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Are bath-time photos child pornography?

Last fall A.J. and Lisa Demaree took a memory stick with family photos to the printing center at the Wal-Mart store in Peoria, Ariz. Some of the photos showed their three young girls, all under 5 years old, partially nude in the bathtub. The Demarees say these were innocent pictures that all families take. But a Wal-Mart employee felt otherwise and contacted the police who agreed that this was a child pornography situation.


The Demaree's lawyer released this photo to show the pictures of the girls are innocent.
The police report read, "The young girl appeared to be posed in a provocative manner." A report issued by Peoria authorities described the photos as "child erotica" and "sex exploitation."

Child Protective Services searched the Demaree home and took custody of the children for a month while the state investigated. The watched family videotapes and found a few in which the children were playing unclothed. Lisa was suspended from her school job for a year, and both of their names were placed on the sex offender registry. The couple spent $75,000 on legal bills.

The Demarees were eventually cleared of any charges and their daughters returned, but they are now suing the state and Wal-Mart for what they call unfair accusations.....................>>>>.........................>>>>.........................................http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=48024

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Bad memories of child and family services

    The recent opinions expressed in The Daily Gazette regarding Schenectady’s Office of Children and Family Services caused me to revisit some of my memories [Sept. 10 Gazette].
    My awoken memories stem from when I was embroiled in a struggle with the agency over my attempt to assume legal custody of my niece and nephew as a result of my sister’s illness and subsequent death.
    Fortunately we prevailed, and subsequently it has given me great satisfaction to see my niece entering her junior year at The College of Saint Rose and my nephew beginning his studies at the University at Albany. However, the struggle was not pretty! I have included two highlights from that period, followed by an observation based upon information and belief in the paragraphs that follow.
    My strongest unpleasant memory centers around my niece being portrayed as the offender by a caseworker when it was found that she had audio taped her foster mother screaming at her. The diatribe from the foster mother was brutal and consisted of her trying to bend my niece into believing that normal 16-year-old girls do not have parttime jobs. Sadly or perhaps pathetically, the motivation for the foster mother’s hysterics was solely based upon my niece’s part-time job interfering with the foster mother’s weekends at her summer camp.
    A nearly equally repugnant memory arises from the in-house attorney for the Office of Children and Family Services once suggesting to the judge that he should recuse himself if his opinions opposed the agency’s desires; otherwise, he should remain. Fortunately, the judge’s severe look of disapproval conveyed the inappropriateness of the suggestion and hopefully gave the attorney the lesson in ethics that she had apparently avoided during her time spent in law school.
    Regrettably, if I am asked if some of the members of Schenectady’s Offi ce of Children and Family Services use the agency’s muscle to act out their preconceived thoughts in a manner similar to how Europeans once allowed their bias to ultimately enslave Africans, I am compelled to say absolutely.

    MICHAEL BOYER
    Scotia

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00704&AppName=1

THE GOVERNMENT------has NO freakin' clue......the workers, no matter how well intentioned they start out....become bogged down
in our inability to discern/use wisdom/knowledge and then turn to the only goal being the contract they work under and their
retirement(none of which I will begrudge them)....but, all the same-------WE ARE LACKING.....