"you'll spend the rest of your life as a registered sex offender."

[Anti Federalist]

Gotta destroy the kids to save the kids.

Just another day in Amerika.


Prosecutor Shaming: Berkshire, Massachusetts Second Assistant District Attorney Robert W. Kinzer III

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/28/prosecutor-shaming-berksh_n_2780559.html?utm_hp_ref=the-agitator

Mr. Kinzer thinks we must protect sexting teenagers from ruining their lives . . . by ruining their lives.

As the head of the DA's computer crime unit, which includes several state troopers, Kinzer cited "kids, young adults, even adults who think it is a good idea to take nude or semi-nude photos of themselves on their cellphones and send them to other people via text message."

Youngsters who are under 18 fail to realize that they have created and manufactured child pornography, Kinzer warned a group of parents during an informational session at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School this past week.

"When you send that text message, you have disseminated child pornography" and when it is shared and shown to others, they are in possession of child pornography, he pointed out.

"We do not have any exceptions in our law for kids who are really in love, for girls who wanted to do it and for guys who promised they wouldn't share it, or for two kids who are dating," Kinzer said. "A nude photo of [a minor's] exposed genitalia is child pornography."

The prosecutor explained that he has spread the word at schools throughout Berkshire County.

"I'm done telling what the law is," Kinzer said. "When they start sharing photos like this, we are going to start charging people with the manufacturing, dissemination and possession of child pornography, and they're going to go to court.

"They're going to face [prosecution], probably not jail time unless they've got bad records. But that's OK. They'll just be put on probation and they'll get to register as a sex offender, and that's a great box to check off on any job application," he continued. "You're going to lose jobs and relationships, and you'll spend the rest of your life as a registered sex offender."[/b]

(Yup, spoken like a true authoritarian. You're "done" with us Mundanes, and the "crack down" is coming. - AF)

Teenagers, sex, and computers are three topics that always seem to send elected officials into fits of panic. Combine all three into one story, and you get reactions like Kinzer's. He certainly isn't the first prosecutor to make this argument. In 2007, even a Florida appeals court upheld a conviction based on the same twisted logic -- that ruining the lives of sexting teens is the only way to save them.

Kinzer also cites "hook-up" applications for smart phones and Facebook, and, like the judge who wrote the opinion in the Florida case, brings up the argument that the Internet is full of strangers looking to prey on children. But this too is nonsense. In 2009, 49 state attorneys general asked a task force to look at the problem of predators using the Internet to find underage victims. The committee's conclusion? Internet predation of kids isn't really a problem at all. There's no real evidence that use of the Internet and social networking makes kids more susceptible to sexual exploitation.

The criminal justice system is far too blunt an instrument to deal with this sort of thing. Young people are going to make mistakes. It's part of growing up. Of course, older people sometimes send "sext messages" they later regret, too. But the mere fact that teens are young ought to be a reason to cut them some slack. Instead, in this context, their age and inexperience are precisely why their mistakes become a crime.

If you were to give Kinzer the benefit of the doubt here, you could argue that he doesn't appear to have actually prosecuted anyone for this yet. So maybe his warning is just that -- an attempt to scare kids away from sexting that he has no real intention of carrying out. Perhaps.

But this isn't an issue in which the criminal justice system should be meddling at all. A prosecutors isn't a ministers, parents, doctor, or therapist -- all of whom are far more appropriate people to handle a problem like this. If you're promising to ruin a teen's life for a mistake that's really just a modern twist on something teens have been doing since -- well, forever -- then maybe it's time to reevaluate your priorities.

And maybe it's time for voters, or your boss, to reevaluate your fitness for office.

[fr33]

Whether it's a prosecutor, local cop, or school principal; they rarely practice discretion and LOVE zero-tolerance rules.

[satchelmcqueen]

and if theyre registered sex offenders, of course no jobs will be available sooooo, they will have to rely on the government for help...as they wanted.

[bolil]

Is it just me or does this joke's aggression indicate some repressed urges. I've often heard it said we hate most in others what we hate most in ourselves, perhaps his hard-drive could use with a going through.

[DamianTV]

Its not okay for one teen to show another teen what their body looks like, but apparently it is okay for Google, Fedbook, Big Brother, and everyone ELSE on the whole fucking planet to know exactly what your vagina looks like.

