GALESBURG -- An Illinois National Guard soldier in Afghanistan has been charged by the U.S. Army with possessing child pornography over pictures of a young relative his mother says she sent him.
Terri Miller of Galesburg says she sent her son, Specialist Billy Miller, pictures of the little girl to help him get over his homesickness.
Terri Miller of Galesburg says she sent her son, Specialist Billy Miller, pictures of the little girl to help him get over his homesickness.
The pictures show the child in a swimsuit playing a wading pool and
sitting on a truck. In one, the girl is wearing a swim suit and part of
her buttocks are exposed.
The Army says Miller will stay in Afghanistan until his court martial. His unit came home last August. Miller faces jail time, if convicted.
Terri Miller says the pictures are innocent.
The Army says Miller will stay in Afghanistan until his court martial. His unit came home last August. Miller faces jail time, if convicted.
Terri Miller says the pictures are innocent.
WQAD TV reports that the child is a relative Billy treated as his own child when the girl was diagnosed with cancer as her father was going through boot camp. The family notes that the same pictures are on family computers and on Facebook pages, and no one else has been investigated.
"You have no clue how it eats me up", said a crying Terri Miller. "I blame myself every day, every day, if I wouldn't have sent the pictures he would be home."
-- Associated Press
Absolutely rediculous!!! What will they do next arrest parents for taking pictures of their child in the tub? I am a 65 year old Grandma with 6 grandchildren and I have pictures of them all in the bathtub and running around the house in their birthday suit and I have emailed them to uncles and aunts because they are cute not sexy. So arrest me.
Contact your local congressman, representative, alderman, senator, and KEEP MAKING NOISE. If this is as innocent as you say, surely someone will intervene & clear this up!
this is ridiculous! This is a family member! Why is he being punished? Was he doing something inappropriete with the pic?
Who is the Officer pressing these ridiculous charges? From the story, these seem innocent enough. I mean, c'mon - a kid in a swimming suit in a wadding pool? Way to build morale.
Does that make the old coppertone ad child pornography? It shows some of a suit pulled with the words Don't be a pale face.
why would the army prosecute him for pictures his own family sent him that seem innocent enough?
I see poeple posting pictures of kids on facebook all the time like that- they are everywhere
Sounds like this poor guy is getting safted
That is insane! They know it is a family relative/friend, and they call it porn posession!?!? And he is court marshalled and will be tried? What a great use of our military resources...
Another example of why the army screws up so many times. What's next... trying to jail a mother for not wanting to leave her baby with no guardian because they didn't give her time to find one? Oh wait... that IS happening.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Those pics are not child porn. It's a relative for crying out loud. I say sue the National Guard. Don't they have better things to do? Where do we draw the line?
JESUS!
Woo hoo. We all have pics of us with our swimsuits up our butts. Mine are 30 years old. I have more embarrassing ones, but those are on 35mm slides.
Child porn my butt. Most of the pics of me when I was under 3 were naked. Bath time was the only time I slowed down enough to get a clear picture.
Were the photos with other family photos or in some collection of porno? That makes a huge difference. If they were among other photos of friends and family or an email from his mom even, it isn't porn. If it was stored in with porno, then the charges are warranted. If he was caught masturbating to it, once again, the charges are warranted. I reserve judgment until more details are known.
Reminds me of when I was in the merchant navy coming in to the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran.
I had to hide the photos from my summer vacation because several of the female women and girls, suprise, suprise, were wearing bathing suits on the beach. It was then considered a breach of islamic law in that country.
....
you guys don't get the point, if you have naked pictures of anyone under 18, its child porn. doesnt matter if its your kid or a kid related to you. why the hell do you need naked pictures of kids related to you anyways?
first off, americans think its perfectly fine to dress their kids up like the latest singer/prostitute on MTV. Second of all, americans have absolutely no sense of proportion or moral compass - half the reason that soldier is in Afghanistan in the first place.
America is dying and this is yet another symptom. enjoy!
Perhaps the family isn't telling the truth. Nah, they wouldn't lie to protect a amily member!
