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Saturday, May 26, 2007
CRIMENETDAILY
Child porn hearing set for former ACLU exec Facing possible prison time for
acting on group's agenda
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Posted: May 26, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
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© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
A former youth league sports coach and executive of the American Civil
Liberties Union, who has argued against any limits on Internet access in
public libraries, is facing a hearing - and the possibility of prison - for
having hard-core child pornography.
Charles Rust-Tierney, 51, as WND reported earlier, was arrested in February
and was indicted earlier this month on allegations of having what a U.S.
magistrate described as "the most perverted and nauseating and sickening
type of child pornography" she ever had seen.
Rust-Tierney, who was president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU until
2005 and served on the group's board until the day he was arrested, now is
scheduled to appear in a court hearing on June 1 at which local reports say
he is expected to plead guilty to various charges.
Authorities have alleged he used his own credit card and his own e-mail
address to access and purchase an estimated $1,000 in graphic and violent
child pornography during 2005 and 2006, according to Virginia's North
Country Gazette.
Magistrate Theresa Buchanan said the material included an extended video
featuring the sexual torture of children, accompanied by a song by the band
called Nine Inch Nails.
He's been indicted on a count of receiving child pornography and another
count of possessing child pornography, and authorities say he could face a
prison sentence of 11 to 14 years on each charge.
While serving the ACLU, he argued against any restrictions on Internet
access in public libraries, claiming "individuals will continue to behave
responsibly and appropriately while in the library" so those facilities
should provide "maximum, unrestricted access to the valuable resources of
the Internet."
Court records indicate Rust-Tierney had subscribed to several websites
featuring child pornography over a period of years, covering the same time
he was serving as a youth sports league coach and arguing for an open
Internet.
Twice during pretrial hearings judges had denied him bond, describing the
material as some of the most sickening they'd ever seen. Authorities allege
he used a computer located in his 10-year-old son's bedroom for the
transactions.
Rust-Tierney was a coach in Arlington's Little League and had children who
participated in Arlington's flag football league, according to Arlington
County Parks & Recreation spokesperson Susan Kalish. She said all the
group's coaches must go through annual background checks, and Rust-Tierney
had passed all previous background checks.
Some of the children he coached had written letters of support. Several
dozen people appeared at a hearing for him, urging the judge to release him
from jail.
He and his lawyers have declined to respond to media requests for comment.
The federal indictment alleged he "knowingly received multiple computer
files that contained photo and video depictions of minor teenage and
prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct."
An anonymous chat room participant on the cannablog was distressed by the
low profile in the national media over the case. When his arrested first was
announced, authorities didn't even mention either his ACLU or youth league
coaching connections.
"This man was the PRESIDENT of the Virginia ACLU and while he was president,
he lobbied to keep the Internet available to child pornographers via any
port available, and WHILE he was president he was engaged in purchasing and
subscribing to child (infant and toddler torture) pornography for his
personal and sexual gratification. The ACLU. Pouring money into a machine
that victimizes children. For years. And that the media is keeping this out
of sight is okay with you? Wow," he said.
Fox News' Bill O'Reilly called it a "horrifying" case. And he noted that the
two "biggest left-wing outfits in the country - the New York Times and NBC
News - ignored the story entirely." CBS News, CNN and most of the big city
liberal newspapers also failed to cover the Rust-Tierney arrest, Fox said.
Several area broadcast stations and newspapers actually have begun to cover
the case as it appears to be heading towards a conclusion.
"That Mr. Rust-Tierney, a leading proponent of unrestricted access to the
Internet, has now been arrested for receiving and possessing graphic child
pornography should serve as testimony to the injudicious and baleful
outgrowth of the legal challenges launched by the ACLU questioning the
constitutionality of important legislation that protects children from
Internet exploitation and content harmful to minors," said a statement
released by spokeswoman Cris Clapp of Enough is Enough, an organization
dedicated to protecting children from the dangers on the Internet.
"When Mr. Rust-Tierney argued before the Loudoun County Library Board that
unrestricted access to the resources of the Internet was essential for our
children's ability to learn and communicate, and when groups like the ACLU
contend that acceptable use policies alone are capable of protecting
children online, they fail to acknowledge the tragic and devastating effects
to children and families of both intentional and unintentional access to
online pornography," the statement said.
The investigation that resulted in Rust-Tierney's arrest was conducted by
the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, as well as Arlington
County police as part of the Northern Virginia and District of Columbia
Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
Source: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55883
Other important links:
http://www.stoptheaclu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=135&Ite
mid=2
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