Los Angles Times and ABCNews.com – restitution stories proliferate

In two separate stories today, the Los Angeles Times and ABCNews.com consider the issue of restitution for victims of child pornography and contribute new information to the debate (which still to me doesn't seem like much of a debate): From the LATimes: The issue of criminal restitution in child pornography possession cases emerged last February in Connecticut when a federal judge said he would order a man convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography to pay about $200,000 to Amy. The judge said it was the first criminal case in which someone convicted of possessing illegal images — but not creating them — would be required ...

New York Times: Pornography and an Issue of Restitution

From Wednesday's New York Times: When Amy was a little girl, her uncle made her famous in the worst way: as a star in the netherworld of child pornography. Photographs and videos known as “the Misty series” depicting her abuse have circulated on the Internet for more than 10 years, and often turn up in the collections of those arrested for possession of illegal images. Now, with the help of an inventive lawyer, the young woman known as Amy — her real name has been withheld in court to prevent harassment — is fighting back. Read the complete story here.

Restitution for Child Pornography Victims – what the government must do

Thanks to Professor Paul Cassell for this post on The Volokh Conspiracy involving one of my cases: Yesterday U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz of the District of Minnesota issued an interesting order regarding a restitution application in a child pornography case. In his order, found here, Judge Schiltz chastises the government for failing to pursue restitution for child pornography cases in his district, even though Congress has made restitution mandatory in such cases. Judge Schiltz wrote: This Court has recently handled a number of other child-pornography cases in which the United States Probation Office has identified victims who are ...

“Wrongly Accused” 100 Year Old Pedophile Leaves Prison

For those of you who believe in the power of rehabilitation, or that age conquers the irresistible impulse to exploit and abuse children, or for the liberal horde who expressed indignant outrage at the prospect of the death penalty for child sex abusers, this one's for you: According to the Huffington Post, Theodore Sypnier, a 100-year-old child molester who will soon be released from prison, has an "unrepentant heart" and continues to deny that he ever harmed any children. New York's oldest registered sex offender is scheduled to move by week's end out of a Buffalo halfway house for released inmates and into a place of his own, after completing his ...

Restitution for Child Pornography Victim Denied

On Monday, a federal district judge in the Eastern District of Texas issued a memorandum opinion and order denying restitution to a now 20-year-old woman known as "Amy" in the case of a defendant who downloaded and possessed her images. The Court’s decision is a serious set-back for victims of child pornography like Amy in their effort to obtain just and timely restitution for the ongoing crimes perpetrated against them. How can we, as a country, justify awarding tens of thousands of dollars in damages to record companies for downloading a single song, while criminals who exploit children pay nothing? For over 30 years, Congress and the Supreme ...

Pedo Law Gaining (visual) Respect

Nothing will stop the defense bar from its relentless pursuit of clients, including bad taste. Thanks to the watchful eye of the UsefulArts.us blog, the Texas defense firm of Lindeman, Alvarado, & Frye has been exposed for creating an unfortunately much-needed child pornography defense practice. This in and of itself is not so objectionable, but the now-removed "just or about to be abused-child" images used on the firm's website to promote this specialty are. Family Violence, Rape and Sexual Assault, it's all there in visually provocative images. Check it out at the UsefulArts.us blog.

A Bold Gambit to Reduce Demand for Child Porn

From today's Christian Science Monitor: Federal prosecutors and New York lawyer James Marsh are persuading courts to order anyone caught with illicit images to pay financial restitution to child victims. Federal prosecutors are embracing an aggressive approach to fight the spread of child pornography on the Internet, urging judges across the country to order full restitution to identified child victims in cases where the defendant possessed the images but played no role in their creation. Generally, restitution is awarded in cases where a defendant's direct actions caused the injuries suffered by the victim. In a child pornography case, the person ...

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