Police Officer, Rabbi, Boy Scout Leader and at Least 68 Others Charged in NYC Child Porn Case
The alleged victims range in age from newborn to seventeen.
That’s the first detail that struck us when we heard early news reports about a shocking wave of arrests in New York for child pornography charges. It is because these children were reportedly victimized that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced pornography related charges against more than 70 people on May 21, 2014.
The Arrests Shatter Child Porn Stereotypes
Among the 70 men and one woman who were charged were:
- A police officer.
- A rabbi.
- A Boy Scout leader who was also a youth baseball coach.
- A nurse.
- A paramedic.
Law enforcement officials have not yet disclosed the occupations of all 71 people who were charged. However, the information already released indicates that at least some of those who were allegedly involved in this child porn case held respectable jobs.
A representative from New York’s ICE office has reportedly told CBS New York that child porn, “is not something that is just done by unemployed drifters who live in their parent’s basement….If this operation does anything, it puts the lie to the belief that the people who do this are not productive members of society.”
Can This Case Make a Difference to the Children of NYC, Chicago, and the Nation?
If there is any good to come from this disturbing news, it is that:
- The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children will be attempting to identify the children in these pornographic pictures and videos so that they can get the help they need.
- A large case like this may have a deterrent effect locally in New York City and around the nation. Boy Scout leaders, baseball coaches, nurses, paramedics, rabbis, police officers and others in Chicago, for example, may take this case as a warning and not participate in making, viewing, sharing, or possessing child porn.
We will continue to monitor this case and other cases of child pornography around the country. Please check back often for updates.
