Police reported the incident to Farren’s office in June last year after one of the daughters told a counselor that her father made them watch adults have group sex and performed other acts online in his home, Farren said.
But the public indecency law prevents the prosecution of parents who show their children pornography.
The law was apparently meant to protect the privacy of parents who wanted to teach their children about sex, and states that parents can’t be prosecuted for showing “harmful material” to their children.
Farren said according to the Texas penal code “harmful material” such as pornography is considered defensible from prosecution if it is shown to a minor who was accompanied by a consenting parent.
The girls’ parents are divorced and share custody. The girls’ mother wants her ex-husband to be jailed.
Farren said his office is banking on the child endangerment statute, which says it is an offense to recklessly place a child in imminent danger of mental impairment.
A conviction on the felony would mean the father would face up to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine on each charge.
“There is no built-in defense in this statute that a consenting parent allowed the children to view the material,” Farren said.
After deciding not to pursue public indecency charges against the father, Farren had asked the Texas attorney general’s office to look at what outcomes he might expect if he pursued a criminal complaint against the father for showing pornography to his children.
He said he wasn’t surprised last week, when the response came back that there was a defense that would keep him from winning the case.
So, he began to consider using the child endangerment statute.
By Joe Gamm
joe.gamm@amarillo.comPost a comment here
