Child Porn Loophole Closed

A bill that would close a loophole in the state’s child pornography law is awaiting Governor Ed Rendell’s signature. Bill sponsor Rep. Jennifer Mann of Lehigh County says she was spurred to action when a Delaware county man successfully appealed his child pornography conviction by claiming that he never intended to possess the illegal pictures, he just wanted to view them on line. The current law speaks only of “possessing” the material. Mann says there should be no distinction in this age of online viewing. That same case was later overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court sighting the same logic as Mann’s legislation so she says she feels confident it will stand up to legal challenges. Governor Rendell has not said if he will sign the legislation but it was passed unanimously out of the House. The bill does account for unintentional viewing. Mann says even with spam and pop-up blockers sometimes “disturbing images slip through.” She says there is a big difference between that type of viewing and going out to a web site that offers child pornography and she says it will be easy for police and prosecutors to determine a person’s intention. Mann says, “law enforcement officials need to have every tool in their belt to fight child pornography.”