Woman charged with possession of child pornography

Skyclad1uhm1

Lifer
Aug 10, 2001
11,383
87
91
WTF????

Jacqueline Mercado, a 33-year-old Peruvian immigrant, took a few photos of her young children at bath time. A week later, Richardson police were rummaging through her house for kiddie porn, and a state child welfare worker came to take her kids away.
The photo in question: Jacqueline Mercado and Johnny Fernandez say they took this image last October to memorialize the breast-feeding stage of their son's life. Below: The Lucca Madonna, painted in the 15th century by the Dutch master Jan van Eyck. Defense lawyers argued that while breast-feeding images are a second-degree felony in Richardson, they are also on public display in the finest art museums in the world.
For Mercado and her family, last fall was a happy time, one they wanted to record and save in the venerable tradition of the family photo. Johnny Fernandez, Mercado's boyfriend, had just emigrated from Lima, Peru, ending a yearlong separation, and on top of that, it was their son's first birthday.
The photographs they took over several days in late October included pictures of Fernandez reunited with the family at their modest home in suburban Richardson. Others captured their 1-year-old son Rodrigo, and 4-year-old Pablizio, from Mercado's earlier marriage, playing in a neighborhood park. Using the camera's timer, they also took three snapshots of themselves, naked in their bed. They arranged their bodies in ways that showed less flesh than most freeway billboards.
A half-dozen others recorded the kids at bath time. Fernandez took several photos of the boys "playing around," naked and innocent, with the oldest flashing a big smile. Mercado, who says she often bathed with the kids, is in several of the shots unclothed from the waist up, holding her arm modestly across her bare chest.
In one--the photo that would threaten to send Mercado and her boyfriend to prison--the infant Rodrigo is suckling her left breast.
After Mercado dropped off the film for processing, a technician viewed the images and decided they were "suspicious," according to a police report. As required under Texas law, he immediately contacted local police. Mercado says that when she went to pick up her pictures, the clerk told her there would be a delay, and then only returned three of the four sets of prints.
To Richardson police, who arrived at the store that afternoon and apparently made up their minds from the content of the pictures alone, this was nothing short of a felony case of child pornography. "We thought they contained sexuality," says Sergeant Danny Martin, a Richardson police spokesman, explaining why two Richardson police detectives began pursuing a criminal case. "If you saw the photos, you'd know what I mean."
With nothing else to support their contention that the photos were related to sex or sexual gratification, the police and the Dallas County District Attorney's Office presented the photos to a grand jury in January and came away with indictments against Mercado and Fernandez for "sexual performance of a child," a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The charges centered on a single photo, the breast-feeding shot. Fernandez and Mercado say they took it--although the child had ceased breast-feeding--to memorialize that stage of their baby's development.
"We wanted to see if he would take it, and he did," says Mercado, explaining through an interpreter that it was a spur-of-the moment notion to which they gave little thought. "Johnny never saw the child breast-feeding, so this was for memories. For us."

Seriously, the judge should lock up that store employee as well as the officers for 50 life sentences each. Don't let morons like that loose on the streets ever again!

Edit: I'm wondering... Have they locked up women yet for giving birth? :roll:
 

Saga

Banned
Feb 18, 2005
2,718
1
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How long exactly is this political correctness bullshit going to keep getting worse and worse for?
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,709
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what do you expect, it's in TX. it's seriously screwed up there.
 

Skyclad1uhm1

Lifer
Aug 10, 2001
11,383
87
91
Originally posted by: Izusaga
How long exactly is this political correctness bullshit going to keep getting worse and worse for?

To stop this crap they'd probably need to implement IQ tests for law officials. Let's say no one with an IQ under 50, that will already filter out these guys :p
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,709
136
Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Originally posted by: Izusaga
How long exactly is this political correctness bullshit going to keep getting worse and worse for?

To stop this crap they'd probably need to implement IQ tests for law officials. Let's say no one with an IQ under 50, that will already filter out these guys :p

Another problem is the broadly written laws, most of them are made by people who don't stop to think of the potential outcomes. they need an IQ test so no one with an IQ less the 100 can write laws. ;)
 

venkman

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2007
4,950
11
81
Originally posted by: dawp
Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Originally posted by: Izusaga
How long exactly is this political correctness bullshit going to keep getting worse and worse for?

