UT - Man faces infant abuse charges after getting pictures developed

[jjenny]

i hope to god this isnt one of those 'they took pictures of giving him a bath' cases and this is actually real charges of something that actually happened.

Well it looks to be just like one of those cases - no charges and nothing more than "proud father with his son."

 

[jjenny]

The charges are first degree felony sodomy of a child and sexual exploitation of a minor.

So I am thinking the "bath photo" defense would be a little weak here.

I am going to wait for more info and bail to be set...and then I will exhale.

They aren't even going to need a defense. All the charges are dropped.
And it appears to have been exactly like the "bath photo" incidents.

 

[not_my_kids]

Former statements retracted on my end.

I think I'm sticking to digital cameras myself from now on.

 

[Missizzy]

The very first article I read on this case was the one Texas Mist posted above. I was actually OK until I got to the part about the man kissing the baby on the genitals. And yet, the family took the photos in with seemingly no fear that they would be considered pornographic and/or abusive. Why? If they are truly undocumented, I would think that they would be extra cautious to not arouse attention.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, do we have any Latino parents on board who can speak to the cultural veracity of this practice? Is it something that would absolutely never ever be done or is it possibly an OK thing to show in newborn photos?

I know that I'm uncomfortable with the actions but I really wonder why this family, if they wished to take pornographic photos wouldn't have used a cheap digital camera and the self printer at Wal-mart. I honestly don't think they understand what they did failed our societal expectations of decency.

 

[DairyGirl]

It said he "appeared" to be kissing the boys genitals. Maybe he was kissing his tummy and from the angle it was shot it looked that way? I don't care what culture you are from, kissing a baby's genitals is not appropriate.

 

[Belinda]

I am now completely and totally confused. If the pictures were of the man kissing the baby, where did the whole sodomy thing come from? Something is not right here. Sodomy is a long, long way from kissing, however inappropriate the kissing was.

 

[Kymistry35]

I am now completely and totally confused. If the pictures were of the man kissing the baby, where did the whole sodomy thing come from? Something is not right here. Sodomy is a long, long way from kissing, however inappropriate the kissing was.

Another poster (sorry can't remember who) posted the legal definition of sodomy and it included any mouth to genital contact along with what most of us consider sodomy to be.

ETA: I hope that if they are allowed to stay here in the U.S. that CPS keeps an eye out on this family. I am sorry but I have four sons and would never kiss any of them on the bottom or let anyone else do it either.

 

[songline]

Wrongly accused mother not yet reunited with baby
St. George » The woman faces an immigration hearing.

By Brooke Adams
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 04/02/2010 08:05:40 PM MDT

The state's child welfare director said Friday he wants "more than anything" for a 9-month-old infant to be reunited with his mother, who was wrongly accused of sexual exploitation.

A 5th District Court judge will decide Thursday whether to return Alex Uril Vasquez to his mother, Alma Vasquez, who was released Wednesday from the Washington County Jail.

"What we're trying to do is get mom and child back together," said Duane Betournay, director of the Division of Child and Family Services. "I want more than anything for those two to get back together."
....................................
Vasquez, 22, spent 10 days in jail after being arrested when a St. George police officer deemed photographs she took of her son and his father as child . Her son was placed in state custody.

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The photographs, turned over to police by a film processing lab, showed Sergio Diaz-Palomino kissing and cuddling with his naked son. One image showed Diaz-Palomino kissing the boy on his bottom and another appeared to show him kissing the baby's genitals.

Diaz-Palomino, 34, told police he planned to send the photos of his first-born son to family in Mexico.

Charges were dismissed after the Washington County Attorney's Office reviewed the photographs and found they showed nothing more than a "proud father with his son."

On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Diaz-Palomino, a native of Mexico who was in the U.S. illegally. Vasquez also is an undocumented resident.

more here

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14811364

If this is the correct article, there is nothing about sodomy, and if that first report talking of sodomy is bogus, that reporter needs to pay big time damages, and lose his job.
If that is all bogus it is harmful to ALL concerned.

 

[songline]

Another poster (
sorry can't remember who) posted the legal definition of sodomy and it included and mouth to genital contact along with what most of us consider sodomy to be.

ETA: I hope that if they are allowed to stay here in the U.S. that CPS keeps an eye out on this family. I am sorry but I have four sons and would never kiss any of them on the bottom or let anyone else do it either.

Many parents do kiss their babies naked bottom. with no inappropriate thought.
I do wonder if this reporter was on a witch hunt?
and I do hope they watch these people to see that no harm comes to this child.
but like someone said it is a long way off from sodomy.

 

[Missizzy]

Yes, kissing or placing the mouth on the genitals is technically sodomy. I think the laws have to be written in such a way as to cover both boys and girls. IIRC, there were two charges in our rape case which involved the male teen "kissing" one of our boy's penis. There were also several charges which involved what most of us consider sodomy--taking the penis into the mouth. Those charges became convictions, the kissing did not.

