Amanda Thames AmandaThames

Many people believe child pornography is a victimless crime, but thats not the case, according to law enforcement.

The State Bureau of Investigation hears its just pictures a lot, even from judges and defense attorneys in the courtroom, according to Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kevin Roughton, who works in the SBIs Computer Crimes Unit.

It is such a misinterpreted thing, Roughton said. It is one of the most frustrating things that we deal with.

The victims, Onslow County Sheriff Hans Miller said, are the children.

Child pornography victims

Every time someone watches a child pornography video or looks at a photo of a child in a sexual way, it re-victimizes the child, Roughton said.

This child had to endure whatever that event was while it was being videoed and then every time it gets watched, every time it gets shown ... it is a perpetual living memory with that event as long as that video exists, he said.

While there are some exposed children who grew up and became outspoken about it, Roughton said most child sex victims simply live their lives knowing these photos or videos of them exists and theres nothing they can do to stop it.

They walk the streets and wonder if the stranger on the sidewalk has seen it, or if the man serving them coffee has shared it with others. Every time someone is arrested on a child pornography charge, Roughton says the victims wonder if the offender had been watching them.

Victims of assault or rape and the families of murder victims have one person they focus on and follow throughout their arrest and trial, and they receive a closure of sorts from a guilty verdict, Roughton said.

But not victims of child pornography.

Thats something they live with and carry, he said. Its not something they can ever forget.

The possession of child pornography is a felony, and the seriousness of the charge gets higher for those who share or create child pornography, Miller said.

Anyone who says its a victimless crime is wrong, Miller said. Every time that image or movie is viewed, that child is re-victimized because somebody is seeing that child in a manner that children should not be portrayed.

Even if the child doesnt know someone is watching it, the fact that people are watching it encourages those producing child pornography to continue, Miller said.

Crimes of opportunity

Most of the people viewing it would molest a child in person if the opportunity presented itself, Roughton said.

People are often skeptical of this statement, and Roughton says he has an example he uses when he teaches.

If you came to his home and he had a basketball goal outside with a basketball at the base, and inside he had tennis shoes by the door, basketball trophies on a shelf, photos of basketball players on the walls, and a Sports Illustrated magazine on the coffee table open to a basketball article, you would assume he likes the sport.

Youd think it odd, Roughton continued, if you asked him to come play basketball and he responded with, No, Im not really interested in basketball.

Its the same for those who look at child pornography.

If someone is interested in watching a child be molested or raped, Roughton said, it doesnt make sense for that person to say theyre not interested in molesting kids.

Theres been research supporting this theory as well, Roughton said, and spoke about a 2008 study by Michael Bourke and Andres Hernandez on two groups: offenders convicted of possessing, receiving, or distributing child porn and those convicted of similar offenses with a history of hands-on sexual offenses with children, according to the study.

The goal was to determine whether the former group of offenders were merely collectors of child pornography at little risk for engaging in hands-on sexual offenses, or if they were contact sex offenders whose criminal sexual behavior involving children, with the exception of Internet crimes, went undetected, according to the study.

Over 18 months, Bourke and Hernandez studied 155 inmates who volunteered to be part of the program, 74 percent of whom had no documented hands-on victims. By the end of the study, they found 85 percent of them had at least one hands-on sexual offense and between all of the offenders, there were 1,777 victims, according to the study.

While law enforcement wont arrest someone just on suspicion or because they might do something, Roughton said viewing child porn should be a red flag.

The reality is, most of these guys are not just looking at pictures, Roughton said. Our main concern is that many times, the quote unquote people who have just pictures really have had other offenses, we just dont know about it.

Anyone with information on someone viewing child pornography, victims of child pornography, and anyone else with valuable information pertaining to an open case of child pornography is asked to contact the Onslow County Sheriff's Office at 910-455-3113 or Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273. Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards of up to $2,500 for information provided thats deemed of value or assistance to law enforcement. Callers to Crime Stoppers are not required to reveal their identities. Information can also be anonymously texted via Text-A-Tip by typing TIP4CSJAX and the message to 274637.

Reporter Amanda Thames can be reached at 910-219-8467 or Amanda.Thames@JDNews.com

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Child porn is not 'just pictures' - Jacksonville Daily News