PARENTAL "RED ALERT"
A COMPUTER IN TODAY'S AMERICA COULD COST YOU OR YOUR CHILD, A LIFETIME
What you are about to read is a TRUE story that was recently featured on ABC's "20/20". John Stossel reported on the real life story of a 16 year old Phoenix resident who faced 90 years in prison for erotic images of minors found on his home computer. The most horrifying of all, is that no one in the Bandy family downloaded any child pornography. Their computer was hacked and loaded with malware and viruses which included images of minors.
SEX CRIME LAWS TURNS INTO A MODERN DAY WITCH HUNT - Suburban family's lives turned upside down when authorities knocked at their door AFTER BEING CONTACTED NY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN (NCMEC)
LEARN SOME SURPRISING LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE (NCMEC) National Center For Missing and Exploited Children BY CLICKING HERE:http://www.operationawareness.com/cgi-bin/util/sitebuilder/edit?editpage=index_9.html
It's 6:00 am on an early Arizona morning. Matt Bandy, age 16 is getting ready for school. Suddenly there is pounding on the families' front door. Matt's Mom peers out a window and sees shadowy figures scurrying around her yard. "Open up, this is the police" a voice shouts from the other side of their front door. Several armed officers enter the home with guns drawn and aimed at her son. Before all is said and done the family, who are guilty of NO wrongdoing, will spend more than $250,000 to hire one of the best attorneys in Phoenix and a top forensic computer analyst to save their son who is charged with 9 counts of child pornography posession. Each charge carries a 10 year prison sentence in the State of Arizona. That would effectively mean life in prison for the family's only son.
Matt Bandy- The teen who faced 90 years in prison after hackers invaded his home computer
THE MARICOPA COUNTY ATTORNEY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CHARGING MATT IS ANDREW THOMAS. IS MR.THOMAS A MALICIOUS PROSECUTOR OR SIMPLY AN AGGRESSIVE ONE?
WATCH THE 20/20 SEGMENT LINKED BELOW or FOLLOW THIS LINK TO THE ACTUAL TRANSCRIPTS AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE YOUR OPINIONS WITH MR. ANDREW THOMAS BY CLICKING HERE
THIS TRAGIC STORY IS JUST ONE OF MANY THAT ARE ON THE RISE IN THIS COUNTRY. AT A MINIMUM, THEY SERVE AS A CLEAR CASE AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS AND THE ABSOLUTE NEED FOR THE SEPERATION OF POWERS. MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES MANDATE THAT THE JUDGES DISCRETION BE TAKEN AWAY. EVEN IN CASES LIKE THIS.
LUCKILY FOR MATT HE HAD PARENTS THAT BELIEVED IN HIM AS WELL AS THE RESOURCES TO PROVIDE HIM WITH A COMPETENT ATTORNEY. NOT EVERYONE IS THAT FORTUNATE.
A FAMILIES LIFE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
It's been two years since police officers stood at the doorstep of the Bandy home with a search warrant bearing a devastating charge — possession of child pornography.
"It was 6 a.m. It was still dark…there was this pounding at the door," Jeannie Bandy said. "I was petrified."
Police officers stormed into the house with guns pointed. "The first thing I thought was, someone's trying to break in our house," Matthew said. "And then there [were] police officers with guns pointed at me, telling me to get downstairs."
Greg Bandy was handed the search warrant and informed that the central suspect was Matthew. According to the warrant, nine images of young girls in suggestive poses were found on the Bandy family computer. Yahoo monitors chat rooms for suspicious content and reported that child porn was uploaded from the computer at the Bandys' home address.
"When they asked me have you ever looked up or uploaded or downloaded erotic images of minors, I was just taken aback and…I said, 'No,'" says Matthew.
Nevertheless, Matthew did have an embarrassing confession. He had been sneaking peaks at adult erotic photos on the family computer. "I got the Web site from a bunch of friends at school. [It was] just adult pornography…Playboy-like images."
Difficult to admit, but not illegal — or so it seemed. Still, it didn't look good for Matt, as police confiscated the computer and left the house that December day. A family was shattered.
"I still remember when they were cleaning up and leaving and of course I was still in my pajamas and my bathrobe and my fuzzy slippers," Jeannie Bandy said. "I said, 'What do we do now? Should I contact a lawyer?' [The police officer] said, 'Well, they are felonies that the state takes very serious.'"
READ THE FULL STORY FROM ABC HERE: http://www.abcnews.go.com/2020/LegalCenter/story?id=2785054&page=1
http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1028_3-6150676.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://crisismanager.wordpress.com/2007/01/14/bandy-family-computer-zombied-by-child-porn-criminals
http://freestudents.blogspot.com/2007/01/you-could-be-next-what-was-done-to.html
http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/10460
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