OpinioNet Contributed Commentary - Timothy Rollins <tim@opinionet.com>
January 23, 2002
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"Beneath the Surface"
Depraved Indifference To Human Life ...
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In what can only be described as both depraved indifference to human life as well as a situation clearly out of control, there has been yet another major arrest in the Toronto area on child pornography charges, bringing to three this year the number of felony arrests on this, perhaps the most hideous of criminal charges imaginable – and the year is only three weeks old so far. God help us if these first three weeks are a harbinger of things to come for the remaining eleven months and change of 2002.
Charged with possession of over 200,000 images of child pornography is former Department of National Defense physicist and father of two children (Canada’s equivalent of the DoD) Dr. Blair Thomas Newton Evans, 51 (shown, right), who is currently being held in custody pending a court appearance Friday morning. If the good doctor has half a brain, he will elect to remain in jail in isolation for his own safety and the Crown will elect for the same to ensure he is both present as well as alive for trial.
Referring to it as “global organized crime”, Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie indicated it was the third major bust so far in the area this year, which means more are undoubtedly coming. He added, “This is trafficking in human misery.”
For a number of years now, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in conjunction with police agencies throughout the province, the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies throughout the world, to include the FBI in the United States, has spearheaded “Project P”. This is a special detail of hand-picked officers that work exclusively in getting this filth off the streets, protecting the innocent children all too often exploited by this, and putting those responsible behind bars and away from decent, law-abiding citizens who seek to raise their families in as safe a society as we can make it.
The fact that Canada has established itself as a conduit for this kind of garbage is saddening, but not altogether surprising in the least. Last year, the Canadian Supremes rules unanimously that pornography was not a constitutionally protected right, and that the right of children not to be exploited overruled the right of free speech or expression on the part of pornographers.
Staff Inspector Gary Ellis (pictured, left) better put it when he said it like this: “I would call child porn an epidemic in the city.” Continuing, he added, “It’s our hidden crime, our hidden shame and unless there’s a greater awareness and support in the legal system and society, we might as well put up the white flag.” He added, “We (Toronto) are one of the centers in the world for distributing pornography.”
With the seizure of the 200,000 images from Evans, it brings the total so far to 500,000 this year of pornographic images that have been seized in police raids. In a press conference, Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino (right) commented, “This is a horrific crime, and it’s one that is not being dealt with adequately in the system,” Fantino said.
“It is the type of material that glorifies and depicts the most brutal abuse of the most vulnerable people in our society ...
“Each picture, each frame in a video, each situation is one more depiction of an innocent, vulnerable, helpless person being victimized by ruthless, sophisticated, cunning criminals.”
Well, Chief, I have a hot flash for you, my friend. The recent vote of no-confidence in you by the rank and file headed by the police union may have something to do with the fact that all too often department leadership seems to be more interested in getting their mug on camera than in making meaningful, substantive change in the laws and putting teeth in them so as to protect those whom you profess to serve.
Generally speaking, I and most other adult males can pretty much take care of ourselves, but most women and especially children cannot, particularly when you consider that men have on average nine times the body mass that women do. This is not sexism; it is biological fact and the fact remains that like women, children are powerless to fend for themselves when confronted by predators seeking to exploit them for commercial in this most hideous of fashions.
How did Evans get busted? Simple. The way most of these pervs get caught – by bragging about the “size of his stash” to a “pen pal” he met online in an Internet chat room. It was our good fortune and Evans’ misfortune that the person on the other end of his computer was a New Zealand cop, who in turn tipped off Toronto Police. When police finally made the raid last Friday, they estimate as many as 10,000 different children were used in the depiction of these images, with some of them as young as six months. I can’t speak for others, but if someone were to abuse my child in that fashion or the child of anyone else I know, let’s just say that among the dads I know, all bets would be off.
What I find even more disturbing that Evans’ arrest in Toronto last Friday is the fact that he was arrested in Ottawa five years ago on similar charges. The fact that he has two sons also leads me to wonder if he has either “diddled” them or used them in some his “depictions for sale”. Clearly, these are factors that must be considered and fully investigated.
With 17 more cases in the hopper that are in various stages of investigation being prepped for arrest and subsequent prosecution, the police are indeed very, very busy. The fact that there is not a greater hue and cry going against this unspeakable evil only reflects the depraved indifference society has taken towards human life in general.
Just as our parents were the guardians of society for the next generation (us) to ensure its safety, survival and continuation, so it is incumbent upon us to ensure that we take those same steps to protect our children the way our parents did their level best to protect us from the evils of their day. Our children and our children’s children as well will need our guidance, wisdom, influence, direction and especially our unconditional love to make it through these difficult days ahead.
Consequently, laws – especially as they pertain to this most pernicious of all evils must be effected in such a manner so as to ensure that offenders – once convicted – are never allowed to set foot again outside of prison walls and run the risk of ever reoffending. In Canada, that means a provision in the law that mandates an automatic designation as a “dangerous offender” – a provision in the laws that allows for indefinite incarceration instead of mandatory release after 25 years. In the United States, it should require life in prison without the possibility of parole, and if the U.S. Federal Government needs to withhold federal funding for law enforcement to ensure compliance by the individual states, then so be it, as such action would not be unprecedented. After all, they did it to the states with the 55-mile per hour speed limit and the mandatory upping of the drinking age back to 21.
Only then will children and their parents truly appreciate that their police and their elected officials are seeking to place their constituents above their own. The Los Angeles Police Department has their motto clearly marked on their patrol cars. It says, “To protect and to serve.”
Now is the time for both law enforcement and lawmakers to either put up or shut up in that regard.
Wouldn’t you agree?
Timothy Rollins
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-Published with permission
Dr. Blair Thomas Newton Evans
Staff Inspector Gary Ellis
Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino