Former Head of Virginia ACLU Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

Charles Rust-Tierney, age 51, a former president of the Virginia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), was arrested Friday by federal agents, for allegedly possessing child pornography. Rust-Tierney, according to ABC News, which has seen a copy of the criminal complaint, allegedly used his personal email address and credit card in order to obtain access to a child pornography website.

Charles Rust-Tierney made his first court appearance on Friday, although it is not known if he is currently represented by a lawyer. He was detained pending a preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for February 28, 2007.

According to the complaint, "Charles Rust-Tierney has subscribed to multiple child pornography website [sic] over a period of years." The most recent instance was in October, according to the complaint, when he purchased access to "a group of hardcore commercial child pornography websites."

Also according to the complaint, Rust-Tierney has admitted to investigators that he had downloaded videos and images from child pornography websites and burned them onto CD-ROMs. The complaint states that the videos in question contain graphic, forcible intercourse with prepubescent females, one of whom can be "seen and heard crying," while another is apparently tied with ropes.

Videos and photographs were removed from Rust-Tierney's home as part of the investigation.

In a similar case last month, a former youth basketball coach and referee - Richard Bonnie Lakes - was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was given six month each for three images found on the man's computer. In that case, the possible maximum sentence had been 60 years in prison.

In the past, in his capacity as head of the Virginia ACLU, Rust-Tierney has spoken out vociferously against the practice of restricting Internet access in public libraries. "Recognizing that individuals will continue to behave responsibly and appropriately while in the library, the default should be maximum, unrestricted access to the valuable resources of the Internet." He further added that, "Parents should have primary responsibility for setting rules for their children regarding Internet access. Older minors should have access to resources appropriate for their age group, even if such materials may be considered by some parents to be unsuitable for younger minors."

According to court documents, Rust-Tierney is active as a coach of youth sports teams around Arlington, Virginia. He had served as president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU from 2002 through 2005.

Sources:

www.wtopnews.com/index.php
www.nbc4.com/news/11096703/detail.html
abcnews.go.com/Politics/story
www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite