ST. PAUL -- A child pornography sentence many in the Fargo-Moorhead area felt was too light could lead to tougher penalties in similar future cases.
Rep. Jeff Johnson told the House Public Safety Committee on Thursday that allowing Robert Haseltine to remain free after being convicted of disseminating child pornography created an uproar around Fargo and Moorhead. That led to his bill requiring that people who are in authority positions for children receive at least three years in prison for possessing pornography and five years if they disseminate it.
Johnson, a Republican from Plymouth, said the bill would apply to people like teachers who use their work computers or other business resources to possess pornography.
Haseltine is a former elementary school social worker who, according to Fargo police, had 26 pornographic pictures on his home computer. After a Jan. 17 plea agreement, District Court Judge Galen Vaa sentenced Haseltine to six months of home monitoring, and suspended a jail sentence. He also fined Haseltine $1,000.
Some have criticized Vaa for being too lenient on Haseltine, but Johnson said that may not be the case.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Maybe we shouldn't bash the judge," Johnson said, encouraging lawmakers to approve his minimum sentence bill. "Maybe it is the Legislature's fault."
A former judge who has headed the state Sentencing Guidelines Commission for nine days, however, wasn't so understanding with the judge.
"The buck stops with judges when it comes to sentences," Isabel Gomez said.
Vaa has been critical of the Clay County Attorney's Office and Hazeltine's attorney for not providing him with all the information available about Haseltine. Clay County Attorney Ken Kohler took the blame for not handing over a Fargo police file that alleged more pornography than information Vaa had available.
Johnson said that looking at child porn almost always leads to molestation and he would rather see people who deal with porn locked away.
"I know if they are in jail, they won't be doing anything to children," Johnson said.
Besides requiring minimum sentences, Johnson's bill would establish a child pornography team in the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
The team, proposed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty earlier this week, would cost $1 million next year. The four-person team would work with local law enforcement officials on the issue, including providing training.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Public Safety Committee is expected to roll Johnson's proposals into an overall sex offender bill to be crafted soon. Similar measures are making their way through the Senate.
On Thursday, the panel heard that child pornography is becoming a bigger problem. Tim O'Malley from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said there were 768 child pornography cases across the country in 2003 and 9,704 the next year. There were 33 Minnesota child pornography convictions last year.
About 77 million youths regularly use the Internet, and one in five is sexually solicited, O'Malley said. Often the solicitors are seeking children to pose for pornography.
O'Malley said there may be nearly 140 Level 3 sex offenders, those deemed most likely to re-offend, with a history of Internet-based child pornography free in Minnesota.
Carla Ferrucci of the Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault said children in pornographic photos - many of whom also are victims of physical sexual abuse - often suffer from physical and mental health problems and are more likely to become sexual abusers.