To stop this crap they'd probably need to implement IQ tests for law officials. Let's say no one with an IQ under 50, that will already filter out these guys :p

Another problem is the broadly written laws, most of them are made by people who don't stop to think of the potential outcomes. they need an IQ test so no one with an IQ less the 100 can write laws. ;)

well....there goes 80% of congress.
 

Skyclad1uhm1

Lifer
Aug 10, 2001
11,383
87
91
Originally posted by: venkman
Originally posted by: dawp
Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Originally posted by: Izusaga
How long exactly is this political correctness bullshit going to keep getting worse and worse for?

To stop this crap they'd probably need to implement IQ tests for law officials. Let's say no one with an IQ under 50, that will already filter out these guys :p

Another problem is the broadly written laws, most of them are made by people who don't stop to think of the potential outcomes. they need an IQ test so no one with an IQ less the 100 can write laws. ;)

well....there goes 80% of congress.

Imagine the uproar you would get if they actually got intelligent people to make the laws!
 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
16,979
0
76
Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Originally posted by: venkman
Originally posted by: dawp
Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1
Originally posted by: Izusaga
How long exactly is this political correctness bullshit going to keep getting worse and worse for?

To stop this crap they'd probably need to implement IQ tests for law officials. Let's say no one with an IQ under 50, that will already filter out these guys :p

Another problem is the broadly written laws, most of them are made by people who don't stop to think of the potential outcomes. they need an IQ test so no one with an IQ less the 100 can write laws. ;)

well....there goes 80% of congress.

Imagine the uproar you would get if they actually got intelligent people to make the laws!

And let a bunch of elitists run the country? Never. I want Joe the Plumber!
 

RichardE

Banned
Dec 31, 2005
10,246
2
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But but, there just protecting the children from all the child molestors out there, need to break a few eggs to get an omelet.
 

bozack

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2000
7,913
12
81
on premise I think this is stupid, but obviously they feel that the images themselves were "wrong", without knowing everything it is hard for me to make a judgement call.
 

brandonb

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2006
3,731
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Breastfeeding is one thing, but according to the comments its much more.

What if the woman was naked, and it was a full body image? With a kid on her nipple? Is that child porn? Probably not.

What if the woman was spread eagle, with a kid on her nipple? Is that child porn? Hmm. Now the context has changed. It would sort of being a man with an erection with a kid in his arms. Would that be child porn, even if it was innocent, some would probably say Yes.

Just because the baby was breastfeeding doesn't make it innocent. It depends on the context.
 

Descartes

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
13,968
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Originally posted by: dawp
what do you expect, it's in TX. it's seriously screwed up there.

This crap gets old. It never matters where it is, there's always someone that says "It's <insert state>, what do you expect?"
 

imported_Imp

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2005
9,148
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Shit, I better go burn my old VCR tapes. Some of them are bound to have recordings of Huggies commercials...

 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
4,183
2
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Fernandez and Mercado say they took it--although the child had ceased breast-feeding--to memorialize that stage of their baby's development.
"We wanted to see if he would take it, and he did," says Mercado,

So how old is the child now?

Before we start talking about how stupid the police are, can we find out if the child is 12?
 

sciwizam

Golden Member
Oct 22, 2004
1,953
0
0
Originally posted by: yowolabi
Fernandez and Mercado say they took it--although the child had ceased breast-feeding--to memorialize that stage of their baby's development.
"We wanted to see if he would take it, and he did," says Mercado,

So how old is the child now?

Before we start talking about how stupid the police are, can we find out if the child is 12?

If you read the article, you might notice that the kids are 1 and 4 yrs old. :disgust:
 

0marTheZealot

Golden Member
Apr 5, 2004
1,692
0
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The intent of the law is much different than what is going on here. I mean shit, anyone with half a brain should realize what's going on here. I have pictures of myself when I was a kid in the bathub and you can see just about everything, does that mean I have child porn?

But then again, Texas is fucked up, you couldn't even buy sex toys until a few years ago because of laws preventing their use.
 

