December
30, 2008: CBS will tonight air the
31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors
acknowledging such notables as Morgan
Freeman, George Jones, Barbra Streisand, Twyla Tharp, Pete Townshend & Roger
Daltrey.
Child AbuseWatch.net (CAN), a U.S. child
sexual abuse prevention organization, has
objected and demanded that Townshend’s
award be withdrawn in light of his 2003 –
2008 listing on the UK Violent and Sexual
Offender Registry (ViSOR) for accessing,
paying for and viewing child pornography.
In an article featured in the
ButlerReport.com in August 2008 entitled “Pete
Townshend of the WHO and his child porn
connection,” it was brought to
America’s attention that Townshend had
recently been eligible for removal from
the UK Sexual Offender database after a
five year mandatory registration for being
caught – and admitting to – accessing
Internet child pornography. Full article
here.
Townshend was registered as a Sex Offender
in 2003, following a police investigation,
for viewing online child pornography.
Cleared of possession of child pornography
he was ordered placed on the British
Violent and Sexual Offender Register
(Visor) for five years. He was admonished
by child advocacy groups in 2006 for
writing a graphic teen sex story on his blog
which he retracted admitting it was "ill
advised" to write.*
Child AbuseWatch.net’s director Evin Daly
called the Kennedy Center award
“completely inappropriate given the
circumstances surrounding Townshend’s
admission to accessing, paying for and
viewing child pornography.” At the time of
his arrest, Townshend offered that he was
doing “research,” which according to the
FBI law enforcement publication “Child
Molesters: A behavioral analysis”(P.93) is
a frequently used excuse used by
individuals when caught.
CAN has sent a letter of protest to the
Kennedy Center admonishing them over their
insensitivity to child sexual abuse
issues. In addition to having Townshend’s
award rescinded CAN has asked the Kennedy
Center to issue an apology for their
insensitivity to child sexual offense
issues.
“There are few people in the world who
would be given an award of any kind with a
background like Townshend’s. I believe
this is a case of ‘celebrity oversight’ as
regular people would find it impossible to
secure employment being registered on
VISOR let alone allowed a visa to enter
the U.S.,” Daly said recently.
CAN has an ongoing campaign contacting
U.S. governmental departments, the White
House and federal law enforcement to draw
attention to Townshend’s unfettered access
to the U.S. According to the US
Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), it
specifies numerous grounds on which a
consular officer can find an applicant
ineligible for a visa and inadmissible to
the United States.
Applicants excludable on criminal and
related grounds are the following: "Aliens
convicted of, and those who admit
having committed a crime involving moral
turpitude (or an attempt or conspiracy to
commit such a crime)." [Emphasis
added] Townshend admitted accessing,
paying for and viewing child pornography;
that constitutes a crime by INA definition
and a reason for non-issuance of an entry
Visa to the U.S.
Child AbuseWatch.net is a national child
sexual abuse prevention organization (www.abusewatch.net)
which provides prevention resources
to the general public, law enforcement and
health care professionals. Contact:
info@abusewatch.net.
References:
ButlerReport ('Pete Townshend of the
WHO and his child porn connection' -
August 1, 2008)
http://www.butlerreport.com/BREditorialChildPornandWHO.html
Guardian Newspaper ('Pete Townshend put on sex offenders register' - May 08, 2003) http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/may/08/arts.ukcrime
FBI
Child Molesters: A behavioral analysis
(see page 93)
http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/ResourceServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=469
*
Times: ('Townshend withdraws
'ill-advised' teen sex story' - June 22,
2006)
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article677882.ece