Brooklyn legislators, voicing outrage, act to plug hole in law

 

By Brooklyn Eagle Staff

and the Associated Press

 

Viewing child porn on your computer is not, by itself, a crime in New York.

 

After New York's highest court threw out two of several counts against a man convicted of possessing child pornography, two Brooklyn legislators are moving to plug a gap in the law.

 

State Sen. Marty Golden (R-Bay Ridge) said he was outraged by the Court of Appeals' decision in People v. Kent. The court ruled that merely viewing pornographic images of children on a computer does not, in and of itself, constitute a crime.

 

"It took about 16 minutes of shock, and then I recognized something had to be done," Golden said. "There are some things that really set off an alarm, and this definitely set off an alarm.”

 

Golden introduced a bill that would make it a crime to access child porn images with the intent of viewing those images.

 

The law should be updated to be more in line with the age of the Internet, Golden said.

 

James D. Kent was convicted for having downloaded, saved and deleted images, and sentenced to one to three years in prison. A virus scan in 2007 found 132 pornographic images.

 

Although the conviction hinged on the images he downloaded, the judges said he couldn't be held in violation of state law for images that were captured automatically in temporary files, so two of the several counts against him were dismissed. Under current state law, browsing is not proof of the crime of possessing child pornography.

 

“I have introduced this legislation so that we can properly prosecute those who view child pornography here in New York state,” Golden said. “Federal regulations are already in place to see that those who access child pornography face the stricter standards of the law. New York must adopt these same policies.

 

“Child pornography is highly offensive in its very nature. It should not matter if you view it, read it or download it. Simply the fact that you are viewing it is a crime and New York should treat it as such,” said Golden, a retired New York City police officer.

 

Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (D-North Brooklyn) is sponsoring a version of the same bill in the Assembly. 

 

New York's swift response is in line with what other states have done to close loopholes that have grown as technology has advanced. So far, about 15 states have changed child pornography laws to get rid of language that could result in acquittals or no arrest.