1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Reporter accused of porn for filming clothed cheerleaders

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Write-brained, Mar 31, 2008.

  1. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    Which begs the question of who is the bigger pervert?

    The creep filming the competition to get his jollies?

    Or the parents who entered their six-year-old in the competition to begin with?
     
  2. NoOneLikesUs

    NoOneLikesUs Active Member

    He should be banned by the school/cheerleading organization from attending any more events, but jail time? No way.
     
  3. Rumpleforeskin

    Rumpleforeskin Active Member

    Was there a no-videotaping rule put in place by the organizers? If that's the case, it was just bad luck that he was caught. But, then I wonder about all the parents who took video if it was allowed. I guess the way he did it brought about the most suspicion.
     
  4. ColbertNation

    ColbertNation Member

    I was covering a H.S. girls lax game a number of years ago. The girls on one of the teams all had long sleeves on, and it turned out to be hotter than they thought it would be, so they all decide to ditch the long sleeves (sports bras on underneath) and then put their jerseys back on. I do a quick 180 and pretend that there is something fascinating happening in the other direction, but suddenly, I hear a camera clicking. I look, and it's a newspaper photog shooting them.
    Creepiest moment of my professional career.

    End.of.thread.jack.
     
  5. Lester Bangs

    Lester Bangs Active Member

    Covered a women's soccer game when I was in college ... raining and muddy, pretty typical late-October game. Sweeper from our school came over under the press tent after the game, ripped off her soaking-wet jersey and quickly put a shirt on. All she was wearing was a sports bra ... and it stunned me she would do it and I quickly averted my eyes, trying to be professional. Now, I know ... girls where less than this to school, so times have indeed changed.

    On topic ... sounds like this guy is getting violated, but if I am a parent in this area, I'm glad I now know his name. Quite frankly, it's too easy for actual pedophiles to hide their perversions. If this is the equal to catching a serial killer before he gets started, it might indeed be a violation of his civil rights, but he brought it on himself.
     
  6. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    I'm continually amazed at how many people are willing to give up other people's civil rights under the assumption it could never happen to them.

    I'd be inclined to believe this guy is a pervert and the incident in question probably gives the cops probable cause for a warrant to search his computer, I'd guess, but what he actually did is not a crime.

    I'd hate to see other reporters, ones who have valid reasons to be a at a field hockey game or who shoot the cheerleaders at a Homecoming game, start getting arrested because of some parent with an axe to grind making accusations.
     
  7. Lester Bangs

    Lester Bangs Active Member

    No doubt it's a fine line, but if we have to rely on pervert Darwinism -- and some douchebag hiding a camera at a kid's cheerleading event seems to be an instance of it -- then so be it. I don't think the guy should go to jail. Like I said, if I'm a parent in that area I'm just glad I know his name.
     
  8. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    Absolutely. Hopefully, he did one of two things: Opened himself up to investigation that leads to him getting busted, or at least made it virtually impossible for him to act out on his perversions in that town since everyone now knows about him.

    But based on the few facts that were reported, it doesn't sound like he did anything illegal. Pervy and creepy, but not illegal.
     
  9. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Photographers are perverts. Anyone who disputes that should go through the photos that AP moves during the opening few rounds of a tennis tournament...

    I guarantee you there will be more photos of hot Russian teenagers than there will be of Lindsay Davenport, and the other players ranked in the top five...
     
  10. 21

    21 Well-Known Member


    BASED ON THE FEW FACTS THAT WERE REPORTED.

    Not directed at bigpern, but this whole thread...does it seem like we always have these big debates based on nothing, until someone finally dredges up some facts, and then everyone goes, 'oh, well, that's different!'

    What if his camera had 200 closeup shots of little girls' crotches? Is that merely creepy? Would that be the parents' fault, for allowing their daughters to be cheerleaders? Girls who wear makeup should expect to have strangers taking their pictures?
     
  11. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    And that's a problem, why? Good point.
     
  12. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    All we can do is argue based on the facts in front of us. True, we could just not discuss first reports or other stories like this at all, but then the board would be pretty quiet. We'd all be sitting around wondering why Barry Bonds isn't playing right now if we waited until we had ALL the facts.

    So yes, if more facts are presented to us, like the guy has 60 GB of kiddy porn on his home computer, then we'll say, "Oh well, that's different."

    But based on what we know, it's quite hard to say the guy did anything illegal. I think it makes for an interesting discussion because of what we do for a living and the potential pitfalls of, for instance, a photographer taking some shots of the cheerleaders at a Homecoming football game or trying to cover a competitive cheerleading event.

    I have little doubt this guy is a problem and should probably wind up in the can. I'm just not sure it can happen based on this incident alone. I doubt any prosecutor would be able to win a case accusing a guy who photographed clothed cheerleaders at a performance of child pornography. It just seems like a really hard sell, based on what we know.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page