RIAA p2p app in kiddie porn case
p2pnet news | Crime:- A 60-your-old Virginia man, David Leroy Knellinger Sr, has been sentenced to more than seven years in jail for allegedly using a P2P file sharing application to download kiddie porn.
Significantly, he was using iMesh, the first RIAA-approved P2P app, says the US Department of Justice.
Knellinger pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornographym says the DoJ, going on:
“As part of his plea agreement, Knellinger admitted to using iMesh, a peer-to-peer software program, to obtain videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.”
Knellinger, “admitted that on April 3, 2005, he used terms associated with child pornography to search for files, and downloaded and saved three illegal videos”.
The child victim in the video has been as Kenneth Freeman, was a fugitive on the US Marshal’s Service “15 Most Wanted” list, says the DoJ, adding:
“On May 2, 2007, Freeman was arrested in Hong Kong, China. He is currently contesting extradition proceedings.”
iMesh was to all intents and purposes the first formerly independent p2p company to ’settle’ with Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG’s RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), reopening as an “approved” p2p “network” soon afterwards.
Also See:
Department of Justice – Richmond Man Sentenced to 87 Months in Prison for Receiving Child Pornography Via Peer-To-Peer Software, August 17, 2007
“approved” p2p “network” – Bearshare is Borged, August 17, 2006
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August 20th, 2007 at 11:10 am
7 years in jail for watching some videos……Am I the only one who sees how royally fucked up that is?
August 20th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
^——– The videos were of children being exploited… it wasn’t just “some videos”
August 20th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
it wasn’t just “some videos” and it wasn’t just any old app
August 20th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Surely the people making and distributing the videos are the ones that should be prosecuted?
You can download people being killed, yet those are perfectly legal. It smells of hypocrisy.
I don’t condone the downloading of these videos, but seven years in jail is ridiculous. In the uk, rapists, murderers are child molesters get lesser sentences than this. The U.S legal system is screwed up.
August 20th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
My point exactly. Child pornography is horrible, but sending someone to jail just for downloading it makes absolutely no sense. The man did not make or distribute any of the videos in question. He did not attempt to sollicit sex from underage kids. In fact, what it really boils down to is, he had nothing to do with the child exploitation that took place, nor did he have any contact with anyone involved. And yet in spite of all this, he’s forced to rot in jail for 7 years, while the real predators are still at large, living anonymously, enjoying their freedom, free to wreak havoc on even more innocent victims.
It’s just like sending someone to jail for posession of drugs, even if it’s for their own personal use, while the dealers get off scott free.
August 21st, 2007 at 2:57 am
7 years and chemical castration would be more fitting. While the people who make this cr*p need to be hunted down also, if there was no demand there would be no supply. All these sick f*cks deserve the harshest punishment. If they can be stopped before they get to molesting children themselves I consider it a great victory for the legal system.
And to everyone on this blog that considers it a grave injustice that someone involved in the exploitation of children was given such a harsh sentence I have only one question, “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” These videos are not harmless entertainment. They do embolden those with sick urges to become predators themselves.
I genuinely hope that you are members of some **AA or similar organazation trying to give p2p users a bad name, and if not get some help.
August 21st, 2007 at 6:29 am
Befor anybody decides this guy should be drawn and quartered it might be appropriate to ask exactly what was in those videos. Was it a 4 year old being mounted by a goat or a 16 1/2 year old woman doing what just about everybody does. Maybe both illegal, maybe the latter should NOT be illegal but in any case, not the same crime. Except to the ever present censors who are determined that the day a woman turns 18 she changes species from innocent little waif to whore for doing the same act on video.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:32 am
“7 years and chemical castration would be more fitting. While the people who make this cr*p need to be hunted down also, if there was no demand there would be no supply. All these sick f*cks deserve the harshest punishment. If they can be stopped before they get to molesting children themselves I consider it a great victory for the legal system.”
Bullshit. Just because someone watches this crap doesn’t automatically make them sexual predators. You can’t assume someone is a sex offender with no solid evidence. Innocent until proven guilty, remember?
“And to everyone on this blog that considers it a grave injustice that someone involved in the exploitation of children was given such a harsh sentence I have only one question, “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” These videos are not harmless entertainment. They do embolden those with sick urges to become predators themselves.”
And that justifies sending him to jail, why? If the law enforcers actually gave a shit about public safety, they’d monitor his online activities, to see if it actually led to something worse. Or provide counselling. But instead of attacking the roots of these problems, they just throw everyone in jail.
