Quote from: sfgate.comAn accomplished San Francisco comic book and nonfiction author, who has been published in Marvel and a slew of other publications, was arrested on suspicion of possessing more than 600 child pornography files and uploading the graphic videos to YouTube, police said Friday.
Gerard Jones, 59, was arrested after a police investigation and ensuing search warrant at his residence in the 600 block of Long Bridge Street in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood turned up a host of electronic devices storing more than 600 images and videos depicting child pornography, police said.
The longtime author has written screenplays for Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, served as a writing teacher for the San Francisco Writer's Grotto, and put together graphic novels for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics, according to his official website.
He was arraigned Thursday and entered a not guilty plea on charges of possession of child pornography and distributing child pornography, a spokesman for the San Francisco District Attorney's Office said.
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Comic-book-author-suspected-of-putting-child-porn-10841108.php
Crap, I hope there's no truth to these charges. I've admired his work ever since I was a kid. And today, he and I trade messages all the time about his non-fiction work.
If he's truly guilty though, I hope the judge throws the book at him.
Never heard of him but I hope he's innocent too, for his sake and yours. If he isn't, though, child porn is one of my most unforgivable sins. I think all convicted child predators (and sexual predators in general) should be forcibly castrated.
Quote from: Catwoman on Sun, 15 Jan 2017, 07:58Never heard of him but I hope he's innocent too, for his sake and yours. If he isn't, though, child porn is one of my most unforgivable sins. I think all convicted child predators (and sexual predators in general) should be forcibly castrated.
This maybe isn't the time or place for this discussion... but, eh, whatevs.
The older I get, the more I think imprisonment isn't a just or sufficient punishment for some people. For white collar crimes like tax evasion or some non-violent means of theft (eg, scamming, hacking, etc) might be adequately punished.
But sexual crimes, violent crimes and those sorts of things might be better penalized with some form of physical punishment. Caning, whipping and the like. In other words, force being met with force. I'm just spit-balling ideas here for the state to consider as alternative punishments.
I said during the debate on here about Batman branding a sexual offender in BvS, basically marking him for death once he got in prison, that I feel like those crimes should carry the most severe penalties possible. I said at the time that they claim sickness makes them prey on women or children (or to the women rapists, men or other women or children). Well, what do we do with a sick dog?
Exactly.
My opinions on the subject are very, very strong and deep. Nobody will ever convince me to soften on that. When you've experienced it, had friends experience it, and then you see on the news these motherf***ers getting out of jail after six months, a year, three years, or something like that, it only makes the resolve that stronger.
Quote from: Catwoman on Mon, 16 Jan 2017, 06:41I said during the debate on here about Batman branding a sexual offender in BvS, basically marking him for death once he got in prison, that I feel like those crimes should carry the most severe penalties possible. I said at the time that they claim sickness makes them prey on women or children (or to the women rapists, men or other women or children). Well, what do we do with a sick dog?
Exactly.
My opinions on the subject are very, very strong and deep. Nobody will ever convince me to soften on that. When you've experienced it, had friends experience it, and then you see on the news these motherf***ers getting out of jail after six months, a year, three years, or something like that, it only makes the resolve that stronger.
Understandable. The main reason I'd oppose the death penalty for sex offenders is (A) the punishment doesn't fit the crime and (B) it creates a new incentive to kill their victims. If a sex offender goes out there and rapes somebody, well, he's already facing execution if he's caught. So why not kill his victim and reduce his chances of capture?
Other physical punishments as outlined above, however, could be useful since many violent criminals might not care about going to prison but they tend to fear pain and physical harm, and have been shown to modify their behavior if the penalty is physical punishment of some kind.
I'm not going to say you're wrong because you're not. You're right, because you're thinking about it rationally. I can't, it's an emotional subject for me and I want blood. But you're right. I hate you for being right, but you are.
Turning the other cheek is not my thing. The punishment must fit the crime, and there must be satisfaction in the punishment considering the pain and suffering the individual in question inflicted. An eye for an eye doesn't make the world blind. That's just a slogan. An eye for an eye is about making a statement, not just to the culprit, but to society as a whole. If it's good enough for the victim, it's good enough for the culprit. Honestly, some people have nothing to lose and their attitude is lousy. You can't fine them - money means nothing. Locking them up does nothing either. They're in and out of the system like it's a hotel. What they need is a good, hard flogging that knocks the stuffing out of them. Pain is the only language they will understand.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Mon, 16 Jan 2017, 12:38Turning the other cheek is not my thing. The punishment must fit the crime, and there must be satisfaction in the punishment considering the pain and suffering the individual in question inflicted. An eye for an eye doesn't make the world blind. That's just a slogan. An eye for an eye is about making a statement, not just to the culprit, but to society as a whole. If it's good enough for the victim, it's good enough for the culprit. Honestly, some people have nothing to lose and their attitude is lousy. You can't fine them - money means nothing. Locking them up does nothing either. They're in and out of the system like it's a hotel. What they need is a good, hard flogging that knocks the stuffing out of them. Pain is the only language they will understand.
