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(Wired) Asinine Virginia teacher charged with possession of child pornography for image that even the police never thought was pornographic. Won't somebody please stop thinking of the children?   (blog.wired.com) divider line 261
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God Is My Co-Pirate 2009-04-04 08:04:29 AM  
Two weeks later, the boy caught with the photo was in trouble again -- he'd pulled down the pants of a girl in class. The school suspended the student for 10 days. But when the boy's mother learned from Oei about the earlier photo incident, she was outraged that Oei hadn't reported the picture to her. She called his house at 7:00 a.m., screaming at him that the suspension had to be revoked.

When Oei refused, the woman went to the police about the photo.


God, do I feel for teachers.

 
KIA 2009-04-04 08:14:02 AM  
I particularly liked the part where they charged him for failing to notify the girl's parents when he could not identify the girl. Her face was not in the photo. Then they claim he should have notified someone about child abuse. There was abuse? Unbelievable.

This is a seriously farked up society we live in.

 
sloppy shoes 2009-04-04 08:15:34 AM  
There was a whole lot of stupid involved in that.

 
sloppy shoes 2009-04-04 08:17:24 AM  
KIA: I particularly liked the part where they charged him for failing to notify the girl's parents when he could not identify the girl. Her face was not in the photo. Then they claim he should have notified someone about child abuse. There was abuse? Unbelievable.

This is a seriously farked up society we live in.


I liked how the article said it was actually the principal's duty- and a teacher only had to notify the principal. (Assuming the article is correct). But the prosecutor just felt like that didn't matter.

I'm not sure who the bigger douche of the story is- the principal or the prosecutor.

 
real shaman [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 08:18:47 AM  
These horror stories will become more common with time.

A friend of mine is in the middle of his nightmare... A retired school teacher who also taught private music lessons.... a billing dispute... a bogus claim of "improper contact"...

Cops come to house, confiscate all the computers.... this is a house with 2 40 something brothers and their 70 year old father. (1 divorced, 2 widowed)

There is some pron on the computers (whoa...3 guys??? who would have guessed?)

The prosecutor has decided that some of the pron is of underage girls. All 3 are under investigation. This has been going on for 3 years now.


Can you prove the age of the models in your files? Exactly how would you do this? how can you do this?


I no longer have any naked pictures on my computers.

 
ZAZ [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 08:22:02 AM  
Oei says he's grateful that the school district never took away his pay throughout the ordeal, but he isn't sure he wants to go back to the school after being abandoned by its principal. Yet he knows that finding another job wouldn't be easy.

A teacher in my city's school system was falsely accused of sexual assault. The district dropped him as fast as they could. State law says teachers acquitted of crimes get their jobs back. The school didn't want him. Eventually they paid him a big wad of cash not to come back. I don't know if he ever got a job elsewhere. If I were him I would demand a settlement accounting for the fact that I probably wouldn't get hired anywhere else with a rape charge on my record.

 
Kyosuke [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 08:22:56 AM  
The only proper outcome to situations like this is for the prosecutors involved to be hounded to the point that they eventually cease to disgrace this Earth, preferably by their own hand.

No mercy.

 
ZAZ [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 08:27:50 AM  
The only proper outcome to situations like this is for the prosecutors involved to be hounded to the point that they eventually cease to disgrace this Earth, preferably by their own hand.

The prosecutor won 80% of the vote as a "tough on crime" candidate so that's not going to happen soon.

If the law took defense costs out of the prosecutor's budget when the case was dismissed for failure to properly charge a crime, that would help.

 
thamike 2009-04-04 08:39:53 AM  
blog.wired.com


Two scoops of douche.

 
ExJerseyGirl [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 08:41:35 AM  
Interesting that the prosecutor's swarmy picture has his website page listed. I wonder if anyone will send him an email?

 
kronicfeld [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 08:45:53 AM  
Well, I know whose opponent I will be contributing to in the next election cycle. This is absolutely disgusting.

 
FredaDeStilleto [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 09:18:47 AM  
A local teacher confiscated cell phones from students. She went through stored pictures and came across one that had 2 girls in bras and another with a girl getting out of the shower, towel around waist and her breasts exposed. The school called the police. The DA told the girls (in the pictures) that they could either complete some kind of program or he would charge them with child pornography.

The insanity won't stop until some of these elected morons are voted out of office. A good DA would know there's not a chargeable offense.

 
ExJerseyGirl [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 09:24:16 AM  
FredaDeStilleto: A local teacher confiscated cell phones from students. She went through stored pictures and came across one that had 2 girls in bras and another with a girl getting out of the shower, towel around waist and her breasts exposed. The school called the police. The DA told the girls (in the pictures) that they could either complete some kind of program or he would charge them with child pornography.

The insanity won't stop until some of these elected morons are voted out of office. A good DA would know there's not a chargeable offense.