Perhaps I didn’t make it clear: THIS GUY DID NOT COMMIT ANY SEXUAL ACTS WITH CHILDREN. He did not try to solicit kids online (or in person), he had nothing to do with the production or distribution of said material, and he had no contact with anyone involved. Your claim that “if there was no demand there would be no supply” is moot. He didn’t solicit the material from the providers; but downloaded them anonymously. This is completely different from something that is done for profit. The fact that people download it does not contribute to child exploitation at all.
August 21st, 2007 at 10:09 pm
The previous “Reader’s Write” at 8/21/07, 7:32 AM is correct in so many ways, and reflects what I have been shouting at the top of my lungs on my own website. People who have what society deems an unacceptable sexuality (in this case, since the material is technically illegal, it would likely be pedosexuality or ephebosexuality) are stigmatized, outcast, and attacked for their controversial sexual orientations. (FYI if you don’t know the difference, the prefix pedo- indicates prepubescent children, whereas the prefix ephebo- indicates post-pubescent adolescents, and while pedosexual behavior is not even biologically logical, ephebosexuality makes more biological sense because females gain the ability to bear children around age 12 and the root purpose of sex is to bear children.) Note that until recent decades, homosexuality was looked upon in American society as a mental illness in much the same way as sexual attraction to children (pedophilia).
The treatment to correct unacceptable sexual behaviors isn’t offered at all. The isolation created by society and by extreme law enforcement in the name of “protecting the children” causes people with the seeds of these behaviors to become further isolated and even addicted to their controversial sexuality. If they try to get help in some way, the person they seek help from is required by law to inform law enforcement, and often the person is arrested for whatever they can pin on them (conspiracy to commit sexual offense, anyone?)
America has become a country that solves every single problem through courts and politicians. Sexual exploitation of children is a societal problem, not a legal or governmental one, and only societal changes will correct the problem and lower the rate of new child sexual exploitations. Punishment after the fact doesn’t stop the crime from happening, because a punishment requires that a crime be committed first. Instead of putting people who possess pictures or videos in jail, we should be forcing them to go through the sex offender treatment program instead–without putting them on probation and branding them as sex offenders for having a problem. As effective as SOTP’s have proven to be, there is little doubt that the widespread availability of these programs to people who need them but haven’t been convicted of a crime would put a HUGE dent in the number of actual sexual offenses that directly harm a real child.
My position with teens is that each teen is different and teens should generally be considered quite capable of consenting to sexual activities at their own discretion. Personally, I was taught sex ed in fifth grade (age 11) and by the time I was 13, I certainly knew enough about what sex was, how it worked, and how it could potentially change my life if I engaged in it. Add to that a SECOND sex ed course taught in the NINTH grade…and I know of some kids that aren’t even 10 that already know what sex is and how it works, even though they still think the opposite sex has “cooties.” Think about this: if a 13-year-old can be “tried as an adult” for a serious crime, why can the exact same 13-year-old be considered “unable to consent to sexual activity?” And then that same 13-year-old would be described as “an immature kid” in the sex case, yet in, say, a murder case, it’s suddenly a “crafty teen who knew exactly what he/she was doing?” RIDICULOUS.
The part about having the material versus actually acting out those same sexual desires doesn’t need much elaboration. Some theorize that a pedophile who watches child porn is less likely to actually violate a child, because the sexual frustration is relieved in a fashion not dissimilar from a bachelor masturbating to some kind of legal fetish porno video. That, however, is beyond the scope of this discussion, and suffice it to say that looking at images versus acting out inappropriate sexual desires is a very huge difference.
August 21st, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Do some more research and see that he was originally facing over 100 years in prison … does anyone else see the power of the plea bargain here? If you were facing 140 years in prison and had already sold your home in order to pay for your defense wouldn’t you be tempted by the plea bargain? Even if you didn’t do it? I sure would, it is an awfully big gamble to take. The US Government has unlimited resources to prosecute those that they do not like; average citizens have very limited resources with which to defend themselves. Don’t even mention public defenders … just wait until it’s you needing protection against a dozen superfluous charges that can land you in prison until you die of old age, the PDs won’t look so good anymore. Plea bargains border on blackmail. Certainly there are far more constructive things that he could be doing for the next 7 years. I think attonement is probably more important than punishment in a case like this.