Yep.
Plus, people tend to forget that "an eye for an eye" isn't license. It's a
limitation. If someone steals from you, biblically speaking, he shouldn't be executed for it. Rather, he should have to pay restitution. An eye for an eye... meaning he took from you so now he has to give back. Or if he sheds blood, his blood should be shed too. An eye for an eye.
In the ancient world, that's an incredibly merciful rule.
In the case of violent offenders, caning, whipping and the like are incredibly painful and could possibly serve as deterrents. Mind you, I believe the law exists to outline punishments for law-breakers... not necessarily to deter crime. But if the law has the secondary effect of deterring crime, well, so much the better, right?
This isn't good. It's revealed today that he has changed his plea to guilty, and admitted to downloading and sharing child pornography on YouTube.
Surprisingly, not only are some comics artists showing support for Jones for rehabilitation, a clinical psychologist called Jeremy Jones reckons Gerard's risk of re-offending is low.
Source: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/03/31/gerard-jones-guilty-child-pornography/
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 03:22This isn't good. It's revealed today that he has changed his plea to guilty, and admitted to downloading and sharing child pornography on YouTube.
His odds of beating the charges are slim and none. And Slim left town. This is probably a smart move on his part. Fighting it out in court would've been a guaranteed defeat.
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 03:22Surprisingly, not only are some comics artists showing support for Jones for rehabilitation, a clinical psychologist called Jeremy Jones reckons Gerard's risk of re-offending is low.
Source: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/03/31/gerard-jones-guilty-child-pornography/
If the guy really is guilty, this is no more than he deserves.
I was of fan of Jones's work. Nobody wrote The Shadow the way he did. Before this mess happened, Jones and I used to trade Facebook PM's a couple of times a week. Some of our interests overlap. Specifically, we shared interests in philosophy, politics, history and religion. He told me a bit about the book he was writing about the role of religion in America and it sounded intriguing to me. I looked forward to its publication.
It "hurts" me that he's apparently involved in that stuff... but every time I feel depressed about it, I remind myself that he's pleading guilty to getting his jollies watching children get raped on video. I don't know really anything about child pr0n but my guess is most victims of it don't survive very long after they've been raped. Assuming I'm right, people had to die so that Jones could get some sick pleasure out of those videos.
As if that wasn't bad enough, he is further accused of attempting to upload some of his material to YouTube so that he could spread his sickness to other people.
To top the whole thing off, Jones may also be a child sex tourist. That's still being investigated.
It sucks to be let down by someone I used to respect but I have to remind myself that my personal disappointment is nothing compared to the pain, suffering and possible murder other people had to experience in order for him to satisfy his demented urges.
However, I would like to reiterate my belief that corporal punishment is a more appropriate outcome to this case than some type of penal incarceration. Some shrink may believe Jones is a low risk to reoffend. And for all I know, that may even be true. I couldn't tell you. What I know for sure is that my gut tells me there needs to be a physical punishment. Caning, whipping, beating, whatever. And maybe more than one. Maybe every Friday for ten years he gets the crap knocked out of him by a prison guard with a cane or something, I don't know.
But some kind of price needs to be paid here. Capital punishment isn't appropriate for everything. Or even most things. But serving time in prison isn't appropriate either in cases like this one.
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 03:22
This isn't good. It's revealed today that he has changed his plea to guilty, and admitted to downloading and sharing child pornography on YouTube.
The admission of guilt is enough for me. The charge has been levelled and he agrees with it.
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 03:22
Surprisingly, not only are some comics artists showing support for Jones for rehabilitation, a clinical psychologist called Jeremy Jones reckons Gerard's risk of re-offending is low.
What a copout. This reminds me of a joke kids used to play in school - punching each other in the arm and saying "forget about it, it's in the past." The crimes have been committed and they must be adequately punished.
There's no way around that.
Quote from: The Dark Knight on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 08:19
Quote from: The Laughing Fish on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 03:22Surprisingly, not only are some comics artists showing support for Jones for rehabilitation, a clinical psychologist called Jeremy Jones reckons Gerard's risk of re-offending is low.
What a copout. This reminds me of a joke kids used to play in school - punching each other in the arm and saying "forget about it, it's in the past." The crimes have been committed and they must be adequately punished.