This article had a link to an update on that story. A judge has temporarily banned the DA from prosecuting the girls, saying it isn't porn.

Article (new window)

 
snarkysedai 2009-04-04 09:58:51 AM  
I don't understand how pictures you take of yourself, or pictures you fully consent to having taken of yourself, can constitute child pornography.

I am fully aware that there are some seriously sick individuals out there. Teenagers doing stupid things are not part of that group.

Won't somebody think of the children....who get caught and have "sex offender" tagged on them for the rest of their lives?

 
FredaDeStilleto [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:09:51 AM  
Thanks, ExJerseyGirl.

 
Ennuipoet [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:14:25 AM  
All of this internet predator/child pornography/sexting business is rapidly evolving into a witch hunt/psuedo-epidemic (Michael Shermer talked about these in detail in Why People Believe Weird Things and this article also speaks briefly about them^.) Yes, there are actual criminals out there but we've created a boogie monster in the tubes and feed it with our innocent babies. What bullshiat.

The only difference between this and the Satanism Panics^ and the Recovered Memory Debacle^ are the names.

 
Talon [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:41:59 AM  
Ennuipoet: All of this internet predator/child pornography/sexting business is rapidly evolving into a witch hunt/psuedo-epidemic (Michael Shermer talked about these in detail in Why People Believe Weird Things and this article also speaks briefly about them^.) Yes, there are actual criminals out there but we've created a boogie monster in the tubes and feed it with our innocent babies. What bullshiat.

The only difference between this and the Satanism Panics^ and the Recovered Memory Debacle^ are the names.


What would life be without a good old fashion moral panic every five or six years?

 
House of Tards [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:45:13 AM  
"I thought that was a just and appropriate sanction for his behavior," he says. "But he was unwilling to be responsible for any kind of accountability for what he did."

So he did....what exactly? Asked for a copy of the picture during his investigation? Informed his craven boss? Suspended the kid when he pantsed another girl?

You saw an affidavit that said "nude picture of an underage girl" and "school administrator" and began to salivate, thinking that you had a great case that you could grandstand with. Now you've cost a guy a lot of his life savings and destroyed his reputation. All the news on your website is about child porn convictions, which tells me you think this is a winning issue.

And the best part? Now other administrators are going to report these pictures to the police every time, rather than risk investigating themselves. This is going to lead to to a bunch of dumbass high school kids being labeled sex offenders and a zero tolerance policy from the schools. Two things that do absolutely nothing useful for society.

Go fark yourself Mr. Plowman.

 
jake_lex [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:45:56 AM  
From TFA:

Plowman insists he never intended to seek prison time for Oei. He would have been satisfied with a fine, probation and Oei's resignation. The case would never have gone this far, he says, if Oei had resigned when asked.

"I thought that was a just and appropriate sanction for his behavior," he says. "But he was unwilling to be responsible for any kind of accountability for what he did."


You know, resigning seems about appropriate for this total dickbag of a DA. A just and appropriate sanction for his behavior, if you will.

 
Meowsertd [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:47:33 AM  
get mad at a teacher? sext them report it laugh your ass off as their life is destroyed.

and they say Teachers dont need tenure.

 
Herb Utsmelz [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:48:14 AM  
i4.photobucket.com

A couple of weeks ago I took a picture of six of my nephews - all under ten years old - eating popsicles in their underwear.

Come and find me.

 
House of Tards [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:50:28 AM  
Talon: What would life be without a good old fashion moral panic every five or six years?

Rainbow parties! Jelly bracelets! Sexting! Myspace predation! GAAAAAH!

Only Commonwealth Attorney and doughy guy Jim "My mouth says 'But I poop from there', but my eyes say 'Go for it anyway'" Plowman can save our children.

 
GoodOmens 2009-04-04 10:51:36 AM  
"These charges are so toxic and incendiary," says Diane Curling, a former teacher and Oei's wife of 35 years. "Children need to be made aware of the dangers of sexting, but to intimidate public education officials and try to make it a felony to even touch something like this is terrifying. . . . If we are not careful, we will find ourselves with a new McCarthy era. "

This I can believe.

 
Kyosuke [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:51:38 AM  
Herb Utsmelz: A couple of weeks ago I took a picture of six of my nephews - all under ten years old - eating popsicles in their underwear.

What were the popsicles doing in their underwear?

 
Cauchy_Riemann_equations 2009-04-04 10:52:12 AM  
Ah, Virginia. It's like a police state, minus the efficiency.

If my sister didn't live there I would never, ever, ever go.

/Fark VA

 
Agnosto 2009-04-04 10:54:25 AM  
Oei refused, and on August 11, a grand jury indicted him for possession of child porn, a crime that carries a possible sentence of five years.

