Peoria Parents Sue Wal-Mart

[simonsebs]

Peoria Parents Sue Wal-Mart, AG's Office After Kids are Taken Away Over Nude Vacation Photos of Them (http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2009/09/peoria_parents_sue_wal-mart_ag.php)

This is the first time I've heard of someone doing this. If successful it may make DA's think twice before taking parents to court over simple nude photos.

[DenitaLC]

Rediculous that these parents were charged with anything! I hope they win their suit!

[FireProf]

With all the pics we've taken..............we've gone digital and have our own printer! But I understand why someone would take "innocent" pictures to a WalMart or anywhere else to have them developed. Who'da thought you'd get your kids taken away cuz you took innocent pics of them in the bath.

I hope they win and win BIG!

[Davin]

Since the digital photos were on a USB stick, why not print them in the privacy of your own home.

People don't understand nudism and think it is inappopriate or sexual related no matter the age

[Mike2Nude]

Oh great, my wife is going to jail. She took a photo of our 4 yo nephew whizzing in a mountain stream. Why couldn't the AG decide from the photos, instead of putting those kids through an investigation?

[Kouak]

The article did not say anything about nudism. It only mentioned bathtub pictures. This should have been immediately as a "no brainer."

Now nudism would have been an issue had the kids been naked at the beach with other people, clothed or unclothed, walking around. The specific language of the laws would have to be examined. I would not have expected WalMart to attempt to figure that one out on their own and referred the case to a more "learned" prosecutor.

This brings up one of my pet peeves. I bet that the prosecutor did not take the opportunity to try to educate the public on what is permitted by law and what is not. Our many laws (too many IMHO) are often so hard to understand by lawyers, let alone us. How in the heck are we suppose to follow them when we cannot understand them? That prosecutor should have stated what is the spirit of the law and given a wide range of examples of what is permitted. For example, bathtub shots can be taken of your own kids and relatives but not of a neighbor kid unless you have his/her parents' permission. Hey, something I can understand.

[Bob S.]

My parents had a picture of my then baby sister naked in the bathtub and this was in a multi-picture frame that was hung up in the house.

I, too, hope they can win their lawsuit against Wal-Mart and the city and state officials who were involved. Why was it necessary to do examinations of the children just for seven bathtub pictures? The only indecency here is the treatment of the parents and children.

In another website, Courthouse News Service (http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/09/10/Outraged_Parents_Sue_Wal-Mart_And_Arizona_for_Taking_Kids.htm) it is stated that a Peoria police detective named Krause "made false and defamatory statements to agents and employees of the defendants, medical providers, and others, including, but not limited to, accusations that plaintiffs had sexually abused their children, sexually exploited their children, took pornographic photos of their children, and/or that said parents were engaged in illegal actions by taking bath and play time photos of their children," according to the complaint against the state.

If that is true, that was defamation of character and slander.

By the way, has anyone else had any problems with simon's link? Using Firefox, it was giving me a warning that malware was found and tried to download some program. On Netscape, I had no problems.

Bob S.

[Silverback]

WalMart has a long history of telling law enforcement about naked/nude baby photographs. I would recommend they tell or post in the store that nude baby pictures will not be processed and may be reported to the local police. There are other places to get prints made beside WalMart. WalMart has a lot of people that don't think and their actions are base on local norms.:(

[boatsteve]

The article did not say anything about nudism. It only mentioned bathtub pictures. This should have been immediately as a "no brainer."

Now nudism would have been an issue had the kids been naked at the beach with other people, clothed or unclothed, walking around. The specific language of the laws would have to be examined. I would not have expected WalMart to attempt to figure that one out on their own and referred the case to a more "learned" prosecutor.

Still is not an issue. Nudity is not porn just because it happens at a beach.



This brings up one of my pet peeves. I bet that the prosecutor did not take the opportunity to try to educate the public on what is permitted by law and what is not. Our many laws (too many IMHO) are often so hard to understand by lawyers, let alone us. How in the heck are we suppose to follow them when we cannot understand them? That prosecutor should have stated what is the spirit of the law and given a wide range of examples of what is permitted. For example, bathtub shots can be taken of your own kids and relatives but not of a neighbor kid unless you have his/her parents' permission. Hey, something I can understand.