First: Relative or not isn't an issue if they are porn.
Second: Not porn if ".... the girl is wearing a swim suit and part of her buttocks are exposed."
TOM: "....why the hell do you need naked pictures of kids related to you..." See point #2, not naked, dressed in a swimsuit. Suit rides up, and exposes PART of her buttocks. Happens all the time with kids.
There was a report last year of a mother being charged with child porn because she took pictures of her children bathing to a drug store to be processed. The clerk called the police and similar insanity ensued.
Teenage girl sends provocative picture of herself to her boyfriend. He gets charged with possession of child porn, she gets charged with distributing child porn (a picture of HERSELF!)
No one seems to have any sense of proportion anymore.
Tony - You're an unamerican piece of trash. This is a CHICAGO website.... IN AMERICA. You obviously should be spending your time on a middle eastern site where others share your point of view.
So, this guy is over in Afghanistan, on the other side of the world, killing people for some war on "terror" the details of which arent very clear to anyone but someone sends him a picture and its time for justice?
Hows this for size.. no one should be arrested over a stupid photograph. I dont care what its of or what someone does with it. They can shove it where the sun doesnt shine for all I care. Its not hurting me and its not hurting anyone else.
If prosecutors over there are foaming at the mouth to convict someone why dont they get the mercenaries the army hired thats been executing civilians.
If the military had a real Commander in Chief instead of another lying lawyer this boy would be home right now. I just can't believe what I'm reading. The officer in charge of the boy's unit should be brought up on charges but I guess there is no article in the Uniform Code of Military Justice that can be used for stupidity of an officer.
Since when did wearing a bathing suit make you a prostitute. Tony, crawl back under the bridge you emerged from. The soldier is in Afghanistan to give women more rights to be able to wear whatever the hell they want. This is completely ridiculous, he was sent pictures of his sick niece, whom he may or may not see when he gets back. Porn my butt..
There's no smoke without fire, he should be imprisoned. If it is true, what if those pictures got in the wrong hands? Or what if he's really a pedophile?
@fran: They already have. I live in Arizona where a prosecutor arrested and charged grandparents for having a photo of their granddaughter getting out of the bath tub. The case was dismissed, but still...
Pretty insane to call this child porn if these were the only pictures he had!! "part of her buttocks" Thats not even pornography lol! Pedophiles are the ones who have tons of pictures/videos of children that are usually, fully nude or performing a sex act. I cant help but feel Whats wrong today is considered right, and whats right is considered wrong! Such as the hate crimes legislation.. Which actually protects the real pedophiles out there!
I get that family members should not be excluded from the possibility of being charged with possession of kiddie porn, but for Christ's sake! Part of her butt cheek was exposed?!?! Are you kidding me??? You try keeping a 4 year old's swim suit in place while their running around the back yard!!! They're not in a Miss America pageant and they certainly would not tolerate having their suit taped to their butt! Complete and utter bull crap!!! I wouldn't hesitate to send pics of my daughters to my brothers if they were stationed abroad! Of all the people to charge, seriously? A soldier???
@ninja: You're an idiot. You can't imprison someone based on "what-ifs". Unless someone caught him polishing the rod to the picture, I think it's fairly safe to assume it was innocent. And that is my opinion as a mother, and as the former victim of child sexual abuse.
Yeah..blame the ARMY for the political-correct backlash that was forced down it's throat one day at a time. I wonder what happens when people post bath tub pictures of themselves on facebook. That would be a hilarious news day... hell.. if only I was a comedy writer.
The military doesn't care about right or wrong, only that some terrorist over there may take offense. The officers only care about their next promotion and what lucrative contracts to back to ensure a six figure "retirement job" as a "consultant". SPC Miller probably eliminated a head terrorist and the officers find it a threat to prolonging the war and slowing down their chances for promotion. The terrorists have more rights and benefits than the troops we are sending to fight them. Troops aren't allowed to openly display Christian items and touching a koran is a major taboo. political correctness is what is killing the troops, not combat.
