Guy Who Didn't Actually Sing Obscene Song To Kids Gets Jail Time & Restraining Order As If He Did

from the logic-people? dept

Here’s a follow up to a story we posted a few months ago, about college student Evan Emory, who put together an admittedly sophomoric video on YouTube that made it look like he was singing a sexually explicit song to elementary school kids. He didn’t actually sing that song to the kids. He did sing perfectly reasonable childrens’ songs to the kids, and only later filmed the explicit song in an otherwise empty classroom — and then, for fun, edited the two together. While this does seem childish, it’s hardly unique. In fact, the very same thing is quite frequently done on various TV shows and in movies. Yet, in this case, the guy was arrested and was facing 20 years in prison for “manufacturing child sexual abusive material.”

Well, now, as pointed out by Radley Balko, Emory has been sentenced to 60 days in jail, 3 years probation and must remain 500 feet from minors. He does not have to put his name on the sex offender registry.

And yet, the parents of the children are still angry. A news report from the courtroom shows a father complaining that the sentence isn’t enough, and how his daughter is traumatized by the whole thing. But… that leads to the obvious question of how she even heard the song in the first place. She was not present. Everyone is acting as if he actually sang the song to these kids when he did not. Emory’s own lawyer calls the plea deal “fitting,” but honestly it seems silly. Yes, the video he put together was childish and stupid, but does that really deserve jail time?

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Comments on “Guy Who Didn't Actually Sing Obscene Song To Kids Gets Jail Time & Restraining Order As If He Did”

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72 Comments
Pickle Monger (profile) says:

Appropriate jail time

Meanwhile, the bankers who have misled the investors by selling the mortgage-backed securities they knew would fail and then misled the investigators and possbly the Congress have never even been charged with ANYTHING.

Read more about this at (he-he) NYT:
“But several years after the financial crisis, which was caused in large part by reckless lending and excessive risk taking by major financial institutions, no senior executives have been charged or imprisoned, and a collective government effort has not emerged. This stands in stark contrast to the failure of many savings and loan institutions in the late 1980s. In the wake of that debacle, special government task forces referred 1,100 cases to prosecutors, resulting in more than 800 bank officials going to jail. Among the best-known: Charles H. Keating Jr., of Lincoln Savings and Loan in Arizona, and David Paul, of Centrust Bank in Florida.”

Anonymous Coward says:

Re: Appropriate jail time

because like any 3rd world nation, our government is corrupt. Thus why would you think they would lead an investigation and criminal witchhunt in which they themselves along with the bankers and wallstreet execs would all face prison time.

Won’t happen in a million years (or in the decade or so that the USA has left as a nation).

The Devil's Coachman (profile) says:

Re: Appropriate jail time

The USA had become no different than any banana republic in South America, or any Islamist hellhole in the world. Same agenda, same purpose – the enrichment of the power elite, and the suppression of the populace by whatever means, up to and including lethal violence. Somebody has to pay for all those armored Mercedes S-Class and private jets, to say nothing of the beachfront mansions and the ski chalets in Vail and Switzerland.

The laws apply only to the non-elite. For the elite, there are no laws. There are also no political parties, as that would create the potential for dissension amongst the elite, and that would not be considered productive. All appearances of a functional two party system are an illusion, crafted and maintained by the elite of all “parties” to keep the sheep-like populace gulled into believing they actually have significance. They don’t, and never will.

Wonder where and when they have the meetings for their version of the Mafia “Commission”? I’ll guarantee you one thing – it does not have a name, or a membership list, or a flag or logo. It just exists, and functions quite well, and all the prattling about the “Trilateral Commission”, “Skull and Bones” and all the other conspiracy theory diversions are just that – diversions. Anyone who disagrees publicly with the government loudly enough will eventually be jailed or made to “disappear”, and since it worked fairly well for quite a while with creatures such as Pinochet and others, our autocrats and oligarchs feel similarly entitled. The government is essentially a kleptocracy on a par with the former Soviet Union, and when all the money and resources are controlled by them, the populace will be effectively enslaved. We have lost. They have won. It’s over, boys and girls. Prepare to get fitted for your shackles.

