Category Archives: Victimless Crimes

This article originally appeared on AlterNet.

Dashcam footage of the exact moment Philando Castile was murdered by Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was released late Tuesday. The video proves two things: Castile could not have been more compliant, and Yanez responded to that compliance with violence and seven rounds of gunfire. There is no ambiguity in the footage or the audio, no doubt that Yanez was unqualified to be carrying that gun, no question he was a far greater danger to Minnesotas citizens than the man he killed. To watch that scene and not believe Philando Castile was murdered is to believe black life has no inherent right to exist.

The jury was shown the footage several times over the course of Yanezs criminal trial, yet they chose to acquit him on all charges. Its a verdict thats maddeningly, infuriatingly and heartbreakingly illogical, yet consistent with the outcome in every case of cops who are tried for killing innocent black people. The U.S. system of criminal injustice fails black folks from start to finish by design. A more intimate look at the jurors in Yanezs criminal case, compiled by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, offers not only insights into how they arrived at their decision, but a look at just how well-stacked the jury was against a just verdict for Castile.

There were just two black people on the jury of Castiles supposed peers. Juror One was a young African American man who works as a shift manager at Wendys and personal care attendant for his mom. He expressed some lack of faith in the criminal justice system, reportedly expressing a belief that the wealthy and powerful could get off in the legal system because they could hire better attorneys. Juror 8 was an 18-year-old Ethiopian American who has lived in the U.S. since age 10. The Tribune notes that the defense tried to strike her due to unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system, but the judge denied the attempt.

The rest of those selected for the jury were overwhelmingly middle-aged white Minnesotans, many of whom expressly stated support for police or a belief in the infallibility of the criminal justice system. Heres how the list shakes out, taken directly from the Star Tribune:

Juror 2: An older white female who manages a White Bear Lake gas station that has a contract with police. She said she had never heard of the Castile case. The judge denied an attempt by prosecutors to strike her after it was revealed that she had pro-police posts on her Facebook page. One of those posts was heavily critical of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during national anthems last year to protest police shootings. She said she had forgotten about the posts.

Juror 3: Middle-aged white male whose wife works for the St. Paul School District, as did Castile but she did not know him. He lives very close to the where Castile was shot and works as the number one guy at a small metal finishing shop. He said his father was a fire chief and he grew up around law enforcement, and also has a nephew whos a police officer. He said it would be difficult for him to be unbiased. He has permit to carry and said he knew to keep his hands visible during a traffic stop. Thats what they teach you, he said.

Juror 4: A middle-aged white male who had very little knowledge of the case. He said he owns a gun and called the criminal justice system a very fair process.

Juror 5: A middle-aged white female who works at an assisted-living center and is highly active in church volunteer work. She said she had heard about the shooting at the time it happened, but knew little else. Her husband was carjacked at gunpoint 18 years ago. She said she had a high regard for police.

Juror 6: A white male in his 40s who is the jury foreperson. A wellness coach for the last seven years, he believes too many victimless crimes are prosecuted, including drug use and sex work. He believes marijuana should be legalized. He said he was somewhat isolated and knew nothing about the Yanez case.

Juror 7: A white female in her late 30s to early 40s who works as a nurse at the same hospital as Yanezs wife but said she does not know her. She said she watched Diamond Reynolds Facebook video, but didnt seek out news about the case and knew a moderate amount about it. Shes a member of a Harley motorcycle group. She said she was dissatisfied with how police responded to a call in 1996.

Juror 9: A middle-aged computer support worker, she was not familiar with the Yanez case, and said Im thankful we have police officers. She believes in the right to own a firearm, but added Im trying to stay away from them right now.

Juror 10: A middle-aged white male who is retired from preprinting work, he said he followed news about the case off and on. He said he had seen Reynolds Facebook video. She seemed overly calm he said on his juror questionnaire. He owns a handgun and hunts.

Juror 11: A middle-aged white male who owns several shotguns and long rifles to hunt pheasants. A former business manager who now works in construction and remodeling, he said in his questionnaire that the criminal justice system has problems but is the best in the world.

Juror 12: A middle-aged white male who moved to Minnesota four years ago to get a new start. He said hes a regular listener to MPR who knew a lot about the case. A pipe fitter, he took a permit-to-carry class three months ago. Keep your hands visible and do not do anything until they tell you want [sic] to do he said of permit to carry education on traffic stop conduct. He believes minor criminal offenses snowball and trap people in the justice system. It seems like its rigged against you, he said.

