A Palm Coast man drove to the Kim C. Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell on Tuesday morning to be sentenced to 3½ years in prison on 10 counts of possession of child pornography.
But instead of walking into the courthouse, XXXXXX XXXXXX, 47, remained in his truck and apparently shot himself to death outside the courthouse, according to a release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The sentencing was scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday. XXXXX instead called 9-1-1 as he sat in his truck according to the phone call released by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. In the call, XXXXXX calmly tells the dispatcher where his body can be found. “I’m at the Flagler County Courthouse, I drive a white Toyota pickup truck and that’s where you’ll find my remains,”
Walking Dead Man for 21 years here
LE should quit sitting by their phone watching CP while waiting for snooping neighbors and internet providers to call with information wrapped up in a nice bow about individuals watching underage porn in the privacy of their own homes, waiting to get a warrant and arrest them, and instead go after the criminal elements PRODUCING the illegal child porn!
If they stopped the producers they can reduce Child Porn. They do nothing to stop it by just arresting viewers so they can pat themselves on the back and make more federal money for arrests. How often have you read or heard about the Producers of child porn being arrested?? Never, sound about right?
Joe
A lot of this porn is filmed overseas in countries like Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Baltics etc. So going after them is next to impossible. And getting the cooperation of some or any of those countries is usually Like the Borg say “Resistance is Futile”.
Producers of CP get 15-30 years in the feds. Producers in Ukraine and elsewhere have been arrested also, as it is a criminal act in most countries.
In the US, you read about this DAILY, if you google it daily.
Unfortunately, prosecuting producers won’t stop production any more than prosecuting viewers will stop the viewing. That’s because about 95% of reported sex crimes are perpetrated by someone who does NOT have a criminal record. We tend to forget that when discussing CP producers on this forum.
“It is unfortunate that rather than accept responsibility for his crimes Arter decided to take his own life,” This from a guy who just got done saying no one should be allowed to live in his county if he had his way. His ordinances don’t allow for him, Arter, to take responsibility AND make amends to his victims and family and himself. It is exactly the behavior of this Sheriff that pushes people to the brink. I am so angry. RIP.
They’re a little upset that Arter will be one less person on the SOR that they can harass with home check ups and push into homelessness.
Maestro
He will be violated for not reporting. Since they cannot find him, maybe they will harass his family. Remember, no one escapes registration, even in death.
Very true. He’s not revenue for the COUNT(y).
Exactly. Does everyone here realize the insanity of this statement by law enforcement?
“It is unfortunate that rather than accept responsibility for his crimes Arter decided to take his own life,” according to a statement from Staly. “Our Cybercrimes Unit did an excellent job building a strong case against Arter and he knew he was likely going to prison. It is unfortunate this was the solution he chose, which will again affect innocent people.”
What LE is saying here is that he took the easy way out, rather than face his terrible crimes of looking at some underage pictures….
This is the insanity that pervades law enforcement in Florida. And they don’t even realize it…
I agree. There did not appear to be a comment section for this story, but I have sent my comments straight to the journalist and posted them on our Facebook page. Sheriff Staly is a danger to the citizens of Flagler Co. Nothing happened to warrant his new SO ordinance in Flagler Co. He did it just because he could. What else will he do just because he can?
He knew what was awaiting him inside that court room and it was not sympathy. He is not the first person to do that and probably won’t be the last. Many can do the time they are sentenced to but it is that life on the registry that breaks most.
Unfortunately, sometimes people looking at porn are sentenced to more time than someone who actually had physical contact with a minor. The system is broken. We house more prisoners than just about any other country. I found this on the statistics site
“Although the US has been discovered to make about 5% of the world’s population, it tends to be leading when it comes to having the most prisoners.”
This is and was bound to happen eventually. People are coming to understand just how punitive these laws really are, and the consequences that we face everyday. It’s sad for this to happen, but it shows just how far someone will go to not give up on their freedom from oppression.
Sad days in America…This sums it up – death by your own hand is preferable to being a target in prison and/or ending up on the hit list for life!
I am so grateful I did not choose the way out that he did.
If only he could’ve had second thoughts, down the road he’d at least be thankful to be alive.
I have my complaints about life, but it sure beats being dead, by a long shot.
Comments open beneath the article.
Can’t believe I actually agree with Staly’s statements here.
Thank you, Jacob. I could not find a comment section yesterday, but I just checked again and found it.
I believe you agree with it.
It’s pretty disingenuous of Staly to lament the man’s suicide after requesting and receiving a county ordinance to effectively banish sex offender registrants from the county. I’d bet he’s privately celebrating that Arter took his own life and wishes all other registrants would follow suit.
Well put, Dustin
Florida Legislature is celebrating, as they got just what they wanted when they passed these draconian laws designed for the defendant to see that there is no hope for any type of productive and contented life after inclusion to the registry.
Hey Joe. If you want a productive and contented life then don’t have sex with children!
This isn’t the place to bring up ‘sex with children.’ Sicko.
Joe doesn’t even know you, and I don’t know you, but if you imagined ME doing such a thing, as you have done with Joe, oh, man…
This is our Troll – he likes to show up every so often.
Why waste your bandwidth on idiots? There are plenty of places for the dregs of society to speak their “minds”, lol. No need to pollute here.
Yes Jerry Reaves…You May Define the Definition of a ‘TROLL’
…..Remember, ‘TROLL’, Back in Folklore Days?!??…
So when a Troll Traveled Through a Covered Bridge; Do You Remember what happened to the said Troll?
Perhaps You Should Read History
Make it a Great Day!