Paul (profile) says:

It is the principle of the thing....

I am getting sick of the government going out of its way to make criminals out of kids and even adults who do stupid things.

Okay, this kid did something stupid. Why not spank him and let him go? Seriously, he is going to do time over this? He is going to be treated as a sex offender for being stupid?

Same thing goes for smoking pot. Spank them and chew them out and let them go. Why not? Even our Presidents admit to smoking pot, so what about that makes them a criminal?

The entertainment industry goes on and on about how piracy is costing us jobs. But what about all the jobs lost because people are not allowed to get training or are discriminated against being hired because they did something stupid.

Now if someone steals a T.V. or shoots someone, or causes any sort of measurable harm to someone else intentionality, then by all means, throw the book at them.

On the other hand, these mostly victim-less crimes (i.e. you can’t actually find someone that these kids have actually, personally, and intentionally harmed) need to be dealt with in some way that is more rational and reasonable then crushing them under the heel of the law like they were really criminals.

Paul (profile) says:

Re: Re: It is the principle of the thing....

Okay, by “stupid”, I mean something that doesn’t rise to the level of truly evil, but which offends someone or some group that is able to come smashing down on your head.

It remains a matter of perspective whether the actual thing he did is inherently and truly “stupid” or just viewed that way by some people.

anonymous says:

Re: It is the principle of the thing....

This was not the government. This was about parents and others looking for prosecution. The government setup a judicial system so the mob wouldn’t tear this guy apart. He elected for a plea deal instead of standing up for his rights.

As for the rest of your complaints… volunteer, get the word out, motivate people, and elect people that stand for your values. Yes it seems like an uphill battle, but that’s because we are complacent and whiny versus active and working for change.

Capitalist Lion Tamer (profile) says:

Stupid overdramatic parents

I, for one, would have been proud to have my child star in this video, however inadvertently. It would give me something to show off to family and friends without boring the shit out of them. One can only watch so many minutes of “kids being kids” before they begin to lose all interest, empathy and feeling in their extremities. I say this as a parent who has inflicted this type of boredom on others. Repeatedly.

Anonymous Poster says:

This may be the most “what the fuck” story in my long, long years of hearing “what the fuck” stories all across the Internet.

Those parents, that prosecutor, and everyone who pushed for this guy to be punished for a harmless (if distasteful) prank need to be ashamed of themselves.

The guy who made the video is already ashamed of himself, and he realizes his mistake, so he already got all the punishment he deserved. This was just heaping on the punishment.

As others have pointed out: the people behind the greatest financial depression of our generation have yet to be sent to jail or punished in any way, celebrities spend years going through trials and hearings on a single incident (look up Jeff Hardy and see how long his current case on drug charges has been going), and yet this guy pulled off a harmless YouTube prank and came within a hair of being labelled a sex offender (likely for the rest of his life).

THIS IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WE NEED TO DEMAND A BETTER SYSTEM.

Christopher (profile) says:

He shouldn’t have gotten any jail time or punishment in the first place. This is the EPITOME of parody! Not to mention that OTHER people have made videos like this since then and they haven’t been arrested!

I swear…… things like this make me want to PUKE.

I agree with Anonymous Poster: WE NEED A BETTER SYSTEM! One that RESPECTS free expression, even if some people dislike that expression.

Almost Anonymous (profile) says:

Re: He accepted a plea

“””He could have taken this to trial, but because of some bad advice (IMHO) he took a plea to guarantee little jail time and no permanent sex offender status.

Personally, I believe I would’ve taken it to trial, so you have to fault him somewhat for being too scared and not letting the justice system work for him.”””

