AnotherMK, I am still completely baffled by that statement. It continues to make no sense to me at all, on any level.
"...we are trying to confirm whether there is a connection between the personal actions of the accused and our organization ..."
What? At face value, that would seem to mean that they are checking to see if the organization caused this man's personal actions. Or if he somehow produced his porn on behalf of the organization. Or something. All which are of course ludicrous, and I
KNOW that is
NOT what they meant to say!
If they meant to say they were trying to determine whether his victims were also a part of their organization, then that is exactly what they should have said. I myself am wondering who his victims were. So far there has been no hint of whether they were Brazilians, Americans, or a mixture of nationalities. And I agree, it makes no difference in our compassion level, whether they were MKs or not. Children were abused, and then their images were distributed all over the world, and that is a horrible, despicable crime, no matter who those children were.
As far as prosecution, no, I don't believe it will make any difference what nationality the victims were. I expect that in addition to child pornography charges, Mr. Kennell will be prosecuted for committing sex crimes against children overseas. This is what other missionaries well known to us on this blog would be tried for too, if they had committed their crimes more recently. The Protect Act of 2003 can now be used against missionaries currently committing crimes overseas. I hope this recent arrest will encourage other victims, or people who know victims, to come forward and contact ICE about any perpetrators who have committed recent crimes against children in foreign countries. These vile child abusers can no longer hide from U.S. laws. They are not exempt any longer. Do not hesitate to contact ICE. They have demonstrated that they are ready to take action! Go ICE!!
http://www.ice.gov/contact/