U.S. Court invokes a PROTECT leader
U.S. Court invokes a PROTECT leader
Attorney and author Andrew Vachss was one of PROTECT’s original founders, national advisory board members and driving forces. So we’re especially proud that his influential voice is shaping federal law on child exploitation. NOTE: Vachss resigned from Protect in 2015, and is no longer associated with the organization.
In a federal court ruling, United States v Fuhrman, the
United States attorneys and Judge William C. Lee cite Vachss: “No child
is capable, emotionally or legally, of consenting to being photographed
for sexual purposes. Thus, every image of a sexually displayed child–be
it a photograph, a tape or a DVD–records both the rape of the child
and an act against humanity.” The court then builds on this argument to
support what Vachss, and PROTECT, have been hammering away at
daily–that child pornography possessors are not harmless spectators,
but serious criminals. Noting that the defendant Fuhrman claimed he was
“merely viewing the images,” Judge Lee writes that “this is a serious
mischaracterization of the crime.”
“By his conduct, Fuhrman created and sustained the market for internet child pornography.” To read the entire decision, click here.