April 1, 2008

CA- E-mail threat to governor leads to child porn conviction

4-1-2008 California:

The next time you feel like sending a nasty e-mail to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, consider the case of David Kearby Clements.

In September 2004, Clements e-mailed the governor protesting the lack of enforcement of California's Compassionate Use Act, the voter initiative allowing medical use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

But Clements made the mistake of calling Schwarzenegger a "Nazi" and threatening to physically harm him, according to court papers.

That got the attention of the California Highway Patrol, which is responsible for protecting the governor.


So, on Feb. 16, 2005, CHP officers executed a search warrant at Clements' South Lake Tahoe home to obtain evidence that the e-mail originated on his computer.

They found a trove of "child pornography, sexually explicit images of minors, and child erotica," court papers say.

Clements, 50, was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for receipt and possession of child pornography.

He will be under the supervision of probation authorities for eight years following his release and will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rodriguez. She said he was ordered to forfeit to the government all computer equipment used to receive and possess sexually explicit images of minor females.

Court records show that, two weeks after the search of his home, Clements pleaded guilty in El Dorado Superior Court to threatening the governor, a felony. He was sentenced to the six days he had already spent in the county jail and placed on three years' probation.

He was ordered not to further "annoy, harass, threaten or contact" Schwarzenegger or any member of his family. He was also ordered to stay at least 500 yards from the Capitol. ..more.. by Denny Walsh

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