[bolil]

So if they have sex, those under 18 I mean, will they be committing statutory rape?

I guess that makes me, and many others, a raped-rapist.

[noneedtoaggress]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd-IvCeWw3s

[heavenlyboy34]

Its not okay for one teen to show another teen what their body looks like, but apparently it is okay for Google, Fedbook, Big Brother, and everyone ELSE on the whole fucking planet to know exactly what your vagina looks like.

especially the porno scanner operators. And don't you be questioning authority, mundane. I'll have to report you if you do.

[WarAnonymous]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd-IvCeWw3s

Average Joe will get 7 years per picture. Government gets.... "Oh, please just cool it down on the kiddie pictures."

Edit: 7 years per picture and they won't make it passed the first week.

[anaconda]

I think it's time for the liberty movement to begin to cherry pick a few of these incidences (people making insane laws, cops misbehaving, judges acting out of control, etc.) and unify and crush and embarrass them one at a time with money, lawsuits, activism, and hugely negative publicity. We sit back and take this shit day after day. I would love to give something like $500 bucks or so a year with a few thousand others to make a huge stink over these types of occurrences, that the perpetrators would, at first, be completely unsuspecting of and be utterly blind-sided by. But, with time, potential perpetrators of these little Orwellian-Nazi stunts would begin to fear for their actions. We all have a lot of frustration over these incidences. Why not rally together and take a few of them on with some specificity, and on a case by case basis?

[bolil]

I would kill the chomo caught in the act. Outright violent death. Then I am a fan of an age of consent. It doens't need to be arbitrary, let there be a test. A logic based test.

[Anti Federalist]

I think it's time for the liberty movement to begin to cherry pick a few of these incidences (people making insane laws, cops misbehaving, judges acting out of control, etc.) and unify and crush and embarrass them one at a time with money, lawsuits, activism, and hugely negative publicity. We sit back and take this shit day after day. I would love to give something like $500 bucks or so a year with a few thousand others to make a huge stink over these types of occurrences, that the perpetrators would, at first, be completely unsuspecting of and be utterly blind-sided by. But, with time, potential perpetrators of these little Orwellian-Nazi stunts would begin to fear for their actions. We all have a lot of frustration over these incidences. Why not rally together and take a few of them on with some specificity, and on a case by case basis?

Where to start in such a target rich environment?

[aGameOfThrones]

“Government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another.”–Montesquieu

[heavenlyboy34]

So if they have sex, those under 18 I mean, will they be committing statutory rape?

I guess that makes me, and many others, a raped-rapist.

Best to get you as a pre-criminal before you do something really naughty. For your own good, you know.

[Smart3]

Should be a slap-on-the-wrist not a death sentence.

[sam1952]

But this isn't an issue in which the criminal justice system should be meddling at all. A prosecutors isn't a ministers, parents, doctor, or therapist -- all of whom are far more appropriate people to handle a problem like this. If you're promising to ruin a teen's life for a mistake that's really just a modern twist on something teens have been doing since -- well, forever -- then maybe it's time to reevaluate your priorities.

And maybe it's time for voters, or your boss, to reevaluate your fitness for office.

I sit here reading this crap and fondly remember being 8 years old playing "doctor" or "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" with my two of my female neighbors the same age. we even got caught once by my grandmother who yeller at us but laughed about it later in life as we got older. Then 13 years old playing with the Poloroid camera. I actually feel sorry for the mark technology can leave today that was just innocent exploration that get out of control. Not that things don't need to be addressed but that is the parents job... This just makes me ill...

[anaconda]

Where to start in such a target rich environment?

I don't think it matters as long as we can devise a way to make decisions and go with it. Part of the agenda will be to highly publicize each incident we take on. Each one will provide a strong contrast to constitutional government. Let's stop grumbling with disbelief and take some action. Maybe we can ask Ron or somebody to give us a short list if we are incapable of doing it ourselves. I think we need to see if anyone is interested and how many.

[Anti Federalist]

I don't think it matters as long as we can devise a way to make decisions and go with it. Part of the agenda will be to highly publicize each incident we take on. Each one will provide a strong contrast to constitutional government. Let's stop grumbling with disbelief and take some action. Maybe we can ask Ron or somebody to give us a short list if we are incapable of doing it ourselves. I think we need to see if anyone is interested and how many.