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:55 am
For those who think “Sexual exploitation of children is a societal problem, not a legal or governmental one, and only societal changes will correct the problem and lower the rate of new child sexual exploitations.” Your ignorance is showing. The truth is that those who were sexually exploited as children are far more likely to become offenders later in life (and I am talking about children, not sexually mature teenagers, that’s another issue.) Thus the first line of defense is to find those who are at risk of becoming offenders (i.e. those already acting on their attraction) and intervene. I cannot believe I need to say it but, the most helpless members of our society deserve our protection.
Despite the multiple protestations, the fact is that those who download and view sexually explicit pictures and video of children are already starting to act on their compulsions. Ask anyone knowledgeable in this area if the child molester fantasized and viewed this sick media first (if available) before acting. Furthermore, pedophilia and ephebosexuality are not akin to homosexuality because the fact is your decision making facilities are the last thing to develop (usually being fully developed by early to mid twenties). While these children (in the case of a twelve year old) may be biologically capable of sexual reproduction, they certainly lack the facilities to make an informed decision.
Furthermore, I cannot believe anyone would defend those who are created or viewing this media. There is a difference between these 2 classes of people but both need to monitored and ultimately stopped from continuing these sick, immoral, and societally harmful behaviors.
Now I wash my hands of this discussion as I feel I need a shower.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:59 pm
“The truth is that those who were sexually exploited as children are far more likely to become offenders later in life (and I am talking about children, not sexually mature teenagers, that’s another issue.) Thus the first line of defense is to find those who are at risk of becoming offenders (i.e. those already acting on their attraction) and intervene.”
That’s why I propose anonymous treatment programs for people who seek help, rather than quick arrest for trying to get it. That is a government-based solution and would be excellent, but the nature of American society in general is such that we are exposed to more and more sexual tittilation, yet so many ways in which this constant state of mass-media sexual teasing (and increasingly more and more under-18 girls are part of the sexually teasing media out there; Britney Spears sitting backwards in a chair with her crotch spread wide open on the front of one of her albums seven or eight years ago is a prime example) can be worn off are illegal. Prostitution (or “escorts” as they are sometimes called now) is illegal in almost every state. Pornography is becoming cracked down upon more and more in the country, and the problem gets too complex and interwoven to really continue describing in a Reader’s Write. On the flip side, Japan is one of the most sexually liberated societies in the world, where every fetish is entertained, lolicon anime is not illegal (though real child porn is very much illegal, drawn child porn isn’t), and 14-year-old school girls are legally able to consent to sex with anyone they choose. They have their share of problems, but their rate of sex crimes such as rape and molestation is significantly lower. Their society is different than ours, and that’s why I say that the ultimate problem is societal. Government can only provide “helping hands” but expecting government to fix everything is no different than killing weeds in the garden by cutting them down. The root of the problem is not based in government, so the ultimate solution to the reduction of the crimes is not there, although the government does have SOME responsibility to help the society deal with the problem.
“Despite the multiple protestations, the fact is that those who download and view sexually explicit pictures and video of children are already starting to act on their compulsions.”
You can’t show me proof of that statement. I’ve looked for it already. You can find specific isolated instances where CP was possessed by a molester, but you can’t prove that possession of it alone is causing a person to be a molester.
“Ask anyone knowledgeable in this area if the child molester fantasized and viewed this sick media first (if available) before acting.”
I *AM* someone knowledgeable in this area, and most child molesters engage in unacceptable behavior *without* child porn being a precursor. The porn is not the “gateway drug” but the lack of anonymous, non-prosecuting therapy programs and the harsh punishments if found out cause intentional isolation of the possessor from others, and of course that allows the addiction (and it IS an addiction, not unlike drugs) to progress to worse stages. The porn doesn’t change the person; the addiction to the porn and the self-isolation causes the change. It works the same with alcohol: some use it responsibly, others use it irresponsibly and cause harm to others because of it, but that doesn’t mean the alcohol is responsible for the person making the decision to drink too much and act unacceptably.
“Furthermore, pedophilia and ephebosexuality are not akin to homosexuality because the fact is your decision making facilities are the last thing to develop (usually being fully developed by early to mid twenties).”
You failed to show how development of decision-making facilities are directly tied to sexual preferences.
“While these children (in the case of a twelve year old) may be biologically capable of sexual reproduction, they certainly lack the facilities to make an informed decision.”
But at 13, 14, 15…what about those “children?” Wouldn’t you agree that an early teen who has had the dangers of this-and-that drilled into them plenty of times already is capable of making decisions about their sexuality, drug use, etc. on their own? Don’t they make those decisions ANYWAY, regardless of what a law in a book says?
