Well, I read a disturbing article this morning. About an Arizona couple who were accused of sexually abusing their children, after some "partially nude" bath-time photos were found on a memory card stick taken to Walmart to be processed.
Now, from what I read, the photos were innocent photos taken during bath-time play while on vacation in San Diego. The children were 1 and a half, 4 and 5. The photos were shown to police, and the parents were not allowed to see their children for a few days, and did not regain custody of them for a month, while the state did their investigations.
The parents are now suing Walmart and the state, for making defamatory comments that they had sexually abused their children and taken "pornographic" photos of them.
Now, one can argue they should or shouldn't have taken the photo's to the store to be processed, and instead have printed them privately. But my goodness, can you imagine the trauma the whole family must have gone through during this whole ordeal? I can't begin to imagine how I would feel if this had happened to me? Now, I have taken bath-time photos of my kids before, granted they were babies, and young infants at the time....they wouldn't let me come near them with a camera now while they were bathing! But never would I have dreamt that something like this could have happened. It sure does make you think twice about what you take to get processed now.
I just found the whole story very upsetting, putting myself in the shoes of those parents, and trying to imagine how they were feeling while their kids were not in their care. It's a terrible thought.
You can read the full article here.
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4 comments:
Oh dear, that IS a shame! I am still processing something that was announced to all of the student ministries workers last night - an abuse scandal at Kanakuk Kamp, which is a huge Christian camp that a lot of our kids go to. Very sad.
About the cultural clothes we were wearing: In most of this country, you wear long loose trousers that you cinch at the waist. They are SO so comfortable. It's amazing - comfortable yet feminine, I wish I could wear shalwar kameez all the time!
I just love how government is trying to strip parents of their rights as --- well --- PARENTS of the child. The parent rears them, pays for them, provides food, shelter & clothing for them, educates them, but yet they don't seem to be allowed to discipline them, for example, without someone trying to blow a whistle and call it abuse.
I have no doubt the pictures were taken in innocence, just as I did with my niece when she was but an infant & toddler. I don't think anyone should have to think twice about sending their pictures out to say, a Walmart, or place like that if their intent was nothing other than to capture a cute picture of their child. And I certainly don't think it's up to Walmart employees, or any other photo processing service, to play vigilante and decide what is or isn't pornographic if it doesn't CLEARLY go well beyond the line of what is defined as true pornography. Anyone with common sense knows the difference between an innocent picture and one that depicts a child being positioned in a compromising way or clearly being abused. I feel horrible for the family, having to be separated while a case that was truly nothing to begin with had to be built into a mountain only to be reduced to the molehill it once was.
Photography is subjective, so who's to say what is and isn't? The article had stated how the employee did not notify the customer that there was an "unprintable content" policy but to me the question would be what is considered "unprintable" and did these pictures clearly breach that policy?
I never cease to be amazed how the freedom we boast about is being slowly taken away from us because we are bound by small print and legal loopholes...
Wauv!
Thank you for this scary story!
What happend to beeing innocent until proven otherwise??
This is absolutely outragorous! Poor children getting ripped away from their parents for so long while they're only investigating. The children getting all confused about the fact that their parents have done something very wrong and not beeing able to understand what was so wrong? How can they ever again be sure, that their parents are doing the right thing, when they've been taken away by authorities saying that their loving parents (who in fact didn't do anything wrong) did very wrong!!
This is very scary!
Next time it might be me.....somebody's gonna come and take my children away, because we spend the night together in the same bed, because of a scary storm.
You can love and be emotional about your children just be careful not to show your emotions in public - because somebody with a twisted mind might see it as wrong and then nobody yields before the whole family is destroyed emotionally.
Here you are GUILTY until proven otherwise...
Anna
I think that it's disgusting how they can just take your kids. They haven't even done anything wrong. I also take photo's of the kids in the bath. Can't help it as their little body's are so gorgous.
I think (sorry) the American's tend to take and pull everything out of proportions.
How must the parent's feel.Taking normal photo's and then getting investigated. My heart go's out to them. Just glad they got their kids back
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