Justice for Philando Castile never had a chance. The system isnt broken in fact, its working exactly the way its supposed to. The Yanez case is yet more evidence of exactly how well it continues to function.

Originally posted here:

The Philando Castile jury was stacked with pro-gun, pro-cop, middle-aged white people - Salon

Ashley Byrd, 24, left his 'tag' at stations in the Black Country, and was finally caught after a dramatic police chase on rail tracks.

He was caught in an operation launched when 18 trains were vandalised in just 12 days.

Byrd would get on to the lines via a metal post and lie in wait in a tunnel as trains arrived into Birmingham New Street from the east.

As trains waited to come into the station, he would spray carriages just below the window and out of sight of passengers

He was finally arrested on December 27 last year, when a driver coming into New Street at around 7pm spotted him on the tracks.

Officers found him hiding in the tunnel and he fled, but police knew which way he would try to escape and were waiting for him at the other end.

His presences on the lines that evening caused delays totalling 467 minutes, costing Network Rail 30,556.

Carriage clean-up work cost 3,500.

Sketch books found at his house, on Inverness Road, Northfield, revealed tags matching those on the trains.

Traces of paint on his clothes matched that used on trains and at Dudley Port station, while his phone records linked him to times and dates when graffiti was scrawled at Coseley and Tipton stations.

Byrd went on to admit obstruction, trespass and criminal damage.

Last week, he was jailed for eight weeks and ordered to pay train operators CrossCountry and London Midland compensation of 3,772 in total.

PC Dave Rich from BTP in Birmingham said: These were not victimless crimes: Byrds actions delayed passengers and the cost to clean his graffiti will undoubtedly be passed onto the travelling public in some form.

We are satisfied with the sentence handed to him and we hope it sends a clear message to other graffiti vandals that we will do everything in our power to put you before the courts, who take a dim view of such mindless acts.

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Graffiti vandal behind a 34,000 rail crime spree is named | Express ... - expressandstar.com

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

Read more:

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

Last month, behind the smoke screen of the FBI-Trump main event, Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a memo ordering federal prosecutors to seek the most serious charges possible and reinforce the use of mandatory minimum sentencing.

Sessions claims that this policy affirms our responsibility to enforce the law, is moral and just, and produces consistency. But how truly just is consistency when judicial discretion is removed? This sort of governance should be a legitimate concern for everyone who believes in a fair legal system and due process.

Time and again, mandatory minimum sentencing has proven itself to usurp judicial discretion and lead to extreme sentencing for non-violent, victimless drug offenders. Is it the position of the government that regulation of a non-violent, victimless act requires decades long accommodation in a prison cell?

The War on Drugs, mass incarceration, and the failures of the criminal justice system should go down as one of the darkest marks in American history. We are putting people in prison for life for victimless crimes and for exercising their own right and liberty to do with their body as they choose.

Where are the protests for those men and women who have been locked in cages for decades for victimless drug crimes? Where are the conservatives that argue that the government cant regulate morality? Where are the liberals that always argue that they believe in the right to choice over ones own body? Both sides of the aisle should agree that this is a policy failure.

The United States accounts for only 4% of the world population, but 25% of the prison population, in large part due to federal drug sentencing laws. We have mastered the art of arresting people left and right. Yet, we elected a man who paints a picture of rampant crime and lawlessness and a need to reestablish law and order. The math doesnt add up.

We ticket people for not wearing seat belts, for warming up their cars in their driveways, for parking in the wrong direction on private property, for jaywalking, for not shoveling snow off of your sidewalk, and for pretty much anything you can think of. Our whole lives are regulated by law and order.

We arrest people for smoking a plant that has killed zero people and that has been known to have medical benefits, while we dish out fatal doses of pills like candy.

We put people in prison for life for possession of a nearly harmless plant, but put people on television commercials for drinking a beverage that is scientifically proven to cause serious health issues.

In Kentucky alone, we have distilleries and breweries flooding the state, a crisis with opioid addiction, and coincidentally one of the most overall unhealthy populations in the country. Where are the lifelong prison sentences for possession of a 12 pack of Bud Light, fifteen special edition bottles of bourbon, and a case of Marlboros?

You see, we have widely accepted that the right to ingest alcohol exists in the personal liberty of the individual. However, we continue to refuse to apply this same premise to marijuana.

