ASU2003

And I think there should be different rules for different types of child porn. I think it is wrong, and probably the vast majority of people think the same way, that forcing or paying people under 18 to have sex and photograph or record it would be bad and should be illegal. Even amateur stuff between two high school students should be illegal to distribute.

But even though Hilary was paid to pose for those photographs (and she wasn't naked), she was old enough to know what she was doing in a solo setting. And the controversial statement I will make is that girls under 4 or 5 don't know better or will change enough in a few years that paparazzi or covert pictures of them running around a backyard, taking a bath, or at a beach naked wouldn't effect them. Although I'm not sure how you could tell the difference between a picture of a girl who went to a nude beach with her family versus a girl who was bribed to take off her swimsuit for candy. It is the girls between 6 and 14 that are supposed to be protected by the current child porn laws. It is hard to tell the difference between the picture of a girl that wants to take nude images of herself and the girl that has been abducted and forced to strip.

A lot of it has to do with context and it is hard to figure out. The human form shouldn't be illegal to look at whatever the age. But it is bad to create victims of forced pornography at a young age when judgments and decisions made then could have bigger repercussions later on.

paparora

"if theres grass on the patch, lets play" - Ali G

Anormalguy

The person seeking out the CP is fueling the market (be it buying, trading, or whatever). In crimes against children all persons involved should be severely punished.

anti fishstick

I have another question to ponder:

Due to the digital age and image manipulation, we can now manipulate images so drastically that we can either make a person appear older, or younger.

Given this tool, is it wrong to make pornography using an adult of legal age (18+) and manipulate the image to fit a child porn aesthetic? Would it then be wrong to use a child and manipulate the image to qualify as an adult image? Pictures can be deceiving....

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Nisses

Going one way: 18+ and reworking the image to something younger I could understand...
Going the other way: younger and reworking to something older... Why do something criminal and reprehensible to arrive at a commonplace result you could have gotten with a normal model...

So for myself, I'm only going to answer the first one:
You're still purposefully working to distribute child porn.
You just don't get the extra charges of having actually molested a child while doing so.

In the end you don't hand over a real kid to a pedophile, you hand over images, pictures, paintings... What difference is there? It's still a 2D representation of a child in an unchildlike pose/situation.

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Deltona Couple

I have to admit it is interesting how this thread has changed so much since the original OP. This subject is probably more personal to some than others. Some of us have young children, as do I, and if someone were to try and get them to pose for CP, I would have to personally see that person raped with a 9-iron after it was removed from a 2500 degree forge. However if trying to see things from a distance, and be non personal here, one can only wonder what brings this about in todays society.

In that context, let's try and classify some general areas.
CP as an adult and a child- Most people I think would classify this as anyone over the age of 18, being directly involved in the "act" with a child under the age of 12.
CP as and adult and a teen- Most people I think would classify this as anyone over the age of 18, being directly involved in the "act" with a child between 13 and 16 (I am using 16 as a general stopping point, because in MOST states in the US, the Age of Consent is 17 as an AVERAGE, some being higher, others being lower)
CP as a child with a child- Again, in my opinion, this would be 2 children, under the age of 12 that engage in an "act" with each other.
CP as a teen with a child- 1 under 12, the other between 13 and 16
CP as a teen with a teen- 2 between 13 and 16

Now lets do a general classification of what CP truly is, as the law describes. Different countries, as well as different states in the US have different descriptions of what CP is by their states standard. But MOST states ALL classify a media depiction (photo, video, film, etc) where one or more parties involved are performing an act of sexual gratification (intercourse, masturbation, manual manipulation...etc) now there are several different degrees of this from state to state, but if you will, concede this description for the sake of this argument.

In pretty much all states, the possession of any of these medias are cause for arrest, and possible conviction. So who is technically in possession? what if a gf and bf who are both say 15, use their cel phone to take a picture of them doing something together. Who violated the law? both? the one who owns the phone? there is a fine line here that too many states are overlooking in their crusade to "protect our children". Who was hurt in this case? the boy? the girl? what if both of them wanted to do it, and neither one was coerced? The law doesn't care. They would prosecute the owner of the phone. Not every state would, but where I used to live in Florida, and here in Texas where I now reside, that is who would get into trouble. Here is the problem, what if the phone in question was owned by the parent of one of the teens? The law doesn't actually care. the letter of the law is just that: The law.
Now here is the question I am posing to everyone: Would YOU, looking at this LOGICALLY, not on a personal note, consider that photograph CP? I feel that as long as the two kept it to themselves, then that is their personal business. But if that photograph was published somewhere or shared, then the story can change. this entire subject is so volatile and has so many variations of just the one example I have given. There was a case in another country, I think it was Canada? I SWEAR I wish I could remember where I read this, where this same situation actually occurred. this girl had a cel phone given to her from her parents and she was only 12. She took a picture of herself giving a boyfriend oral sex, and then shared it with some of her friends as some initiation thing. The photo was found on a computer I am assuming, and this is how the law got involved. Now her parents, and the boys parents, as well as the kids themselves are facing criminal charges of possessing CP because the home computers were owned by the parents. Can you all see where I am going with this? You cant just blanket CP as any picture with kids involved in sexual situations. But things can get out of hand if we as parents don't monitor what our kids do not just online anymore, but with these cel phones that take pictures now. I could go on for pages citing so many different situations that could put doubt into ones mind on if a person should be arrested for possessing CP.
So in my opinion I would have to say that each situation needs to be examined differently and closely before passing judgment on anyone. My opinion would be that if it involves an adult over 18, and a child under the AOC for that state, then it would most likely be a punishable offense. But again, there could be so many things that one doesn't know about what happened....This subject is VERY broad in what can be classified as CP that maybe the OP could have been more specific? I really don't know.

WOW, I think this is the longest post I have ever written, please forgive any typos or grammatical/punctuation errors....

WHEW!!

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curiousbear

I did not read the responses of others. My answer "Child porn is dead wrong".

I love seeing children naked. I wish I too could be naked in beaches, pool and some times even home. That is kind of free and natural. I had seen such cute pictures in net, like a family walking naked in beach. It is so serene.

But if you are talking children in sexually suggestive positions etc it is SICK and WRONG. I know kids hug and kiss themselves. But the 'suggestive' pictures if any are WRONG.

If you want a rational explanation, they are too young, once grown up, if they see those pictures, no one knows whether they will think it is cool, sexy, sick, crap. A kid who enjoyed doing it still can run in to severe guilt and trauma after it completely grows up. You dont know whether that kid will become an actor, doctor, scientist, prostitute, or president. It is too early to put a kid through porn. Its like you ask a kid all its entire education only in one subject and never expose to any other subject.
-----Added 5/9/2008 at 01 : 12 : 24-----
It suddenly occured to me. I like reading erotic stories where teen kids have fun. Some of it are incest. no pictures only text. Is that WRONG? I dont know. I always liked reading them. Some of them even indulge one kid and one adult both in mutual interest exploring, teasing, massaging, masturbating, etc.

skizziks

I disagree with that. Pedophiles will continue to have sex with children and tape it and take pictures, if only for themselves. They then find others like them and they trade. They aren't producing it for a market, they don't make money off it, the kiddie porn is just an extra bonus by-product that makes it's way to the real world sometimes.

jewels

Financial market? For the most part, probably so. But there's still a nice market of those who are merely voyeurs who are willing to pay some big bucks.

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