21 year old could face 20 years in prison.....for fake youtube video

[Princess Luna]

van Emory, a musician who posts his material on YouTube, recently uploaded a video that might earn him 20 years in prison. Yes, you read that correctly. One totally harmless video. Twenty years in prison. .Attorneys, however, told WoodTV8 that the felony charge may be unconstitutional. Curt Benson, professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, said the trial could pose “a constitutional question” because it violates Emory’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
So let’s back up. What’s this all about? The 21-year-old Emory posted a video of himself on YouTube singing a sexually explicit song to elementary school students. Before you take the side of law enforcement, it’s not as raunchy and inappropriate as it sounds. The video was only edited to make it appear as if young children were in the classroom, even though they weren’t. Emory posted two disclaimers on the video that elementary school students were not exposed to the explicit lyrics.
If Emory is charged with the count of manufacturing child sexual abusive material he is facing, he could spend 20 years in prison for what he says was just a joke. Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said Michigan law ‘provides penalty’ for those who actually manufacture child sexual abusive material ‘but also has a provision for those who make it appear that the children were actually abused.’
The footage of the children was recorded a month ago when Emory performed a clean song for the class, said Ravenna schools’ Superintendent John B. VanLoon (is that seriously his name? Amazing!). It was only later that Emory returned to the empty classroom to record a vulgar song, which he cleverly edited with clips of the children and posted to YouTube on Monday.
The video has been taken off YouTube because of the suit, and we were unable to find a copy of it online. Some of the sexual lyrics in the song include: “I like the way you make your body move. C’mon, girl…See how long it takes to make your panties mine…I’ll add some foreplay in just to make it fun. I want to stick my index finger in your anus.” Below is a newscast from News 8 that contains clips of the original video. You cannot hear what Emory is singing, however, and the students faces have been blurred:
If the charges are deemed unconstitutional, however, the video may be put back up.
Devin Schindler, associate professor at Cooley Law School, said it appears the charges against Emory “might violate his First Amendment right because it is overly broad.” He added the charges “appear to run afoul of the First Amendment.”
“I didn’t want to hurt anybody. I just wanted to make everyone laugh,” Emory said.
Parents are too outraged to worry whether Emory’s rights may be being infringed upon. One parent interviewed said, “He humiliated my child. He’s humiliated all the parents that are involved in it and something definitely needs to be done.”
Prior to his arrest, Emory said he owed the school “a huge apology for being deceptive and taking advantage of the fact they trusted me.”, according to WoodTV8.
However, when later asked if he regretted his decision he seemed a bit more cavalier: “I guess we’ll see how many views it gets on the Internet,” he said.

http://hypervocal.com/news/2011/yout...lever-editing/
also someone on the pirate bay forums (were i first heard about this) found the email address of the Prosecutor
[email protected]

[Tablo]

That's fucked up. He just made a stupid youtube video.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

when i saw this thread I immediately knew this had happened in the US

[Delirium]

poor dude

[¿Que?]

Hey wait a minute. Sorry folks, but if one of my kids had appeared in that video, I'd seriously be pissed. 20 years is a bit much, I'll give you that, but that was really not cool what he did.

[Apoi_Viitor]

Hey wait a minute. Sorry folks, but if one of my kids had appeared in that video, I'd seriously be pissed. 20 years is a bit much, I'll give you that, but that was really not cool what he did.

I agree, but this probably warrants community service, not 20 years in prison or being placed on a sex offender list.

[Delirium]

It might piss you off, but does he really deserve to be punished at all for this?

[Tablo]

I find it funny some of you actually think he should be punished. It shows how disgustingly right-wing the authoritarian left can be.

[Broletariat]

I find it funny some of you actually think he should be punished. It shows how disgustingly right-wing the authoritarian left can be.

I really hope this is a sarcastic post.

[praxis1966]

I really hope this is a sarcastic post.

I don't think it is and I agree with him. Yeah, the guy was a douche for doing something like this without consulting the kids' parents first, but I fail to see how what he did is criminal by any stretch of the imagination.

[¿Que?]

I definitely don't think he should be put on a sex offender list, and definitely should not spend a single minute in jail. I do think, though, that posting that video on YouTube is pretty offensive and he should give the parents a formal apology.

[scarletghoul]

Tasteless jokes should not go without punishment. But I think it is hypocritical to imprison this man while we let the reactionaries who make jokes about the great Soviet Russia walk the streets freely.

[Il Medico]

I don't think it is and I agree with him. Yeah, the guy was a douche for doing something like this without consulting the kids' parents first, but I fail to see how what he did is criminal by any stretch of the imagination.

This.

[9]

SKiN THE PEDOZ ALIVE!!!!!!!!!1

[Tablo]

SKiN THE PEDOZ ALIVE!!!!!!!!!1

ShOOT THEM IN TEH GENITALS!!1!

[StalinFanboy]

FUCK UP EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE CHRISTIAN MORALS


oh lol

[NoOneIsIllegal]

...wat

[bcbm]

lol who cares

[Manic Impressive]

The guy is a complete moron and he has done something wrong it's not just a stupid tasteless joke he has used children's images against their and their parents permissions and put them out there for the whole world to laugh at which could really effect some of them. IDK if that's criminal and I don't know what the penalty should be but he won't get 20 years in jail.

[Bilan]

Take away his webcam and smack him on the back of the head. Problem solved.