It is time for conservatives to step to the plate and fight for personal liberty and removal of government regulation on morality, and for liberals to step to the plate and express their support for the right to choice over ones own body. We owe it to future generations to get this right, and to chip away at the Great Wall that is the police state.

* Spencer Collins is a Navy veteran, healthcare administration professional and graduate student at Eastern Kentucky University. He is a supporter of limited government, individual liberty, and practical policy.

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Mandatory Minimums Are Back in Sessions! - Being Libertarian

Dashcam footage of the exact moment Philando Castile was murdered by Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez was released late Tuesday. The video proves two things: Castile could not have been more compliant, while Yanez responded with violence and seven rounds of gunfire. There is no ambiguity in the footage or the audio, no question that Yanez was unqualified to be carrying that gun, no question he was a far greater danger to Minnesotas citizens than the man he killed. To watch that scene and not believe Philando Castile was murdered is to believe black life has no inherent claim to existence.

The jury was shown the footage several times over the course of Yanezs trial, yet they chose to acquit him on all charges. Its a verdict thats maddeningly, infuriatingly and heartbreakingly illogical, yet consistent with every jury in this country thats been asked to rule on the deaths of black people at the hands of police. The U.S. system of criminal injustice fails black folks from start to finish by design.

A more intimate look at the jurors in Yanezs criminal case, compiled by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, offers not only insights into how they arrived at their decisions, but a look at just how well-stacked the jury was against a just verdict for Castile. There were just two black people on the jury of Castiles supposed peers. Juror One is a young African American who works as a shift manager at Wendys and personal care attendant for his mom. He expressed some lack of faith in the criminal justice system, reportedly expressing a belief that the wealthy and powerful could get off in the legal system because they could hire better attorneys. Juror 8 is an 18-year-old Ethiopian American who has lived in the U.S. since age 10. The Tribune notes that the defense tried to strike her due to unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system, but the judge denied the attempt.

The rest of those selected for the jury were overwhelmingly middle-aged white Minnesotans, many of whom expressly stated support for police or a belief in the infallibility of the criminal justice system. Heres how the list shakes out, taken directly from the Star Tribune:

Juror 2: An older white female who manages a White Bear Lake gas station that has a contract with police. She said she had never heard of the Castile case. The judge denied an attempt by prosecutors to strike her after it was revealed that she had pro-police posts on her Facebook page. One of those posts was heavily critical of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during national anthems last year to protest police shootings. She said she had forgotten about the posts.

Juror 3: Middle-aged white male whose wife works for the St. Paul School District, as did Castile but she did not know him. He lives very close to the where Castile was shot and works as the number one guy at a small metal finishing shop. He said his father was a fire chief and he grew up around law enforcement, and also has a nephew whos a police officer. He said it would be difficult for him to be unbiased. He has permit to carry and said he knew to keep his hands visible during a traffic stop. Thats what they teach you, he said.

Juror 4: A middle-aged white male who had very little knowledge of the case. He said he owns a gun and called the criminal justice system a very fair process.

Juror 5: A middle-aged white female who works at an assisted-living center and is highly active in church volunteer work. She said she had heard about the shooting at the time it happened, but knew little else. Her husband was carjacked at gunpoint 18 years ago. She said she had a high regard for police.

Juror 6: A white male in his 40s who is the jury foreperson. A wellness coach for the last seven years, he believes too many victimless crimes are prosecuted, including drug use and sex work. He believes marijuana should be legalized. He said he was somewhat isolated and knew nothing about the Yanez case.

Juror 7: A white female in her late 30s to early 40s who works as a nurse at the same hospital as Yanezs wife but said she does not know her. She said she watched Diamond Reynolds Facebook video, but didnt seek out news about the case and knew a moderate amount about it. Shes a member of a Harley motorcycle group. She said she was dissatisfied with how police responded to a call in 1996.

Juror 9: A middle-aged computer support worker, she was not familiar with the Yanez case, and said Im thankful we have police officers. She believes in the right to own a firearm, but added Im trying to stay away from them right now.

Juror 10: A middle-aged white male who is retired from preprinting work, he said he followed news about the case off and on. He said he had seen Reynolds Facebook video. She seemed overly calm he said on his juror questionnaire. He owns a handgun and hunts.

Juror 11: A middle-aged white male who owns several shotguns and long rifles to hunt pheasants. A former business manager who now works in construction and remodeling, he said in his questionnaire that the criminal justice system has problems but is the best in the world.