Wrong again. Nude pics of kids, any kids, is not porn.

And it is not the job of the prosecutor to educate the public on the law. In this case WalMart should adequately train their photo techs to know what is legal and what is not. With many documented cases of WalMart employees turning in innocent pictures it is evident that this training is not happening.

All that aside, when the law is called in it is their job to follow the law and not overstep. The children should never have been taken away from their parents. That was overkill and I hope both WalMart and local officials pay out their *** to teach them a lesson.

[FireProf]

Regrettably and unfortunate is that many times these types of incidents are handled quietly and we never hear the end of the story. This could end as a simple apology from the DA and AG, a cash settlement from WM to the family and in the family's defense...they probably just want their pictures and for this whole thing to go away.

What many of us would like to see but would have trouble doing ourselves...is to take this to the hilt and make the DA, AG and WalMart not only pay and pay dearly...but drive home the fact that they overstepped their bounds and over reacted to parents acting within their rights as parents.

We'd all like to see that this type of incident doesn't happen to anyone ever again but...it's probably not the case.

[Boreas]

WalMart has a long history of telling law enforcement about naked/nude baby photographs. I would recommend they tell or post in the store that nude baby pictures will not be processed and may be reported to the local police. There are other places to get prints made beside WalMart. WalMart has a lot of people that don't think and their actions are base on local norms.:(

Yet another good reason to shop somewhere other than WalMart.

We also had naked-kid-in-the-bathtub pictures in our house......probably even in plain view of anyone coming into the house!!! shocked

[Davin]

I've seen on ABCs Americas Funniest Home Videos, videos of naked kids in bathtubs or walking around the house. They don't always censtor the buttox. If only Wal-Mart had the same attitude as them

[Evernude]

I'll bet the Wal-Mart employee is a religious nut job. Probably thinks being naked is a sin. I have formed the opinion that the real enemy of a nudist lifestyle (and almost all others as well) is religion. They're the ones that complain about nude beaches and make such a fuss over nudity on television.

[timothyc]

Recently I was watching Big Brother on CBS ans they censored an unclothed clothes mannequin after the contestant ripped off the clothes that were on the mannequin.

[Naturist Mark]

I'll bet the Wal-Mart employee is a religious nut job. Probably thinks being naked is a sin. I have formed the opinion that the real enemy of a nudist lifestyle (and almost all others as well) is religion. They're the ones that complain about nude beaches and make such a fuss over nudity on television.

Walmart has rigid rules and the employees have a tenuous hold on their jobs and no rights. They aren't allowed to exercise judgment. They know they probably won't lose their job for following the rules to the letter, even if it pisses off a customer, but they can get the ax and lose their right to unemployment payments if they bend the rules by using judgment and common sense - in many states you don't get unemployment if you were fired for cause.

[countryguync]

Can someone plese explain to me how The State of Arizona and the Arizona AG got involved in this??? :confused: The photos were taken in San Diego, which last time I checked is in California. And Peoria is in Illinois, (I'm originally from Iowa). Wal-Mart is Hq'd in Arkansas isn't it? So how did Arizona get involved?? A lot of idiots in this starting with the parents who should have just printed the photos at home or taken the memory stick to a Kodak kiosk and printed the photos themselves. And the stupidity just gets worse at each step of the process.

[Lord Drakkus]

A lot of idiots in this starting with the parents who should have just printed the photos at home or taken the memory stick to a Kodak kiosk and printed the photos themselves. And the stupidity just gets worse at each step of the process.

At the Kodak Kiosks in Wal-Mart, the photo lab employees are required to approve all pictures printed at the Kodak kiosks. The official/public reason for this is so they can see how many photos were printed and put a price tag on them. Printing it at the Kodak kiosk will not get you around that policy in any way.