That's the problem right there. The prosecutor can be the biggest asshole in the world, but a majority of Grand Jurors need to agree with the charges.

 
radioman_ 2009-04-04 10:55:04 AM  
Plowman should kill himself for causing an innocent man's disgrace. It would be the manly thing to do. If he chooses not to, then he should be ostracized by his community.

 
syrynxx [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:55:32 AM  
Oei was on a treadmill at the gym when his face suddenly appeared on two large TV screens broadcasting the news.

"There I am, big as life," he recalls ruefully.

He lost 15 pounds


The New New Pedophile Diet! We publicly brand you as a child molestor - guaranteed 15 pound weight loss in the first month!

 
Herb Utsmelz [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:55:34 AM  
Kyosuke: Herb Utsmelz: A couple of weeks ago I took a picture of six of my nephews - all under ten years old - eating popsicles in their underwear.

What were the popsicles doing in their underwear?


I put them there, one by one, with my teeth.

 
Cubic Zirconium Jim Brady 2009-04-04 10:55:43 AM  
Meowsertd: get mad at a teacher? sext them report it laugh your ass off as their life is destroyed.

and they say Teachers dont need tenure.


That's why I carry a cheapo cell phone that doesn't have a camera or the ability to display pics. I also don't friend students on myspace, despite requests on line and in person. I also make sure the door is open and I am in obvious full view if there is a situation with me and a female student in the classroom alone. /Also why I have a lawyer and malpractice insurance.

 
JimmyCarter'sSecondTerm 2009-04-04 10:56:33 AM  
There is nothing that scares me more than being falsely accused of something like this. Even if you are found innocent of all charges the damage is still done. I understand that we need to stop perverts who prey on young girls, but the idea that a teenage girl can take a picture of her body and ruin the life of whoever she sends it to goes way too far. It is way too much power for them to have and completely misses the point of why those laws are there in the first place.

/Actually the prison rape that takes place after the false accusation scares me more than the accusation itself.

 
voodoorat 2009-04-04 10:57:13 AM  
i love when otherwise victimless crimes can ruin people's lives. especially when they're twisted to destroy the people they're supposed to protect, like when they charge the kids themselves as child pornographers for taking pictures of themselves.

 
kronicfeld [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 10:57:53 AM  
Agnosto: That's the problem right there. The prosecutor can be the biggest asshole in the world, but a majority of Grand Jurors need to agree with the charges.

Except that grand juries are basically rubber stamps, and they only see the evidence that the prosecutor chooses to present to them to support his prima facie case.

 
sgnilward 2009-04-04 10:59:43 AM  
EAT A BOX OF DICKS YOU WITCH HUNTER!

 
timefishblue 2009-04-04 11:01:36 AM  
Soon those fold-down diaper changing stations in public washrooms will have cameras pointed at them so some perverted pedophile parent doesn't get away with TAKING OFF his/her CHILD'S DIAPER and WIPING ITS BUM.

And if anyone doesn't make sure to stare directly at the floor while entering the bathroom (because there might be a naked baby in there) they will be tackled by a swat team and tazed for days.

And if the baby ever looks down at himself during the so-called "diaper changing" he will be charged with creating mental child pornography via a photographic memory, and will be stomped in the face by a fat cop's boot.

 
lajimi [TotalFark] 2009-04-04 11:02:07 AM  
I don't believe that prosecutors are immune from lawsuits. Sue them, after a few lose everything they own (the county will soon tire of defending these clowns) the others will get the message. ONLY FILE WHEN YOU HAVE A CASE!

 
EngineerBob 2009-04-04 11:02:30 AM  
The law is an ass.
But since the law is under 18 years old
we can't show you a picture of it.....

 
Ima4nic8or 2009-04-04 11:02:30 AM  
Given the incredible excessiveness of the charge and the absurd over reaction of the school district ,I hope that he brings suit against the school and police/prosecutor and wins a significant judgement. At the bare minimum he deserves to recoup his financial losses.

 
Carth 2009-04-04 11:02:48 AM  
1692 children accuse people of being a witch get them sentenced to death

2009 children send naked pictures of themselves to others get them arrested for being pedophiles.


At least we are making progress.

 
TheSwissNavy 2009-04-04 11:03:20 AM  
There is something nuts about the US that puts every issue "on steroids" - in the same vein -

A teenage girl was arrested for child porn for taking a picture of herself and sending it (sexting it).

A kid in TX was labeled a sex predator for receiving head from a minor, who was one year younger than he.

Municipalities across the land have implemented draconian laws about where sex offenders can and cannot live. In New Haven, the only place a registered sex offender can live - not that they can actually live there - is on the western half of the Yale golf course. (Reason magazine covered this)

In the US every issue must be dealt with to an insane degree, usually to "help the children". The destruction of Oei's life and reputation mean nothing.