Juror 12: A middle-aged white male who moved to Minnesota four years ago to get a new start. He said hes a regular listener to MPR who knew a lot about the case. A pipe fitter, he took a permit-to-carry class three months ago. Keep your hands visible and do not do anything until they tell you want [sic] to do he said of permit to carry education on traffic stop conduct. He believes minor criminal offenses snowball and trap people in the justice system. It seems like its rigged against you, he said.

Justice for Philando Castile never had a chance. The system isn't broken; in fact, it's working exactly the way it's supposed to. The Yanez case is yet more evidence of exactly how well it continues to function.

[Star-Tribune]

KaliHolloway is a senior writer and the associate editor of media and culture at AlterNet.

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The Philando Castile Jury Was Stacked With Pro-Gun, Pro-Cop, Middle-Aged White People - AlterNet

A strong call has been made to decriminalise victimless crimes to free up law enforcement agencies to focus on situations where peoples rights and property are criminally violated.

The Free Market Foundation (FMF) is also calling for the discretionary powers of government officials that are an incentive for corruption to be restricted. The foundation also lambasted the appointment of judges on the basis they are progressive or advocate social change because that interferes with judicial independence.

The FMF described victimless crimes as those acts or omissions criminalised by government despite there being no complainant. It said victimless crimes included prostitution, some traffic offences, dealing in drugs and contravening exchange regulations. The organisation asked for those crimes to be abolished.

These are distinguished from victimisation crimes, where an individuals rights are criminally violated.

According to the FMF, pursuing victimless crimes wastes police time and prevents them from fighting real criminals.

Police resources are under pressure. One way to alleviate this is to stop wasting time and resources pursuing value-subjective crimes where no individual rights have been violated and allow the police to focus on real crimes against persons and property, the FMF said.

It believed that some traffic regulations were often arbitrary and sometimes unknown to motorists.Seeking help for drug abuse and prostitution led to innocent citizens being deemed criminals.

The FMF said incentives that lead to corruption, such as discretionary powers by officials, must be stopped by introducing strict criteria in the exercise of that power. It cited rampant abuse of discretionary powers in the granting or withholding of contracts, licences, protection, subsidies and other privileges as the causes of real or suspected corruption.

The only way to get money out of politics is to get politics out of money first, and ensure officials are bound by strict and unambiguous criteria in the exercise of their powers.

The FMF said judges appointments must not be politicised.

This is dangerous and contrary to the rule of law.

An independent judiciary is fundamental to a well-functioning democracy In this instance progressive means the judiciary must favour government action in economic and social affairs rather than emphasising individual rights.

Continued here:

Decriminalise victimless crimes, says Free Market Foundation - Citizen

Zane Wetzel, who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography In December 2016 in federal court in Bangor, can be seen in Boston in this December 2010 file photo. (Courtesy of Wetzel family via BDN)

BANGOR, Maine (BDN) -- An Easton man who in 2010 suffered third-degree burns on 50 percent of his body in a high-voltage accident while working as a linesman was sentenced to one and a half years in prison Monday for possession of child pornography.

Zane Wetzel, 31, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in U.S. District Court in Bangor in December 2016 before Judge John Woodcock, who also sentenced him for the crime Monday.

Wetzel, who faced up to 20 years in prison, will be on supervised release for five years and also will have to register as a sex offender, according to Chris Ruge, the assistant U.S. attorney general who prosecuted the case.

An investigation conducted by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security led to police finding in May 2015 images and videos of child pornography depicting actual prepubescent minors who were under the age of 12 years old on Wetzels computer, according to Ruge.

Investigators said Wetzel used peer-to-peer file sharing networks to download hundreds of images at a time. Some of the child porn included men sexually assaulting children, with images and videos saved to the hard drive of his computer.

Ruge said that 36 members of Wetzels family and his religious community attended Mondays proceedings to support him and that four of them spoke on his behalf.

The fact that there is a low risk of recidivism and that he has that support impacted the sentence, said Ruge. Judge Woodcock acknowledged that he was handing down a lighter sentence than he has normally given.

At the same time, Ruge said, Woodcock admonished Wetzel by stating that he did not commit a victimless crime.

Woodcock said in court that these young girls from around the world, who have been subjected to this abuse, are somebodys daughters.

The judge went on to tell the defendant that his offense is a serious crime that merits a significant penalty.