I'm all for it.

I post stories daily of people that could use our help, being abused at the hands of the system.

Pick one and run with it.

[anaconda]

I'm all for it.

I post stories daily of people that could use our help, being abused at the hands of the system.

Pick one and run with it.

I am well aware of your highly germane and valuable posts portraying abuse of the state.

Problem is I don't think my picking one is going to lurch this into instant fruition (For example I tried here to get people to commit to calling Rand's office on a particular day after his Iran sanctions vote, and got something like three people on board). I think we might do well to approach someone who would be willing to help (select the issues ) and would be universally seen as an acceptable leader on this (Ron, Rand, Tom Woods, Ventura, etc.). We should pitch it here hypothetically at first and see how many might be on board. Although some might see this as competition for other uses of funds (Campaign For Liberty, etc.)

Maybe it could also be set up risk free. So that if the kitty doesn't reach a certain amount by a certain date everyone's money is refunded. Kind of like a Peter Schiff approach.

[anaconda]

Pick one and run with it.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?406093-7-Year-Old-Gets-Suspended-for-Gun-Shaped-Pastry

This would be an easy one. A full page ad in their local paper and some sign waving. This may even qualify for a lawsuit. Emotional distress for the kid, etc.

[RickyJ]

When 20%+ of the population are considered sex offenders, it won't mean much anymore. Heck, kind of like being called an anti-Semite doesn't mean as much today as it did 10 years ago.

[alucard13mmfmj]

While sex offenders are horrible people (mostly..), I don't think it helps them OR the society to have them not being able to get a job and not being able to find a place to live. Guess what? Those people will end up doing crime or do more crime that is sex related.

I do know someone who is a registered sex offender. He was 18 and he had sex with a 17 year old. Even though it was consensual, he got busted because she was underaged. They got married 5 years later. He is still a sex offender =|. Sucks to be him to be honest.

[DamianTV]

“Government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another.”–Montesquieu

Governments should be set up so that no truly innocent man need fear their own Government. This can be accomlished by first hanging all the lawyers.

[Anti Federalist]

When 20%+ of the population are considered sex offenders, it won't mean much anymore. Heck, kind of like being called an anti-Semite doesn't mean as much today as it did 10 years ago.

Until the "round ups" start.

And no, I'm not kidding.

[heavenlyboy34]

Until the "round ups" start.

And no, I'm not kidding.

Ever see the movie "Hard Target"? There may well come a day when us mundanes are hunted for sport by the cops, kinda like that movie-except the prize for not being bagged is just fucking staying alive. :(

[kcchiefs6465]

While sex offenders are horrible people (mostly..), I don't think it helps them OR the society to have them not being able to get a job and not being able to find a place to live. Guess what? Those people will end up doing crime or do more crime that is sex related.

I do know someone who is a registered sex offender. He was 18 and he had sex with a 17 year old. Even though it was consensual, he got busted because she was underaged. They got married 5 years later. He is still a sex offender =|. Sucks to be him to be honest.
That's the whole thing, a lot aren't sex offenders. [in the sense of child molesters and rapists] A kid sending pictures to another kid isn't as if it's child pornagraphy. While it may be in the strict interpretation of the law, common sense says otherwise. [though admittedly, the cops and 'deciders' usually don't care to use judgement- or maybe the parent complains, though I'd doubt that's the majority] It is really predictable. [the use of cameras instead of the traditional ways] They should try to remember when they were at that age.

For these kids to be branded a sex offender is as cruel and unusual as it gets. Their life thoroughly is fucked.

[anaconda]

Governments should be set up so that no truly innocent man need fear their own Government. This can be accomlished by first hanging all the lawyers.

My disdain for judges surpasses my disdain for lawyers. And sheep jurors are not much better.

[RickyJ]

Until the "round ups" start.

And no, I'm not kidding.

60 million is a lot to round up. It will take a good 20 million to even have a chance to round up 60 million. Unless they have major cooperation, the round ups will fail.