Gooberlx2

Lifer
May 4, 2001
15,381
6
91
One can only hope that they refuse a any plea deals and that there's at least one reasonable person on the jury.
 

Skyclad1uhm1

Lifer
Aug 10, 2001
11,383
87
91
Originally posted by: 0marTheZealot
The intent of the law is much different than what is going on here. I mean shit, anyone with half a brain should realize what's going on here. I have pictures of myself when I was a kid in the bathub and you can see just about everything, does that mean I have child porn?

But then again, Texas is fucked up, you couldn't even buy sex toys until a few years ago because of laws preventing their use.

Yes. You know 14 year old girls taking pictures of themselves get arrested for making and possessing child porn (probably so the 'officers' can have a look at those pictures themselves...), so you in the bathtub will most definately be child porn. Please report to your nearest police station immediately! :p
 

Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
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Originally posted by: vi edit
Not that it detracts from the story, but did anyone else notice that this article is over 5 years old?

http://www.dallasobserver.com/...7/news/1-hour-arrest/2
Published on April 17, 2003



Yep the charges were dropped and they got their kids back.


"For those with low incomes or different cultural traditions, being falsely accused of child abuse can be particularly devastating. In 2003, Jacqueline Mercado, a 33-year-old Peruvian immigrant living in Dallas, TX took a few photos of her young children at bathtime; in one, Mercado was breastfeeding her infant son. After Mercado dropped off the film for processing, a technician determined they were ?suspicious,? and, as required under Texas law, immediately contacted local authorities. Soon after, police were rummaging through her house for kiddie porn, a state welfare worker arrived to take her children away, and Mercado was charged with ?sexual performance of a child,? a second degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Victor Jaeger, a Peruvian-born pastor, explained to the Dallas Observer at the time that breastfeeding was culturally significant in his native country. ?My cousin sent me a picture of her newborn, and it was of the baby being breast-fed,? said Jaeger. ?As someone who has lived here for 20 years, I ask myself, 'Why did she send me that picture?' To her, it was nothing.? Although the district attorney eventually dropped the charge (thanks in large part to Mercado's legal team who had agreed to work for free), Mercado had to fight for weeks to get her children back."
 

Mean MrMustard

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2001
3,144
10
81
Originally posted by: Descartes
Originally posted by: dawp
what do you expect, it's in TX. it's seriously screwed up there.

This crap gets old. It never matters where it is, there's always someone that says "It's <insert state>, what do you expect?"

You say that because you live in GA.
 
May 16, 2000
13,522
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This won't end until people start executing every police officer, lawyer, judge, and politician involved in these stupid cases. Seriously, every one of them should be killed immediately. When they're more afraid for their lives, than they are of getting elected or keeping their jobs, they'll wise up quick.
 

LumbergTech

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2005
3,622
1
0
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
This won't end until people start executing every police officer, lawyer, judge, and politician involved in these stupid cases. Seriously, every one of them should be killed immediately. When they're more afraid for their lives, than they are of getting elected or keeping their jobs, they'll wise up quick.

i have to agree(sort of), stealing someones children should be grounds for severe punishment,

its just bullshit..

people in law enforcement positions shouldn't be able to go on witch hunts and then receive some kind of protection when its quite clear they never had any basis to do so in the first place
 

Duwelon

Golden Member
Nov 3, 2004
1,058
0
0
Originally posted by: LumbergTech
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
This won't end until people start executing every police officer, lawyer, judge, and politician involved in these stupid cases. Seriously, every one of them should be killed immediately. When they're more afraid for their lives, than they are of getting elected or keeping their jobs, they'll wise up quick.

i have to agree(sort of), stealing someones children should be grounds for severe punishment,

its just bullshit..

people in law enforcement positions shouldn't be able to go on witch hunts and then receive some kind of protection when its quite clear they never had any basis to do so in the first place

They can't actually do much to you without a Grand jury. If you want to blame the police, first figure out exactly what was seen (which we never will) and what the grand jury saw (which we never will). Some of you advocating the death of police for doing their job should go check into a mental institution because you're clearly insane.

There are bigger problems to discuss than a case that went to the grand jury who decided to continue to trial. Sounds like the OP just hates the police and wanted to pick out 1 story to bash some police over.