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Child pornography arrest for San Francisco gay rights advocate

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zsdersw

zsdersw

Lifer
http://www.baycitizen.org/crime/story/veteran-human-rights-advocate-arrested/

The San Francisco district attorney's office has decided to delay filing child pornography charges against veteran human rights advocate Larry Brinkin so that forensic investigators can examine computers seized during his arrest Friday night.

“The district attorney’s office is taking this case very seriously," spokeswoman Stephanie Ong Stillman said today. "We are waiting for computer forensic evidence to be completed so we can make a proper charging decision. These types of cases are complex in nature, and we require more time to thoroughly evaluate the evidence.”

San Francisco police arrested Brinkin, 66, at his home Friday night on three felony counts, including possession of child pornography, advertising the sale or distribution of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of a child. According to the search warrant for Brinkin's home, pornographic images of minors were being exchanged through email accounts, including one registered to Brinkin. The district attorney's office initially said it expected to decide today whether to file charges in the case.

Brinkin, who spearheaded early efforts to recognize same-sex partnerships and served more than two decades on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, remained in custody overnight before he was released Saturday on bail.

Brinkin did not return calls seeking comment. Brinkin's attorney, Randy Knox, declined to comment when reached by phone today.

Police say in the search warrant that Brinkin’s email account contained messages embedded with pornographic images of small children.

One photo shows a child about 2 to 3 years old being sexually abused, according to the search warrant. Another shows an adult male attempting to receive oral sex from a small child.

Brinkin’s account was linked to several Yahoo discussion groups on the sexual exploitation of children, according to the search warrant. Emails from Brinkin’s account to other users contained stories police suspect were fictional accounts written by Brinkin. The stories describe the rape and torture of African American children, according to the search warrant. One of the emails contained the words “White Power! White Supremacy!”

The investigation began in February, when Los Angeles Police Department investigators, working off of a tip from America Online, traced email exchanges containing illicit images to San Francisco.

Police in San Francisco confirmed that one of the email addresses was registered to Brinkin, who paid for the account with his credit card.

Police executed a search warrant for Brinkin’s home in Lower Haight on Friday evening. Authorities seized two locked toolboxes containing VHS tapes, two laptop computers, one desktop computer, three thumb drives and a floppy disk, according to court records.

During his 22 years on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, Brinkin fought high-profile battles for the rights of workers, immigrants and, most notably, gays and lesbians. When Brinkin retired in 2010, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared the first week of February “Larry Brinkin Week.”

“He has been an institution in the LGBT community for a long time, so this comes as a complete shock for those of us who have worked with him,” said Supervisor David Campos.
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Good.. he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
 
I always thought "the fullest extent of the law" was a funny expression.

We want him prosecuted to...well, about the medium extent of the law.
 
If he actually is guilty, he's scum and they should throw him in jail and throw away the key. If he's not, then someone has done a heck of a job smearing his name.
 
PokerGuy said:
If he actually is guilty, he's scum and they should throw him in jail and throw away the key. If he's not, then someone has done a heck of a job smearing his name.
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Well it's San Francisco, so it's not like it's a place that is intolerant of gay rights. That doesn't mean it's impossible that someone hasn't done a frame job, just seems pretty bloody unlikely. If he did indeed do this and the evidence is clear, I really hope they don't allow him to plea to anything.
 
San Francisco police arrested Brinkin, 66, at his home Friday night on three felony counts, including possession of child pornography, advertising the sale or distribution of child pornography and the sexual exploitation of a child. According to the search warrant for Brinkin's home, pornographic images of minors were being exchanged through email accounts, including one registered to Brinkin. The district attorney's office initially said it expected to decide today whether to file charges in the case.
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Assuming there's reasonable evidence that this is not caused by hacking or bots, this guy deserves the death penalty.

I always thought "the fullest extent of the law" was a funny expression.

We want him prosecuted to...well, about the medium extent of the law.
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It's all about intentions. Let's take the example of that gay kid who was bullied and brought a taser to school to defend himself next time he was attacked. The offense here is that he brought a weapon to school. Let's say the punishment ranges from 1 week suspension to a full 1 year expulsion. In this case, you would say 1 week is the proper punishment because his intentions were good. Suppose someone brought a taser to school and they intended it to instigate a fight with someone else. For the exact same rule being broken, that person should get the full year expulsion.
 
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He is entitled to due process of law, and is considered innocent until proven guilty. This principle is far more important than "OMGZ THINK OF HTE CHILDRENS!!!!11"
 
Wow, if true, that's some sick stuff. It's too bad if it tarnishes the legitimacy of his cause. It's his fault if it does, but others in the LGBT community are also going to pay the price.
 
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