Posted on 02/09/2005 7:25:50 AM PST by Theodore R.
LSU student pleads guilty to possession of child porn
By WILLIAM TAYLOR wtaylor@theadvocate.com Advocate staff writer
A Russian LSU student admitted Tuesday to spending time at a Catholic hospital downloading images of children engaged in sex.
Elizaveta Nikonova, 20, 1128 Verdun Drive, Baton Rouge, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of possession of child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Ralph E. Tyson said he would determine her punishment at a later date after a pre-sentencing report is completed.
The felony carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Nikonova was caught in September after a hospital administrator alerted police that someone was using the network to obtain child pornography.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson read those details out loud from a statement of facts stipulated with Nikonova's plea.
Further investigation determined that Nikonova, a contract employee with Southern Medical Corp., was obtaining the explicit images while at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, Amundson said.
On Sept. 25, Special Agent Thomas Tedder of the FBI and Capt. Robert Marsh of the LSU Police Department approached Nikonova with a search warrant and caught her with the illegal images, Amundson said.
The pornography included, among other things, video of children and adults engaged in sex, he added.
The prosecutor noted that to possess the pornography she had used a laptop manufactured outside of Louisiana; therefore, it had been transported across state lines -- a factor in the federal charge against her.
An earlier news report quoted an affidavit alleging Nikonova's laptop contained about 15 files involving child pornography.
twisted sister?
Suppose that would have been in the first sentence had she downloaded the images in a public library? Just askin'.
20 y.o. female...? My bet is she was a dupe or tool of the russian mob.
With all of these reports of women being child molestors, pedophiles, and the like, the only thing I can gather is that the Devil is sure working overtime...
Suppose that would have been in the first sentence had she downloaded the images in a public library? Just askin'.
People would have been screaming that her constitutional right to download child pornography was being infringed...
What on Earth would make her do such a vile thing?
Why does this need to be federalized? And... isn't this a pretty weak argument?
>>>What on Earth would make her do such a vile thing?>>>
She's from Russia. There is a VERY high percentage of Russian children being sexually abused and used in porn. Sometimes, abused children (boys and girls) find the same subject erotic later in life, even when the same thing repulses them. It's twisted what abused children go through. Sad. Very very sad.
I remember reading about this when she was arrested. She said it was for a report for school.
Since it's most likely that the images were stored on servers outside of Louisiana, it seems that would be a more likely reason to make it an "across state lines" charge. It's kind of like saying it's an international crime if you hold up a bank and use a Toyota as the getaway car. As far as federalizing the charge, I have no idea, unless they're hoping to pop other people in other states or countries with information they get from her.
I agree, that is very weak.
The federal charge should be thrown out unless they can prove she transported the image across state lines.
She almost inevitably transported it across state lines merely by downloading it. I fail to see how that really matters in this case.
It just seems to me that this is something that can be completely handled at the state level. There's just no point in over-federalizing crime.
Seems to me after reading of men who have downloaded Kiddie porn they count how many pictures they down loaded and charge them with each picture separately making for sometimes 150 charges. Why are they letting her off light?
BUMP!
Name me one laptop computer that IS manufactured in Louisiana. If she had used a Sony (made in Japan), would that mean she can be charged with an international crime? Sheesh, give me a break.
There is a line in the Bible where it speaks of "even women" embracing evil in the last days.
Right. Does this mean if we use a phone made in another state that any crime we commit on it is an interstate crime, thus federal.
I gotta tell you, some police down here are not the brightest bulbs.
Give us the man and we'll give you the crime has been the motto of the Feds for decades.
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