The Brownsville Public Library in Texas is the site of the latest public library child porn viewer being sent to jail. "A state district judge sentenced a man who downloaded child pornography at the Brownsville Public Library to six years in prison," according to "Man Gets Six Years in Brownsville Library Child Porn Case," by unnamed, KGBT Action News, 5 January 2010.
The Library Filters Computers for Children
How did he get the child porn? Libraries have Internet filters, right? Yes, and no. This library apparently has Internet filters on the computers intended for use by children. See "Just for Kids!": "In complying with the federal law, the Children’s Internet Protection Act [CIPA], the Brownsville Public Library System takes the safety of every child on the Internet seriously." So the library says it is compliant with CIPA.
The Library Does NOT Filter Computers for Adults
But the computers intended for adults are not filtered. My call to the central branch library's "Internet resource center" was deflected to the reference desk, then to the director, then to the director's voice mail. I left a message. I called back, this time to speak with the children's desk, and the very nice woman was happy to tell me Internet filters were being used "for the children's protection," but that the computers for adults are not filtered. Thus, the library is not CIPA compliant despite its claims.
Fraud May Have Been Committed—Here Are the Facts
Not filtered. No problem, right? Libraries are not required to filter if they are not obtaining CIPA funding. However, in this Brownsville case, some guy is going to jail in part, though unspoken or unnoticed until now, because the library did not have Internet filters on the computers for adult use though it claimed CIPA compliance and obtained funding based on that claim.
Setting that aside, there is a far worse problem. The library may have in the past and may now be committing fraud.
Fraud. That is my opinion. Allow me to back that up with facts:
- Fact 1) CIPA, signed into law by President Clinton in 2000 and found constitutional in US v. ALA in 2003, requires libraries obtaining E-rate funding for "Internet Access" to have CIPA-compliant filters on all computers, even staff computers.
- Fact 2) The computers intended for adults are not filtered in the Brownsville Public Library, according to what I was told as described above.
- Fact 3) The library obtained E-rate funding for Internet access in the following years and amounts: 2008 - $60,176.41; 2007 - $60,176.41; 2006 - $60,176.41; 2005 - $60,176.41; 2004 - $89,402.40 and $58,821.66, and 2003 - $101,098.80 and $88,020.00.
- Fact 4) The grand total of E-rate funding for "Internet Access" in all years including and after the date of US v. ALA is $578,048.50.
- Fact 5) The E-rate funding was equal to the penny for four years in a row.
- Fact 6) CIPA compliance failures may result in an audit that may result in the return of all funding to the federal government.
- Fact 7) Brownsville, TX, may be required to return up to $578,048.50 to the federal government.
- Fact 8) Certifications are required to apply for E-rate funding.
- Fact 9) Certifications resulting in E-rate funding where no computer intended for adults is filtered as required by CIPA must have somehow obscured that very fact or the funding would not have been approved.
- Fact 10) The obfuscation of factual information resulting in wrongly obtaining $578,048.50 may have been fraudulent in nature.
- Fact 11) The library should have maintained copies of its applications for E-rate funding.
- Fact 12) Library records related to E-rate funding for "Internet Access" should be open for public inspection and for FCC audit.
- Fact 13) FilteringFacts.org has extensive legal history of CIPA, for those interested.
Media Interest and the Whistleblower Hotline
I have reported this matter to the local media. I will likely write to local governmental leaders, courtesy copy to the library. Further, I may call the Whistleblower Hotline to report these facts. I'll leave it to the FCC to determine if fraud was and is present.Better yet, I may leave it to the local media to do the whistleblowing—they can then get the full flavor of exactly the nature of this debacle, can submit this blog post as evidence in addition to the results of their own investigations, then can write a story that has serious national implications.
