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-   -   A picture of a kid breastfeeding=child porn? (https://thetfp.com/tfp/general-discussion/1820-picture-kid-breastfeeding-child-porn.html)

MSD 04-22-2003 03:16 PM

A picture of a kid breastfeeding=child porn?
 
Quote:

The service was fast, the judgments even hastier. Never did Jacqueline Mercado imagine that four rolls of film dropped off at an Eckerd Drugs one-hour photo lab near her home would turn her life inside out, threaten to send her to jail and prompt the state to take away her kids.
For Mercado and her family, last fall was a happy time, one they wanted to record and save in the venerable tradition of the family photo. Johnny Fernandez, Mercado's boyfriend, had just emigrated from Lima, Peru, ending a yearlong separation, and on top of that, it was their son's first birthday.

The photographs they took over several days in late October included pictures of Fernandez reunited with the family at their modest home in suburban Richardson. Others captured their 1-year-old son Rodrigo, and 4-year-old Pablizio, from Mercado's earlier marriage, playing in a neighborhood park. Using the camera's timer, they also took three snapshots of themselves, naked in their bed. They arranged their bodies in ways that showed less flesh than most freeway billboards.

A half-dozen others recorded the kids at bath time. Fernandez took several photos of the boys "playing around," naked and innocent, with the oldest flashing a big smile. Mercado, who says she often bathed with the kids, is in several of the shots unclothed from the waist up, holding her arm modestly across her bare chest.

In one--the photo that would threaten to send Mercado and her boyfriend to prison--the infant Rodrigo is suckling her left breast.

After Mercado dropped off the film for processing, a technician viewed the images and decided they were "suspicious," according to a police report. As required under Texas law, he immediately contacted local police. Mercado says that when she went to pick up her pictures, the clerk told her there would be a delay, and then only returned three of the four sets of prints.

To Richardson police, who arrived at the store that afternoon and apparently made up their minds from the content of the pictures alone, this was nothing short of a felony case of child pornography. "We thought they contained sexuality," says Sergeant Danny Martin, a Richardson police spokesman, explaining why two Richardson police detectives began pursuing a criminal case. "If you saw the photos, you'd know what I mean."

With nothing else to support their contention that the photos were related to sex or sexual gratification, the police and the Dallas County District Attorney's Office presented the photos to a grand jury in January and came away with indictments against Mercado and Fernandez for "sexual performance of a child," a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The charges centered on a single photo, the breast-feeding shot. Fernandez and Mercado say they took it--although the child had ceased breast-feeding--to memorialize that stage of their baby's development.

"We wanted to see if he would take it, and he did," says Mercado, explaining through an interpreter that it was a spur-of-the moment notion to which they gave little thought. "Johnny never saw the child breast-feeding, so this was for memories. For us."

Mercado, who brushed back strands of brown hair from her reddened eyes as she spoke, has a story that has not changed from the start. She told the Richardson police officer who responded to the store's call that she had always taken pictures of her children nude, and that it wasn't uncommon in her native Peru to do so. They were innocent baby pictures, taken for the family's benefit, she said.

Five days later, when a state child welfare investigator and two detectives arrived at her house, Mercado again insisted that she saw nothing wrong with the photos. She allowed the group to search the couple's cramped room, and the detectives went through everything, including their photo albums, apparently looking for more evidence of child porn. They found nothing.

"We fought so hard to come to this country," says Mercado, a 33-year-old who was a nurse in Peru and aspires to become licensed in the United States one day. "For this to happen is unbelievable."

Andrew Chatham, one of three lawyers working on behalf of Mercado and her boyfriend, says it is difficult to imagine a clearer case of over-reaching by police and prosecutors. "Their theory, which is supported by nothing, is that these pictures were taken to satisfy the boyfriend's sexual desires. These aren't pictures that were peddled on the open market. This wasn't on someone's Web site. This is just a mother who took a roll of film and left it off at Eckerd's. The state used them to arrest her, indict her for a felony and take away her kids."

On November 13, the day Richardson police "tossed" or searched Mercado's house, a caseworker with the Dallas County Child Protective Services Unit of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services took custody of the children and recommended to a family judge that they be placed in a foster home. The caseworker's notes state that a supervisor, acting on the content of the photos alone, decided that "the children needed to be removed from their mother's care."

