121 men in child pornography operation on the Internet

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spanish police have arrested 121 men and seized millions of computer files in the country's biggest operation against child pornography on the Internet.

Investigators uncovered a worldwide network that was trading millions of files.

Authorities are looking at 96 others but they have not been placed into custody yet, Manuel Vazquez, the national police chief of the technology investigative brigade, Wednesday.
Eight-hundred police officers participated in the raids on more than 200 homes in most of Spain's provinces.
The operation was conducted in cooperation with federal police in Brazil, which uncovered a worldwide file-sharing network that was trading millions of files in 75 countries. more

Tenn. To Revoke Licenses Over Late Child Support

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state warned parents delinquent on child support payments that they risk losing their drivers licenses, professional licenses and hunting and fishing licenses if they don't pay.

Tuesday a news release from the Department of Human Services said that letters were delivered across the state to parents who were behind at least $500 and hadn't made a payment in more than 90 days.

More than 7,000 licenses were revoked last year for failure to pay, and the Department of Human Services said there were more than 20,000 licenses at risk. The professional licenses in jeopardy of being revoked include registered nurses, real estate agents, security guards and teachers.

'They go to prison and still owe child support when they get out…and owe double what they originally owed.

The way the laws are written now, a felon who owes child support can owe more and face more jail time. I admit that the person should not have committed a crime, but they did. Now with the insane laws favoring the custodial parent, Since interest and penalties accrue rapidly, many former prisoners struggle under a staggering debt they will never pay off. Some return to jail because of nonpayment of child support. Others are re-incarcerated after turning to illegal activity to support themselves, because at low wage lawful jobs, 40 or 50% or more of their paychecks are garnished to pay the debt. The costs of these crimes and of re-incarcerating the ex-offenders vastly outweigh the puny sums states collect in back child support.
The amount should either stop the minute he gets incarcerated or debt should be paid in full when a sentence is given to the inmate. Doing anything more than that is setting the inmate up for failure.
Moreover, these debts often make it impossible for ex-offenders—many of whom are young mothers and fathers who were incarcerated for nonviolent drug offenses—to play a meaningful role in their children’s lives. And prisoners pay for their crimes with their time behind bars—these debts often amount to a punishment artificially extended beyond their sentences.

The new report, Repaying Debts, was commissioned by the Justice Department and produced by the Council of State Governments’ Justice Center. It makes some useful recommendations, including capping payments at 20% of an ex-offender’s income and streamlining the collection process…

Unfortunately, numerous legislative attempts to resolve the issue have been defeated, often through demagoguery. For example, in 2005, the California Assembly Republican Caucus helped defeat a modest reform bill, with one leading Republican Assemblyman explaining, “The state should never aid and abet a convicted criminal in avoiding child support.”

Fixing this problem has nothing to do with helping criminals. It instead acknowledges the obvious—parents who are unable to work are unable to pay. All of us want ex-offenders to return to legal employment instead of crime. The Justice Department's new report demonstrates that one important way to reduce recidivism is to end the child support system abuses these ex-offenders face.

S.C. court issues summons for old 63-cent child-support bill

S.C. court issues summons for old 63-cent child-support bill

Kathleen Threatt was summoned the court because she failed to pay child support in Sumter County, S.C.

Why is this news?

Because WLTX-TV says her 12-year-old bill totaled 63 cents.

"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was

"I had to apologize to the officer on the phone because I was laughing so hard," Threatt, 45, tells the station. "It doesn't make sense."

Threatt's children are grown. In fact, she's now a grandmother.