Is this really child pornography?

[^_^ 5,021]

Mr. Emory, 21 ... edited a video to make it appear that elementary school children in a local classroom were listening to him sing a song with graphic sexual lyrics.

Tony Tague, the Muskegon County prosecutor ... charged Mr. Emory with manufacturing and distributing child pornography, a crime that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and 25 years on the sex offender registry.

...

Mr. Emory, who had gotten permission to sing songs like “Lunchlady Land” for the first graders, waited until the students left for the day and then recorded new, sexually explicit lyrics, miming gestures to accompany them. He then edited the video to make it seem as if the children were listening to the sexual lyrics and making faces in response.

Mr. Emory’s supporters, including the almost 3,000 people who have “liked” the “Free Evan Emory” page on Facebook, say the charge is a vast overreaction to a prank gone astray, and a threat to free expression.

...

He has admitted that he deceived the teachers at Beechnau Elementary School, in the small farming community of Ravenna, about his intentions. Mr. Emory included a disclaimer with the video, saying that no children had actually been exposed to the sexual lyrics. He said that his friends ... all thought the video was hilarious when they saw it at the local nightclub or on YouTube. (It has since been removed.)

But the hilarity vanished when sheriff’s deputies showed up at Mr. Emory’s house and seized his computer and his iPhone.

He realized “they were looking for things that a pedophile would have,” Mr. Emory said recently during an interview in his lawyer’s office, and it horrified him. He cried several times during the interview. During the night he spent in jail, he said, “I just thought about how much I regretted this and how funny it wasn’t anymore.”

Since his arrest, he has been suspended from his job as a waiter at Applebee’s, he said. The court expenses have forced his father, a power plant insulator who was laid off in November, to go out of state to find work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/us/08muskegon.html

[mawilson 2,133]

Ridiculous. It's not like he made an actual child suck his #######.

Then again, some Japanese cartoon thingies are illegal here because they depict child abuse or something along those lines.

Land of the free

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

The laws went from protecting children to becoming morality laws.

[Dan and Judy 614]

I don't think it's child pornography. I wonder if he got a release from the parents saying it was ok to put their pictures on the internet. I think if he beats the criminal charge he has plenty of

civil legal problems in front of him

[Obama 2012 1,714]

The laws went from protecting children to becoming morality laws.

All laws are morality laws. They are rules put forth by the majority that the majority is uncomfortable with taking place.

As society changes, so does morality and therefore the laws do as well as time goes by.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

All laws are morality laws. They are rules put forth by the majority that the majority is uncomfortable with taking place.

As society changes, so does morality and therefore the laws do as well as time goes by.

Huh thats funny I thought laws were designed to protect people. I guess you could argue a morality based law protects a person from themselves.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

I would say he likely has issues civil-wise, using the kids without permission for the video. But it is absolutely ludicrous to call his video child porn, and if the DA pursues it as such it is a travesty of justice.

[luckytxn 2,264]

This is ridiculous of course and shows that DA's are out to get convictions and not to perform justice. There have been some who got int trouble for posting their kids while at the beach. Once you make a law it is then up to the prosecutor to determine the intent and their own views. DA's need convictions to make it seem that they are tough on crime.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

it is absolutely ludicrous to call his video child porn, and if the DA pursues it as such it is a travesty of justice.

Actually by Federal guidelines sex crimes against children no longer require there to be an actual child victim!

Child pornography is broadly defined to include images depicting sexualized of minors even if the image is entirely fabricated (animated), using legal age actors to portray minors or images of minors edited into sexually explicit situations when they in fact were not there.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Actually by Federal guidelines sex crimes against children no longer require there to be an actual child victim!

Child pornography is broadly defined to include images depicting sexualized of minors even if the image is entirely fabricated (animated), using legal age actors to portray minors or images of minors edited into sexually explicit situations when they in fact were not there.

Much like DV laws, calling this 'child porn' and destroying this guys life by so doing are travesties. It is a serious stretch to call this child porn, much like many alleged/convicted DV offenders are hardly truly that.

Label most males sex offenders, forced to register over ####### like this, and you undo any benifit of registering actual offenders.

[mawilson 2,133]

US Government: Protecting Animated Children From Sexual Abuse Since 2003

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

All laws are morality laws. They are rules put forth by the majority that the majority is uncomfortable with taking place.

As society changes, so does morality and therefore the laws do as well as time goes by.

So you think someone should go to prison for 20 years for this? Just say so.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

So you think someone should go to prison for 20 years for this? Just say so.

what are you going on about?

Did I say anything of the sort?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

what are you going on about?

Did I say anything of the sort?

No.

Do you think someone should go to prison for 20 years for this?

[Danno 1,228]

Using kids for sexual purposes (humor or other wise) is a taboo we are not ready to overcome. (one step at a time)

While I did not see the flick, it was probably funny and at the same time a corrosion of social morals, not to mention abuse of the children's images for a sexual purpose.

Without knowing any facts in the case I would guess he should do a couple months in minimum security, since he even went so far as to put this clip in public places.

Edited March 9, 2011 by Danno