Chilling Story of Felony Arrest For Family Photo

[gregory kendall]

<P><B>When is 1-hour photo a crime?</B></P>

 

<P>A really chilling story about the trouble facing Jacqueline

Mercado in Richardson, Texas appeared in the Dallas Observer. She

dropped off 4 rolls of film for processing at Eckerds.

The "technician" objected to one and phoned the police. Now she is

threatened with jail time and has lost her kids!</P>

 

<A HREF="http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2003-04-

17/feature2.html/1/index.html">Dallas Observer Article</A>

 

<P>Certainly a wake-up call for photographers everywhere. Did she

cross a line? What do you think?</P>

[joey]

That's terrible... I had no idea breastfeeding an infant was an unlawful sexual act. I can't believe they took the kids from their mother! I guess it's time to go digital.

[kelly_flanigan1]

Sounds like the "state child welfare workers" have all powers; an agenda; and no common sense whatever.

[emaxxman]

Sad story.

 

I have a sister in law who works for DYFS (child social services) up here in NJ. She sees some really horrible abuses of children.

 

In this case it was right of the store clerk and the police to err on the side of caution for the children. However, the police should've taken the time to interview the family before removing the children. It seems to me that they just rushed to their judgement and in the end probably did more harm to the children than they were trying to prevent.

 

To also label the boyfriend a sicko and a pervert without any real proof is just irresponsible.

 

Did she cross the line? Who is to say. I don't have any pictures of my wife breastfeeding but I do have plenty of pictures of my kids naked in the tub. Who's to say some tight ass religious freak working at the 1 hour lab wouldn't find them offensive.

 

Like I said, sad...

[flaviosganzerla]

Do you think the problem is really the pictures or the fact she is from a poor latin america country and is not welcome in Texas?

 

Hope you don't get angry!

[charles barcellona www.bl]

We have had several locally noteworthy cases here in South Florida, of women being arrested for breast feeding in public. I recall one case in which a women breast fed her infant in public in a mall, and was asked by the mall security to take the infant to the ladies room to feed. Her (IMHO correct) reply was that she didn't eat in the bathroom, the security officer didn't eat in the bathroom, and neigher would her infant eat in the bathroom. At that point she was arrested.

I also recall she got off on a technicality, not on the principle that feeding ones child in public via natural means was NOT indecent behaviour.

 

I dont get it. To me nursing ones child has got to be up there in the realm of most beautiful moments in all humanity. To me the real sicko's are the ones that try to make something dirty and indecent from it.

[struan_gray]

<center><p><img

src="http://www.sljus.lu.se/People/Struan/pics/magnusam.jpg"

width=400 height=400></center></p>

 

<p>I would find it hard to blame the store or the social services

for their initial concern without seeing the actual photos.

However, it seems clear that the police and social services are

now indulging in bluster and persecution because they are

institutionally incapable of saying 'sorry' and backing off.</p>

 

<p>I think the most telling comment in the piece was the laywer

saying this wouldn't be happening to a rich, white family.</p>

 

<p>The USA's a funny place. Here in Sweden, and in Europe

generally, it seems baffling that there is so much violence in

childrens entertainment, and such an unholy fuss is made about

one or two nipples. We Euros have our perverts too, and some

nasty ones at that, but the reversed priorities are one reason I'm

glad I'm raising my kids here.</p>

[chris_hawkins]

I think it isn't surprising given it occured in the State of Texas, it wasn't white people, and the sense of fear/paranoia the media and government are creating. I photogaphed my youngest son suckling his Mom / my wife at 21 months. It was the last time he suckled and we wanted to remember this beautiful and natural event.

[hal_bissinger]

Somebody said a few days ago here that this is a puritanical country and I am ashamed to agree. Thanks to Bush and company, we're quickly becoming a third world country complete with secret police and requirements that women keep covered. The sickos see porn everywhere. <p>

It's easy to pick on the helpless but ask them to clean up the crap on the internet including spam and nothing gets done.

[markci]

It's frightening, but child welfare horror stories are generally a case of getting what we pay for.

 

These people are horribly overworked and generally not the sharpest tools in the shed anyway, due to the salaries, which are among the lowest of any occupation requiring a college education.

 

When I was doing volunteer work with DFACS in suburban Atlanta each worker had something like 35 children to look after, whereas the recommended maximum was more like 15.

 

Finally there's the burnout factor, which is extreme. Hardly any of the caseworkers had more than a year or two's experience, because none of them lasted longer than that due to the workload and pay.

 

The usual result of this is a kid dying because too little was done, rather than too much. Sometimes it goes the other way, though, and a busybody caseworker does more damage than good. I'm not sure how they find the time.

[hal_bissinger]

Problem is, at least where I am in NY, CPS (Child Protective Services) are accountable to no one and you can't sue if they make a mistake. To be sure they've saved kids lives, but nearly as often they make parents lives a living hell on only an unsubstantiated accusation. I'm sick of excuses. The good that they do doesn't justify the harm. <p>

This is America, but it's quickly becoming more like the former Soviet Union where you didn't know who was watching you and once accused you don't stand a chance.

[bobar57]

Very true, Hal. Sometimes it reminds me of Cuba,it was also a living hell.

