CleanFlicks Founder Arrested

Christianity Today ^ | January 30, 2008

[Wolfie]

CleanFlicks Founder Arrested

Charged with forcible sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, Daniel Thompson was known for editing videos to make them more family friendly.

The co-founder of CleanFlicks, a video editing service once used by many Christians, has been arrested in Utah for allegedly paying a 14-year-old girl for sex.

Daniel Thompson, who ran CleanFlicks till the courts shut it down in 2006, had more recently operated Flix Club, a family-friendly edited-movie video business in Orem, Utah. He was arrested last Thursday on two charges of forcible sexual abuse and two charges of forcible sexual activity with a 14-year-old. Thompson is out on bail.

Thompson’s business partner at Flix Club, Isaac Lifferth, was also arrested on similar charges.

Thompson reportedly told police that Flix Club, which carried videos in which objectionable content had been edited out, was only a front, and that he and Lifferth were also involved in making and distributing porn movies.

Flix Club was forced to close last year after a federal court ruled that movie-editing businesses violated U.S. copyright law when they "sanitized" films by removing nudity, sex, profanity, and other objectionable content.

According to police reports, Thompson and Lifferth allegedly paid two 14-year-old girls $20 each to perform oral sex, and Lifferth allegedly had intercourse with a 16-year-old girl multiple times, including in the offices at Flix Club.

[Greg F]

Sigh. Guess he was fighting his own demons . . .

[Dixie Yooper]

A photo of this pervert posing with Tipper Gore would be priceless at a time like this.

[mtbopfuyn]

Seems like those who place themselves high on the mountain fall the fastest.

[Red Badger]

He wasn’t fighting them very hard..........

[AppyPappy]

Thompson reportedly told police that Flix Club, which carried videos in which objectionable content had been edited out, was only a front, and that he and Lifferth were also involved in making and distributing porn movies.

Another mere coincidence involving porn and underage girls.

[BallyBill]

Wonder what he did with the parts of the films he “edited” that were unacceptable?

[TankerKC]

Guess he was fighting his own demons . . .

Nope, just everyone else's.

[JimRed]

Maybe I’m missing something, but if money is paid, how is it forcible sexual activity? Statutory, impairing the morals of a minor, soliciting act of prostitution, sure; but forcible?

[Dianna]

Maybe I’m missing something, but if money is paid, how is it forcible sexual activity? Statutory, impairing the morals of a minor, soliciting act of prostitution, sure; but forcible?

I'd guess that a 14 year old cannot legally consent, thus any sex act is deemed forced.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Perhaps he tried to sample services for which he hadn’t paid.

[BibChr]

Fighting or doing business with them.

Sad, sad sad.

[colorcountry]

Christian? Not by my book.

[Greg F]

Did he claim to be Christian or did he just run a business editing out naughty bits of movies? I can’t figure it out with a quick google.

[JRochelle]

This story links to the Salt Lake City Tribune story.

Man those comments are crazy!

Here is one example.

“By their fruits ye shall know them”

Joseph Smith would be proud of this man! Old Joe was bedding teen aged girls also!

I wonder if Thompson was going to call his porn movie business “Flaming Sword Productions”?

[littlehouse36]

“Sigh. Guess he was fighting his own demons . . .”

Or, the demons were cast from the movie and onto the swine.

[JRochelle]

Another comment from the SL Tribune,

This guy seems to think that it wasn’t really Thompson’s fault.

---

This just goes to show how difficult it is to have exposure to sleaze and not be effected by it. It drags you down. I doubt they were always in the mire, but exposure leads to acceptance, which eventually pulls you under it’s influence. Stay away from this stuff. It is very sad. None of us can afford to flirt with such temptation. It’s easy to just look on and say “hypocrite”, but that’s not what this is. I doubt they started out thinking it would lead here. But it does. It is the ever strengthening grasp of evil upon those who give an inch here and an inch there. So in that regard, having the cleaner versions of movies are needed. Just too bad for those who have to do the editing. I did that a couple times myself, cutting out the bad so my relatives could enjoy a good movie without being effected. But I had to stop because I had to witness the stuff I was cutting out and it left impressions I didn’t want to retain in my mind.

[colorcountry]

L D S....

[Greg F]

I don’t see any claim on the net that he’s a Christian. He’s in Utah, could as easily be Mormon or most likely of all . . . not religious and just a businessman selling edited movies. They say that the girls came to the Flix offices and that these guys actually did porn in there!

[Greg F]

I couldn’t figure it out, but in Utah, that’s likely.