Officers should stick to pool parties in the Phillipines (Tailhook) or playing golf and leave the ones who actually defend this country alone.
Yeah it's really nice that people care about children, but there's limits to things you know? I've seen worse on AFV
You can't go after the Terrorist Major but can hang some poor Gi outto dry for pics of his relative?
This soldier can rot in jail, and they should arrest the mother who sent the photos as well. Simply disgusting.
People: NEVER take photographs of your children. Never allow ANYONE else to take photos either. Any photo, no matter how "innocent" you think it is, can and will end up on the internet where PEDOFILES will find it and we KNOW how they think. Better safe than sorry. I have two children and we do not even let them get school photos.
We can no longer take pictures or video of our children as they are born unless they are fully dressed.
Our country is getting out of hand.
I am truly outraged!!! This soldier is over on foreign land fighting & protecting his country...selflessly giving up some of his life....away from all family & friends...and I'm sure its safe to say ~having some very horrific & tragic experiences and just looking forward and praying to come home safe and THIS IS HOW WE REPAY HIM???? If I were his mom I would gather everyone I knew...and have EVERYONE on the phones...making relentless phone calls to all news channels...talk shows...morning shows...newspapers and your congressman...representatives...senators...alderman...flooding their offices with mail..emails...messages...faxes...I would not leave no stone unturned...and I'm sure a lawyer would love the publicity enough to take his case without charging him an arm & leg.....he has given enough of himself...right?
I agree with Good Mother. People should never take pictures of their children. But I think this does not go far enough. Pedophiles don't need cameras to see children. They can be waiting in cars too. Or in buildings, looking out. I think good parents should keep their children out of the view of cars or buildings. If your child must leave the house, A good parent should keep the child completely covered so the pedophile doesn't know if the child is a child or a piece of furniture. Good Mother, I do question your dedication. If you were really a good mother, you would not send your children to a regular school where you have to worry about pictures anyway. You should home school them. That's the only way to make sure that they are not victimized or catch a cold or any of the other scary things that the bad people in the world can expose them to if they are not under your direct supervision for even a minute.
Does anyone even need to wonder why more soldiers have died from suicide in the past 6 years than from actual combat?
Way to treat the guy like he made a huge sacrifice for the country by shipping out to frickin Afghanistan.
Why would you choose to serve your country if this is the treatment you get in return? What a shame.
Our Tax dollars!! Will it ever get better?
Look, people can take pictures of their kids. That's not a crime. These pictures seem innocent enough. Posting on them on the internet is where people tend to get stupid. Look, if your kid is 4 and in a bathing suit, feel free to send them to your family members and friends. Parents have been showing off their kids for years, and there's nothing wrong with taking a picture of your kid. Though, you shouldn't post them on a blog, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or whatever. There's no reason to put up pictures of them for the world to see.
All of you bashing families taking photos of their children are nuts. Just because there are sicko's out there, doesn't mean your rights should be stripped away. Are we going to ban guns now just because some use them for crime? Idiots.
I am a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and have been serving for almost 11 years now. I have been deployed near Afghanistan after 9/11 and to Iraq twice. I have made close friends in the Army, Marines, and Navy. This is an absolute outrage! This guy did nothing wrong whatsoever and the parents were unaware that you can't possess any photos even if it is just of a niece in a bathing suit. That is not allowed over in those countries whatsoever but at the same time he should not be getting punished the slightest bit. It was his sick niece for crying out loud!!! No wonder our country is in the shape it is in. We have illegal immigrants earning Masters degrees in our country while Americans are struggling to obtain their GEDs, terrorist activity all over the place, economy is horrible, and I could go on and on but here we are punishing a U.S. Soldier who VOLUNTEERED to serve his country, wear the uniform that so many before him have gave their lives to wear, bleed for our country, sweat, cry, be away from loved ones while serving in places a goat would call home but not a person. Sleep on the ground.. in tents on cots, carrying ruck sacks that would make the average person collapse and now he is getting punished for receiving a innocent pic that his parents sent out of love to make him feel more at home. I love my country and have been serving it for 11 years now and I am extremely outraged!!!
