TSA passenger screener caught distributing child porn images

Sunday, April 24, 2011 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: TSA, child porn, health news

(NaturalNews) A Transportation Security Administration screener at Philadelphia International Airport was arrested last week on charges of distributing child pornography, adding another black eye to an agency already despised for the way its agents conduct passenger searches.

According to reports, Thomas Gordon Jr., 46, an agent who regularly screens - as in, pats down - airline passengers, was arrested by federal agents who were acting on a tip from the Delaware County district attorney.

Gordon was charged with uploading to the Internet several pornographic images of young girls using a half-dozen Facebook alias. Since he's been a screener for more than five years, it's safe to assume he has also patted down young girls as well during his career.

Specifically, according to the indictment, federal officials allege that Gordon acted "to upload and store images of sexual exploitation of minor children," and that he even posed in one photo he uploaded wearing his TSA uniform. In all, federal authorities - who began investigating Gordon March 10 - allege he uploaded about 104 such photos over a four-week time frame.

Interestingly - but not surprisingly - there was no mention in the indictment or the resultant TSA news release about the arrest that Gordon's job was to search passengers.

That, taken in context, makes perfect sense, given the TSA's growing reputation for X-rated pat-downs.

If it seems as though the "security" agency's woes are compounding at an alarming rate, you're right. It was just a few weeks ago a female TSA screener at an airport in New Orleans was videotaped patting down a six-year-old girl in a manner that, in another context, would be a chargeable offense.

But that's certainly not the first time that's happened. As Mike Adams has pointed out, TSA agents are becoming known for fondling, groping and otherwise inappropriately touching passengers of all ages, as well as planting evidence of drugs and other outrages.

Now, we have an agent accused of uploading salacious and lewd photos of young girls onto the Internet, as well as a picture of himself - in full uniform - for good measure. Does anyone see a pattern developing here?

Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano should stop justifying this behavior and act. Catching a plane in the U.S. should not be a sexually assaulting experience.