Ex-US diplomat gets 20 years for child porn

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Ex-US diplomat gets 20 years for child porn
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, The Associated Press
2008-08-22 19:20:37.0
Current rank: # 44 of 5,978

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -
An ex-U.S. diplomat who admitted taping his sexual encounters with teenage girls while stationed in Brazil and the Congo was sentenced Friday to 20 years, the maximum possible prison term.

Gons G. Nachman, 42, had sought leniency, claiming among other things that cultural differences in those countries made sex with teenage girls more acceptable.

But U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee took the unusual step of imposing consecutive 10-year terms for the two counts on which Nachman was convicted.

"I reject out of hand completely the idea that I should take into account cultural differences," Lee said. He said even if such differences exist, Nachman was answerable to U.S. standards and U.S. law while working as a diplomat on embassy grounds.

Nachman pleaded guilty earlier this year to possessing child pornography after admitting he videotaped his sexual encounters while working as a consular officer. He also pleaded guilty to misuse of a diplomatic passport.

The case also included allegations that he pressured attractive female Brazilian visa applicants for sex, though he was not charged with that.



Read more: http://www.examiner.com/a-1550283~Ex_US_diplomat_gets_2...

[buckrogers1965]

1. So the sex with the girls was ok.

It was only his crime of video taping it that was bad? Really? That is completely messed up.

[Jack_DeLeon]

2. Pretty much, its legal to have sex with 15,16, and 17 year olds in the US....

depending on the state, but if you take sexual pictures of anyone under 18 even if you are in a consensual relationship with them its considered child pornography and a crime.

Thats pretty stupid IMO.

[No Elephants]

3. At least one of the girls was 14. And we don't know what else he did that he wasn't charged with.

[No Elephants]

4. Why wasn't he charged with pressuring visa applicants for sex?

[Jack_DeLeon]

5. Thats legal in some countries...

not sure about the law in the countries he did though. Although even if it were legal in said country the US government has a policy of if you break one of our laws in a country where its legal to do so and you are an American citizen our laws still apply and will will still prosecute you if we want to.