Photo by Harvey Reed

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The weekend and the “thing” went well. I will let you know when things become public. I think victims have been heard in a unique way, and I will report on one result of that time by Monday.

First, what happened? Jason Yates, Former CEO of My Faith Votes, was charged with possession of child porn.

On 11/5/2024, Religion News posted Jason Yates promoted Christian values as CEO of My Faith Votes. He now faces child porn charges. Who is he, or rather who was he?

The group’s website blames Christians for failing to stand up against “secular progressives” — which the group faults for a host of social ills.

“As a result of apathy at the voting booth and in public life, we’ve suffered devastating moral decay, declining religious freedom, immoral national debt, and the erosion of traditional family values,” the group’s website reads.

Yates was concerned about sexually deviant messages directed towards children.

In early July, a few weeks before the hard drive allegedly containing child porn was turned over to police, Yates wrote an op-ed for The Washington Times, urging Christians to fight “sexually deviant” messages aimed at children, mainly about LGTB issues.

It seems like the group had the support of SBC leaders.

My Faith Votes also produced a series of videos, called “Think Biblically,” aimed at educating church small groups about social and political issues. Launched this past summer, the video series features speakers such as Albert “Al” Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Texas pastor and author Voddie Baucham; and former Planned Parenthood staffer-turned-anti-abortion advocate Abby Johnson.

Here is where I ask important questions.

How well does anyone know the hidden life of another person? We are so quick to accept a Christian leader based on the simplistic assertions they make about their character. For example, Yates was apparently concerned about moral decay and its effect on children. However, he was hiding a secret. The Washington Times published: Former leader of Christian voting organization charged with child pornography.

Minnesota authorities charged the former CEO of a Christian voting nonprofit after he was accused of having a hard drive containing images of child pornography.

Jason Yates, 55, the ex-CEO of evangelical organization My Faith Votes, was charged in McLeod County with eight counts of possession of pornographic work involving minors under 14.

I would imagine that Al Mohler if asked about Yates before his arrest, would have said that Yates was a stand-up person and would never be involved in the sexual abuse of children, which is what child porn really is. Readers, be careful of Christian leaders. Some folks might vigorously deny that their leaders could do something like that. I would not be surprised if those around him attempted to say that the child porn was planted there to make him look bad. They would be wrong.

Here are my questions?

• Are you willing to consider that Yates and many others like him hide out in Christian churches and parachurches to mask their sexual interst in children?
• Do you really know you chosen leader?
• Are you willing to admit that some people use the church for their own nefarious purposes/

A sexual interest in children is not normal. It is not an “affair.” It is not a “mistake.” It is not just a grievous sin quickly remedied by “forgiving” him. It is a profound perversion, which is likely a paraphilia. His wiring is probably “off,” and he has struggled for years. He will likely struggle with the inclination for the rest of his life. Perhaps he had to find a way that he could hide his paraphilia.

Is child pornography the correct descriptive terminology?

Someone on Twitter responded to a Tweet I sent out regarding child pornography this way. “It is child sexual abuse, and that is the term that should be used.” I tend to agree with her. Can anyone imagine someone raping a child who is crying for his mother as anything other than abuse? Can anyone imagine someone enjoying watching stuff like this? It is not only a sin but a psychiatric disorder and one that is hard to overcome. In fact, there is evidence that an addiction to child pornography is a valid indicator that the individual is a pedophile.

The US Department of Justice has done work in understanding child abuse in the form of child pornography. They published Child Pornography.

The long-lasting effects on the victims who were filmed in children’s pornography.

Because the term “child pornography” is used in federal statutes, it is also commonly used by lawmakers, prosecutors, investigators, and the public to describe this form of sexual exploitation of children.  However, this term fails to describe the true horror that is faced by countless children every year.  The production of child pornography creates a permanent record of a child’s sexual abuse.  When these images are placed on the Internet and disseminated online, the victimization of the children continues in perpetuity. Experts and victims agree that victims depicted in child pornography often suffer a lifetime of re-victimization by knowing the images of their sexual abuse are on the Internet forever.  The children exploited in these images must live with the permanency, longevity, and circulation of such a record of their sexual victimiza­tion.  This often creates lasting psychological damage to the child, including disruptions in sexual development, self-image, and developing trusting relationships with others in the future.

Child pornography (child abuse) users can easily find one another online.

Child pornography images are readily available through virtually every Internet technology, including social networking websites, file-sharing sites, photo-sharing sites, gaming devices, and even mobile apps.  Child pornography offenders can also connect on Internet forums and networks to share their interests, desires, and experiences abusing children, in addition to selling, sharing, and trading images.

This internet collaboration leads these abusers to justify their perversion/child abuse.

These online communities have promoted communication and collaboration between child pornography offenders, thereby fostering a larger relationship premised on a shared sexual interest in children. This has the effect of eroding the shame that typically would accompany this behavior, as well as desensitizing those involved to the physical and psychological damage caused to the child victims. For this reason, online communities attract and encourage new individuals to join them in the sexual exploitation of children.

Grooming of children can make them appear to be complacent during their abuse.

While some child sexual abuse images depict children in great distress and the sexual abuse is self-evident, other images may depict children that appear complacent.  However, just because a child appears complacent does not mean that sexual abuse did not occur.  In most child pornography cases, the abuse is not a one-time event, but rather ongoing victimization that progresses over months or years.  It is common for producers of child pornography to groom victims, or cultivate a relationship with a child and gradually sexualize the contact over time.  The grooming process fosters a false sense of trust and authority over a child in order to desensitize or break down a child´s resistance to sexual abuse.  Therefore, even if a child appears complacent in a particular image, it is important to remember that the abuse may have started years before that image was created.

These abuse images can be shared all over the world with the click of a button.

Furthermore, victims of child pornography suffer not just from the sexual abuse inflicted upon them to produce child pornography, but also from knowing that their images can be traded and viewed by others worldwide.  Once an image is on the Internet, it is irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever.  The permanent record of a child´s sexual abuse can alter his or her live forever.  Many victims of child pornography suffer from feelings of helplessness, fear, humiliation, and lack of control given that their images are available for others to view in perpetuity.

These images are becoming increasingly sadistic and violent, and the children are sometimes as young as infants.

Unfortunately, emerging trends reveal an increase in the number of images depicting sadistic and violent child sexual abuse, and an increase in the number of images depicting very young children, including toddlers and infants.

I have heard uneducated people (or people in denial) say that viewing such images is not as bad as sexually abusing a child. How can people be so blind? Child porn is watching the sexual abuse of a child. The person viewing such abuses is a co-conspirator in that abuse.

Is it possible to change the minds of those who think child porn (which is child sexual abuse) is just another form of pornography and is easily overcome? I doubt it, but I’m trying. Let’s end with this quote found on the DOJ website.

“Unfortunately, we´ve also seen a historic rise in the distribution of child pornography, in the number of images being shared online, and in the level of violence associated with child exploitation and sexual abuse crimes. Tragically, the only place we´ve seen a decrease is in the age of victims.
This is – quite simply – unacceptable.”

-Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. speaks at the National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation in San Jose, California, May 19, 2011.