I say we take it even further. The obvious solution to the child porn problem is to round up all the children and execute them. That way, it's impossible to ever see them naked. Do I get a medal?
The stupidity in this bogus "child porn" charge is almost beyond belief. If this is *really* "child porn", why isn't his mother being charged with manufacturing child porn?
Furthermore, the military genius who charged Billy Miller is an absolute imbecile, and should be given a dishonorable discharge.
I personally think this entire thing is blown out of proportion....people are over sensitive in todays society but we don't know if there is more to the story either.
And Agree with good mother: why even bothering having children if you are not going to let them live a life. C'mon, don't go to school, don't drive in the car, hide them like MJ's kids. Yes, bad things happen and you can't change that. It's called life!!! But children deserve to live too and shouldn't be kept in a bubble either. If you do that to your kids you are just as bad as the abusive parents who keep their kids locked in cages and basements!!!
I dont think it matters who are in the photos because if they were pornographic, being a family member or a friend wouldnt make it any less bad.
I do think its insane that he is being charged with this however. It is the army someone in his chain of command probably just dosent like him and knows th army is super hard on "moral crimes" and wants to stick it to him, despite the apparent innocence of the photos.
THIS is all they have to worry about? Oh, good freaking GRIEF!
It's a child. In a bathing suit. I see little kids at the beach wearing NOTHING all the time. This is absolutely 100% RIDICULOUS.
America is a joke.
And apparently common sense is no longer common when it comes to these overreacting reactionaries.
@Tom, Are you an Idiot just like the Army. The Child was wearing a Bathing Suit, she was not Naked. You most likely are a Politician or an Officer in the Army.
GOOD MOTHER AND WHOEVER AGREED WITH HER: You are extremists; not only that but if you really haven't taken any photos of your children, will regret it. What will they have to reflect on as an adult? I concur with Steve's sentiments and everyone else who believes this ludicrous, cockamamie situation is groundless. The photo was innocuous. May God protect this soldier who is defending our country.
Good Mother,you are an idiot..Agree With Good Mother..I think a few people think that you were seriouse.Get this man home NOW.what the hell is wrong with some of you people?Thousands of men and women are risking their lives, dodging bullets and now they have to worry about this kind of crap?..
I guess that the DR.that brought my three daughters into this world should also be arrested,after all he not only looked at them naked,he touched their naked backsides.
I hope this ends really soon,for the best.
This has to be a joke. There is no way humans can be this utterly stupid. Even the dumbest of the dumb and the most right-winged of the right-winged extremist trash cannot be this blatantly stupid. There's clearly something else going on behind-the-scenes, out of the media eye, that is the real case involved...they're simply using this absolutely bogus story to cover it up. But this is so transparent that it's not working. Of course, they would expect it to generate tons of "OMG WHAT A BAD BAD MAN HE IS!!" backlash (child porn stories just about always get under the skin of Americans), but it is clearly having the opposite effect...people really are not that stupid and are not going to fall for this beyond-ludicrous accusation.
stupid americans
I really hope this is a joke!
What the hell has happened to the country that I once knew.
This crap is getting ridiculous.
We the American people aren't going to stand for this nonsense much longer!! We will take back our freedoms that rightfully belong to us. I am sick of hearing about this Gestapo crap happening in my COUNTRY!!!!
Just a suggestion for those that think along the lines of "Good Mother": stab yourself in the face. Then you can't look at children, and we will no longer have to see nor hear your inane babbling.
There's something very, very wrong when people can't discern between normal, everyday pictures and the sexually explicit. Methinks the people that are so concerned about it are the perverts.
The really funny part of this is that lots of diaper ads on TV show the same. No one gets upset at seeing half a naked baby butt on international TV. But a soilder gets this dropped on him because of the slip of a swim suit in an emailed picture.
If he gets prosecuted, then so should Pampers and every TV network that has run a diaper commercial.
