a day. Even GPS monitoring only tells you where he is going, not what he is doing once there.

[Rlong1985]

Monitored visits happen all the time by CPS in custody battles. It is not far fetched to have supervised visits for offenders when dealing with their own children.

I think the international court on human affairs would disagree with your statement.

Trust me I believe that offenders who choose to act on their urges without getting help should be prosecuted and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law. That being said this is a mental health issue and treatment must include therapy rather than just throwing away the key in order to attempt to control there urges. If you throw away the key for their sentence, no law on the books is going to prevent the predator from assaulting again and again before being caught.

Do you believe addicts have control over their addictions when fully dependent?

[explcdt8]

The international court on human affairs doesn't seem to have a problem with life sentences for murder.
Let me just clarify that I am only talking about sentences for people who have committed crimes, not people who have never acted on their urges.

Also even if you do a monitored visitation with his own kids, what is to say he can't drive down the street to the local playground and abduct a kid.

Furthermore, can you show me proof a treatment which works for treating these individuals. Does one even exist.

[Rlong1985]

Proof for a one hundred percent treatment for an addiction its not going to happen. Like any severe addiction the success rate of any program is relatively low. Mental health is in its infancy; the brain is one of the last mysteries in medical science. Some programs work for some, but like I said before they're is no uniformity in an offender.

If you look at sex crimes, most of the predators, can relate in an abstract way what they are doing is wrong; the overall idea. The problem is they justify their actions to themselves when carrying out the act as a special case or the victim is coming on to them and they are only going as far as the victim wants to go. This is where the mental health aspect comes in. They do not have the ability to rationalize the subject like the majority of the community around them. Whether that lack of ability comes from early sexual exposure or they were born with a chemical imbalance...gene who knows at this point.

[explcdt8]

But can't that be said about all criminal behavior?
Most criminals realize what they are doing is wrong, or else they wouldn't run after they commit the crime, or try to shoot it out with the police.

Why do some people's brains tell them to rob, steal, murder, assault, and others don't. What makes child molestation so different, what makes it different from sexual crimes committed against adults?

[Rlong1985]

No, I do not believe all crimes are compulsive. Emotion does not always play a leading role in all criminal acts.

We are talking about sex crimes in relation to children. Sex crimes against adults I believe are driven by the same compulsions except against a different target demographic.

Please understand that treatment is not a cure, but we must attempt to bring down the reoffend rate. I do not believe there will be a cure in our life time, but can it kbe managed in a structured setting...is the question we as a society must ask ourselves.

[Andrew G.]

To be completely & totally frank with everyone here, I personally believe that child-molesters, those who partake of child-pornography, or generally ANY pedophile do NOT deserve the graces of life as we know them.

Even someone so twisted as to view such things, only furthers the sexual abuse of helpless CHILDREN. Where there are sick people to partake of child pornography, there are even more twisted individuals who would exploit children for the sake of a very, very... sick, business. A terribly sordid example of supply & demand.

Predators, especially those that prey on both the young & elderly alike do not deserve a place in society.

There is no cure for such evil other than a long rope & a horse. If I've overstepped my bounds, feel free to tell me.