While these actions were misguided, nothing criminal occurred IMO. After raising 9 boys I know I wouldn't blow kisses on the lower tummy or near the penis as I wouldn't want to get sprayed. Even though parents are entrusted with caring for the private bits and bobs, they are still "sacred" and there's plenty of more appropriate sweet baby skin available to snuggle and kiss.

 

[gitana1]

Thank God he was stupid enough to take the pictures to Walgreen's to get them developed or this piece of wouldn't have gotten caught. Not lets pray they find the so called piece of Mother and the baby boy is ok.

Let´s also hope and pray they don´t get six years or so and then walk the streets again. But I´m pessimistic. For some reason, we just don´t seem to want to keep these freaks of nature in prison. Some psychologist somewhere thinks they just made a little mistake and are all better now and should be let out to live around our children again. I don´t get it.
This is one of the sickest things I have ever heard of. How the hell does it something like this happen? "Listen, I´m, thinking of sodomizing your infant, what do you think?" " Sure, no problem!" "Mind if we film it?" "No, that sounds fine." I have no words.
Know what I pray for? An "Oops" on the way to jail. "Well", says the officer, "I thought he was going for my gun, sorry about that."
These pieces of filth have no right to live. Period.

 

[gitana1]

Former statements retracted on my end.

I think I'm sticking to digital cameras myself from now on.

I retract my statements as well! I guess that´s what i get for posting before reading to the end.

The very first article I read on this case was the one Texas Mist posted above. I was actually OK until I got to the part about the man kissing the baby on the genitals. And yet, the family took the photos in with seemingly no fear that they would be considered pornographic and/or abusive. Why? If they are truly undocumented, I would think that they would be extra cautious to not arouse attention.

Playing devil's advocate for a moment, do we have any Latino parents on board who can speak to the cultural veracity of this practice? Is it something that would absolutely never ever be done or is it possibly an OK thing to show in newborn photos?

I know that I'm uncomfortable with the actions but I really wonder why this family, if they wished to take pornographic photos wouldn't have used a cheap digital camera and the self printer at Wal-mart. I honestly don't think they understand what they did failed our societal expectations of decency.

I am from a Hispanic family (Spain, where I am right now, visting the family for Holy Week). Yes, in the south of Spain at least, it is not uncommon for parents to kiss their babies butts or even their genitals. Not in a sexual way at all. They do it in a cute way and say, "Mira que graciosa!" Which loosely means, "Oh, how adorable you are!" Here in the south of Spain, kids are not looked at as possible sexual prey for the most part. Yes, there are weirdos, but not as many per capita.
For example, I was walking with some people, through the crowded streets, one night and their little kids kept falling behind. At one point, I told the mom, who kept yelling at them to stay with her and who got scared when she couldn´t find the little girl for a moment, that I am not used to kids being so free like that. I said it scares me. She asked why. (She was only afraid the kid would get lost in the crowd). I explained that every day we have a kid disappearing in the states. The whole group I was with turned and asked what happens to the kids, they thought it is for ransom or something. I explained that mostly they kill the kids and commit sex crimes against them first. You should have seen their expressions. They blanched and seemed horrified. The kids were placed firmly between the parents after that for the rest of the night, each holding strongly onto their little hands.
I say this as way of explanation. Although there are occasional cases of molestation and child sex murders here, it´s mostly foreginers and very infrequent. Instead, life revolves around children here. Children are not usually in daycare, they are usually with aunts or grandparents. You see so many kids in strollers during the day with old grandparents. Children are so cherished, doted on, adored, and raised like little princes and princesses. Sometimes it is even a bit annoying. "What do you want, my soul? What do you need, my life? Here, my love, here, don´t cry." People here seem to think there is no part of a child that could possibly be thought of sexual or private. They do not distinguish between little eyes, little noses and other little parts. They find it all very, very adorable, perfect, precious. Kids run around on the beach naked until they reach around 6 to 8. Then, they usually wear some kind of bathing suit but usually no top, even the girls, until they get close to puberty. It surprised and disgusted my European mother when she caught some sicko staring at me on the beach in the states when I was six. After that, you better believe I wore a bathing suit. It´s just different, here.
It makes sense to me that in other parts of the Hispanic world, people may be the same. I know it is the case in other parts as well. For example, an Albanian immigrant family in Texas lost their parental rights to all their children after the dad was videotaped at a public basketball game of his son, patting his 2 year old girl´s genital area. He was not a molester, he was very open about it. He just didn´t know that our culture in the U.S. is different. Perhaps in some cultures, we too are considered weird for patting our kids´butts in the states.
But, if this guy in this case is from Mexico, I will admit to some confusion. Usually, in countries where there is more abuse of children, people are less likely to be open about things like kid´s private parts. And I know for a fact that there is a good amount of sex crimes against kids in Mexico. I guess I will keep reading on but yes, from expereince I can tell you that this is a typical nonsexual practice in Spain.