Ruge said Wetzel acknowledged the seriousness of the crime prior to his sentencing.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

In 2010, Wetzel was hit with 69,000 volts of electricity while working as an apprentice linesman for Maine Public Service Co. He suffered a flash burn to his chest, back, arm and neck in the electrical accident that left him with third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body.

Read more:

Man who survived high voltage accident sentenced for child porn ... - WGME

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In Newark, a mom of three and activist called Janet Duran (not her real name) sits at the helm of a group called the New Jersey Red Umbrella Alliance, which has been defending and advocating for the rights of sex workers in the Garden State since 2013. She and others like her want New Jersey to decriminalize prostitution. And weve got to start to look at this in a new way.

Though Duran may not be someone youd wanna be friends with, she has a point. If a woman wants to sell her body for money, shouldnt she be protected? We often say that if New Jersey would only tax, regulate and license the business of prostitution the way it does with other popular industries in the state, wed reap the financial rewards as taxpayers, and youd see a lot less unemployment.

Like other victimless crimes, it seems illogical to call women (or men) who choose this line of work criminals. As we become more evolved when it comes to what people should be allowed to do with their own bodies, these laws should evolve as well.

Prostitution in the larger sense takes place every day in relationships only without money as the currency. Women, who are generally in charge of the sexual yay or nay routinely dole out sex in exchange for comfort, security, a lavish vacation or an expensive meal. Its just called wining and dining and not exchanging sex for goods. A happily married wife may promise a little somethin somethin' in exchange for that sports car or designer purse shes been dying for.

But the moment a monetary transaction is made it becomes a crime. In the case of massage parlors who offer or at least will provide, on request happy endings, whos to say what constitutes the actual act? What if a man merely derives sexual pleasure from the massage itself even without completion and then pays for the pleasure. Is THAT prostitution? Where is the line and who is to make that judgement?

The fact is this: when decisions are made by consenting adults whether they involve monetary compensation or not, it should be none of the governments business. These are personal choices and should be kept just that; personal. We are on the precipice of legalizing marijuana because weve finally realized that we can no longer deprive people of certain freedoms. And sex for money, especially with laws that provide for proper testing and safety is inarguably less risky.

If a woman says my body, my choice when it comes to abortion, but then thinks prostitution should remain illegal, shes a hypocrite. Dont sex workers abide by that same principle? Perhaps its time.

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Judi It's time to make prostitution legal in New Jersey - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

This story is one of a series of stories and interviews relating to prostitution and its effects on the community and families. Is it a victimless crime? Or is it just the tip of the iceberg, leaving a string of destruction in its pathway? Many therapists define sexual addiction as obsessive behavior that puts marriage, family, career, health and personal safety in peril.

We also will be examining in future stories sex trafficking, pornography and child prostitution and pornography. In some instances, like this one, the names have been changed to protect the family who agreed to be interviewed. In other pieces, the names will be changed to protect the people being interviewed because of the potential danger they place themselves in by going public.

For those who think prostitution is a victimless crime, Karen and her family wouldnt agree.

There are few things more devastating to a spouse than the betrayal of infidelity, which is intensified if it is made public. Experts say there is a psychological difference between paid sex and other types of infidelity. Visiting a prostitute is usually only about the sex. It isnt about friendship. It isnt about ego, or admiration, or conquest. It is a cold and emotionless one-sided business transaction.

Karen and Mark from outside appearances are an All American family. Karen stays home and has a home-based business that allows her to be with the children, and Mark is a career man. He loves his wife and his kids. They all go to church on Sundays and worship together. But there was an addiction that was secretly tearing their family apart.

Karens perfect world fell apart after finding out that Mark had been frequenting local massage parlors, right here in Fallbrook on Main Ave. She described her feelings as raw. She felt betrayed, deceived and disgusted. Her world was shattered and she wasnt sure if she had any blame. She wasnt sure if they would ever be the same again. She loved him, but wondered, How could he do that? She had a lot of questions, but wasnt sure she wanted to know the answers.

Mark started going to massage parlors in search of relief. He had chronic pain and didnt want to take prescription pain killers. As his visits grew into something more, he says fantasy fueled it and he never meant to hurt his wife, his family or himself, but his double life began and he was just looking for some me time.

