posted 08-18-2008 11:51 PM
Some of you may have read today's press release about the UK Pedophile Philip Thompson that was arrested with nearly a quarter million indecent pictures of children.
Thompson was billed as the "librarian" for a global ring of pedophiles.
Arrests have been made in Britain, and North America.
The report did not mention if Thompson was examined by polygraph, but he pled guilty to 27 counts of child abuse.
360 suspects were identified worldwide, fifty arrests made in England, with 15 children were saved as being victims.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) said this was the largest deployment of undercover police in a child abuse case.
Thompson was jailed for a minimum of 45 months by Town Crown Court in Middlesbrough England. This comes out to be about a month and a half confinement for each specification. I hope this was a misprint.
A couple of months ago, the FBI conducted a five day roundup in 16 cities, of hundreds of pimps who force children into prostitution. It was called "Operation Cross Country". Since 2003, 308 pimps and hookers that force children into prostitution have been convicted. Some 433 child victims were rescued.
One of the major problems that takes on a new urgency is the growth of online networks where pimps advertise the children to clients.
A University of Pennsylvania study estimated that approximately 300,000 children in the USA are at risk of being sexually exploited for commercial uses.
Children are victims of predators that have what we refer to as "a loose wire someplace".
They are not being cured, but "contained".
The Federal Child Pornography Statutes are significantly more stringent than 45 months in jail for 27 counts of child abuse.18 USC: 2251 (Production of child pornography;MANDATORY MINIMUM 15yrs, Max 30yrs)
18 USC: 2251A (Selling or buying children for sexual exploitation: MANDATORY MINIMUM 30yrs, MAX; LIFE)
18 USC: 2252 (Possession, distribution, and receipt of child pornography MINIMUM 5yrs., MAX 20yrs.)
18 USC: 2260 (Importation of child pornography MAX 10yrs.)
18 USC: 2423b criminalizes traveling abroad for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity with a minor. Successful prosecution requires the government to prove intent. There are current proposals to eliminate the requirement to prove intent, only that the SO engaged a minor.
This has been a long rant I know. Yet the reality is that there is an epidemic of child exploitation in this country, and I can't help but believe that a polygraph examiner's contribution in providing a judge with a tool to determine an SO's potential danger to the public will be welcomed.
In another thread there was an issue of ethics about the pre-sentence polygraph being a fishing expedition. The FBI and all law enforcement has such a monumental task in protecting our children.
If the examination is focused on child exploitation, then it can be one more tool for the administration of justice.
If Michael Vicks can get an additional 18 months for lying about dog fighting, then maybe we owe it to the children that lack the ability to walk away from 21st Century Slavery.
Polygraph Place Bulletin Board
posted 08-18-2008 11:51 PM