There's no way around that.
As far as the comic pros supporting Jones, what I want to believe is they're sending him messages of encouragement. "Gerry, I love you, I'm your friend, but you're sick and you need therapy. You're doing the right thing by pleading guilty. Get help and know that I'll always be there for you."
But I look at some of the things comic pros support and I'm not so sure.
He's now scheduled to be sentenced on July 10th.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/08/gerard-jones-to-be-sentenced-after-pleading-guilty-to-child-pornography-charges-in-july/
Quote from: thecolorsblend on Sun, 1 Apr 2018, 16:45
As far as the comic pros supporting Jones, what I want to believe is they're sending him messages of encouragement. "Gerry, I love you, I'm your friend, but you're sick and you need therapy. You're doing the right thing by pleading guilty. Get help and know that I'll always be there for you."
But I look at some of the things comic pros support and I'm not so sure.
For what it's worth, some of Jones's close friends in the industry, including Mike W. Barr, wrote letters of support before the plea change. None of them at the time believed, never mind suspected, he was a pedophile.
This is what James Hudnall had to say:
Quote
"I wrote that letter because, while I have never been a close friend of his, I have known and worked with Gerry for 30 years. We worked together at Viz and Malibu. He has never seemed weird or into kids to me. So that's what I said, basically. It's a real shame because he always seemed like a decent guy who loved comics. A real shame.
It may be hard for people to understand, but Gerry is nice guy, not creepy at all. Not someone you would think is like that. It was a real shock to many of us, but I believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt unless they set off red flags. I have never seen him act raunchy or weird. He is very well mannered.
The whole thing is bizarre. He did tell someone I know that he was hacked and his computer was used as a server without his knowledge. That could be true. It would explain why he did something as stupid as posting porn on YouTube. He is not a dumb guy. All I know is it's a very sad state of affairs.
The presumption of innocence is a civil right. If he was shady in any way, I wouldn't have written that letter. But all the letter said is I have known him for 30 years and never saw him do anything that would make him look suspicious. I didn't lay on compliments or anything. It was fairly neutral but I have worked with the guy and have known him since we were both in our 20s. If I think they deserve it, I try to help out a friend.
Think of that what you will. If he is really guilty then the stain of this will ruin his life. I feel sorry for him.
Even if he's innocent, he's screwed. No one will trust him. It's easier for you to judge Gerry because you don't know him. If he really got off on that stuff, it sickens me, but it also makes me wonder whether he was abused as many abusers were. It's hard to explain, but the whole thing feels surreal to those of us who know him."
Source: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/02/letters-comic-creators-gerard-jones/
I understand that Hudnall doesn't want to condemn a friend. He still seems to be in a state of disbelief and tries to wonder what led to Jones doing what he did. God knows I never want to associate closely to somebody who is later revealed to be a monster.
But as you said it yourself colors, you got to think about the kids whose lives were destroyed too. And that in itself is a huge understatement.
Hudnall is touching on something I've seen bandied about by others. Basically in some off-the-beaten-path parts of the Internet, a new conspiracy theory seems to be bubbling up that "hackers" will infiltrate your system, plant a bunch of weird, creepy, evil stuff and then contact law enforcement about it.
The idea is this is a "funny prank". Or perhaps it's a devastating way of destroying an enemy. Or or or or or, so on and so forth. But the broad consensus seems to be that "The cops found evil child porn on his computer" is starting to become a bit too common an occurrence for some conspiracy-minded people.
Frankly I don't know what to think of that. All I know for certain is the cops claim they found child porn (which is evil) on his system and arrested him accordingly. There's a lot to be said for allowing the system to work and the truth to come out.
But if the truth is that Jones is evil, well, the system needs to force him to pay the heaviest penalty for his crimes.
I'm not doubting it can happen, but it seems like an all too convenient excuse. The thing with this type of explanation is that it can't really be proven. "Oh, the hacker didn't want to be caught so he didn't leave a trace". And so on. The accused is basically saying "just trust me, I didn't do it." When the charge is so serious, the accused can only create doubt in someone's mind that it *could* be possible they're innocent. There are instances where people have been framed, but it's extremely rare, and not played for simple laughs. If this guy is guilty, then he needs to be taken out of the system for a long time.
I think Hudnall is in a state of denial here. Let's remember that awhile ago Jones has already admitted to the police to downloading and sharing child porn online, and now pleads guilty. Surely he would've stood his ground and maintained his innocence if he didn't do anything wrong.
Jones has been sentenced to six years in jail. He'll be 66 years old by the time he gets out.
Source: https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/08/15/gerard-jones-sentenced/