Viewing Child Porn Legal In New York

[JTRaines92]

The line for acceptable behavior when it comes to child pornography just got blurrier in New York. The state's highest court just ruled that viewing child porn online isn't a crime, the Associated Press reports.

The decision came down in a hearing for James D. Kent. In 2007 a virus scan of Kent's computer uncovered child porn. Kent, 65, a former professor of public administration at Marist College, was subsequently convicted of 134 counts of possessing child porn and two counts of procuring it. He was sentenced to one to three years imprisonment.

The New York Court of Appeals' ruling dismissed two of Kent's possession charges because he only looked at the material.

While it might sound like odd reasoning, the court based its decision on New York's definition of possession and procurement under the law.

In order to prove either possession or procurement of child porn, it must be shown that a defendant had dominion or control over the material.

In its opinion, the court reasoned that dominion or control required Kent take "some affirmative act" to obtain the child porn. This could be anything from printing to saving or downloading the offending material.

The reason the court overturned two of Kent's charges was that in those cases the child porn was found in his computer's Web cache. The judges viewed this as different from downloading the material because, in essence, it didn't show he actually had control of the images.

While the court agreed that child porn was an abomination, they argued holding Kent guilty for his Web cache would overextend New York law.

Kent claimed the images were part of a research project and that he "abhorred" child pornography.

While viewing child porn is not a crime in New York, it remains illegal under federal law.

Source

 

[Uman85]

**** New York.

 

[dabynsky]

Okay just to be clear here:
Openly supporting *** marriage=turning America into a laughing stock

Viewing child porn=

 

[Popinski Soda]

Source

 

[DewsSox79]

looks like that is a prime place for tbo41fan to go to grad school

 

[Uman85]

How can it be legal to watch something that's illegal to make, distribute and possess? :thinking:

 

[Crystallas]

It's impossible to enforce such a law accurately. I'm glad the SC of NY actually thought this through a bit.

 

[CODE_BLUE56]

looks like that is a prime place for tbo41fan to go to grad school

says the man who likes cocks(and little ones at that)

 

[Capt. Serious]

looks like that is a prime place for tbo41fan to go to grad school

 

[Rush]

Still a federal crime. Will be treated like weed dispensaries I would imagine.