
For several weeks running you have heard talk of the Dakota Fanning movie shot in Wilmington, NC that includes explicit sex acts by the 12 year old actress and two other children, 10 and 8. According to the script scenes of suggested nudity and fondling as well as a graphic scene of the rape of Dakota’s character, who at 9 years old, dances naked for a man in order to get tickets to see Elvis Pressley, after the dance the man rapes her in front of her 10 year old boyfriend. We were told law enforcement was investigating this as the sexual exploitation of minors.
Whether or not authorities will pursue a crime where a child willingly allows this to take place we don’t know. Whether or not authorities will pursue a crime where the children involved were not nude and were not engaged in actual acts of sex, again we don’t know. We do know that it is a state and federal crime for a minor to portray an explicit sex act real or pretend, clothed or unclothed.
Earlier this year, prosecutors obtained a guilty plea on child pornography charges from Sheila L. Sellinger, then of Shoals, Ind., who had been selling illegal photographs of her 10-year-old daughter on a modeling Web site. Last month, Ms. Sellinger was sentenced to almost 12 years in prison.
Ms. Sellinger, who earned thousands of dollars a week from the marketing of the clothed images of her daughter, cooperated with law enforcement, leading to the arrest of two men who had been assisting her with her site and had been running several more, court records show.
Another woman accused of running a Web site that published graphic fictional stories about the torture and sexual abuse of children was indicted this week by a federal grand jury on obscenity charges.
Karen Fletcher, 54, of Donora, was indicted last Tuesday, and the charges were announced on Wednesday by U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.
"Use of the Internet to distribute obscene stories like these not only violates federal law, but also emboldens sex offenders who would target children," Buchanan said.
Fletcher's site contained excerpts of stories about child sex, torture and murder that were available to all visitors, prosecutors said. Users could pay a fee to read whole stories, such as one that described the rape and sexual molestation of children, prosecutors said.
Fletcher was charged with one count for each of six stories that involved the kidnapping, torture, sexual molestation and murder of children 9 years and younger.
Fletcher, reached at home Wednesday, said federal authorities "didn't like my site." She said she was not aware of the indictment and otherwise declined to comment.
"I am not going to say a word. You have a wonderful day," Fletcher said.
Fletcher described her site as a "fantasy site" and told authorities that she posts explicit stories about adults having sex with children, the FBI said in a search warrant affidavit unsealed Wednesday. The charges carry a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine.
Fletcher's site offers written works instead of videos, written words about the rape and torture of children. Ms. Sellinger offered clothed images of her 10 year-old daughter to sexual perverts and received 12 years in federal prison. The director and producers of the Dakota Fanning movie shot in Wilmington and Brunswick County that was based on the written words in the script, placed a 9 year old child in graphically illustrative sexual roles including the humiliation and rape of this child. Of course no children were forced to do this, no children were actually filmed engaged in actual sex acts, but neither were the children in Ms. Fletcher’s tales of “fantasy” and Ms. Sellinger’s 10 year-old daughter. The only difference is that because an incentive bill passed by the State legislature, we the taxpaying citizens, the heads of families, the educators, lawmen and women, clergy and child advocates are kicking back money to this Dakota Fanning film and this may be overlooked for political reasons. We are, in a way, co-producers this movie.
Does this mean we are accomplices? Will Senator Julia Boseman be indicted along with Danny McComas and Thoas Wright for being child pornographers because they co-sponsored the Bill?
In the news the other day was an announcement that a prominent congressman was retiring because of allegations that go back 2 years. If the media had not gotten a hold of this story who would have heard about it?
Republican Representative Mark Foley, whose district covers part of Southwest Florida, has resigned from the US House in the wake of scandal over America Online Instant messages to at least one 16 year old that had served as a Page to the Congressman. In the computer messages to the boy the Congressman made sexual conversation with him regarding his anatomy and his masturbatory habits. The written conversation was anything but innocent, it was a grown man attempting to lure a 16 year old boy into a sexual, although cyber sexual experience. A congressman that served on a committee to protect our children from the very same thing he is accused of. Is this a crime? We shall see.
Is it really a crime to pretend to do something? To fantasize about it in writing? Is it a crime to put underage kids in sexual situations in conversation, print or on film?
Are we overlooking something? Our kids? Do we put politics before justice?
Who knows but, a Columbus County man who struck and killed a 15-year-old riding a bicycle in April of last year in Bladen County entered a guilty plea Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter.
Sebastian Hill, 41, a convicted drug dealer, entered the plea before jury selection in his Bladen County Superior Court trial was to begin, Assistant District Attorney Elaine Kelley said. Hill was sentenced by Judge Craig B. Ellis to 18 to 22 months in prison.
Apparently the prosecutor didn’t have enough evidence about the hit and run, the drunk driving and the fact that an innocent 15 year old boy died as a result. Does anyone know if the boy lay there in need of assistance prior to his demise? Do we know how badly he suffered? It was reported that he died hours after arriving at the hospital. Who knows what would have happened had someone been thinking about saving the child rather than saving oneself.
18 – 22 months for a life. Out by Christmas in time to be with his family I guess. Who knows if it was justice that gave Hill the deal of a lifetime or if it was a overloaded court docket that rocked the scales of justice in his favor. Again a child is exploited because of convenience, because of perhaps politics.
Maybe it is just me, maybe I am asking too much, maybe I was born to the wrong family, a family that taught me that justice prevails. Makes me want to just throw my hands up. Just give up.
Then I remember that I have a son, a child that will someday ask me what matters, what is right, what is wrong. My son will grow-up looking to his father for guidance. Me. He will want to know what I think, how I feel about injustice. And what will I tell him if I throw up my hands, because you know what scares me more than anything? If I don’t tell him who will?
Last Sunday morning my 6 month-old nephew Reece was Christened in a wonderful ceremony. He was introduced to the church and accepted by the congregation that stood to affirm that they would protect and guide him in his Christian walk. Maybe it is just me but I believe each of them meant it when they stood for him. A sanctuary full of people, standing before God Almighty, taking an oath to save my Nephew from taking the wrong path. That is what Church is all about.
But I want to know who will stand with my son? Who will be there when a choice is made in error. Who will guide him, show him right from wrong? Who will see to it that the person or persons that harm him will be punished to the full extent of the law? I can’t always be there with him, beside him, I can’t protect him from slippery Congressmen, lecherous teachers, preditory public officials, profiteers and exploiters of my child’s innocence. Who will stand up and say they will be there for my son, for yours?
I’m not throwing my hands up, I believe some of you know how important all this is. And you are the ones that will stand before God and take that oath and protect all of our children. Can I get a witness?
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