Wow, only a year or so ago this was satire by some Men's Rights Activists. Looks like they called it after all when they said this crap was only a matter of time.
Seriously agree with above about contacting congressmen/govt about this gross misuse of the law.
There has to be more to be more to this story than we are getting here. Has this man exposed some wrongdoing of his superiors? Has he expressed discontent for what he is being asked to do as a soldier? Is he a witness to a crime, and therefore must be discredited?
There is probably some reason that the Army is abusing the law to harm this man.
what the hell is wrong with this country? I am as American as the next guy but really? whatever happened to common sense? whatever happened to rationality? I would like the officer who brought the charges upon this soldier to be interview, find out what he was thinking. and Tom, I have pictures of my cousin naked when they were 2, 3 years old in the tubs. Is that illegal? Should I spend the rest of my life in jail? Our so call Lawmakers are of the lowest common denominator, and our so call Justice System will crucify anyone that's of the common class. There's nothing happening here but the corruption and decay of common sense and rationality.
Hahahaah, only possible in America, the promised land of fools.
The question that no one is asking is how and by whom were the pictures reported? This story doesn't give you any context at all, and everyone in the comments is spouting off about how ridiculous this is. Did it occur to anyone that yes, these are innocent photos, but he was caught doing something freaky with them?
Read between the lines, people.
Let me see the pictures. I'll decide if it's Child Porn or not.
This is a joke. I mean seriously? I have pictures of my son running around naked also. It's called childhood moments caught on camera. Tell the prosecuting officer to go to his mother's house and ask if she has any pictures of him naked from when he was young. I'll bet everything I have in my name that she has some. Are they gonna try her for child porn also? Didn't think so. If this were the case, EVERY parent in America would be guilty of possession of child porn.
Amazing. Stupid. No comments. Unless there is something we do not know.
Not seeing the pictures in question but only from the description it seems that this is another case of judicial (UCMJ, in this case) overrreach.
Everything is a crime these days.
Now this soldier understands the freedom he is supposed to be protecting. We are have soldiers all over the world and we are rotting within.
The U.S. has gone right down the toilet. Our country no longer has any sense of perspective or proportion. We have become a nation of whiny cry babies who are so hypersensitive that our "feelings" have become more important than fact. Rampant consumerism is the order of the day and Political Correctness is followed over truth. My heart goes out to this soldier and his family. I left the U.S. 2 years ago and have never been happier....I'll always be an American but once you get away from it you see it in the way that everyone else in the world sees it.....it's embarrassing.
tom wrote "if you have naked pictures of anyone under 18, its child porn"
Dear Sir: Please purchase a dictionary. Not all naked pictures are pornography, and not all pornography involves nudity. The two terms certainly overlap frequently, but they are not synonymous.
As described, the picture in question does not come close to meeting the definition of the word pornography.
Our system at its best......outrageous!
I think it might be time to move. Maybe Australia or New Zealand. This "America" isn't the America I was born into.
This is so stupid, I don't even.....
Ugh.
Also, all you twits saying that your children need to be protected need to get a clue. "protecting" your child from these "bad things" leaves them naïve and vulnerable in the long run.
It's a picture of a girl with her bathing suit riding up. "child porn"? By this logic pictures that the paparazzi take of celebrities with their suits riding up or adjusting their clothing must be porn too.
oh nooooes.
This reminds me of the case of Lt. "Rusty" Calley, who was a scapegoat for the endlessness of the Viet Nam war, and the killing of civilians.
Billy Miller might also be regarded as a scapegoat, for the endlessness of the Afghanistan war, and the killing of civilians.
These frivolous prosecutions and show trials distract the attention of the media and the public from the unpleasant truth of what is really happening.
If anyone needs further proof that only fools voluntarily join the US military, here it is.
Members of the US military are cannon fodder, burning a hole in the President's pocket.
Even if you're lucky enough to not come home in a box, or missing your legs or your sanity, you can get prosecuted because your mother sent you some family photographs.
Remind me again, how serving in the military is "patriotic"?