Wednesday, January 24, 2018

People v. Golden (Cal. Ct. App. - Jan. 24, 2018)

I knew that prisons see a fair (or at least surprising) amount of drug trafficking, as well as trafficking in cell phones, cigarettes, etc.  Contraband.  Tough to keep out.

But until today, I had no idea that mental health institutions that serve Sexually Violent Predators apparently have a similarly widespread problem with the internal distribution of . . . child pornography.

Wow.

Here's a part of what today's published opinion says about the subject:

"CSH is a maximum-security psychiatric hospital with a patient population of 1,100, between 80 to 85 percent of whom are sexually violent predators. Because CSH is located on the grounds of Pleasant Valley State Prison, a visitor cannot access the hospital unless he or she first passes an inspection by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. . . . Officers conduct random searches of patients and their dormitories for contraband daily to maintain institutional security. However, patients often dispose of items in the trash or in the toilet once they realize officers are conducting a search. A major problem is the sale of child pornography. According to Sergeant Duvall, CSH is 'possibly becoming a distribution hub.' In addition, there have been assaults on (1) those 'coming forward' to report child pornography; and (2) those who possess the child pornography by fellow patients who 'don’t like the persons having materials like that.'”

America:  Where there's demand, there's likely to be supply.