Plus, many people don't have printers in their home now. Or there are those like me that have a broken printer and don't have the knowledge to fix it, and can't be bothered to go get it replaced or professionally repaired.

[sunfisher]

Wal-mart has a big problem with any photos that contain any sort of nudity.
A few years ago I took in a roll of film that had pics of my wife enjoying an outdoor shower.They refused to print them and said that it was against their policies to print that type of pictures. They charged me for the pics that they didn't print and said that I could pay up and take the negatives containing nudity somewheres else to be printed or they would destroy the whole roll. I paid the price and said never again. Never again take anything to wal-mart to be printed.
I hope that they win their lawsuit.

Gene

[yar1083]

FYI

Peoria, AZ is sort of North and West of Phoenix, AZ. From what I heard Saturday is that 7 of some 400 pictures were in question.

[Naturist Mark]

Can someone plese explain to me how The State of Arizona and the Arizona AG got involved in this??? :confused: The photos were taken in San Diego, which last time I checked is in California. And Peoria is in Illinois,

This happened in Peoria, Arizona.

I know! It boggled my mind too that anyone thought America needed a second Peoria!

[Evernude]

"Walmart has rigid rules and the employees have a tenuous hold on their jobs and no rights."

Thank you Naturist Mark. Yet another reason to continue my long standing boycott of Wal-Mart. I avoid them like a Nudist avoids Alabama cops.

[nimrod]

Can someone plese explain to me how The State of Arizona and the Arizona AG got involved in this??? :confused: The photos were taken in San Diego, which last time I checked is in California. And Peoria is in Illinois, (I'm originally from Iowa). Wal-Mart is Hq'd in Arkansas isn't it? So how did Arizona get involved?? A lot of idiots in this starting with the parents who should have just printed the photos at home or taken the memory stick to a Kodak kiosk and printed the photos themselves. And the stupidity just gets worse at each step of the process.

Hey pot have you met the kettle?;) Who are the real idiots? The parents that took pictures of their own kids with no ill intent or Wal-Mart for having such a problem with developing any picture with nudity? I do see Wal-Marts side of the issue, but where is the common sence of the employees and why such a black and white rule?

[Bob S.]

countryguy: "A lot of idiots in this starting with the parents who should have just printed the photos at home or taken the memory stick to a Kodak kiosk and printed the photos themselves. And the stupidity just gets worse at each step of the process."

Keep in mind that Wal-Mart does not advertise their policy of no nudes nor do they mention (that I know of) that they may call the police in cases of child nudity in pictures.

The idiots are the employees and employers at Wal-Mart for having and utilizing such a rigid policy. If they can't tell the difference between simple nude picture and child abuse, I don't want them anywhere near my children, even if just a picture. The police and other authorities are the same. If law enforcement can't figure out the difference, they need to be fired and away from any authority over children and parents.

Bob S.

[Sauna]

Is it really allowed that some company does private censorship among private photos. In my country it banned. The company concentrates to its job and do not watch private photos. Is your country really the flagship of free world.

[Boreas]

Is it really allowed that some company does private censorship among private photos. In my country it banned. The company concentrates to its job and do not watch private photos. Is your country really the flagship of free world.

Very good point. I particularly like the comment about the flagship of the free world. I have been wondering that lately with all the shenanagans going on down there regarding healthcare. Apparently freedom only goes so far.

[MeBNude]

Is your country really the flagship of free world.

Sauna, Boreas... I too am completely dismayed by the direction the United States has taken. "Leader" of the "free world?" I would say that this plaque is at best tarnished.

I have been wondering for some time... only out loud today for the first time, if people here in the United States remember their Western Civiliations class from 7th grade. Every empire or superpower that has existed in my recollection of history has fallen because of their own egos, greed, gluttony and ignorance.

