"Child Pornographer(?)" convicted in NH - WTF? [View All]

[thefool_wa]

OK, I hate child pornographers. There is nothing more vile than someone who defiles the innocence and destroys the psyche of a child for their own perverted pleasure. That being said, check out this article from New Hampshire:

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/8905676/detail.html

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A 59-year-old Massachusetts man who worked as a photographer at a New Hampshire summer camp has been convicted on nine counts of child pornography.

Authorities say Marshal Zidel, of Somerville, Mass., used benign photos of children he took at Camp Young Judea in Amherst and superimposed the heads and faces on pornographic photographs.

Officials say the images were saved on a CD that Zidel accidentally gave to the camp director. He had worked at the camp for over 20 years. Zidel was convicted Friday in Hillsborough County Superior Court and remains free on bail pending sentencing.

I think I need the help of my fellow DU'ers to understand this. I know the article is brief, but it sounds like this guy 1) Never abused a child, 2)Never took a naked picture of a child, and 3)Never attempted to do either of the two former actions.

This raises the question, why is what he did a crime? Sure, its a little (ok, alot) on the weird side, but it sounds like he was possibly trying to stifle his perverted urges without harming children. He probably could use therapy and should have lost his job, but a child porn conviction? Don't you have to actually take/possess pictures of naked children for that?

I never thought I would see the day when someone is put away for "Illegal use of Photoshop to avoid committing a crime". If anyone has further information about this please sounds off. I never thought I would find myself hoping someone is actually a child pornographer, but the alternative in this case is potentially scarier.

They really are trying to build a prison...