Special Op-Ed for Community Papers
 

Richard Nelson  The Family Foundation

About 760 words  One Time Rights © The Family Foundation

Supreme Court Ruling on Internet Child Porn Outrageous 

When state education officials announced increases in state CATS test scores recently, there's something they conveniently neglected to tell us.

by Richard Nelson 

            The Supreme Court recently removed a barrier between our children and sexual predators who prey on them when it struck down the Child Pornography Prevention Act, a 1996 law which cracked down on computer-generated child pornography. The law treated digitally imaged child porn the same as photographs of actual children, making prosecution of child porn peddlers easier. 

            Not any more.

            Ironically, at a time when child sexual abuse is dominating the news, the Supreme Court unwittingly made it easier for pedophiles to defend themselves in court. The Court's main concern was that the law might stifle artistic expression or criminalize "modern" versions of such classics as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

            Quite frankly, we should care more about the exploitation of our children and less about those who might confuse art with obscenity. Whether it be computer-imaged child porn, which is virtually indistinguishable from images of real children engaged in sexual conduct, or the real thing, both serve the appetites of sexual predators and pedophiles who frequently act on their impulses.

             Already 19 states have laws banning computer generated child porn, but Kentucky is not one of them.  A bill that would have prohibited the use of the Internet for child pornography was introduced last session, but died in State Rep. Gross Lindsay 's (D-Henderson) House Judiciary Committee.  It didn't even get a hearing.  But why?

            Isn't government's primary role to protect people from evildoers?  It is baffling that anyone would refuse to do all within his power to protect children from sharks who feed on child porn and devour the innocent as a result.

             Study after study shows a causal connection between pornography use and sexual crime. Kenneth Lanning, former supervisory agent of the FBI, said child molesters don't merely view porn they save it.  "It comes to define, fuel and validate their most cherished sexual fantasies," Lanning said in Child Molesters: A Behavioral Analysis, released last fall. "Their inhibitions are weakened after their arousal patterns are fueled and validated through online computer communication," he wrote.

            Lanning's report should compel every parent to actively protect their children from sexual predators who target children.  But the issue is not so much about keeping smut away from children as it is about keeping it away from the would-be criminals who act upon it.  After all, filtering software is available for families, but what filtering system is there to protect society at large from pedophiles?

            According to Focus on the Family correspondent Bob Kellogg, "the number of child pornography sites and the number of victims of pedophilia are skyrocketing," largely "because the Internet allows pedophiles to build massive support networks and instantly distribute child pornography worldwide."  N2H2 filtering software spokesman David Burt said pornography sites increased 350 percent this past year. "We filter about four million sites, and about 300,000 of them are pornography sites," Burt said.

            What's even more disturbing is that an increasing number of porn sites target children, which directly corresponds to an increase in crimes against them. According to Highlights of the Youth Internet Safety Survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, "one in five children 10 to 17 years old receive unwanted sexual solicitations online." Michael Heimbach, a spokesman for the FBI, noted that between 1996 and 2001 crimes against children involving the Internet increased 1,280 percent.

            The issue is about more than just statistics, the children who are harmed have names: Polly Klass, Megan Kanka, and Danielle van Dam--all were exploited by pedophiles and eventually murdered. 

            The U.S. Department of Justice reports that 3200-4600 children are abducted by non-relatives annually, and according to Washington state's attorney general, about 100 abducted children are murdered each year.

            How many more children will disappear before our society confronts the sickness of child pornography through the passage of common sense legislation?  This is not a matter of privacy, nor a matter of free speech rights but an issue of cause and effect.  What is sown will be reaped. If child porn is sown, simulated or otherwise, you can expect to reap a harvest of crimes against children. 

            It is hard to fathom the Court's opposition to a law protecting children from child porn and its effects. Nor can I comprehend why Rep. Lindsay wouldn't allow a similar bill up for a vote.  While the motivation of both may be inexplicable, parents shouldn't wait for another tragedy to motivate them to action.

Richard is a policy analyst and regional representative for The Family Foundation of Kentucky.  He resides in Trigg county with his wife and three children.