“Furthermore, I cannot believe anyone would defend those who are created or viewing this media.”
This is a common twisting of the subject. You’re attempting to attack me rather than the points, and that’s logically fallacious. Besides, no one is DEFENDING the creators of the media, and the defense of the viewers is based on the concept that mere possession or viewing doesn’t actually harm anyone, nor is it necessarily indicative that the person WILL harm anyone. It’s like saying that all the teens who play Grand Theft Auto games will go pimp prostitutes and kill random people one day. I think we can see that, while a couple of isolated cases exist, that hasn’t exactly happened. Exposure to media does not imply that the exposed will emulate that media.
“There is a difference between these 2 classes of people but both need to monitored and ultimately stopped from continuing these sick, immoral, and societally harmful behaviors.”
The morality of ANY behavior is not something government should be allowed to legislate. Sick is something for a professional to decide, but societally harmful is more relevant and the need to CORRECT THESE UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS is VERY important. Unfortunately, American society has fallen into the stupid belief that more and harsher punishments are the only way to make crimes not happen. This is wrong at its very core, because a punishment has no effect until the crime is perpetrated already and the person happens to get CAUGHT. I don’t want people to watch child porn any more than you do, but the way in which society and government handle someone possessing it is outrageous and counterproductive, as well as counter to the goals of any system that has the balls to call itself a “correctional” system. If it’s about keeping the sex crimes from ever happening, let’s keep it from happening by stopping the problem BEFORE IT MANIFESTS AS A CRIME THAT HARMS SOMEONE.
I wrote a page on this at http://www.angryoffender.com/problems_solutions.html called “Stopping Sex Crimes: The Real Problem and Real Solutions” that explains what I’m saying more clearly, and provides suggestions for how to stop sex crimes before they happen instead of punishing after a child is molested or a woman is raped. I hope you will read it and respond less emotionally charged the next time around.
August 22nd, 2007 at 2:10 pm
You really need to grow up. We are not defending anything. I simply believe that it is irrational, ludicrous, and unfair to administer jail time simply for viewing this type of material. It is completely different from carrying out the act with a real child, and therefore deserves a different treatment. We are not attempting to justify pedophilia the same way NAMBLA does by comparing it to the stigma that used to be attached to people of different sexual orientations, beliefs, etc. Like you said, it’s not the same thing. Even the most narrowminded homophobe can tell the difference between a sexual act carried out between 2 (or more) consenting adults, and one involving children. However, The Angry Offender does have a point.
Our society has created such an intolerant stigma against these types, that we wrongfully suspect every single one of them of being child molesters. And, like it or not, it’s the exact same attitude we used to have against gays, black people, etc., many years ago. Which is not to say that pedophiles are being discriminated against, but our society is showing a very one-sided, unfaltering attitude. This is the very reason why they’re being sent to jail for the simple act of viewing said material. Because we automatically associate them with rapists, stalkers, kidnappers and the like. Because we never stop to think that, maybe they aren’t a threat to society, or a potential sex offender. The best way to play it safe would be to find out just how screwed up these people are, and then try to steer them on the right path. Just like we currently do with troubled youths who are heading down the wrong path in life, but haven’t committed any serious crimes yet. You can’t assume someone will commit, or has any intention to commit, any sex-related crimes just because of their socially unacceptable fetish.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Hear, hear!
October 29th, 2007 at 4:03 am
Millions of men across the world download legal pictures and videos of women doing unspeakable sexual things. Should we arrest all of them on the charges that they might become rapist or sexual predators?
Essentially that is what we do to people who download children doing the same acts. We condemn them as being pedophile and lock them away because they “may” have acted upon their impluses and fantasies.
By these standards we should probably also lock up all video game players for their violent impluses and posibility they may commit murder. Also just throw in all of society while you’re at it because most everyone watches violence or porn in some fashion. We all have the ability to do bad things but that does not mean we are bad people or will do bad things. While viewing underage porn is frowned upon in society. It should not be punishable by jail time. Just because someone is looking at the stuff does not mean they will ever go after a young girl.
November 20th, 2008 at 6:15 am
they go over the top with the harshest penalties for viewing such porn yet don’t blink and eye when fetuses are aborted
there have been 50 000 000 since Roe vs Wade
abortion ( a life is truncated) is choice but viewing child porn ( not life terminated) is the basest of crime – they say
I can’t see the balance in this at all