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Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Family Time
Today's moment-of-pause has been brought to you by Wal-Mart and the city of Peoria, Az. Apparently, some photo-clerk vigilante, diligently on the lookout for child pornography, saw photos of kids during bath time and decided to call the cops, according to a story on Good Morning America.
Next thing the parents of these kids knew, the children were removed from their home. For an entire month. Mom got suspended from her job for a year and both -- Anthony and Lisa Demaree -- were added to a list of sex offenders. The judge in the case said the pix were harmless.
"I don't understand it at all," Anthony Demaree told GMA, with his wife by his side. "Ninety, 95 percent of the families out there in America have these exact same photos."
Now they've got another shot to take. This time it's directed at Wal-Mart and their hometown.
Do you think the clerk and the police did the right thing?
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ReaderComments (Page 21 of 118)
9-21-2009 @ 9:18PM
michele miller said...you know this is so sad i am so sorry for the parents and the harm this has done to the entire family of these poor innocent people. and cops should have known better and the place where this woman worked how come you didn't give her the benefit of the doubt when you hear something like this you fired her well i tell you, you are not a company you are just afraid of your reputation. let me tell you something i have been molested since i was a little girl know i am 47 and a woman and the people that molested me got a way from it and i tell you. that clerk should be fired, and she should mind her own business it sounds like to me that she is trying to be a savior of the world because maybe just maybe she was molested. ASK US SURVIORS OF CHILD ABUSE AND WE WILL TELL YOU THAT THE CLERK IS OFF HER ROCKER AND THESES CHILDREN ARE JUST CHILDREN YOU DO GOODERS MIND YOUR BUSINESS IF THESE PEOPLE WERE MOLESTING THESE CHILDREN DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THOSE PICTURES TO WALMART COME ON GROW UP CLERK. to the family may god bless you and please you are good and loving people and parents these doctors and cops and some people don't know better. god be with you and forgive them, and especially the clerk. walmart should fire that clerk and get some schooling on psychology.
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9-21-2009 @ 11:34PM
Cheryl said...I think it says it all that not one comment is in favor of what the WalMart, police, or social workers did. I can feel for this family. I pray thast they can get their children back on a level playing field. This is why parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and family friends ar3e afraid to show love and affection, and support to their children. Something all children need to grow and thrive, and have a sense of worth.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:06PM
Anne said...I agree with all that has been said, so sorry to hear what that stupid clerk put this family through. as much as I hate this sue crazy world
I believe the clerk & Walmart should be sued for all the strife they put this family through. I for one can do without Walmart and such stupidity and will not miss shopping there as iI do my own little personal Boycotting.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:45PM
Lala_86 said...Wow! This is absolutely ridiculous! So it comes down to " we can not take pictures of kids in the bathtub or half nude otherwise it makes us child abusers or sex offenders! What has this world come down to..
My prayers go to the family for strength and I hope they win the lawsuit against WalMart
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9-21-2009 @ 9:08PM
nila said...that is so stupid !!!!!!!!!! you watch tv and you see babies crawling around with no diaper on, what about that ?
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9-21-2009 @ 9:07PM
lisa said...walmart should be punished
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9-21-2009 @ 9:08PM
VLC said...I am not for suing in most situations, but this is an "excellent case" for just that! I would sue the crap out of WAL-MART and bring an individual suit towards the idiot who turned the photos in to the authorities. Yes, BOYCOTT WAL-MART! I dislike the corporate giant anyway...
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9-21-2009 @ 9:07PM
Vickie said...This is so bogus but dosen't surprise me! Aren't claims supposed to be investigated before child services yanks your kid(s)?! Yeah they r except in extreme cases and that wal-mart employee must have said something pretty crucial or the child protectors as they claim, didn't give a shit. What a joke. I never have and never will trust anyone who works with child protective services or dcf. Their so ass backwards and most of the justice system when it comes to sex-offenders. I read an article online yesterday about an almost elderly man raped a 4-year old...he only got a one year prison sentence!!!!! Tell me our legal and justice system isnt screwed up that pieces of crap like that are allowed to even walk the streets!!!! But hey let's throw away people for stupid shit like violating their probation cuz they got caught smoking a cigarette! Shouldn't tax payers have a say in this pieces of crap being on the street? And the legal system is looking out for our children..I don' think so. Our children are no where near protected like they should be! I am about to have my third child and if I was put thru something like this u bet I'm gonna be suing all types of people and making it my point that it dosen't happen again! I pray for our children evryday and feel for any parent who is subjected to things like this and feel bad that our children have to suffer at the stupidy and wrecklessness of other adults!
