I feel like these types of stories are all over the news. Child pornography cases, Teri Hatcher has confessed to being abused by her uncle, and this latest one I saw a man is charged with 89 counts of of sexual performance by a child, its everywhere. Do you think that child porn is becoming worse everyday or is the media just currently giving it a lot of attention and its popping up all over the news? Its so disturbing, i hate that there are people like this story below out in the world.
TALLAHASSEE
Man faces child-porn charges
A Tallahassee man was arrested Tuesday and charged with having child pornography. He faces charges for 89 counts of sexual performance by a child, a third-degree felony, according to a news release from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Larry Ball, 61, was arrested after an investigation began last August, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received information on Ball through their "CyberTipline" from Yahoo.com, according to the release. The tip said 23 images suspected to depict child pornography had been uploaded to Ball's Yahoo account. Using the Child Victim Identification Program of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, FDLE helped identify 10 different children depicted in Ball's images. Ball was taken to the Leon County Jail.
I think it's been happening all along, but it was a secret society type thing. Now sick people can go on the internet find pictures/victims more easily.
The police are getting better at tracking down offenders because of the internet, parents/teachers are more willing to talk about good touches/bad touches.
So I'm not sure if it's more going on or if it's better communication and sensationalizing media.
I honestly believe that people finally have the courage to speak up when they have been abused, so we hear about it more. Additionally, we have more technologically advanced ways to catch these perverts and so we hear about it more.
Child sexual abuse has always been quite prevalent, people just never talked about it, they often felt ashamed or like they wouldn't be believed. Thank goodness people are starting to come out about this more. In my opinion knowledge is power!
As a kid abused in the seventies, when nobody talked about it, I am glad it's more high profile, if it encourages children to recognise what is happening to them is wrong, and to speak out. That was my problem, being 4 - 7 years old I had no idea what was happening and had no frame of reference to say "no you can't do this to me"
And when adults did find out what was going on, they were clueless as to what to do. Of the three people I know who were abused by this man, I am the only one still alive, the other two took their own lives.
I don't think it's become any worse or more prevalent, just cleverer and more technologically based.
Clovermeg is right on the money, knowledge is power. If more people are aware of it, and know what it is, they will be more likely to help the victims, and to catch the perpetrators.
Yep, I'll agree... considering that I know so very many adults who were also molested or abused, I think it's been prevalent all along, only now the media gets on these stories like a feeding frenzy. There are good and bad points to this. One, at least people talk about it now and more children can be aware that what's happening to them is wrong and not normal. But also, for a nation -heck, for a world- of people who are already fearful, this media madness adds a level of anxiety that most of us don't need and can't handle.
I think the internet is a two-pronged effect...it's easier for sub-humans to get ahold of material and victims, but its also used as a way to catch them, as well.
Knowledge is TRULY power. As a kid that was brought up in a cotton box, never even hearing of such attocities, I would be so careless with my own kids, never even considering that such gross people exist out there if I didn't know. But hearing stories and watching the news, I'm aware of these creatures and can work to keep my kids safe. And the kids that are victims are so much more believed than they were back in the day. I think for people that don't have sick minds, they tended to not believe kids because the mere thought is so shocking, 'normal' people tend to think, 'no way...nobody could possibly be that sick and disgusting', but now we know people DO think and act that way, have NO remorse for their actions, ONLY think of themselves and that these things DO happen.
But I do think that its not so much happening more as we're just more aware of it. I sometimes catch myself saying, "Back in my day, kids ran around through town...they were safe!"...but in reality, the sickos were out there then as much as they are now...just now we know about them, but back then, they were kept secret.
I know it's just that it's talked about more nowadays. Like kykaree, I was sexually molested by an uncle. I wasn't the only one. The family knew what he was like and still didn't speak to the kids or keep them safe. He never did jail time until the 80's when he went outside the family to molest children.
What I feel so very sad for is the children who are videotaped and photographed, whose images appear on the net years after the perpetrators have been caught. It's so very sad that their abuse continues on and on for years. I'm very grateful that my abuse is over. It will never be over over if you get what I mean, but at least all I have is my own demons to deal with.
I hope it doesn't go in cycles. That one day we become so hardened to child sexual abuse and pornography that it ceases to become something that abhors us, sickens us and makes us vigilant, that it becomes the norm.
And thanks for the hugs. Very few people in real life have any idea of my history and its nice that I feel safe to share that part of my past with you all
I agree, i know it has always happened, but the awareness being raised about it now is everywhere. I think its great that people are coming out but I really feel like everytime i turn around i see it. I do think the internet has definitely helped the sick perverts out there looking to prey on children but i think as police realize this resources such as cybertipline are becoming more available and the bad guys can be caught.
All over the news.
Sorry you had to go through that. 
