Julie Amero Sentencing Delayed Again; Prosecutors May Be Trying To Figure Out How To Back Out Gracefully
from the just-admit-you-were-wrong dept
The Julie Amero case has been getting plenty of attention lately, after prosecutors (and the local press) in Connecticut condemned a local substitute teacher after the classroom computer she was using was overrun with porn popups from spyware. For this, she was facing 40 years in jail. While the local paper and the prosecutor kept insisting that everyone didn't know the full story, once the transcripts became available it became clear that it was the prosecutors, the local police and the local press who didn't seem to recognize the full story. While the local Norwich Bulletin continues to insist she deserves to be
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Ooh
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Norwich Bulletin editoral: deserves no jail, but s
but she should not to teach again.
The reason is that she wasn't smart enough to shut off the machine or cover
the screen with the graphic pop-ups.
This is the reason why they think a conviction with community service is fair
...for failing to protect the children in her trust.
They also did mention that the school district deserive some the blame, and
that "Whoever did not do their job to ensure the proper (malware protection)
fees were paid and the licensing was up-to-date deserves to be fired."
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Re: Norwich Bulletin editoral: deserves no jail, b
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If she is a witch
1. dunking
2. burning at the stake
Both are traditional remedies.
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Re: If she is a witch
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Re: Re: If she is a witch
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Stupidity
I hate the fact teachers act like learning has an end point. Since they got their degree they don't need to keep up with modern technology. I see that as a failure to do their job as in educator.
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Re: Stupidity
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Re: Stupidity
As for you, what if you had to face criminal prosecution for every time you have been confused or mistaken? Based on your comment, I suspect you would be spending the rest of your life in a courtroom.
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Re: Re: Stupidity
Sensitivity towards a teacher has no place when it oversteps the welfare of the child she is payed to teach. She is an adult and should be accountable for her actions as such. Her role as a teacher requires her to protect her students from harmful material, such as pornography, and she failed to do so adequately. Do I think she should be fired? No, but she should be required to take computer courses and be reprimanded.
"As for you, what if you had to face criminal prosecution for every time you have been confused or mistaken? Based on your comment, I suspect you would be spending the rest of your life in a courtroom."
That's funny. Since your irrational tirade ended with a direct assault on me, who you know nothing about, I would suggest you think your next posting through before you make it.
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Re: Re: Re: Stupidity
1. She was under specific instructions NOT to turn off the computer
2. The computer was already NOT facing the children.
3. She DID cover up the monitor so no one had any chance of seeing it.
When you think about it, she was not at fault, she did all she could do without getting fired for disobeying the administrative staff.
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Net Admin
She gets 20% of the guilt for being too uninformed to know the difference between turning off the computer... and turning off the MONITOR! For those of you who don't know this fact... you can turn off the speakers and monitor independently of the computer... I know., I know... would require effort, but its a temp fix.
Then I'd say lets tar and feather the zealots who drug her up on these pointless charges. She obviously shouldn't be teaching... but how is turning her over to the state to support going to help?!
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a *substitute* teacher
The poor woman obviously doesn't have a PC at home, and so this was probably the first time she'd ever seen Javascript-driven pop-ups. I don't know about you guys, but I was stunned and overwhelmed the first time I saw it.
Couple that with pr0n showing up in a classroom full of kids, and then honestly tell me that you'd have had the presence of mind to do anything besides clicking the X in the upper right corner, or banging on the keyboard. Sure, she could have turned off the monitor, but that's like asking Joe Citizen to solve Three Mile Island without any training or experience as a nuclear power plant operator.
Just don't let her be a substitute teacher any more. I'm sure she doesn't want to, anyway, after all of this bull$#!+.
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Just wrong!
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Re: Just wrong!
If I had a child in the class it wouldn't be a huge deal. I would just take the role of a parent (it's a stretch for a lot of parents today) and explain what was going on to my child. However, I would still want that teacher removed from the school. The ineptitude proves that she does not have the capacity to protect the children in todays world and the fact that she became so flustered with such a minor issue makes me doubt her abilities in a crisis.
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Monday Morning Quarterbacking
It's not like you're sitting in a public place, porn pops up and you calmly shut down the monitor.
The first thing you do is panic and try to remember how to use the mouse. Then you try to find the "x" and close the window. How long this process goes on before you come to a conclusion you're screwed? Who knows.
The school district should be adequately staffed to prevent this from happening. Just firing the guy probably isn't much help if it's 2 guys looking over a thousand computers in 50 schools. Anyone hear about budget cuts?
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I agree with your points, but...
That's funny for so many reasons.
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Well...
This is a clear cut case of computer illiteracy. And now the legal system is trying to make an example out of her. The lawyers want to look like the are doing something to "protect the children".
Put the woman in a pc literacy course and send her back to work. Skilled teachers (or ever substitutes) are hard enough to find as it is.
I'm just glad the parents of those kids aren't suing for child endangerment or some other bullsh!t...
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YOU ARE ALL WRONG.............
The rest you can read in the transcripts, she is not guilty, nor is she stupid just because she is technically illiterate. Most teachers are! There are a number of experts working on this case because the are outraged about it and they are doing it along with a new hire powered attorney pro bono. The Norwich Bulletin has down a terrible job of reporting, twisting and not reporting all the facts in this case.
When she is vindicated and she will be, the judge, jury, prosecutor, idot detective who called himself an expert armed with computercop pro and the Norwich Bulletin will have to answer for the horrible way this person was treated.
