YouTube Singer Charged With 20 Year Felony

The video may be in bad taste and it isn't cool to use these kid's images without their parents consent... but treating this like child porn with a maximum sentence of 20 years is bat shit insane.

From The Daily What: 21-year-old Michigan musician Evan Emory has been charged with “manufacturing child sexual abusive material” — a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars — for editing a YouTube video. The charge stems from a song Emory performed for an elementary school class that was initially kid-friendly, but was later re-cut using footage filmed inside an empty classroom to appear explicit.

Considering none of the kids were actually exposed to the dirty ditty, Emory will most likely be let off with a warning. However, the fact remains that Emory was charged with a felony sex offense for what is, at worst, a very bad idea, but certainly not one that should yield such a hefty criminal charge. An attorney who spoke with 24 Hour News 8 brought up the good point that the charges brought against Emory might not only be outlandish, but may have in fact violated his first amendment rights.

Emory was released yesterday on a $5000 bond. The incident remains under investigation at this time; a preliminary examination date has been set for March 2.
Taintsays...

I don't get what's supposed to be twisted about this. The kids weren't exposed to so much as a swear word. Haven't multiple sketch comedy shows done the exact same thing? Didn't Chappelle Show do the identical prank with his homeless crack head character?

This is a crock of shit. The parents should be ashamed of themselves trying to ruin this kid's life over a joke that harmed no one.

EMPIREsays...

this is fucking revolting. Sure he used the kids' images without consent, but claiming any type of sexual crime in this is just WRONG, and the prosecutors should be accused for such blatantly false claims.

owatadorkiamsays...

Some guy talks of the impact this will have on the kids. Ok...what? What horrible things will happen to these kids because of this video? And is this so-called "impact" enough to give the guy 20 years???

kronosposeidonsays...

I searched for what Evan Emory was actually being charged with, and I learned it was "manufacturing child sexual abusive material." Here's more about what the charge means:

If Emory is charged with the count of manufacturing child sexual abusive material he is facing, he could spend 20 years in prison for what he says was just a joke. Muskegon County Prosecutor Tony Tague said Michigan law ‘provides penalty’ for those who actually manufacture child sexual abusive material ‘but also has a provision for those who make it appear that the children were actually abused.’

If that's the case then he might be screwed in the short term, at least before any appeal could take place. However, there is hope. From the same article:
If the charges are deemed unconstitutional, however, the video may be put back up.

Devin Schindler, associate professor at Cooley Law School, said it appears the charges against Emory “might violate his First Amendment right because it is overly broad.” He added the charges “appear to run afoul of the First Amendment.”

It appears we have to hope that the judge or the jury will side with the First Amendment before he sides with a law so goddamn broad that any person who makes a cleverly edited video with children that is even slightly NSFW could face jail time, at least in the state of Michigan.

MaxWildersays...

Absolutely absurd. What possible impact could this have on those children? Anybody?

Of course if there are laws against using their images without consent, then sure, pull down the video and give him some community service time. But this is so far over the top.

Crosswordssays...

Hooray for over-reaction. The prosecutor even acknowledges it's a prank while he's contriving the theoretical harm it has done to the children. How about none, they didn't even know, their parents freaking out has probably done more damage. Yeah it was an inappropriate and dumb thing to do, but dangerous? The kids are in more danger everyday when they ride the bus. He should be fined and/or sentenced to community service for using the kids for a purpose other than he was given permission to. 20 years in jail for joke that hurt nothing but people's sensibilities, would be ridiculous.

Jinxsays...

ROFL. We have not thought about how much this youtube video impacts the kids and their families.

OK, I'm thinking about it now. Is the answer exactly nill?

What happened to spirit of the law...

juliovega914says...

[devilsadvocate]The damage that was done by this guy is in the form of the kids who are being depicted in a video that features explicit language without their expressed permission. That, and the school being made to look bad by apparently having allowed an explicit song sung to kids[/devilsadvocte]

Anyone who think this kid deserves to spend any time in jail at all, let alone 20 years, is so far out of touch with reality that they should be institutionalized. The only reason these parents are making a big stink out of it is a combination of their own desire for fame and hopes they might be able to get a reward out of it in the form of a class action lawsuit. The DA handling this case clearly has absolutely no concept of Justice, only the idea that a case like this can technically designate a sexual abuse charge. He should be removed from his position, because he is a disgrace not only to his district but the entire country.

Porksandwichsays...

Considering many schools take youngsters to holocaust and world war 2 exhibits, with some of those pictures being disturbing for adults. Does that mean those same people are abusing the children by exposing them to real world happenings? Is it just imagery, or do words constitute abuse? Would it still be abusive if back of the kids heads were only seen, but still took place in their classroom? What if it were clearly two separate locations that was obviously visible during the video?.....

I mean that's a pretty broad topic, and if that's the case...then are sex ed classes potentially abusive? Anatomy? Biology for dissections?

These kids had their faces put on a youtube video, potential violation of privacy.....although I am not sure a school room constitutes a private setting. They were not actually exposed to anything, unless he then tells them all to go check out his video. If the parents let them check it out, that's on the parents. If the news station mentioned it, and they went to check it out..that's on the news station.

Punish the guy for deception to gain access to make this video, use of likeness, etc. The fact that he's being charged with abuse toward children means we need to start hauling some school teachers before the courts for what they do to the children in the course of teaching them.

entr0pysays...

If you want to judge for yourself, reading the lyrics and description suffice. They are easy enough to google. Though I wish I hadn't. If you're imagining an act done by your favorite edgy comedian, it's not that.

I have to admit, if I were one of the parents or teachers I would be outraged. But the prosecutors went nuts. Perhaps some sort community service and psychiatric evaluation would be appropriate. I doubt the judge would be at the liberty to give such a light sentence for a felony.

bamdrewsays...

Lesson learned? Always censor children's faces.

Do the make cameras with in-camera auto-blur function build on the face recognition software? That should be a thing. And I think it would be funny,... set that as the default and let family members record a child's birthday party to only later find out everyone's faces were censored.

siftbotsays...

Tags for this video have been changed from 'YouTube, Edit, Felony, Insanity, draconian, evan emory' to 'YouTube, Edit, Felony, Insanity, draconian, evan emory, idiocracy' - edited by looris

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