In the US:

- A pic of a girl in her underwear is child porn.
- A kid sipping a beer means felony charges for the parent.
- Someone smoking in a non-smoking area is Hitler.
- And according to Jenny freaking Mccarthy, the renowned expert on such things, vaccinations cause autism.

It is time to start over. Give the land back to the Indians, everyone else go back to where they came from, and pretend this never happened.

 
CrispFlows 2009-04-04 11:03:21 AM  
House of Tards: "I thought that was a just and appropriate sanction for his behavior," he says. "But he was unwilling to be responsible for any kind of accountability for what he did."

So he did....what exactly? Asked for a copy of the picture during his investigation? Informed his craven boss? Suspended the kid when he pantsed another girl?

You saw an affidavit that said "nude picture of an underage girl" and "school administrator" and began to salivate, thinking that you had a great case that you could grandstand with. Now you've cost a guy a lot of his life savings and destroyed his reputation. All the news on your website is about child porn convictions, which tells me you think this is a winning issue.

And the best part? Now other administrators are going to report these pictures to the police every time, rather than risk investigating themselves. This is going to lead to to a bunch of dumbass high school kids being labeled sex offenders and a zero tolerance policy from the schools. Two things that do absolutely nothing useful for society.

Go fark yourself Mr. Plowman.


Apparently, He plans for re-election - Here is his website and there is a way to contact him on that site...

The hilarious thing? The dude has an AOL address

Betcha he loved that address since it contained the word "America".

http://jimplowman.org/

'Safe', my arse. If I lived in his jurisdiction, I sure as hell wouldn't feel 'safe' if events like this can happen to persons like Oei.

 
unchellmatt 2009-04-04 11:03:44 AM  
thamike: "Two scoops of douche".

You're too kind.

Entire freight train full of douche, with a few large tankers of "complete and total farking asshole" IMO.

What an absolute coont. THAT is the person, that farking dough faced, self indulgent, egotistical farkwad, who should resign. He said that they wouldn't press charges if the teacher resigned. S'cuse me? Without a trial? Without cause? Jim Plowman counts himself as judge, jury and executioner, in effect blackmailing the teacher, and he still has his farking JOB?! That's not how the legal system works. You bring a case to trial if you have a case. You bring it before a judge and try to get someone prosecuted if they've committed a CRIME. This farker decides "Well, you made a poor choice, so I think you should resign, and if you don't I'll ruin your life", and he gets away with it?!?! That boggles my farking mind.

 
CrispFlows 2009-04-04 11:04:21 AM  
kronicfeld: Agnosto: That's the problem right there. The prosecutor can be the biggest asshole in the world, but a majority of Grand Jurors need to agree with the charges.

Except that grand juries are basically rubber stamps, and they only see the evidence that the prosecutor chooses to present to them to support his prima facie case.


That's farking scary.

 
YouFarkingIdiot 2009-04-04 11:06:38 AM  
ExJerseyGirl: Interesting that the prosecutor's swarmy picture has his website page listed. I wonder if anyone will send him an email?

Already did

 
lazymojo 2009-04-04 11:06:42 AM  
Another obnoxious thing from the article: the whole "Tough on crime" motif among prosecuting attorneys running for office. If anyone ever says that phrase, they are going to have a hard time receiving my vote. It just smack of so much stupidity and hypocrisy.

This country has the highest incarceration rate of ANY in the world. The "Land of the Free" is now more or less a misnomer. There is still violent crime in this country... violent criminals (really the people that absolutely should receive jail time) are often let go early because our prisons are too crowded with BS convictions and tough sentences for relatively minor drug offenses.

YET this dipshiat is wasting taxpayers money pursuing THIS??? THIS case demonstrates how he is tough on crime??? He even admitted in the article that he wouldn't have sought jail time for Oei if he had been convicted.

What a scumbag. This prosecutor should be recalled... though I doubt that the voting population there, which included most of the idiots that overwhelming vote for these "career minded prosecuting attorneys" simply because they use the tired rhetoric about being "tough on crime," have the mental capacity to understand this.

 
loonatic112358 [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-04-04 11:07:11 AM  
TheSwissNavy: It is time to start over. Give the land back to the Indians, everyone else go back to where they came from, and pretend this never happened.

it almost sounds like good idea, except i really don't like being sent quartered, and being sent to different parts of europe

 
CrispFlows 2009-04-04 11:07:24 AM  
Remember kids, Practice safe sexting...

i.bnet.com

 
wademh 2009-04-04 11:08:31 AM  
meanwhile, why didn't the prosecutor take on the boy who pantsed the girl?

 
GanjSmokr 2009-04-04 11:08:50 AM  
bill burr has an ok stand up about this. says he loves kids but nowadays he's scared to even look at them for fear of people thinking he's a pedo. pretty sad really.

 
Lacerated Spleen 2009-04-04 11:09:43 AM  
Hope the voters in this county remember this at election time. Prosecutor needs to go back to his sad little life.

 
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