Her hard-rubbed eyes drooping with worry, Mercado says she told the caseworker, "Please don't take our children. We love our children."

In the months since, one of the couple's most onerous problems has been resolved. In late March, a week after the Dallas Observer asked District Attorney Bill Hill about the case, he ordered the criminal charges against both parents dropped. "It has some gray areas to it, but it doesn't rise to the level of a crime," Hill said. He said justice comes from more than isolating facts and interpreting them in a way to make them narrowly fit into a criminal statute.

Still, at press time, child welfare authorities continue to maintain control of the boys, even though a lawyer appointed to represent them says he believes they should go home. In its latest legal filing, the state said it would not consent to releasing the boys until the couple jumps through more hoops, including a lie-detector test they must take at their own expense.
More of the 3-page article can be found at http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues...l/1/index.html


What are your thoughts on this

Macheath 04-22-2003 03:43 PM

Nothing like a good witchhunt.

I wonder if they float in water?

laughter 04-22-2003 03:45 PM

They couldn't be picking on her because she's an immigrant... Nah.

onodrim 04-22-2003 04:07 PM

This is rediculous. I feel so bad for that family. I'd hate to think that it was because she was foreign, but hey, I wouldn't put it past the law enforcement.

raeanna74 04-22-2003 04:07 PM

That makes me burn. I breast feed my daughter still and she's 2 1/2. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that the natural weaning age for human babies is between 2 1/2 yrs and 7 years of age. Natural being when the babies are emotionally and phyically ready. I have seen numerous pictures of mothers breastfeeding that are shown in videos endorsed by Social Services as a way of encouraging new mothers to breastfeed. If this isn't a double standard I don't know what is. There are so many cases of neglect and child abuse out there that aren't recearched. These authorities need to get their priorities straight and start helping the children that NEED it. Grrrrr

ARTelevision 04-22-2003 04:11 PM

yes, this is how it goes out there.
don't underestimate the rabidity of the finger-pointing anti-sex police and their willingness to have you in the grips of their dogs' teeth.

Realizm 04-22-2003 04:23 PM

It's the authorities calling it child pornography that have the sick minds here, thinking these photos have some sort of sexual innuendo/connotation rather than the bonding experience and memories.

DEI37 04-22-2003 04:57 PM

Yeah, no kidding. My wife nurses our daughter. Since when is that erotic? Last I checked, it's nature, and a way for our daughter to be healthy. What a bunch of perverts.

Darklight Adept 04-22-2003 05:14 PM

this reminds me of a scene from a movie (I think it was armageddon) where a guy is doing a rorsharch test
(first blot) Woman with big breasts
(second blot) redhead with big breasts
(third blot) You (the male psych) with big breasts

or something like that. ANYTHING is perverted if you believe it is. What really disturbs me is that the US (home of free speech) is the most closed-minded, censoring country. If someone says you're a child molester, then apparently you are, because free speech never applies to defending yourself

thenewguy 04-22-2003 05:16 PM

You can tell the folks in the city of Richardson, TX exactly how you feel by using this form. I just sent them a few kind words about the sanctity of one's home and requested that the police chief issue a public apology.

Have at it. It isn't the first Amendment for no reason.

GakFace 04-22-2003 05:24 PM

Thats just sad. I know people around here.. from america that take pictures of their kids.. Its just a memory. Where they doing sexual acts to the children? Was there fear and terror in their eyes? I think not. This just sickens me, Child porn... by their parents? and... ugh.. I can't of anything to say, this was just plain wrong. Breast feeding is natural.... That, and so what if she's topless? I don't think there are any laws that say its illegal for a woman to be topless... Whats the big deal? The photo's were for the family not the guy making them. :(

Macheath 04-22-2003 05:30 PM

Okay, I'm gonna write down a biologically observed concept here and I want you all to watch as the conservative sex Nazis' heads explode.

Are you ready?

Two words:
Male. breastfeeding.

(BOOOM!!! - brains splatter all over the walls)

darksparkles 04-22-2003 06:32 PM

ugh, that's such shit. thanks for the link, thenewguy, i'm definitely writing. shite.

04-22-2003 06:49 PM

Absolutely absurd. This is why you can't trust anyone anymore.