What fueled Marks perfect storm was a porn addiction. Next week we will examine what experts are describing as the pornography epidemic. The sex industry as a whole has an excess of 25 million websites. Why is this relevant? All of the people we interviewed said their sex addiction started with pornography. It is estimated that as many as 79 percent of men age 18 to 30 view porn at least monthly. Some experts believe that the addiction is stronger than cocaine in adolescents ages 11 to14. Meaning, the pathways developed in a young persons brain upon seeing the pornographic images at that formative age has an even greater addictive effect than the actual drug.

Karen took great care of herself and looked great but she said, He wasnt really interested in me physically. She knew something was wrong, but was shocked to find out that he was bypassing her to be with weird looking women. She said, Ultimately, I represented guilt and shame because the intimacy between a husband and wife is based on love, so how can you have that when you are off having interactions with who knows what.'

She said, Lust is about taking and love is about giving. Mark agreed.

Karen said, When I found out I wanted to die. I was so devastated, disgusted by something that was meant to be beautiful. It was now dirty and disgusting. I had a self hatred and then a hatred for even being a woman. Its interesting how I turned it inward towards myself. Logically you realize its not your fault but theres a sense of control over the situation if you believe that a change of something about yourself can make a difference. But theres really nothing you can do.

And I never once turned him down for sex, so it wasnt because he wasnt given attention at home.

I broke down and fell apart. If it wasnt for the grace of God, I wouldnt have gotten out of bed. In my head, even though it wasnt conscious, I wanted him to see what he was missing. I would think, look what you are giving up your family, a wife who adores you, and your future. But trying to rationalize with someone who is in the depths of that is impossible because their mind has become so warped. Its like trying to rationalize with someone who wants to believe the lies theyve told themselves to continue the behavior. The wife is blaming herself and the husband is blaming her too [and the prostitute may also be blaming the wife]. Its so emotionally and mentally draining. I tried to guilt him, shame him into repentance.

The more anger and breakdowns I would have the less he could hear God. Yet he would still continue to frequent the massage parlors. His justification was he wasnt paying for it, he was just tipping them.'

She continued, I would say, Its so degrading. How could you? We continued to pray together and go to church. So I gave him one year. Within that year there were highs and lows and at some point I knew something wasnt right and some of the old behavior started to return and there were some nights where I couldnt relax around my husband and then I was in the position where my biggest trigger was my husband. He was still hiding something and he also realized that things werent going to get better.

Karen was giving up hope as he would say, I went to get a massage but I didnt pay for anything. The only way she seemed to reach him and get him to see was to say, Ok we can go to the pastor and talk to him. She said it was then that she left because she didnt believe anything would ever change. Leaving for the support of her family in another state, she was giving up on their marriage.

I knew as soon as I got in the plane that I was supposed to leave, said Karen. The best thing I ever did was to let go and walk away. Then he sought help on his own.

Mark called her after she left and said, Im a coward. I did receive services. Karen said, I will not be coming home.

I had friends step forward who said my kids and I could stay with them but none of this I wanted for our family, and I was angry at him for doing this to my family, said Karen.

But while she was out of town with family, Karen found out she was pregnant with his baby.

Karen said, My biggest lesson was the Refiners Fire when youre faced with that type of adversity and devastation. I could have gone and cheated or justified alcohol or other self medication. Theres a lot of temptation to gratify yourself. Theres an emptiness and grieving and loss. Its like a death I really was faced with and self has an insatiable appetite. Where doesnt it end? One thing that kept me from seeking attention from other men was the thought, Just because my husband lowered his standards doesnt mean I need to. Or to compromise my standards for myself.

But I found it very difficult, continued Karen. There was temptation. I was able to ask myself, How would it end? What I found is, you dont regret saying no, but I would have regretted saying yes. It was a time of self-revelation. There were some things in me that surfaced that I didnt like.

Mark found an inpatient program in Kentucky called Pure Life Ministry that specialized in the addictions he faced.

Karen said, After he moved back to Kentucky and was there a few months, the counselor was calling me asking if Mark could be here during the birth of the baby. I said no, because missing the birth is a small price to pay for what he did.

Then he asked me to just pray about it. The next day I was driving and I felt a tugging on my heart and I felt like the Lord was asking me, Karen, what does forgiveness look like? After that God validated me. Does Mark deserve to die of AIDS, or have a lifetime of misery that he deserves? Yes, but forgiveness is taking all those things and rolling them up in a ball and throwing them out the window. He doesnt deserve to see his daughter be born. But forgiveness is a giving up of ones right. God has taken all that and nailed it to the cross.

