7th Circuit: Restitution to child porn victims owed by possessors is less than amounts owed by distributors
U.S. v. Laraneta, No. 12-1302 (7th Cir. Nov. 14, 2012) (Opinion by Posner joined by Williams and Sykes)
The court held that a possessor of child porn images is not jointly liable for the total amount of restitution owed to victims by distributors of such images, because the amount of harm caused by possession is less than that caused by distribution. The Court also held that there is no right of intervention for child porn victims where claims of restitution are denied, but rather the appropriate remedy is to seek mandamus at the court of appeals pursuant to 18 U.S.C. ยง 3771(d)(3).
Lawsuit Filed Over Lack Of Porn Available In Jail
CBS Detroit: Twenty-one-year-old Kyle Richards claims cruel and unusual punishment because the Macomb County Jail does not allow inmates to possess pornographic materials. | At Salon, Tracy Clark-Flory argues that porn does not incite aggression: Would porn incite prison violence? | CBS Detroit: Twenty-one-year-old Kyle Richards claims cruel and unusual punishment because the Macomb County Jail does not allow inmates to possess pornographic materials. | At Salon, Tracy Clark-Flory argues that porn does not incite aggression: Would porn incite prison violence? | But see, PornHarms.com
Pamela Paul: The cost of growing up on porn
Pamela Paul, author of Porn Generation, writing at the Washington Post: “An entire generation is being kept in the dark about pornography’s effects because previous generations can’t grapple with the new reality. Whether by approaching me (at the risk of peer scorn) after I’ve spoken at a university or via anonymous e-mails, young people continue to pass along an unpopular message: Growing up on porn is terrible. One 17-year-old who had given up his habit told me that reading about porn addicts ‘was like reading a horrifying old diary, symptoms, downward spirals, guilt, hypocrisy, lack of control, and the constant question of to what degree fantasy is really so different from reality. I felt like a criminal, or at the very least, a person who would objectively disgust me.’”
Picture poison: Viewing pornography for a living can be deadly
SALVO“Although the FBI may now claim that there is no causal link between pornographic images and behavior, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has faced reality. It has established a ‘Safeguard’ program to alleviate job trauma resulting from visual exposure to sado-sexual materials.”