[jon_fernquest]

Makes me glad I live in Asia. The U.S. is sometimes truly bizarre and offensive and I'm just about at the end of my tether from politely putting up with people attacking me verbally, picking a fight, aiming for the jugular in everything they say because I'm American and then this. Truly racist and disgusting! They should be ashamed of themselves, but the normal cultural arrogance will rule the day. Some Americans are so out of touch with what makes them human.

[h._p.]

I'd like to be all smug and say this could only happen in America but regretably a very similar incident occurred here in the UK a year or two ago.

 

A chap took some photos of his children in the bath, a 'concerned employee' of the processing lab called the police and the next thing the couple knew the children were being taken in to care and they were being charged with producing indecent images.

 

It took a lot of effort, as I recall, before the Crown Prosecution Service decided that it wouldn't be 'in the public interest' to pursue a prosecution. So far as I'm aware the couple received neither apology nor compensation.

 

There are, regretably, small minded parasites working in the police and social services of all countries who undo in a few minutes the great good that their colleagues do every day.

 

My first grandson was born last night and my daughter sent us a shot of him, naked, on the scales (8lb 10oz!) I'm surprised that some prurient idiot hasn't arrested us all for child pornography.

[lee_shively]

As usual, the rest of the world is so much better than the USA it's a wonder anyone wants to live here!

 

This sucks. This lady has recourse. Blame the idiots who are to blame, not the culture and governments involved. If she pursues it, she can get a chunk of Eckerd's and make some heads roll at the Dallas PD. She has suffered damages and she will receive compensation.

[ron_l]

What a complete disgrace. The ignorance and intollerance of the sexually repressed in this country never ceases to astound me. All of this pain and sorrow over the most natural of acts between a mother and child. Unbelievable.

 

>>"If she pursues it, she can get a chunk of Eckerd's and make some heads roll at the Dallas PD. She has suffered damages and she will receive compensation."<< Lee

 

I wish I could agree. She certainly deserves it. But as someone above said...she is a poor hispanic immigrant in the state of Texas. There isn't a chance in hell she will every see a penny of compensation nor will a single white Texan lose their job. Mark my words. If she were a rich white housewife in Connecticut then it would be a different story. Sad but true.

[yance_marti]

I hope she counter-sues everyone involved in this fiasco. I would demand the termination of police and child welfare workers who made the decisions regarding sexual abuse. These are serious charges to bring against people and shouldn't be pushed through the system lightly.

[ron_l]

>>"I hope she counter-sues everyone involved in this fiasco. I would demand the termination of police and child welfare workers who made the decisions regarding sexual abuse."<< Yance

 

Ha! I guess you've never been to Texas Yance. The most she can hope for is to not be locked up. I can just hear those good 'ol boys now, laughing their boots off when she demands the resignations of those responsible. She'd probably get thrown out of the country on a hyped up immigration charge.

[jkantor]

After a woman was arrested here in Florida for indecent exposure for breastfeeding in public, they changed the law.

 

And even in Saudi Arabia, where they censor pictures of figure skaters and other female athletes for showing too much skin, they allow picturs of breastfeeding. (No wonder they think we have a sick society.)

 

These cases are what district attorneys (and child care workers) make their careers on: sensationalized witch hunts with trumped up charges against people who can't defend themselves.

[lu_s_paulo_silva_pimentel]

Breastfeeding a child in public is an indecent exposure of a child??? Breastfeading is one of the most beutiful things that I saw, so the americans must arrest horses females, cows and every kind of mammals because they breastfeed their cubs in public. The US is the most stupid nation in the hole world.

[sprouty]

"The US is the most stupid nation in the hole world."

 

At times it would seem that way.

 

Regards,

[david_parmet2]

I heard a story on NPR a few months back about a school in California that advised

parents not to videotape a childrens' school play because the videos might be stolen

and used by child pornographers. Turns out, of course, the school hired its own video

crew and was planning on selling tapes to the parents all along.

 

But it points out a really troubling trend here in the good ole USA - just say 'child

pornogaphy' and the masses jump to attention. We've got Amber alerts and John

Walsh on the TV telling us never to let our children play in our own backyards

because our neighborhoods are being stalked by drooling pervs just waiting to grab

little Jimmy out of the sandbox.

 

Sometimes the consipiracy theorist in me thinks this a just a ploy by the

PowersThatBe to distract our attention from

BechtelHaliburtonAOLDisneyWalMArT&Microsoft's attempts to Rule The Universe. But

that would just be me being paraniod again....

 

To bring this back to photography, I've got plenty of pictures of my kids running

around naked. I just process them in my own darkroom or use digital.

[lu_s_paulo_silva_pimentel]

Only to correct my last phrase: USA is the most stupid and ridiculous nation in the WHOLE world.

[ron_l]

Thanks for the clarification Luis but, as dumb as we are, I think your insult was understood the first time.

[h._p.]

Luis, I think that was a rather unkind thing to say once, let alone twice.

 

Most Americans seem to be very nice people, it's just that their politicians and civil servants have, among their number, those who aspire to be even bigger idiots than British politicians and civil servants.

 

I suppose we should be proud to see the colony's learning *something* from us :-)