So I went back to the house and called his counselor, continued Karen. Bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness would have grown and grown and eventually taken over if I couldnt forgive him. I can only deal with me. I dont think theres anything in Karen that could have forgiven that man. Its only with the love of Christ.

How were you able to be intimate again? It was awful, said Karen. Visions of other women were in our bedroom. I had to accept it and get past it. Sometimes I would break down and cry. I would think I could never go back and do that again. But the change in him was what started to bring the real intimacy back. It was his desire for his wife and the design of intimacy between a husband and a wife that brought it back. In physical intimacy there is a bond and we had lost that. It was no longer an intimate experience that I could share with my husband, but one that would now entail battling repulsive images.

Will things ever be the same? I think that its a delusion to think youre going to get through life or marriage without experiencing something of the caliber where youre going to ask yourself that question, said Karen. Rape victims feel that way, people who lose children feel that way. But the [grace] is that Christ makes all things new.

What I wasnt prepared for was the spiritual intimacy that would become a new part of our marriage, continued Karen. It was an intimacy that ran much deeper than the physical. A cord of three strands is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). When we aligned our lives in submission to Gods will, we met on a spiritually intimate level and everything else for me became second. That is what drew us closer. The closer we both came to God, the closer we were to one another. This was new in our marriage.

And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. (Revelation 21:5)

And this was true of our marriage. There was a sense of peace I had in knowing there was never or ever would be a prostitute who could share that with him. It belonged to us and to me that was sacred.

Studies indicate that men who hire prostitutes are only slightly more likely to be single than married. And furthermore they do not appear to differ much from the general population of men.

Mark, What do you think was the reason you visited prostitutes? It was an offshoot of fantasy, he said. Some people have taken their own fantasies different ways, but for me, my body constantly hurt. My back, knees, and shoulder and I was looking for some relief. I saw what prescription drugs do to people and I didnt drink, so I justified it in my own thinking that this is just a brief moment of reprieve, me time

Was it all that you hoped and fantasized it would be? The reality is that [paying for sex] is fleeting, the outcome is never what you hoped or expected it to be, Mark said. The outcome leaves you with guilt and condemnation and a bit of ostracizing. And now its a thing that you can never talk about. Youve opened the door to a separate life or a different you, and you are who you are. You become very plastic. You start to care a lot less about people.

Mark said he started paying for services before he was married.

I was feeling the void of no girlfriend, no intimacy, no relationship and at the same time I was all that much more bitter towards women (he had gone through a divorce from his first wife), Mark said.

Mark says because he was so angry and bitter, that it was a miracle that he actually dated during the beginning stages (of massages and extra services).

The favors at the end (of the massage) I didnt consider sex, it was just the outskirts, said Mark. And the problem is, if you feed your soul that junk, thats the only thing thats going to grow. Intimacy isnt sex, but thats what pop culture had (to offer).

Was pornography a precursor? Yes, from a young age, said Mark. And if you research it enough, you will find it is ALWAYS a precursor to sexual misconduct or sexual crimes.

He added, Actually taking the step to pay for physical sex is much easier after viewing pornography and visualizing it for months. Youve already done it in your head and youve justified it to yourself. You just need the right time and that always comes when you are so willing. The adrenaline is there and its not that you dont love your wife, its different. I knew it was wrong. The guilt had no power to overcome the desire for self gratification.

Mark says he eventually felt trapped and wanted out but didnt know how to escape its grasp on him.

Mark admits paying for sex doesnt replace Intimacy. Intimacy is a deep level of friendship a man and a wife have intimacy in a healthy relationship, he said. And for instance, two guys can have intimacy without having sexual relations.

Several years later, after you were married and it all came to light, how did you feel? I felt hollow, he said. I was tired of trying to maintain a front that wasnt real. In some ways I had already known that my family was gone and that was part of the hollow feeling. I was existing in that lie.

For all intents and purposes, Mark was a good guy.

There was work that I was trying to do correctly and I was still trying to be a good guy at home, but emotionally I was quick tempered, always frustrated, had unreal expectations for everybody around me because I didnt know what a real relationship should be like, said Mark.

How did it affect Karen? She went through periods of depression, anxiety and panic attacks, because of not being able to trust me, and finding out one day that I was not who she thought I was, said Mark. Even at that point I had a hard time being repentant. I was sorry. I didnt want to see her get hurt. I was sorry I hurt her. I didnt want to hurt her. I loved her, or I had a sense of what I thought love was for her. So in my thinking, according to my definition, yes (I loved her), but in that love I still cheated on her. I didnt take care of her. I always put her below my needs. Obviously my definition of love was screwed up at best.