A hope she sues everybody's butt............
And I am from the area, so I know more than most what is going on................
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It's like this
There is most definitely criminal action here, but it's not on the part of the substitute teacher.
Let's start with the supposed head of technology perjuring himself - testifying that he had never even heard of such a thing as a pop-up storm? For what, then, did he suppose he was paying bills to an anti-malware vendor(s) for, hmmm?
Oh, that's right, he quit paying the bill. OK, incompetent and/or grossly unqualified for his position might be a possibility. That still doesn't let him off the hook for perjury, though, given that his testimony was being given in the guise of an expert.
So, too, the prosecutor for allowing this horrendously incorrect testimony.
So, too, the police department. Same reasons.
Amero made efforts to get help from fellow teachers. She made efforts to "protect the children". She made an effort to notify administration. The full heft of the her liability is that she is computer illiterate. The last time I checked, that is not a crime.
Lest I forget, our legal system is based on the punishment fitting the crime. Charges would not be out of place levelled against CT's legislators for attaching such an unconscienable penalty to this law. I was exposed to such horrific material as Playboy and Hustler at the age of these children, as were my peers (where do you think we got these magazines if not from each other?) and not a one of us suffered the emotional scarring suggested by this law.
I imagine the same is true for most people reading this as well, the prosecutor, the legislators who wrote the law, the cops who investigated, and every child who has passed through 7th grade in the 20-some years since I was that age.
Hell, I know some of the students in my class back then were doing some of the stuff I was merely looking at in those mags. I don't have any reason to believe that things have changed all that much since.
Do you want to know the single best thing we could do "for the children"? Turn Amero loose, and then publicly beat everyone else involved with big foam clue-bats.
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OMG - the Forensics SOLUTION was SO-o-o Simple
The forensic solution was so simple...
Disable JavaScript (from the Tools - security menu)
Go to the HISTORY files - get the URL of each each PopUp
Go to each VIEW SOURCE - Look at the Javascript
Each popup willl probably have
BODY onClose or onUnload or Window onClose tag
If each popup window specifies another will open if that window is closed - it could loop forever
After finding the FIRST site that started the loop - they could have reported them to their ISP and to Google - so as to help prevent future victims
Nowadays, civiil suits can even be launched against Websites that affect computers -
? ? ? ? ?
Apparently, although both the D.A and the Police were not HTML savy - probably many of those students would have known what to do :LOL:
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never mind the teacher
So instead I will say:
The policeman who investigated the case, the prosecutor who charged her, the judge who tried the case and the media commentators cheering her conviction are all unfit for their jobs and are a menace to public liberty and safety.
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Possibly an idiot Mac user
Not that that excuses anyone of stupidity here.
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hasn't she already been punished?
Please try to remember the woman lost her baby, for goodness sakes. I wouldn't be surprised if the stress of this whole ordeal was a large contributing factor to that. And she's spend the past TWO years dealing with this idiocy. I think she's been "punished" above and beyond anything she might have deserved for not being as perfect as all of you.
Thanks to Techdirt for bringing this to our attention, and to all the people who left intelligent comments and reaffirmed my faith in humanity. =)
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Don't Forget!
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Computer Crime Cop alleged Sex Crimes Dunce!
in which his partner was discharged from the force, over some nude photos of a minor during a stakeout in which it is alleged by the young lady that she was plied with booze, and had sex with officer(s).
The keys to the "Party Wagon" were removed from Detective Lounsbury and he was placed into a desk job. No major investigation, no threats of "40 years in prison" and no adjudication as a SEX OFFENDER for this detective!
Then, there are so many judicial and prosecutorial errors in this case that it cries to be overturned on appeal!
Judge Hilary Strackbein allegedly slept through testimony.
Jurors allegedly discussed case during lunch at diner.
Prosecution objected to admittance of exculpatory evidence!
Prosecution 'expert', Det. Lounsbury, a computer dunce, with allegations of being a Sexual Predator. The facts surrounding his suspension for drinking on the job are public knowledge - he was actually escorting an underage girl on a liquor store sting and bought and consumed beer during the sting. His ex-partner was fired, alleged to have taken porn shots of the minor.
It makes an honest citizen cringe to think that our Justice System is neither! It is a mob of crazy idiots run amok!
Big answer is to NEVER run Microsoft, with it's "114,000 Microsoft Virus Definitions" malware, etc.
http://pclinuxos.com or any of the 310 FREE LiveCDs at http://livecdlist.com and the hundreds of choices at http://distrowatch.com works for the SCHOOL BOARDS of 40 States!
Makes old Pentium Class computers run upto 50X faster, totally free of malware!
Still, the Federal CIPA demands a firewall, such as FREE http://ipcop.org and some filtering of content, like Spamassassin and Dan's Guardian (linked on site) perform so well, for FREE!!!
It is so easy that California has switched!
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Scary stuff
I have two young children; one who is in Kindergarten. I am very computer literate. If something like this happened at my school, I would not panic. I would try and find out what actually happened and I would probably defend the teacher. Oh, and here is a shocker: I would not lose any sleep over my child seeing something so small. I would talk about it and try and help the school out to make sure it does not repeat.
I am amazed at the amount of fear and ignorance (and yes, stupidity: there is a lot of it around) out there. Get a grip, people. Try and learn something for a change.
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Just plain shameful
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