January 9, 2007
He May Be Getting an F
It seems like a matter of simple common sense: If you're turning an assignment in to a professor on a CD-ROM, make sure you hand in the right disc. But a student at Bristol Community College, in Massachusetts, seems to have missed that memo, and now he finds himself in a heap of trouble.
The student, Andrew Erickson, was supposed to submit his final exam for a computing course, but instead he gave his professor a disc filled with sexually explicit photos of children -- and a catalog that listed the age of each subject. The professor opened the disc and immediately turned it over to police, who have now arrested Mr. Erickson and searched his house, according to The Herald News.
After turning in the incriminating CD, the student apparently realized what he had done: Before his arrest he sent the professor an e-mail message in which he claimed the disc contained a mix of music belonging to a friend. The message shows that Mr. Erickson could use a lesson in netiquette as well as a good lawyer: "Oh snap, I am sorry," it begins. --Brock Read
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Mr. Erickson doesn’t need a lawyer or “netiquette” lessons—he needs to go to jail. The Chronicle shouldn’t be making jokes about this—he committed a serious, and sick, crime.
— SRK Jan 10, 09:46 AM #
Had this criminal not been caught, jokes would indeed be inappropriate, but as Erickson will get his just desserts, there’s nothing wrong with poking fun at yet another of America’s idiot law-breakers.
— MSB Jan 10, 10:16 AM #
I too am appalled that the Chronicle would make light of such a serious issue. This case should not have been reported as a humorous story and I am dismayed that the Chronicle editors allowed the piece to reach publication.
— IEV Jan 10, 10:21 AM #
I, too, enjoy the periodic e-mail messages poking fun at idiotic criminals. However, the fact that this one accidently revealed his own crime should not diminish the horrendous nature of the offense against innocent children.
— DJS Jan 10, 10:39 AM #
Adult pornography would have warranted a lighthearted approach to the story. A joking tone in a story involving child pornography is tasteless, at best. It trivializes a subject where there is no room for trivia.
— MCD Jan 10, 10:47 AM #
You guys are all Schlockmeisters. I see none of you trying to rid this problem, so don’t go acting like you really give a damn on this subject by merely interjecting you’re phallic self-righteousness.
— ten Jan 10, 05:06 PM #
Ten? How in the hell would you know what anyone is doing to “rid this problem”? Also, the word is “your.” “Your” is possessive. “You’re” means “you are.”
-Um, doing my part to “rid the problem” of grammatical oblivion.
— Um. Jan 10, 08:37 PM #
I think the first five comments above were posted by the same person. If you can’t make fun of child pornographers, who can you make fun of?
— FAKER Jan 10, 09:04 PM #
I am not one of the people that posted earlier but completely agree that taking a lite tone to child pornography is tasteless and terrible. Many, many children are victimized at the hands of these sicko’s and I, for one want them off the streets and away from their computers.
— Leah Jan 11, 04:09 PM #
Best thing you can do is dwell on grammatical errors and not of anything with intrinsic value? Checkmate.
— ten Jan 11, 07:46 PM #