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9-21-2009 @ 9:11PM
flippnfly said...I live in Peoria AZ and trust me- those cops have NOTHING better to do than to ruin people's lives. I'm married to a cop in a neighboring city, so I know the difference between good cops and a good department and a pathetic power hungry one. Peoria PD should be ashamed of their ENTIRE dept for the way they treat people. This is not the first time me or others have been mistreated by the Peoria AZ PD and doubt it'll be the last.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:08PM
Ryan said...What the hell!? is someone that stupid. It's just a harmless bath not porn.
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9-21-2009 @ 10:20PM
Ellen said...I think this is just awful. The parents and kids probably suffered many emotional hardships they needn't have because of a silly accusation. The thing that gets me most though, is if they were thought to be any form of child pornography, why would you release the photos to a news show, even after they've been deemed harmless? If your only goal in this case was to protect the children involved, you've obviously done the wrong thing.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:08PM
David said...The person at wal mart neeeds to be shot what a pice of sh*t person they are the ones who need to be jailed for ruinning those peoples life
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9-22-2009 @ 5:49PM
tonya said...Everyone has taken a picture of there child once in the bathtub but it doesnt mean we are going to the computer to let the world see them it is speeding time with your child and it is away to rem when they where little I am a mother of three and they are my world and to think someone would be so dumb to put those parents through hell! They must not have kids of there own but let hope they never do!! I feel so bad for them kids! And there parents....
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9-22-2009 @ 8:36AM
Kristen said...I have to say the CPS and the laws with kids go over board more times then not! Majority of these people not only dont have any children themselves BUT dont even like kids, i was involved with DCFS. My ex threatened to take my child from me and so i did what 90% of mothers would do, i punched him, IN HIS SHOULDER. So he told the police i barly missed my 4m old baby who was across the room. Here im protecting my son and now have DCFS involved. Its now over, but memories still haunt me, im just glad my son was to small to remember. I feel for these parents and i hope they get their justice.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:07PM
Mom of 7 said...This is how we are slowly losing parental control in this country. Meanwhile real pedaphiles are out on the street. I have 7 grown children and we have tons of picture of our kids when they were little, in the tub. We all sit around and look at them now and crack up. I don't know any people who don't have pictures of their children when they were little in the bath tub. Maybe we should all boycott Wal-mart photo center if this is what they are going to do to families. Wal-mart, the cops, the mother's employer and specifically this wal-mart employee should be making public apologies to this couple and re-imburse the mother for lost wages and 1 month away from their children. I hope a judge throws the book at these meddlers.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:09PM
Kim said...As many other parents have said, I have more of those pictures than those parents probably have. Its a moment in their life and nothing else. I don't think if they wanted to show "porn", they would have brought them to WALMART to develope them. How stupid do you have to be...common sense is not so common! Good luck to these parents! I hope you get millions from walmart.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:09PM
Amanda said...America is getting insane. First they say spanking a child should be illegal and now taking innocent photos of your child can have such drastic results. People these days are to quick to jump to conclusions and too narrow minded. I believe these people deserve so much for what wal-mart and the city they live in have done to them. Imagine the embarrasment they went through!!!! And for what? Because some clerk had some self-righteous epiphany? I can only imagine how many "naughty" photos he/she has seen come his/her way. This is truley sad.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:16PM
Shane said...what about real crimes?? and this goes to show the calibur of people walmart will hire. they cant understand the difference between porn and memories?!
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9-21-2009 @ 9:29PM
jemica said...OMG! Sick, this country is very sick! When we get to the point of taking children and placing them in the hands of complete strangers because some moron sick unrelated jerk judged some pictures improper, we are truly lost! How sad, parents who are doing well in their homes, taking their children on vacation- are guilty before proven innocent. Wal-Mart should be suit, the idiot who accused them should have their children, pet or if they don’t have either, their car removed for a month and see if their is any sense of responsibility; and finally the agency of Child Services should have the supervisor who removed the children fired! How sad, how very sad what our country has come to! Neighbors are not our best point of reference for others to know us at all. I’m sorry, on behalf of our country to the parents, and pray the children will recover and remove any bad experience from their little minds.
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9-21-2009 @ 9:10PM
norm said...go for it..sue walmart and the city of Peoria Az..You deserve to get all the money you can get from these idiots..
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