XtremeSlacker 04-22-2003 08:06 PM

thats bullcrap they'll be getting a piece of my mind because its a natural process and there are educational videos about breastfeeding for new mom's and such; also in high school we were studying sex-linked dieseases in ninth grade and the teacher showed us some pictures of naked teens with the diseases and that was not considered child pornography

phoenix1002 04-22-2003 08:13 PM

This just pisses me off so much I'm having trouble figuring out what to say. What keeps running through my head is "that poor family!" I mean, imagine... you're a new family that has recently moved into the country. You take some pictures of your kids, and you get arrested for it?? Then they have to deal with all this shit, including having their kids taken away! What I want to know is, after they get their kids back, is there any way they can sue or something? I'm not one for lawsuites unless they are truly justified, but the government screwed up, and tore apart this poor family. The family deserves to get something back in an attempt to apologize... like a large sum of money to help them improve their overall lives or something... seems like the LEAST they could do to try and make up for this. This kind of thing makes me want to start throwing things-preferably at the people who stuck their noses into stuff that wasn't their business, the police, and the people who broke up the family... Sorry I'm just ranting, but this pisses me off.

Jack Ruby 04-22-2003 08:44 PM

Land of the free and home of opportunity. Right.

MSD 04-23-2003 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jack Ruby
Land of the free and home of opportunity. Right.

Yeah, if you're born into a rich, white family; or if you become a famous musician.

troit 04-23-2003 07:06 AM

This story get my blood bloiling a bit... I mean what does it say about the country we live in when the people in cotrol or power are making assinine decisions like this...

:mad:

bender 04-23-2003 07:39 AM

.

Lebell 04-23-2003 07:53 AM

I hate child molesters.

I also hate people who go on witchhunts.

Without seeing the evidence, this appears to be a case of the later.

Unfortunately, this is not isolated to Texas, but they do seem to be particularly zealous.


Hint: Digital Cameras are nice, but a 'friend' can turn you in as well.

ARTelevision 04-23-2003 08:33 AM

I believe the message here is that what we all know is "innocent" is considered guilty by a contingent of sex-negative people out there.

A reminder to be cautious is the lesson we can gain from this.

Of course it's absurd. Of course it's reprehensible. The point is there are people out there who think the exact opposite of what most of us know to be true.

WhoaitsZ 04-24-2003 07:49 PM

if i had a child and its mother breastfed it i'd take pictures, too. it's A Moment. it's something that will never happen again, it's sacred.

as of it being 'porn'? that's stupid. now if she had a picture with the kid sucking other things, yeah, i'd be a tad bit worried.

what reallu pissess me off, though, is imagine the time and money wasted on this _innocent_ moment when the authorities let so many real child molesters run amok due to lack of fundings/time.

jgrayson_au 06-23-2003 09:04 AM

Oh fuck...
I think my mother then should be up on not just child porn, but on producing and distributing child porn.
Case 1: A naked photo of me when I was like 2 in a backyard inflatable swimming pool. She had copies made and given to relatives.
Case 2: at my 16th, she showed a homemade video of my 4th birthday party, where I was naked waist down.

So, what athorities do I ring to have me given to a foster family? Does the fact I'm 22 matter?

Yes ladies and gentlemen that was sarcasm. It's pretty obvous, but just in case any magistrates read it, they may not pick it up. They seem to be pretty fucking thick!

Sparhawk 06-23-2003 10:06 AM

"I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?"

The only thing wrong with this is the humiliation the kids will have to endure when they bring their dates home to meet their parents.

As for the sex-police? Get a life...

MacGnG 06-23-2003 11:21 AM

what is the reason for someone to report these kinds of things, much less take it al the way to court?

viveleroi0 06-23-2003 11:34 AM

that is messed up. I bet they'll buy digital next time.

The_Dude 06-23-2003 11:37 AM

unless they're being explicitly touched or anything like that, i dont think this could be classified as porn

Flippy 06-23-2003 01:17 PM

Three words: Oh. My. God.

This story is so sad :( I sincerely hope that they get their children back.

ARTelevision 06-23-2003 02:49 PM

well the problem is - it's not about our opinion.

