Fox news carried a story yesterday of a family that dropped off a digital camera memory stick at a local WalMart. The police showed up with Child Protective Services and the kids were taken away. There were really innocent pictures of the kids playing in the tub, like every family has in it's album. A WalMart employee turned them in for child pornography. It took them a month to get their children back. here's the link..
http://www.kidglue.com/2009/09/18/wal-mart-sued-after-false-child-porn-allegations/Imagine going on a vacation and taking pictures of the entire trip. When you return home, you take the memory card to your local Wal-Mart to get the pictures developed. Instead of getting your pictures, you are accused of taking inappropriate pictures of your daughters and they are taken into protective custody. Can’t imagine that could happen? It did to Lisa and Anthony Demaree of Peoria, Arizona.
The couple took photos of their three girls, ages one and a half, four and five while they were playing and in the bath. How many people have pictures of their kids in the bath together? Most everyone. With three kids, it is common when they are younger to throw them in the bath together. My eight and three year olds still love to take baths together. They play and are so cute, I wouldn’t think twice about snapping a picture of them covered in bubbles or with soapy mohawks.
The Wal-Mart employee that was processing the photos noticed that about seven of the 144 photos showed a “portion or outline or genitalia.” The employee turned this in to the police as a possible child pornography case. The police then took the children into protective custody. The children were not allowed to see their parents for several days and were not returned to their home for a month.
The Demaree’s are now suing both Wal-Mart and Peoria, Arizona. The Wal-Mart lawsuit states they did not disclose they had an “unsuitable print policy” and could turn any photos over to law enforcement. The suit against Peoria states the couple was defamed because friends and family members were told they had “sexually abused” their children by taking pornographic pictures of them. The attorney for the Demaree’s, Richard Treon stated there was nothing pornographic about the pictures. The photos were mainly of the the family vacation to San Diego. “This is a parent’s worst nightmare. This is a serious incursion on people’s lives and privacy.”
Now from a parent stand point, I am outraged. I take pictures of my kids all the time. My kids, when they were smaller, loved to be naked. My kids aren’t fully naked, but I easily could have taken a picture of a topless four year old, or three year old running around in a tee shirt and underwear. Could I get turned in for having these printed? It is definitely something to think about. I will be much more careful about what I send out to print, regardless of how cute the picture may be. Maybe it’s time to invest in a good picture printer for the house!
