re: #62 Justanotherhuman

I’ve never been able to figure out what kind of mind engages this kind of child abuse.

Newton teacher faces child pornography charges

boston.com

2 charges of possession, one of distribution. He’s a boy’s gym teacher.

OK, now I find myself wondering if this is one of the overzealous cases.

See, we have a traditional problem when something goes into zero tolerance zones. Things get distorted. Things that shouldn’t matter, do. Minor becomes major.

Child porn is one of those things. There have been arrests of parents who sent pictures of their toddler in the bathtub to godparents and close friends. Some of those cases were tossed, others went for pleas. And it’s an easy hotbutton to muddy as almost everyone cares about children.

Heck, it’s a cliche: “For the children, Think of the children.”

So I have taken to wanting more before I join the condemnation. This teacher is in a perfect position for scum. He’s also in a perfect position for it to innocuous. Is his guilt having a couple of championship pictures taken in the locker room Or is it a couple of covert shower shots? He’s alleged to be part of a ring but he’s got ONE shared picture. Again, the shot matters, but at the same time what’s the ring? Is it a fan site, a coaches site, a true porn ring?

It actually kind of annoys me that I have to have these questions, but I’m seeing child porn becoming what drugs have been for years — a blanket excuse that covers a multitude of enforcement excess and misbehavior.