It's important to be informed about what sort of perceptions can move investigative and legal agents to action.

butthead 06-23-2003 02:50 PM

Quote:

(first blot) Woman with big breasts
(second blot) redhead with big breasts
(third blot) You (the male psych) with big breasts

or something like that. ANYTHING is perverted if you believe it is. What really disturbs me is that the US (home of free speech) is the most closed-minded, censoring country. If someone says you're a child molester, then apparently you are, because free speech never applies to defending yourself
Doctor holds up "inkblot" picture: "what do you see?"
Patient: Sex.
Doctor holds up a picture of a dog. Patient: sex.
Doctor holds up a picture of a tree. Patient: sex.
Ball: sex.
House: sex.

doctor: you're obsessed with sex
patient: well you're the guy showing all the dirty pictures

Quote:

Andrew Chatham, one of three lawyers working on behalf of Mercado and her boyfriend, says it is difficult to imagine a clearer case of over-reaching by police and prosecutors. "Their theory, which is supported by nothing, is that these pictures were taken to satisfy the boyfriend's sexual desires. These aren't pictures that were peddled on the open market. This wasn't on someone's Web site. This is just a mother who took a roll of film and left it off at Eckerd's. The state used them to arrest her, indict her for a felony and take away her kids."

On November 13, the day Richardson police "tossed" or searched Mercado's house, a caseworker with the Dallas County Child Protective Services Unit of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services took custody of the children and recommended to a family judge that they be placed in a foster home. The caseworker's notes state that a supervisor, acting on the content of the photos alone, decided that "the children needed to be removed from their mother's care."

Her hard-rubbed eyes drooping with worry, Mercado says she told the caseworker, "Please don't take our children. We love our children."
:(

Sun Tzu 06-23-2003 03:40 PM

Waste of resources.

Fade 06-23-2003 05:25 PM

Though most processing places are supposed to turn in pornographic pictures, or simply not return them, I think that they took it a bit too far with this case of a mother and young children...

Bill O'Rights 06-24-2003 04:50 AM

My first reaction is one of outrage and indignance. Words like "witch hunt" and "nazi" have permeated this thread, and I would agree with them. The sanctity of the family is being violated here. However...one part of the article that really stuck out for me was this; <i>To Richardson police, who arrived at the store that afternoon and apparently made up their minds from the content of the pictures alone, this was nothing short of a felony case of child pornography. "We thought they contained sexuality," says Sergeant Danny Martin, a Richardson police spokesman, explaining why two Richardson police detectives began pursuing a criminal case. <b>"If you saw the photos, you'd know what I mean." </i></b> Without actually seeing those pictures I am not qualified to render an opinion on this issue.

And yet...another part of the article seems to glare out; <i>Five days later, when a state child welfare investigator and two detectives arrived at her house, Mercado again insisted that she saw nothing wrong with the photos. She allowed the group to search the couple's cramped room, and the detectives went through everything, including their photo albums, apparently looking for more evidence of child porn. <b>They found nothing.</i></b>

<b>THEY FOUND NOTHING</b>

manalone 06-25-2003 05:37 AM

This is sad. It's more evidence that we are heading into a world of sexually malformed half-people.

Children are being convicted of sex offences, mothers for taking photos of the most natural acts possible.

This sort of activity reinforces the thought that the nude form is evil or bad, or always sexual. Welcome to the path of neurosis, eating disorder and emotional ruin.

On your left, ashcroft covering statues, on your right a mob in the uk attacking and beating a known paediatrician in the street.

It is time we reconsider our sexual morals just to prevent the high mental toll we pay for this refusal to accept who we are.

SecretMethod70 06-25-2003 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by manalone
a mob in the uk attacking and beating a known paediatrician in the street.
That's crazy. And so is this case. When did we lose common sense?

Mango 06-25-2003 09:07 AM

"Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor I'll piss on 'em that's what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard"

Vizzini 06-29-2003 08:47 AM

Bet you weould never see this in Europe.

North Americans are so stuck up about any sort of nudity. Americans even moreso than Canadians.

Amethyst 06-29-2003 10:11 AM

This is so crazy. I feel so bad for the family. And they still don't have there children back, that is so sad. I really don't know what to think about the world that we live in today. I think I would sue. After they found nothing and they still took the kids away. This is terrible. I am sadden by this story.

papermachesatan 06-29-2003 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Realizm
It's the authorities calling it child pornography that have the sick minds here, thinking these photos have some sort of sexual innuendo/connotation rather than the bonding experience and memories.
Exactly. The people who looked at those pictures and saw something sexual are the real pedophiles in this situation.


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