NCSU Freshman Accused Of Downloading Child Porn

Combined - WRAL ^ | Nov 10, 2004 | staff

[TaxRelief]

[Summary: A warrant for arrest has been issued for, Wesley Mincey, an eighteen-year-old freshman at NCSC. The warrant was issued following a call to police from his roommate, who had borrowed Mincey's computer. While using the computer, the roommate discovered that Mincey had downloaded child pornography.]

This summary avoids copyright violations.

[Bikers4Bush]

Do either of those sites post pictures of child porn?

[TaxRelief]

When a fellow student cheats, would you not first give them a chance to turn themselves in? Kids do things impulsively, when they are under pressure.

This would of course preclude habitual offenders.

[robertpaulsen]

"Do either of those sites post pictures of child porn?"

Nope. But it's not only children who are raped or killed.

Isn't it equally likely that a person who downloads porn from a teen website may rape or kill teens? That seems to be your argument for intervention.

[elmer fudd]

If it were just regular pornography I would agree with you, but the fact is that for child pornography to be produced a child has to be victimized in the process and people that view child pornography sponser the victimizers and child rapists by doing so.

Then there is the little issue of this being a warning sign. People view pornography because it excites them sexually and someone who is sexually excited by kiddie porn is someone who is likely to victimize them.

[TaxRelief]

If they do find "ample documentation" and a long history of self-indulgence, then the roommate did do the right thing.

[Bikers4Bush]

My arguement for intervention is that A.) Child porn is illegal and B.) Sex with minors is also illegal.

To my knowledge sex with teenagers (18 or over) and MILFs is legal.

If you can produce any laws that say different by all means produce them.

[AppyPappy]

Imagine if he DIDN'T turn in the guy and the perv ended up molesting some kids.

[Jay777]

There is a difference between nude child photos and porn.

[elmer fudd]

"A picture of a 17 year old girl, even if SHE put it on the Internet, is still child porn and most people wouldn't know the difference. Now if it is pics of pre-teens...yes we have a major problem here."

And if no one could spot the difference then no one would get turned in. I think it's safe to say that the kids in these pictures must have been obviously underage or the roommate wouldn't have gone to the police and if he had the police would have laughed at him.

[TaxRelief]

Based on that argument, should we report every man who buys porn magazines, because he may rape beautiful women?

Should we arrest every person who laughs at racist jokes (even sick racist jokes), because they may harm someone of a different race?

Does anyone have any solid evidence that everyone who looks at child pornography will molest kids? (It seems believable, but is it really true.)

I want to be sure that we are not stepping into the realm of "thought policing" rather than policing criminal acts.

[NCSteve]

Good grief, TR. The respondents to your post would have been right at home in Salem, MA or Edenton, NC.

This is great. Let's lynch the kid first, then find out what really happened. I find the mob mentality no less sick than the purveyors of child porn filth.

You people don't know anything about this incident other than the fact that the kid's roommate turned him in to the cops after borrowing his computer. Let's see. Out of the multiple hundreds of alternate scenarios, here are two that come to mind:

The so-called friend got a wild hair up his butt and set the kid up and turned him in. Maybe he and the accused got into some stupid, juvenile tiff.

Here's another, maybe the kid ended up with this stuff on his computer without knowing it. Maybe someone sent it to him in e-mail or he was surfing somewhere he shouldn't and had no intention of downloading anything illegal.

Making the leap from this story to convicting the guy of child molestation doesn't make any of you smart or righteous, it just makes you mindless thugs in the lynch mob. Grow up!

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Is it just me or does "Flounder" from Animal House come to mind with that pick?

[KurtAZ]

I understand where you are going with that...but those are adults making those choices to have themselves photographed/filmed/etc. You are talking about a child here...and while I believe that most children can make SOME decisions...this is not one of them. It is illegal, the purveyors of this type of material should be brought to justice and the consumers should be put into mental programs. As there is AA, some say this is an addiction as well...so treat it that way. If they are repressing an addiction, it is just going to get stronger and harder to resist. They need to seek mental help and take the addiction head on.

Child molestors are the worst type of criminals, even the criminal community singles them out in prison. Need to stop it before it gets to that point.

[TaxRelief]

All of the possibilities of the truth behind the pornography would be revealed if the roommates were communicating directly (with witnesses if need be), rather than ratting each other out.

[Tax-chick]

Interesting approach to the situation ... maybe a less volatile example could have been used?

[KurtAZ]

Hmmm, I just thought we were discussing the problems behind Child Porn, barring the posts directed at this kid whom we don't know willingly and knowingly DL'd these pics. That won't come out until the investigation is complete and even then his name and face are already all over the place. Basically even making acusations like this will ruin his life, regardless if they are true or not.

[JohnnyZ]

When a fellow student cheats, would you not first give them a chance to turn themselves in?

Sure .... unless they're likely to take the opportunity to get rid of the evidence against them, as likely with the child porn kid. And how likely are you to trust someone who you just found out is a cheater, or a pervert?

Kids do things impulsively, when they are under pressure.

Not if they have properly formed consciences, they don't.

[robertpaulsen]

You weren't talking about sex with minors. You said "raped" or "killed" by some scumbag.

I'm asking you for the third time, isn't it equally likely that a person who downloads porn from a teen website may rape or kill teens?

[Bikers4Bush]

No, it is not equally likely.

[js1138]

Then just don't turn your neighbor in when he borrows your car and uses it to transport stolen goods - leaving some of the hot stuff in your trunk.

I was going to say, this will be a tough one to prosecute.