FBI's New Tactic May Wrongly Label You as a Sex Offender
But the FBI has issued blankets requests to computer repair shops and photo processing labs to report any "suspicious" pictures of kids, even if the person making the call isn't sure if an activity is illegal or not. The national chains: Costco, Rite-Aid, Wal-Mart, and CVS, also have put in place company policies that require them to notify the authorities about any compromising activity they see in customers' photos in the lab.
This, of course, makes the line between criminal activity and innocent child portraiture a blurry one, since leaving it up to individual interpretation involves culture, community standards, personal opinion, and even whether or not the viewer has kids. The final determination of what is criminal and what is merely family fun is up to law enforcement officials, but just the investigation is tragic for many families. The proponents of this plan say that we should view innocent photos through the eyes of a pedophile for the safety of the children.
Citing the safety of children is a pretty sure bet to get anything done. Even child pornography experts say that even innocent pictures can be used improperly, similar to a teenage boy using the Sears' catalog as pornographic material. Think back over the pictures you've taken of your children: the obligatory lying naked on a rug or blanket as a baby; the obligatory bathtub shots as a toddler; running through the sprinklers with little or no clothing as a preschooler; mooning you or each other as a funny act of rebellion; and many, many other instances that in the wrong hands could label you as a sex offender.
Should you surrender all privacy rights when you hand over a computer to a repair shop? That question is still open and authorities say they try to be sensitive to the issue. But the possibility of exploited children raises passionate responses, and even the smallest detail can send the computer owner into a spiraling pit of legal and personal problems.
In 2000, a woman named Marian Rubin of New Jersey was an award winning art and children's photographer and a doting grandmother of two granddaughters. One night the two little girls were dancing naked on their bed after undressing for their bath, and Ms. Rubin snapped a few shots of them demonstrating their dance moves. She was arrested when she picked up the pictures at a local photo processing lab.
Headlines announced that "Granny is a Perv"; police asked the two little girls and their parents about "inappropriate touching" and other personal questions; and Ms. Rubin ended up $30,000 in debt for legal fees. She did take a deal that is called "Pretrial Intervention" which is like conditional probation with no criminal record and later a federal judge even deemed the pictures totally innocent. But for Ms. Rubin and her family, and countless others around the country, the damage has already been done.
So, what's the answer? Never taking pictures of your children? Posing them fully clothed in somber positions reminiscent of 18th century photography? A better thing to do is lobby for a clearer dividing line between child pornography (pictures taken for the intent of sexual stimuation) and innocent family photographs.
Or you can take only digital photographs and never repair your computer. Otherwise, you, too could wind up being branded a sex offender.
Published by Marsha Raasch
I am a 44 year old mother of two girls. I am recently divorced and dealing with single parenting, being a working mom, and sending the girls to public school for the first time. View profile
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35 Comments
Post a CommentWow! I did not know they were doing this. I am so glad I know how to fix my own computer and use only a digital camera. I have two toddlers and my husband is getting deployed shortly so pictures are big around our house. I could never imagine someone accusing anyone of being a "perv" just for taking pictures of their kids. Excellent article.
I was unaware that they had cameras in the 18th century, lol. But seriously, pictures like that could have gone either way and the source of the photographs should have been taken into consideration. Was it a single dude with pictures of naked kids dancing? If so, yeah, he's a perv. If it's their grandma, that needs to be noted and considered before charges are brought up. There's a lack of common sense these days that's nothing short of disturbing.
great article! This is just going to be a waste of taxpayers money and misery for those who go under investigations. What if you do get accused, your life is thrown in a blender because some clerk at WalMart thought that kids trying to dunk Daddy in the pool seemed obscene. Another stupid idea from the government.
My biggest problem with this isn't the potential FBI abuses; it is the fact that serious pervs will just take digital pictures and learn to fix their own computers, which means that the FBI will be focusing a great deal of attention on a focus that will net them very few big criminals.
That's why I was always careful during the bathtub shots to make sure all I got was her face hiding behind the tub with bubbles in her hair, or wearing a diaper. I never did the types of photos that my mom did, the naked on the floor next to a beer bottle. Some times the pictures are so innocent and it shows but other times you just don't know. You have to be careful what types of pictures you take now a days.
Well even before this situation, I have always avoided taking any type of nude pictures of my kids and my youngest son is 6 and there have been the funniest things that happened when they were babies but now a days anything can wind up on the internet. My husband wanted pictures of me in the natural and i have said no. I would freak if in the upload process some hacker would get thier hands on them.My mom use to take the famous naked baby picture that gets shown to your husband when your older but now a days its just a risk. These sex offenders are everywhere. So if you are a mom and do plan on taking that one embarrising picture to show when thier older remember thier is still poloroids.
The problem lies in the idea that one has to go into debt in order to get innocence proved, yet the media is quick to brand people with nasty headlines because it sells paper. There should be a legal remedy that is free.
I've got 7 children who get themselves into countless funny situations like the grandma's bed photo. This is scary and is an example of government overstepping and getting involved in peoples lives where it shouldn't. I would like to see statistics of how many "grandma's" have been apprehended, as opposed to real pedophiles.
Sounds like no more film, get a digital camera and never fix your computer just buy another one.
The authorities always say it's best to "err on the side of caution". That's probably true but it can be overdone. For me, I'm just glad I have my digital camera and don't need to go to a photo developer. All they would say of mine anyway is "oooh and ahhh" because my granddaughter is a toddler and cute as a bug. I'm all in favor of stomping out pedophiles, but it's overkill when innocent people are dragged into a court situation.