[heavenlyboy34]

60 million is a lot to round up. It will take a good 20 million to even have a chance to round up 60 million. Unless they have major cooperation, the round ups will fail.
Meh. They'll have the best round-up tools the MIC can provide. (the cops WILL be truly militarized at some point if current trends continue)

Remember what Dzerzhinsky (head of the Чеха/Chekha, aka Soviet Secret Police) said:
"We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to fight against the enemies of the Soviet Government and of the new order of life. We judge quickly. In most cases only a day passes between the apprehension of the criminal and his sentence. When confronted with evidence criminals in almost every case confess; and what argument can have greater weight than a criminal's own confession."(circa 1918)

[kcchiefs6465]

60 million is a lot to round up. It will take a good 20 million to even have a chance to round up 60 million. Unless they have major cooperation, the round ups will fail.
Are you saying there are 60 million 'sex offenders' in the United States? If so can I get a source? I don't know if the UCRs would have that all in one place? [might have to add a few categories] A quick search and I can find nothing but individual states which are then broken down into counties. Or are you referring to something else?

[anaconda]

Unless they have major cooperation, the round ups will fail.

I expect major cooperation.

I'll bet they could round up thousands without anyone even hearing about it. The media will go silent. It could be under the pretense of domestic terrorism. Or it could any number of things.

[anaconda]

I have difficulty imagining very many militia hideouts surviving a bunker buster missile attack. I am confident the government knows the precise locations of each and every militia group. How, exactly, would militias expect to resist with success?

[Anti Federalist]

I expect major cooperation.

I'll bet they could round up thousands without anyone even hearing about it. The media will go silent. It could be under the pretense of domestic terrorism. Or it could any number of things.

Tens of millions, hundreds of millions perhaps.

They will fall all over each to "See Something - Say Something".

Contrary to popular belief, the Gestapo was not the all-pervasive, omnipotent agency in German society.[31] In Germany proper, many towns and cities had fewer than 50 official Gestapo personnel. For example, in 1939 Stettin and Frankfurt am Main only had a total of 41 Gestapo men combined.[31] In Düsseldorf, the local Gestapo office of only 281 men were responsible for the entire Lower Rhine region, which comprised 4 million people.[32] "V-men", as undercover Gestapo agents were known, were used to infiltrate Social Democratic and Communist opposition groups, but this was more the exception, not the rule.[33] The Gestapo office in Saarbrücken had 50 full-term informers in 1939.[33] The District Office in Nuremberg, which had the responsibility for all of northern Bavaria, employed a total of 80–100 full-term informers between 1943 and 1945.[33] The vast majority of Gestapo informers were not full-term informers working undercover, but were rather ordinary citizens who for whatever reason chose to denounce those they knew to the Gestapo.[34]

According to Canadian historian Robert Gellately's analysis of the local offices established, the Gestapo was—for the most part—made up of bureaucrats and clerical workers who depended upon denunciations by citizens for their information.[35] Gellately argued that it was because of the widespread willingness of Germans to inform on each other to the Gestapo that Germany between 1933 and 1945 was a prime example of panopticism.[36] Indeed, the Gestapo—at times—was overwhelmed with denunciations and most of its time was spent sorting out the credible from the less credible denunciations.[37] Many of the local offices were understaffed and overworked, struggling with the paper load caused by so many denunciations.[38] Gellately has also suggested that the Gestapo was "a reactive organization" "...which was constructed within German society and whose functioning was structurally dependent on the continuing co-operation of German citizens".[39]

[heavenlyboy34]

Tens of millions, hundreds of millions perhaps.

They will fall all over each to "See Something - Say Something".

Contrary to popular belief, the Gestapo was not the all-pervasive, omnipotent agency in German society.[31] In Germany proper, many towns and cities had fewer than 50 official Gestapo personnel. For example, in 1939 Stettin and Frankfurt am Main only had a total of 41 Gestapo men combined.[31] In Düsseldorf, the local Gestapo office of only 281 men were responsible for the entire Lower Rhine region, which comprised 4 million people.[32] "V-men", as undercover Gestapo agents were known, were used to infiltrate Social Democratic and Communist opposition groups, but this was more the exception, not the rule.[33] The Gestapo office in Saarbrücken had 50 full-term informers in 1939.[33] The District Office in Nuremberg, which had the responsibility for all of northern Bavaria, employed a total of 80–100 full-term informers between 1943 and 1945.[33] The vast majority of Gestapo informers were not full-term informers working undercover, but were rather ordinary citizens who for whatever reason chose to denounce those they knew to the Gestapo.[34]