Listen, the prosecutor has complete leeway on what he chooses to prosecute, and he chose to prosecute this. So what if, and I don’t think it’s a very big “if”, this dude went to trial and was convicted? You can be certain that he would have been on the Sex Offender list then. I absolutely don’t blame him for not rolling those dice.

Gwiz (profile) says:

A news report from the courtroom shows a father complaining that the sentence isn’t enough, and how his daughter is traumatized by the whole thing. But… that leads to the obvious question of how she even heard the song in the first place. She was not present.

Perhaps good ole Dad there needs 3 or 4 times Emory’s sentence if he exposed his daughter to so called “child sexual abusive material” by letting her see the video.

Anonymous Coward says:

Interesting. A fake video of someone singing an X-rated song to kids causes that person to be put in jail?
So, if I don’t like someone, all I have to do is record them talking, edit the movie so they lip-sync with a recording of an explicit song, splice in stock footage of children, and upload it to YouTube, and they’ll go to jail even though the movie is fake and they didn’t really do anything?
Wow. Now I know what Kira felt like when he realized what he could do with the Death Note…

383bigblock (profile) says:

Dad goes to jail!! happy ending

Well, if the dad who spoke up was so upset that his daughter was traumatized and demanded a stiffer sentence I think he is ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON!!!!!

He should immediately go to jail for allowing to view something that never happened. WOW…I’ve heard where perception is reality…..but this takes the cake. I think since his performance was in front of a virtual audience (in the classroom) then he should have to go to a virtual jail and serve 3 years of virtual probation….just to be consistent.

vivaelamor (profile) says:

Re: American Retard

“…are complete and total retards. They are what is wrong with America, and they are proof that the human race is doomed.”

So, people suffering from mental retardation are what is wrong with America and proof that the human race is doomed? Here’s me thinking that it might be lack of empathy.

“They should be all taken out to the woodshed and flogged.”

Coincidentally what I believe should happen to people who use the word retard as a pejorative.

vivaelamor (profile) says:

Re: Re: Re: American Retard

‘I think you have it backwards. The retarded kids are the ones who should be offended by the comparison. They are not the ones who are pushing this non-sense, it is their alleged “betters”.’

You neglect to explain why it’s nonsense. Personally I apply the same ‘non’ sense to the pejorative use of other words, some of which I have had to contend with first hand.

I’m offended at the implications of the language, not because anyone suffers any negative consequences (although negative consequences are supported by anecdotal evidence).

You seem to believe that only the subject of a derogation has any right to be offended. To apply your implied principle uniformly would prevent anyone who is not directly a victim from seeking to right a wrong.

You imply that I regard myself as “better”, but neglect to explain what you mean or why you would believe that.

Matthew A. Sawtell (profile) says:

And people wondered why 'celebs' needed so many lawyers?

Folks – there is a reason why folks like Ted Nugent, Steven Tyler, etc. etc. etc. were able to get away with a hell of a lot worse will kids that this twit, the record label lawyers.

Not all of the sharks are their for copyright projection… but also to protect their meal tickets in their prime.

After that… typical episode of “Behind the Music”

Anonymous Coward says:

wait, wait! I saw this on T.V.

about 15 minutes after I read this acticle, I turned the TV on, and there was a Reno 911! where deputy Wiegel sings a HIGHLY inappropriate song to a classroom full of students. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAHIhRsWCqc&playnext=1&list=PL030EDD8F23CB99F1
You can tell by watching that the kids aren’t actually in the classroom while the song is being sung. So this exact senario where a man went to jail happened on a for profit television show that is now replayed in syndication.

joe says:

welcome to the united states of china, where the 1st amendment can be overridden by almost any other law. where we find ways to force internet censorship on people by arresting and jailing anybody who dares express themselves. like I always say, the only right more important than your 1st amendment right is your 5th.

and as this has been done on TV shows, all actors involved in those should be targeted charged registered and jailed as well.

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