Wade Sanders: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia
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Line 5: ===Naval career=== A combat veteran of the [[Vietnam War]], where he served as Swift Boat skipper, PCF-98 On May 4, 2004, when [[Swift Boat Veterans Wade Sanders is the author of many published articles and opinion pieces in major newspapers and the Navy Institute Proceeding, and served as a columnist for [[Military.com]] and a television commentator on national security matters and the war in Iraq for [[NBC]] and [[FOX]]. Line 19: ==Personal== On December 22, 2008, Sanders pleaded to one felony charge of possession of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego. The pleas came six months after federal agents had served a search warrant and seized several computers at his San Diego home. They contained eight videos, one as along as 45 minutes, of child pornography.<ref>[http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/04/bn04sanders-hero-sentenced/?metro&zIndex=93729 San Diego Union-Tribune]</ref> The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment "I got caught in the net," Sanders said, "I'm not the kind of person they were after." Sanders said he had downloaded the files as part of his research for an article on sexual exploitation of children in foreign countries. He said his work for the Clinton administration had included aiding victims of child sex abuse in the former Yugoslavia. "I have no sexual attraction to children whatsoever," Sanders said. "There was no evil intent." Sanders also said he didn't realize federal child pornography laws barred downloading or viewing the material even by researchers. He said that is why he decided to plead guilty. "I thought since my motives were pure and innocent, that would make a difference," he said, but agreed he was technically guilty of the crime.<ref>[http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/dec/23/1m23porn01354-veteran-admits-acquiring-child-porn/?zIndex=26832 San Diego Union-Tribune]</ref> On May 4, 2009, Sanders was sentenced to 37 months in prison. At his sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessandra Serano said an analysis of the seized computers showed that Sanders viewed all kinds of pornography frequently, and that the child pornography was downloaded to his computer as early as 2003. There was no evidence to show he was engaged in a long-term research project, which undercut Sanders' central claim. The sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Whelan was far less than the maximum term of 10 years, and less than the 63 months federal prosecutors were seeking. The U.S. Attorney's office recommended that Sanders be sent to a federal facility that treats sex offenders whose crimes did not include contact with victims.▼ At his sentencing, Sanders took responsibility for his actions, but also insisted he downloaded child pornography videos as part of a research project. "This is the hardest moment of my life,” Sanders told the judge. He said his years serving during the Vietnam War were a "a walk in the park" compared to this. He said he was not a pedophile, which several mental health experts who examined him had concluded was true. "I know what I was doing, and I know why I was doing it," Sanders said, emphasizing that his interest was scholarly and not for arousal.<ref>[http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/may/04/bn04sanders-hero-sentenced/?metro&zIndex=93729 San Diego Union-Tribune]</ref><ref>[http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/wade-sanders-a-former-deputy-assistant-secretary-of-the-navy-in-the-clinton-administration-was-sentenced-today-to-three-yea.html L.A. Times]</ref> ▲On May 4, 2009, Sanders was sentenced to 37 months in prison. At his sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessandra Serano said an analysis of the seized computers showed that Sanders viewed all kinds of pornography frequently, and that the child pornography was downloaded to his computer as early as 2003.
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