 

[gitana1]

One other bit to add. In my parents´culture, there is very little privacy in general. I can´t do a thing without someone asking me what I´m doing, bothring me - even trying to use the bathroom can be a challenge with some of my crazy aunts.
I lived here for a while when I was 21 and my aunts were curious about my body. They could not understand my American sense of privacy. A couple years ago I was here and my poor 13 year old cousin came in the house where a bunch of us had gathered. One of the crazier aunts, who had not seen the girl in a while, suqeezed her saying, "Wow, look at what nice tetas you have! You are all grown up" (Kind of like the scene in 16 candles). I would have died but the kid seemed to take it in stride. Here, the families can be so close (like mine) tht they have ahard time differentiating between themselves and their loved ones. In other words, there is a less a sense of self identity. My family feels like I am not just a part of them but that we are all a unit. My body is their body. It´s kind of hard to explain. Children are simply an extension of their parents.
Also, parents are very proud of their kids little bodies. My parents sent reams of super 8 footage of us and in one my mom is putting my pjs on after a bath and patting my little naked butt as I stepped into the footies. I was about 2 1/2. I think it´s kind of cute.
However, I know of no one who would tape or fotograph themselves kissing their kids gentitalia here.
In the end, I am glad that there appears to be nothing worng in this case. It really upset me, made me feel nuts for a moment when I read about. Sometimes I think i torture myself with this site but I´m glad I read on: One less hideous abuse story to worry about. I hope.

 

[reen]

I retract my statements as well! I guess that´s what i get for posting before reading to the end.



I am from a Hispanic family (Spain, where I am right now, visting the family for Holy Week). Yes, in the south of Spain at least, it is not uncommon for parents to kiss their babies butts or even their genitals. Not in a sexual way at all. They do it in a cute way and say, "Mira que graciosa!" Which loosely means, "Oh, how adorable you are!" Here in the south of Spain, kids are not looked at as possible sexual prey for the most part. Yes, there are weirdos, but not as many per capita.
For example, I was walking with some people, through the crowded streets, one night and their little kids kept falling behind. At one point, I told the mom, who kept yelling at them to stay with her and who got scared when she couldn´t find the little girl for a moment, that I am not used to kids being so free like that. I said it scares me. She asked why. (She was only afraid the kid would get lost in the crowd). I explained that every day we have a kid disappearing in the states. The whole group I was with turned and asked what happens to the kids, they thought it is for ransom or something. I explained that mostly they kill the kids and commit sex crimes against them first. You should have seen their expressions. They blanched and seemed horrified. The kids were placed firmly between the parents after that for the rest of the night, each holding strongly onto their little hands.
I say this as way of explanation. Although there are occasional cases of molestation and child sex murders here, it´s mostly foreginers and very infrequent. Instead, life revolves around children here. Children are not usually in daycare, they are usually with aunts or grandparents. You see so many kids in strollers during the day with old grandparents. Children are so cherished, doted on, adored, and raised like little princes and princesses. Sometimes it is even a bit annoying. "What do you want, my soul? What do you need, my life? Here, my love, here, don´t cry." People here seem to think there is no part of a child that could possibly be thought of sexual or private. They do not distinguish between little eyes, little noses and other little parts. They find it all very, very adorable, perfect, precious. Kids run around on the beach naked until they reach around 6 to 8. Then, they usually wear some kind of bathing suit but usually no top, even the girls, until they get close to puberty. It surprised and disgusted my European mother when she caught some sicko staring at me on the beach in the states when I was six. After that, you better believe I wore a bathing suit. It´s just different, here.
It makes sense to me that in other parts of the Hispanic world, people may be the same. I know it is the case in other parts as well. For example, an Albanian immigrant family in Texas lost their parental rights to all their children after the dad was videotaped at a public basketball game of his son, patting his 2 year old girl´s genital area. He was not a molester, he was very open about it. He just didn´t know that our culture in the U.S. is different. Perhaps in some cultures, we too are considered weird for patting our kids´butts in the states.
But, if this guy in this case is from Mexico, I will admit to some confusion. Usually, in countries where there is more abuse of children, people are less likely to be open about things like kid´s private parts. And I know for a fact that there is a good amount of sex crimes against kids in Mexico. I guess I will keep reading on but yes, from expereince I can tell you that this is a typical nonsexual practice in Spain.

It makes sense that we have so many more perverts here in the US as ours is such a puritanical society. We've all been seeing this effect within the Church and any culture that raises its members to view the body as "dirty" and "shameful." It's a tragedy, really.

 

[CHICANA]

Reading this makes me want to cry, because they still don't have their baby back.

Charges were dismissed after the Washington County Attorney's Office reviewed the photographs and found they showed nothing more than a "proud father with his son."

 

[kbl8201]

i hope to god this isnt one of those 'they took pictures of giving him a bath' cases and this is actually real charges of something that actually happened.

told you guys the 'see if the baby is ok' comment smelled fishy to me. obviously, if the mom is letting dad sodomize the baby while she snaps photos, the baby is NOT ok.

this is why i trust my instincts most of the time.........

 

[believe09]

I changed the tags...lesson learned here....

 

[believe09]

And the punishment will be being deported apparently as no one was here legally...time to return the baby, Utah!!!!

 

[kbl8201]

they better give her her baby back before they deport her.