Federal agents arrested Charles Rust-Tierney, the former president of the Virginia chapter of the ACLU, Friday in Arlington for allegedly possessing child pornography.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News, Rust-Tierney allegedly used his e-mail address and credit card to subscribe to and access a child pornography website.
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.”
Rust Tierney coaches various youth sports teams in and around Arlington, Virginia, according to court documents.
In the past, Rust-Tierney had argued against restricting Internet access in public libraries in Virginia, writing, “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.”
Update by Rob:
Here’s an interesting blast from the past. In 1982 the ACLU tried to get the distribution and sale of child pornography made legal. Their reasoning was that while producing kiddie porn exploited children, selling and/or distributing the videos did not. Because the children aren’t directly involved in that process, I guess.