Recently the New York Times ran an interesting piece about a young adult who was the subject of the so-called "Misty" series of child pornographic images. "Misty" in actuality, Amy, has been seeking "restitution" from the collectors of her pornographic images who are arrested and prosecuted. The print article on the case indicated that Amy's perpetrator was an Uncle who is now incarcerated. Amy obtained $3.4 million dollar civil verdict which is largely uncollected (boy, do I know thst feeling.)
When images from the video, and photographs that the Uncle published on the internet turn up on the computers of men who are prosecuted for collecting child porn, Amy receives a notice pursuant to a federal law. An attorney is aggressively pursuing restitution form these men. The link at the Times' website also links to opinion pieces of leading experts on constitutional and criminal law discussing the implications of the novel approach of Amy's attorney.
In my career I've had the awful experience of seeing small amounts of this stomach turning stuff. From time to time chld pornography would rear up in civil cases I prosecuted. I don't recall a single prosecution for it until recent years. In fact as I've talked about child pornography on Bad Lawyer in the past,--it is my feeling that the crime and the ability to prosecute it as a crime, is in large part a creature of the internet. While the crime existed in an underground way pre-internet, and believe me it existed--the chain of custody problems, and the ability to "data map" it's possession is a direct development of computer technology. Further law enforcement was enabled to set up stings of persons with a proclivity for child pornography or the exploitation of children was enabled by the internet.
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One of the stories that I realize, I omitted from telling, but from time to time I am reminded by friends who knew about the events at the time and who ask me to relate the story on the blawg, concerns the period following my acquittal on the felonious assault charges brought by the corrupt former Sheriff and his pal the OurCounty prosecutor after a courthouse scuffle.
Within days of the acquittal I began receing emails from "a child" seeking to "talk to me" according to the subject line that would show up in my email box. I would delete these emails with out reading them, but they continued. Eventually I opened one and it was a sexually provocative email from a purported "13 year old," girl. I responded with a curt answer that I was calling the police, printing out the email, and giving it to the local police--and that I was to receive nothing further from the sender. I called the local police, I printed out the email and I delivered it to the police station.
Do I think I was receiving an email from a "13 year old girl?" Not a chance. Some idiot with the Sheriff was trying to see if I could be set up, I have no doubt in my mind on this count. Amazingly I don't receive sexually provocative emails from 13 year olds anymore.
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In the years before the internet was widely-used I represented an independent bookseller and magazine distributor in a local commericial real estate dispute with OurTown. This guy had a huge magazine operation, that distributed mainstream and quasi-mainstream hard core porn. I did not know, until this representation that the Flynt (Larry Flynt Publications) sold hardcore "illustrated" monthly publicatons devoted to incest literature. When my partner at the time and I were trying tro knockdown the doors for victims of childhood sex abuse, I used this fact to deal with official "denial" that this problem actually permeated our community at least on a fantasy-level. Really disturbing shit.
ReplyDeleteBL
Uh, did you post the conclusion of your "courthouse scuffle", pepper spray incident? I can only find parts 1 & 2 ... Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnon. 10:26 I'm sure I have covered it. I was acquitted of the charges, in fact following my acquittal the prosecution asked the court to "reconsider"--it was a bench trial, and the Judge told the prosecutors that the case was not even a "close call." That there was no probable cause for my arrest--a civil lawsuit in federal court still languishes.
ReplyDeleteBL
Languishing. Leads to an interesting opportunity to visualize Bad Lawyer's case slouched on its couch at home. Simultaneously watching the tube and reading, and idly sipping a beer. Thinking about perhaps shoveling the drive, perhaps not. You know, just languishing, dude.
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