ACLU Pervert - Update 3

I've written about this creep before. Former president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU. Kids soccer coach. Railed against porn filtering software on library computers. And now -

A former Arlington County youth sports coach and civil rights lawyer who once headed Virginia's American Civil Liberties Union chapter was sentenced today to seven years in federal prison for buying child pornography that prosecutors labeled sadistic and masochistic.

Charles Rust-Tierney, 51, pleaded guilty in June to downloading hundreds of pornographic images of children as young as 4. Authorities said Rust-Tierney used a computer in his 11-year-old son's bedroom to view the files, which included a six-minute video that depicted sexual torture of children, set to a song by the rock band Nine Inch Nails.

Why?

Rust-Tierney told Ellis that he viewed child porn as a way to escape "despair" in his personal life.

Poor baby.

ACLU Pervert - Update 2

Some months ago, a former president of the Virginia ACLU was arrested on child pornography charges. He had argued, earlier, that Virginia libraries shouldn't put any sort of filtering software on their computers. He was caught after using his credit card to buy pictures over the 'net (duh!), which he viewed on his ten year-old son's computer.

I'd forgotten to watch for the outcome. Apparently, he was back in court over two weeks ago.

A former Arlington County youth sports coach who once headed the Virginia ACLU pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that he purchased child pornography so graphic that prosecutors called it "sadistic."

Charles Rust-Tierney, 51, admitted that he accessed more than 850 pornographic images of children as young as 4, including a six-minute video depicting the sexual torture of children set to a song by the band Nine Inch Nails.

Rust-Tierney, a public defender in the District and a past president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 7. His attorneys and prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of 8 to 10 years.

ACLU Pervert Update

Other than the blogs, not many news outlets are bothering with the story of Charles Rust-Tierney (our former Virginia ACLU president) yet. Here's today's update, though, from the Washington Post.

Prosecutors say Charles Rust-Tierney, a former president of the Virginia ACLU, was leading a "double life,'' coaching Little League baseball by day and using a computer in his 10-year-old son's bedroom to view child pornography at night.

Yet more than two dozen people -- including numerous fellow lawyers and his former wife -- packed a courtroom in U.S. District Court in Alexandria last week to testify that Rust-Tierney should be released from jail. And yesterday, his attorneys filed letters of support with the court from more than 30 people, including parents of children Rust-Tierney has coached.

"Chuck is the kindest, most gentle human being you could imagine,'' one supporter, Alexandria lawyer Phil Hirschkop, said in an interview. "I have no problem with him being with my children or grandchildren, whatever he's charged with.''

U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa C. Buchanan was not swayed, saying the images found on Rust-Tierney's computer were "the most perverted and nauseating and sickening type of child pornography" she has seen in 10 years on the bench. Defense attorneys Peter D. Greenspun and Jonathan Shapiro appealed her detention order and will try again today to win their client's release on bond.

"I can't believe it, he always seemed like such a nice man." Isn't that what the neighbors always say?

Internet and the ACLU

A few years ago we had a dust-up here in Virginia about access to the Internet in public libraries. The question was, should librarians be using filtering software to protect kids from, shall we say, unsavory items on the Internet. The ACLU representative, Charles Rust-Tierney, suggested that filtering was inappropriate -

The ACLU urges the Board to apply the following important principles in crafting a now Internet Use Policy:

• Recognizing that individuals will continue to behave responsibly and appropriately while in the library, the default should be maximum, unrestricted access to the valuable resources of the Internet.
• The Internet is rapidly becoming an essential tool for learning and communication. Public libraries play a vital role in assuring that the Internet is universally available to all segments of the population on an equitable basis.
• Librarians can and should play a crucial role in educating all Internet users to engage in critical thinking skills when using the Internet, and to be careful about relying on inaccurate resources online.
• Libraries can develop lists of recommended online resources that they have reviewed and evaluated, to assist patrons in finding Internet sites that meet their interests.
• Parents should have primary responsibility for setting rules for their children regarding Internet access.
• Older minors should have access to resources appropriate for their age group, even if such materials may be considered by some parents to be unsuitable for younger minors.

America's libraries have always been the great equalizer, providing books and other information resources to help people of all ages and backgrounds live, learn, work and govern in a democratic society. The ACLU now urges the Board to adopt an Internet Use Policy that promotes the library's mission to expand universal access to information, and that recognizes the library's duty to uphold the First Amendment.

Well, Mr. Tierney is in the news again today. I guess that at the least you could say this story still includes the Internet, young minors, and inappropriate content.

Rust-Tierney admitted to investigators that he had downloaded videos and images from child pornography websites onto CD-ROMs, according to the complaint.

The videos described in the complaint depict graphic forcible intercourse with prepubescent females. One if the girls is described in court documents as being "seen and heard crying", another is described as being "bound by rope."

We can only hope that this individual behaved responsibly, and wasn't downloading this stuff in the library.

So, we'll soon have Mr. Tierney's address up on the sex offender databases.

UPDATE: Better still, as in many of these cases, it turns out the guy is a "youth sports coach."

Non-Controversial Fun at W&M

The College of William and Mary recently removed the cross from the college chapel because, it was alleged, it made some students "uncomfortable." This was made easier to accomplish by the college president being a former ACLU officer.

Instead, they found a more inclusive, less-threatening activity for the students than Christianity. They're hosting a Sex Workers Art Show. You'll recall that I had a link to a story about one of the participants last week.

WILLIAMSBURG — Topless women weren't the only thing keeping students at the College of William & Mary focused Monday night at the Sex Workers Art Show.

Sparkling nipple adornments, feather boas, bare bottoms, erotic dances, striptease music and sex toys entertained a crowd of more than 400 who were packed into the auditorium of the University Center. Another 300 were turned away. The show attempted to empower the actors by portraying the realities of their careers.

Well, this should provide quite an education of some type. I'm glad to know my tax dollars are being well used.