Some time after the initial confrontation I recommitted my life to Christ, continued Mark. Karen and I got baptized in our church but I still lacked power because my spiritual roots hadnt grown deep enough.

A comment that she made was something to the effect of, If you dont find a way to get some help or work this out, its going to kill you or youre going to kill yourself. Immediately I could say, Youre right. I knew she was right and I researched on the internet for residency programs for sexual addiction. And I knew the only real solution was going to be through God because I had already seen a sexual addiction therapist for about three months.

When I went to Pure Life Ministry, I met lots of great guys but some of them just wanted to fix this little thing. The difference for me and what I knew was that if it didnt work for me, I would be dead. I would end up diseased or dead and I was at the end of my rope, and God was able to use that.

I was shocked to learn that my sexual addiction was really sexual idolatry and that was just a fruit of a whole tree of sin where pride was at the roots. And my pride was saying Its all about me. I want what I want when I want it. When youre not focused on Christ, you can justify anything.

But the reality is if what we are doing is not for the glory of Jesus Christ, it wont last. Well be left at Judgment grasping at straws for what we did for selfish reasons.

In asking Mark if he had any parting shot, he pointed me to a Bible verse Luke 8:38-39 (NIV). The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him [Jesus], but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return home and tell how much God has done for you. So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

Mark said, You see, I am that man. Not everyone wants to hear these things. I pray the soil of mens hearts are not so hard and rocky as to reject the seeds from the Spirit of God. True change is impossible without Him.

Today I can love my wife with a real love not my broken misconception of love, continued Mark. I can love my wife because of Christ inside of me. He has shown me how to love and now I just need to follow his example.

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Prostitution: The 'Victimless Crime' and its effects on one local family - Fallbrook / Bonsall Villlage News

The jurors The case of the State of Minnesota v. Jeronimo Yanez started with a jury pool of 50 randomly selected residents of Ramsey County. Here are sketches of the final 12 jurors, revealed during the selection process:

Juror 1: Young black man who works as a shift manager at Wendys and personal care attendant for his mom. He said hed never had a run-in with police.

Juror 2: An older white woman who manages a White Bear Lake gas station that has a contract with police. She said she had never heard of the Philando Castile case. The judge denied an attempt by prosecutors to strike her after it was revealed that she had pro-police posts on her Facebook page.

Juror 3: Middle-aged white man whose wife works for the St. Paul School District, as did Castile but she did not know him. He lives very close to where Castile was shot and is the No. 1 guy at a small metal finishing shop.

Juror 4: A middle-aged white man who had very little knowledge of the case. He said he owns a gun and called the criminal justice system a very fair process.

Juror 5: A middle-aged white woman who works at an assisted-living center and is highly active in church volunteer work. She said she had heard about the shooting at the time it happened but knew little else.

Juror 6: A white man in his 40s who is a wellness coach and became the jury foreman. He said he believes too many victimless crimes are prosecuted, including drug use and sex work.

Juror 7: A white woman in her late 30s to early 40s who works as a nurse at the same hospital as Yanezs wife but said she does not know her. She said she watched Diamond Reynolds Facebook video, but didnt seek out news about the case and knew a moderate amount about it.

Juror 8: An 18-year-old Ethiopian-American woman who immigrated to America when she was 10. She said she had not heard about the Yanez case before jury selection and doesnt watch the news. The defense tried to strike her due to unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system, but the judge denied the attempt.

Juror 9: A white middle-aged computer support worker, who was not familiar with the Yanez case, and said, Im thankful we have police officers. She believes in the right to own a firearm, but added Im trying to stay away from them right now.

Juror 10: A middle-aged white male who is retired from preprinting work. He said he followed news about the case off and on. He said he had seen Reynolds Facebook video.

Juror 11: A middle-aged white man who owns several shotguns and long rifles to hunt pheasants. He said in his questionnaire that the criminal justice system has problems but is the best in the world.

Juror 12: A middle-aged white man and pipe fitter who moved to Minnesota four years ago to get a new start. He said hes a regular listener to MPR who knew a lot about the case. He took a permit-to-carry class three months ago.

Staff reports

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Snapshot of jurors in the Yanez case - Minneapolis Star Tribune