***This is one of the hardest but the most important postings I've done so far. Please read even though the topic is a very difficult one. It is very important that we all know about this.
I turned on the tv earlier tonight. The Oprah show (www.oprah.com) was on and I thought I'd watch it for a bit. I almost turned the tv off when I realized what the topic of the show was. I am a very sensitive person who gets dramatized easily. But I could not turn the tv off. The episode was about child pornography/pedofiles. I watched it for about 20 minutes. Enough to leave me highly disturbed. I feel like crying, screaming, not wanting to live in this sometimes very SICK & EVIL world, hoping that the Millenium would come RIGHT NOW (for those of you who know what that means). I feel sick to my stomach and feel that I should throw up. How I wish I didn't have to know about issues like this.
I'm sure we all know about this topic. But I realized while watching this show that it's something that should be talked about more and I also realized that I don't know enough. But even more important - more needs to be done to protect our children.
This is not just about naked pictures of children. This is about the worst kind of sex acts done to children. Even very young children. This is about how widespread this epidemic is. Much worse than any of us can even imagine!
I have left the worst parts out of this article which I will share now. I just can't "speak loud" the words that describe some of the things that are being done to precious children all over the world. The entire article can be found here:
You need to read this even though it's painful to read! I didn't realize that our children are in danger of becoming pedofiles. Our children! You need to read this!
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…It's estimated that more than 5 million pornographic pictures and videos of children are circulated on the Internet every day…
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To help Americans understand the severity of the problem, Lisa Ling travels to Milton, Florida, to document the arrest of a suspected child pornographer…
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When Lisa arrives at the office's CyberCrime Unit, she meets Chief Chuck McMullen, the man leading this operation.Chuck tells Lisa that the person they're after has been downloading and transmitting vile images of children being violently sexually abused."He's a higher-than-average user or possessor of child pornography," Chuck says. In just three weeks, police officers say they tracked more than 50 graphic images of child pornography to his home computer.
Though this bust is a step in the right direction, investigators say it won't even scratch the surface of this problem. Currently, the CyberCrime Unit is tracking thousands of cases in Florida alone…
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Maureen Horkan, director of the Child Predator CyberCrime Unit, arrives on the scene and tells Lisa that pornography was being downloaded on a computer inside the home when the officers arrived."We have flat-out child pornography," she says. "[It's] child pornography that includes sexual conduct. Sexual conduct means penetration, means rape of children, means bondage with children. … It can be some of the most horrific stuff."After further investigation, the officers name the homeowners' 18-year-old son, a high school student, as their prime suspect. Officers pull him out of school and bring him home for questioning.
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After searching the home, a forensic analyst tells Lisa they discovered several pornographic video files and homemade CDs containing graphic content in the teen's bedroom. They also confiscated four computers and multiple hard drives."These images show the rape and sexual torture of children in all varying stages," Chuck says. "I want the public to understand that these aren't just pictures."The 18-year-old was arrested, but the next day, he was released on bond. He pled not guilty to multiple child pornography charges…
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Chuck says the suspect's parents were shocked by their son's arrest. "They were amazed because the search warrant says words like 'child pornography' and 'digital images,' and they didn't have any idea, because they knew they weren't involved in that," he says. "Then, once we told them that it was their son, they were very saddened, as any parent would be."Like most parents, Chuck says they want to protect their son, but they're also concerned about other children living in their home. "They have mixed emotions, obviously," he says. "They have other children in the house they also have to protect, so that puts them in a very difficult position."
What do parents need to know to keep their children safe? First, Maureen says moms and dads need to be aware of how much volume is out there and understand what their children are doing on their computers…
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"I think the more knowledge we have about what's going on with predators and our children, the more we are prepared to take action against them," Oprah says.
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Maureen Horkan, director of Florida's Child Predator CyberCrime Unit, shares a letter of caution for all parents.
The vast distribution of child pornography affects all of our children, in addition to the victims abused in the images. The huge volume of these sexual abuse images on the Internet affects normal everyday children because it is easily accessible by children in many of the normal computer activities they engage in every day.It is not difficult to find this material; you do not have to join a club or find a website. It is trafficked on free, Web-based software that most kids know all about and use regularly to find and download things like music and movies.Parents have to talk to their children about this material and the fact that is illegal and involves real children being abused. They need to ensure that we do not show up on their doorstep next with a search warrant.
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In the three years since we started this initiative, we have gone to many homes expecting to find an adult and ended up finding a child.The consequences for our children are huge, and in every case where we find a child looking at these images, the parents had no idea. It is very likely that children would come across this material, and you can only imagine what the impact of that could be on them if they are still in the developmental stages. Exposing children to this material normalizes sexuality with and between children.This destroys them in so many ways. It objectifies sexuality, it makes it common that children can be used for sex, it normalizes violent sex and it externalizes sexual activity so they do not have to give or be emotionally present to participate. All of that is in addition to the fact that it exposes them to sex at such a young age. Normal adults who might see these images by accident (assuming they do not already harbor latent pedophilia) would be sick and not stimulated by the content, but children in developmental stages that see/use this material could be affected by it forever.They may be confused, act out similar abuse, possibly go to jail and be a registered sex offender forever.
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How can anyone hurt children?!!! How is it that the guy who was arrested got released out on bond?!!! Why is it that pedofiles ever get out of jail?!!!! ("Sure" they are rehabilitated. Many of them are multiple offenders. They get out and do it again.) Why is it that we can't protect our children better?!!! Why do the offenders (too mild of a word for these EVIL, SICK people!!!) are given "a slap on the hand" and not put to death?!!!!!! Yes, you read that correctly. In my opinion, the worst crimes (premeditated murder, any heinous crimes against children...) should be punishable by death. Let them go and meet God and face His judgment after what they have done! If it's 100% sure they are guilty, then they do not deserve to live after what they have done. It is on each of our conscience if they go out and hurt a child again if we support the unsufficient laws/punishments for these crimes.
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The only reason why I don't go insane when I think of things like this, is because I know that good will win in the end. Evil people will get their punishment. One day we don't have to put up with things like this anymore. Oh how I look forward to that day!!
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"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
Jesus Christ
(Matthew 18: 6)
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That scripture talks about someone who causes a child to loose faith or leads a child astray. The word "offend" comes from a Greek word which means "cause to stumble". Can you imagine then, how God feels about someone who hurts children heinously?
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