The arrest follows the disturbing posting of a video showing the pat-down of a 6-year-old girl — a case that Homeland secretary has called entirely appropriate.
Gordon, 45, began working as a TSA screener at the Philadelphia airport in December 2005. He could now face a sentence as long as 250 years and the fine of $3.2 million.
That is quite a potential sentence when the evidence appears composed of what appears to be the act of downloading — particularly five explicit photographs of young girls. What is missing is the allegation that he perpetuated the abuse as opposed to uploading the photos of others. There were 104 illicit photographs allegedly uploaded over four weeks and another 600 images or movies containing child pornography on a flash drive.
These sentences are often stacked by prosecutors charging each image as a separate crime. The result are sentences far in excess of manslaughter. It also forces defendants to plead guilty rather than face life in prison — even if they insist that they are innocent.
Source: Philly