Let’s see... a few come to mind... Roman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, the English Empire (where the sun never sets). Maybe I should move to Canada... But there are even fewer warm days up there than there are here in Oregon.:p

[Lord Drakkus]

America is not what it used to be. The way I see things, it is no longer "the flagship of the free world" at all. I believe that it has become more "the flagship of the fear world." More people here do things out of fear than anything else. Everyone wears make-up from fear that somebody will see their acne. We have almost no male teachers in public schools because everybody is afraid their some kind of pervert... We have almost no right to privacy because GW scared everybody into giving up their rights to "Protect Us From Terrorists." The list goes on and on...

[Boreas]

Maybe I should move to Canada... But there are even fewer warm days up there than there are here in Oregon.:p<!-- / message -->

Actually, there are many places in Canada that have more warm days than Oregon. Southern Ontario, the Prairies........heck, here in northern BC we get lots of cold days for sure, but probably way more sunshine than in Oregon. :) Add our warm and friendly personalities.........

[Agde]

...Every empire or superpower that has existed in my recollection of history has fallen because of their own egos, greed, gluttony and ignorance.
Let’s see... a few come to mind... Roman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, the English Empire ...

A good old fun read on this is Willy Cuppy's "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" (http://www.amazon.com/Decline-Fall-Practically-Everybody/dp/1586637339) It perhaps could do with an update for GW :)

[azgreen]

It took them a few days, but today's Arizona Republic carried its own story on the Peoria parents suing Wal-Mart on the photos.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/2009/09/17/20090917gl-peowalmart0917-ON.html

[Bob S.]

On Parentdish (http://www.parentdish.com/2009/09/21/innocent-bath-time-photos-get-kids-taken-away-from-parents/?icid=main|netscape|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.par entdish.com%2F2009%2F09%2F21%2Finnocent-bath-time-photos-get-kids-taken-away-from-parents%2F), they have this story complete with footage from "Good Morning America". In this video story, they actually show about five of the pictures (I am assuming these were the pictures) that are insanely tame.

Other sad facts are that the mother worked with in a school before this and now was placed on leave for a year. The parents were also placed on a sex-offenders' list.

Be forewarned, this may raise your anger level if you watch the video.

Bob S.

[nimrod]

Other sad facts are that the mother worked with in a school before this and now was placed on leave for a year. The parents were also placed on a sex-offenders' list.

Be forewarned, this may raise your anger level if you watch the video.

Bob S.

I can honestly say that I am no more angry now after watching the video then I was before, the situation boils the blood. It is hard for me to believe that they would be put on a sex offenders list after a judge found that they did nothing wrong. Why the suspension after being falsely accused? We, the big we not just we nudist, need to fight the idiocy of these situations.

[MeBNude]

We, the big we not just we nudist, need to fight the idiocy of these situations. :applause: I do believe you are right, Nimrod.

I just saw this story back on CNN today. So, I think that there may be enough steam rolling soon to get things made right.

[Boreas]

Good grief. There are way too many idiots in the US these days.

I am glad they are coming forward and are fighting. I hope they win and that some of the insanity and idiocy diminishes.

What are people smoking down there anyway? :sneaky:

[MeBNude]

What are people smoking down there anyway? :sneaky:

Darlin' if the right people were smoking the right stuff... this wouldn't be a problem! :smoking:

[PappaBare]

Oh great, my wife is going to jail. She took a photo of our 4 yo nephew whizzing in a mountain stream. Why couldn't the AG decide from the photos, instead of putting those kids through an investigation?

Can you say, "Which Hunt" here.

It seemed common scense just flies out the window these days.

[richinoregon]

At least the authorities didn't go as far as they did in Wenatchee WA about a decade ago. They literally destroyed a church with false charges of child abuse, involving witchcraft and group sex with children on the alter. It was finally proven false and I believe the sheriff and social worker involve did prison time, but not after several members of the church would up in prison and the church disbanded.

[simonsebs]

Police release tapes about kids' nude photos (http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1219627)

Here's an update to the story.

[David77]

For instance, 90 years ago it was a custom to put your naked baby on his stomach on a bear-skin rug at a photo studio and have his picture taken. It makes a very cute picture in the old family album.

Bearskin rugs went out of fashion and more people had the widely popular Kodak "Brownie" box cameras to take picture at home of their small children in the tub.