FBI unveils program to target child pornographers
No reasonable person would defend child molesters. Preying on the innocent and the vulnerable, they deserve to be locked away and the key thrown away. Part of me applauds the FBI for their work in dealing with the threat posed by child molesters. At least someone seems to be having some success. Still, there are some nagging questions about the presumption of innocence that I just can't get out of my mind.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- FBI cybercrime officials Wednesday formally announced a program in which agents go after suspected producers of child pornography by obtaining "John Doe" arrest warrants and releasing the suspects' photographs or videos to the public.
The images -- obtained from child pornography Web sites and other online sources -- are displayed on television and the Internet....
The FBI believes that taking the photos or videos of the unknown suspects and prominently featuring them on the weekly program and on the FBI Web site will help curb the danger to children posed by pornographers.
"With these two arrests we saved eight children," said FBI supervisory agent Stacy Bradley at a Washington news conference. She said agents had evidence the two men had exploited several children before they were identified.
Bradley and other FBI officials involved with the FBI's Innocent Images Task Force placed the photo of a "John Doe Number Three" on the FBI Web site Wednesday, hoping the public will also identify the latest suspected porn producer and sexual exploiter of children.
As much as I applaud the FBI, however, there is something about the effort that I find profoundly disturbing. Indeed, what of the presumption of innocence? When did simply being a suspect become enough to plaster somone's picture all over the Internet? Or is being a suspect morally equivalent to actually being a child molester- you know, the "where there's smoke..." argument?
Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that the FBI makes a mistake, and places the photograph of an innocent man on the Internet. Simply by having his face and name associated with the words "child molester", that person is ruined. His reputation, and that of his family, will be irretrievably tarnished. Let's face it, for most Americans, there is no difference between "suspected child molester" and "convicted child molester".
This WILL happen- perhaps not tomorrow, next week, or next month, but it will happen. Is the FBI prepared to deal with the impact that a mistake of this nature will have on a man and his family? Or are mistakes, and the associated "collateral damage" just the price to be paid for protecting our children?
My suspicion, based on previous examples of this sort of thing taking place, is that the government will simply shrug their collective shoulders, says something equivalent to "Oops; my bad...." and move on. There will be no apologies, no explanation, nothing- and a man and his family will be left to put the pieces back together.
Americans deserve better, because someday this may happen to you.