The American Library Association Advises Sidestepping the Law
After all, Brownsville is not the only library fooling the feds, right, Brooklyn? There are many, many more, likely due to American Library Association [ALA] guidance designed to sidestep the case it lost. Don't worry, the ALA did the proper CYA:
Again, we must caution, however, that the options described above are untested in the courts and in the FCC, and there is no guarantee that they necessarily would be deemed legally sufficient. Libraries considering these or other options, therefore, must consult their own legal counsel for an analysis of any specific policy.
See "Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Legal FAQ," American Library Association, 20 October 2009, emphasis in original. Hmmm. I wonder if the library obtained legal counsel when applying for E-rate funding for nonexistent Internet filters.
I wonder why the ALA is considered authoritative where it is advising libraries to skirt the law with clever arguments it admits, since 2003 no less, may not be "deemed legally sufficient." By the way, the ALA does not advise the blatant kind of sidestepping practiced by the Brownsville Public Library.
Should the Child Porn Case Be Reopened?
If the library is determined to have acted fraudulently, or if the library is required to refund money to the federal government, an argument could be made that the child porn case should be reopened for reconsideration. If the library certified it was CIPA compliant, but it was not, then it could be argued Internet filters should have been available and quite possibly would have blocked the child porn that resulted in the jail sentence.
Is Fraud With a Friendly Smile and a Wink Acceptable to the Community?
The community needs to ask itself if fraudulent activity should be ignored just because it was done by or on behalf of its friendly neighborhood library director or board of trustees, or because a half a million dollars might have to be refunded to the federal government. I predict the library will blame me for bringing these facts to light, or it will otherwise shoot the messenger, then obfuscate the truth.
Do you see that beautiful "Reader's Mark Cafe" pictured above that is in the library? It is a beautiful library system. That does not excuse fraud; the Cafe must be serving something stronger than coffee. Miss Anna Kelly would be disgusted by the library's actions.
NOTE ADDED 21 JUNE 2014:
Here we go again. Obviously, the library has done nothing but keep the child porn pipes flowing:
- "Sex Offender Caught Downloading Child Porn at Library," by Elizabeth Espinosa, Action 4 News, 11 June 2014:
A registered sex offender remains behind bars on a $100,000 bond after he was allegedly caught downloading child pornography at a Brownsville library.
The investigation that led to the arrest of Miguel Angel Rodriguez began May 2, 2014 after “cyber tips” were given to a Homeland Security Investigations Brownsville agent from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
According to documents obtained by Action 4 News, multiple IP addresses from Google Plus used to download the child pornography led agents to the Brownsville Public Library on the 2600 block of Central Boulevard.
Google provided investigators with 13 email addresses that were used to share the images, and found 31-year-old Rodriguez.
A records check showed Rodriguez is a registered sex offender.
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) website listed Rodriguez at a “low” risk level.
Documents stated that Rodriguez did upload the images to his Google account at the Brownsville library.
A search warrant was issued by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department and the Homeland Security Special Agents at the 2500 block of Jeffrey Avenue in the Camron Park area.
Agents found Rodriguez alone with a cell phone, tablet and digital camera.
The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department took Rodriguez into custody where he allegedly admitted to downloading anywhere from several hundred to thousand child pornography images and video.
Authorities transported Rodriguez to the Carrizales Rucker Detention Center for booking.
A bond of $100,000 was set for the registered sex offender.
According to the DPS website, the Brownsville resident did sexually assault a 13-year-old girl and served five years in jail.
He also allegedly admitted to inappropriately touching another underage girl, but has not yet been charged.
Action 4 News does not identify victims of sexual assault, but Rodriguez did have access to the girls through family.
The library director has not returned my call.
ReplyDeleteThe Supreme Court ruled in ALA vs. United States that to be compliant with CIPA libraries must use filters for computers that children use. However, adults may request that the filters be disabled.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thanks for writing.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct.
The Brownsville Public Library had no filters on the adult computers. There were no filters to be disabled. Yet the library was receiving CIPA funding for Internet access. Someone had to certify that the library was compliant with CIPA requirements when, in reality, it had no filters at all. That's the problem.