Child pornography: is it possible to trust the Tanner method?
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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The method, often used to determine the sexual maturation of girls, can not be the main criterion in the trials of child pornography cases.
So, at least, believes a group of children's endocrinologists, who conducted a study of more than 500 photographs of the chest of photomodels, filmed for the popular magazine Playboy.
"People are often judged for what I am inclined to call a felony of bad taste," says Dr. Arlan Rosenblum, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. "They download pictures that are not very attractive, but that's not illegal."
Often law enforcement agencies initiate a criminal case against a man who allegedly uploaded a photo of a minor to the network, but the girls can not determine the exact age.
In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, Dr. Rosenblum and his colleagues write that they were asked to study "547 images of nude girls who appeared monthly in the Playboy magazine from December 1953 to December 2007," because the doctor Rosenblum had seen in the so-called Tanner Scale used in court proceedings, shortcomings.
The Tanner scale is a system of maturation of children, adolescents and adults, described on the basis of observations of changes that have occurred with the appearance of a person.
Dr. Tanner published his research in 1969 and identified five stages of development of the individual to the stage of maturation.
The author of the methodology himself categorically disagreed with the fact that his table was used to determine the age of children who participated in filming of child porn.
He warned that the chronological age may not correspond to this classification.
Experts, having studied the pictures of models, concluded that most of the girls from the cover can be attributed not to adult women, but to immature girls.
In 2010, even a scandal erupted over the actress, who starred in a porn film. The charge was that Lupe Fuentes appeared in the film before she reached adulthood. The controversial situation was solved by the heroine of the film, who came to the courtroom with an identity card. It turned out that the shooting was legal.
"In addition, do not forget that with the help of modern technologies, for example, photoshop, you can correct the body beyond recognition. Therefore, the Tanner method can not be called universal for use in forensic purposes, "says Rosenblum.
Rosenblum noted that the Playboy models were hardly a good example for applying the Tanner method to them, since the profession obliged them to take extra care of their own body. Because they could look younger than their years.
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