According to Canadian historian Robert Gellately's analysis of the local offices established, the Gestapo was—for the most part—made up of bureaucrats and clerical workers who depended upon denunciations by citizens for their information.[35] Gellately argued that it was because of the widespread willingness of Germans to inform on each other to the Gestapo that Germany between 1933 and 1945 was a prime example of panopticism.[36] Indeed, the Gestapo—at times—was overwhelmed with denunciations and most of its time was spent sorting out the credible from the less credible denunciations.[37] Many of the local offices were understaffed and overworked, struggling with the paper load caused by so many denunciations.[38] Gellately has also suggested that the Gestapo was "a reactive organization" "...which was constructed within German society and whose functioning was structurally dependent on the continuing co-operation of German citizens".[39]

Even the somewhat less credible WWII historians like Childers agree with this. IMO, it would happen here if the opportunity arose.

[tod evans]

So here we have [another] prosecutor who is twisting and manipulating "the-law" in order to promote an agenda.

I honestly can't see charging some 15 year old kid with kiddie porn charges for sending or receiving pictures of either them-self or their girl/boy friend..

But I've got issues with prosecutors who prosecute people for doing drugs too.

There's a segment of society that pushes for laws of this nature and once enacted they're all but impossible to have stricken from the books.

It's not just innocent kids who are being nailed with "sex-offender" status either, ol' Billy-Bob can't pee off the side of his boat any more without being in jeopardy of being cited for indecent exposure.

I tend to agree with Damian in that lawyers need hung...

[Luciconsort]

if you haven't got sense enough to keep your twigs, berries, and kitty kats off the network then you probably were gonna get a job that doesn't care about such dumbass offences anyway.... you know, like a politician or a lobbyist or Miss Teen USA.

[kcchiefs6465]

if you haven't got sense enough to keep your twigs, berries, and kitty kats off the network then you probably were gonna get a job that doesn't care about such dumbass offences anyway.... you know, like a politician or a lobbyist or Miss Teen USA.
Or congressman?
Or star quarterback?
Or singer?
Or teacher?

[jmdrake]

Please watch this video. This young lady committed suicide less than a year posting it. She was a minor playing around on a webcam. A predator talked her into flashing her boobs, she did. Then he started posting this crap on Facebook, looked up her address and posted it etc. Lots of other crap happened. But here's where the OP tied in. The police came knocking on her door at 4 am. (Why that time I don't know). The creep posted sent the pics out to people she knew and somehow the cops got involved. Did they do the sensible thing and reel the predator in a bust him? No. Her life went to hell, she ended up killing her self and the creep got away scott free. What a waste. And what a stupid society. I don't know why this girl couldn't have gotten real help.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRxfTyNa24A

[Anti Federalist]

And what a stupid society. I don't know why this girl couldn't have gotten real help.

Help is unavailable, Mundane.

Only enforcement.

"Free Country."

[bolil]

Please watch this video. This young lady committed suicide less than a year posting it. She was a minor playing around on a webcam. A predator talked her into flashing her boobs, she did. Then he started posting this crap on Facebook, looked up her address and posted it etc. Lots of other crap happened. But here's where the OP tied in. The police came knocking on her door at 4 am. (Why that time I don't know). The creep posted sent the pics out to people she knew and somehow the cops got involved. Did they do the sensible thing and reel the predator in a bust him? No. Her life went to hell, she ended up killing her self and the creep got away scott free. What a waste. And what a stupid society. I don't know why this girl couldn't have gotten real help.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRxfTyNa24A

Creep hasn't gone through the highest court yet.

[A Son of Liberty]

Help is unavailable, Mundane.

Only enforcement.

"Free Country."

At some point, we stopped dealing with each other, human being to human being. At some point, we began interpreting each other, through the prism of a poorly constructed legal code.

Andy and Barney are long since dead, friend. Your problems are not my problem.

[anaconda]

I'm all for it.

I post stories daily of people that could use our help, being abused at the hands of the system.

Pick one and run with it.

This one would be a classic type of case to pursue. Humiliate the DA, mayor, etc. and fund a civil lawsuit:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?406110-Jury-Finds-Occupy-Wall-Street-Protester-Innocent-After-Video-Contradicts-Police-Testimony