Richard O'Neil, 21, has been horrible, and the Aspergers made him do it.

[Unamused Cat]

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg107/snarkyphotos/RichardONeil.jpg
Richard O'Neil (I think he goes by the name Rick O'Neil)

21-year-old Richard O'Neil is accused of committing what police call horrible crimes.

"Downloading and possessing disturbing images of child pornography on his personal home computer", says Police Spokeswoman Lynn Hightower.

Investigators say they tracked the illegal images through O'Neil's IP address on his computer and court documents show the videos contained images of adult men engaging in sex acts with young girls. Right now they say there is no proof the images are local but admit this is becoming a problem in the Valley.

Police say they found evidence that O'Neil had been downloading images for at least four years. Meantime, his attorney told the judge he had Aspergers syndrome and didn't know what he was doing but the prosecutors didn't agree.

"He did finally admit that he had been downloading the porn for three to four year and that his focus is on females eleven years or older", says Cathy Guzman. The judge lowered O'Neil's bond from 100-thousand to 25-thousand dollars and ordered him to stay away from minors and computers without proper supervision.

http://www.kivitv.com/global/story.asp?s=10128509

[petrina]

what's aspergers have to do with it? is he saying that he doesn't know right from wrong? aspergers is usually not associated with being mentally challenged. and besides, the mentally challenged go to prison all the time.

or is he saying that he had uncontrollable urges for kids? that doesnt fly either.

[Kalehue]

"He did finally admit that he had been downloading the porn for three to four year and that his focus is on females eleven years or older", says Cathy Guzman. The judge lowered O'Neil's bond from 100-thousand to 25-thousand dollars and ordered him to stay away from minors and computers without proper supervision.

I'm a little confused about the progression of events here. He finally admits that he's been downloading child porn for 3-4 years and they lower his bail?

[Rockin Ma]

Wonder how long mom's been bailing him out of trouble with the "Aspbergers" excuse.

[thatsmallgrl]

Richard O'Neil (I think he goes by the name Rick O'Neil)

I think he should go by the name Dick.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

Oddly enough, Aspergers could be part of the explanation... but even that does not excuse it. Aspergers deos not make you stupid. As an adult, he had to know this was unacceptable.

People with Asperger syndrome often display behavior, interests, and activities that are restricted and repetitive and are sometimes abnormally intense or focused. They may stick to inflexible routines, move in stereotyped and repetitive ways, or preoccupy themselves with parts of objects.

Pursuit of specific and narrow areas of interest is one of the most striking features of AS. Individuals with AS may collect volumes of detailed information on a relatively narrow topic such as dinosaurs or deep fat fryers, without necessarily having genuine understanding of the broader topic. For example, a child might memorize camera model numbers while caring little about photography. This behavior is usually apparent by grade school, typically age 5 or 6 in the United States. Although these special interests may change from time to time, they typically become more unusual and narrowly focused, and often dominate social interaction so much that the entire family may become immersed. Because narrow topics often capture the interest of children, this symptom may go unrecognized.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome#Restricted_and_repetitive_intere sts_and_behavior

It would be interesting to see how the lawyer says it's the Asperger's fault. It might explain the volume, but not the need for it to be child porn.

[Peeperann]

It would be interesting to see how the lawyer says it's the Asperger's fault. It might explain the volume, but not the need for it to be child porn.

Exactly. The majority of Asperger's patients have well over the normal IQ. They are very intelligent. I'm with Dakota, the amount could well have to do with his syndrome. But not the content.

I wonder how he had them ordered?? People with Asperger's usually have everything in amazing order. And what's weird is that most of them cannot stand to be touched. Yet he liked watching little girls get raped, hmmmmm

[Dakota Valkyrie]

I wonder how he had them ordered?? People with Asperger's usually have everything in amazing order. And what's weird is that most of them cannot stand to be touched.
It is not so much the physical touch - it is the "boundaries". Some have strict boundaries while others do not understand social and physical boundaries... as varied as people themselves. If he does have touch sensitivity, a photo is not likely to trigger it.

I wish someone would tell my niece that she should have amazing order. LOL Her housekeeping skills are one area they have been unable to help her in... although she is amazing with numbers and on her way to being a CPA.

Actually, it is not order so much as a need for "sameness" or predictability.

[Unamused Cat]

I'm a little confused about the progression of events here. He finally admits that he's been downloading child porn for 3-4 years and they lower his bail?

They should have no bailed him. Bah!

[PoongyPrincess]

WARNING: IMOCO Alert (In my own crazy opinion)

I think his lawyers would try to explain him collecting kiddie porn in the same way they'd explain the person obsessed with collecting camera numbers, even though the person knows nothing about cameras. According to the article in seems that people with Aspergers don't have much control over what fuels their obsession, as I'm sure more kids would rather memorize cars than camera numbers. In this man's unfortunate case, it was kiddie porn that his brain latched onto.

I wonder if they could plee bargain with him. Maybe something like, give us the names and addresses and websites of everyone you've talked to about child pornography. Or maybe hook him up to some monitors to see if he gets sexually aroused (which would indicate he's doing this for perverted reasons) or if he just lights up the Aspie areas of his brain (assuming there are specific areas for Aspergers, I don't know much about the condition). If the first then he should face jail. If the second, then he would need counseling and obviously a new obsession.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

WARNING: IMOCO Alert (In my own crazy opinion)

I think his lawyers would try to explain him collecting kiddie porn in the same way they'd explain the person obsessed with collecting camera numbers, even though the person knows nothing about cameras. According to the article in seems that people with Aspergers don't have much control over what fuels their obsession, as I'm sure more kids would rather memorize cars than camera numbers. In this man's unfortunate case, it was kiddie porn that his brain latched onto.

I wonder if they could plee bargain with him. Maybe something like, give us the names and addresses and websites of everyone you've talked to about child pornography. Or maybe hook him up to some monitors to see if he gets sexually aroused (which would indicate he's doing this for perverted reasons) or if he just lights up the Aspie areas of his brain (assuming there are specific areas for Aspergers, I don't know much about the condition). If the first then he should face jail. If the second, then he would need counseling and obviously a new obsession.
Nothing crazy in that opinion, Poongy - but that's just my opinion, so i may be crazy with you LOL

You bring up some interesting points. Most of what is discussed in the paragraph points to children. The Aspergers adults that I know have moved on beyond some of the obsessive-seeming things. Medication and therapies usually make an afflicted adult seem little more than an eccentric shy person (just my experience). I don't know how or if this guy was being treated.

If he had a "kiddie porn fixation", I wouldn't be surprised to to hear that others in his life knew about it. If he's that good at hiding it, it shows he knows it's wrong. If he knows it's his Aspergers, why didn't he seek help?

If this is an issue that has more to do with Aspergers and little to do with being a pedophile, it should not be difficult to prove to the court. Either way, we shouldn't take a chance with it. He needs help and/or jail. But they are interesting things to think about, Poongy, and I hope we hear the answers.

[angela]

What he needs is a sex specific therapist. They'll target this area of his obsession and try to "reform" him, if you will.

Aspergers can be very isolating. A lot of these kids never fit in with there peers and end up with out any "peer guiding".

[petrina]

i have no doubt the lawyers will say he collects the porn and it may not hold meaning for him. i dont doubt that somewhere he feels some kinship with either the girls or with his sexual awakening years and that is where he is stalled, sexually. especially if he has a mom that is making excuses for him instead of teaching him to cope and flourish - it is hard enough for AS peeps to navigate the world with all of us varied and unpredictible freaks in it.

still, he has to be taught that it is wrong, if he truly has not already. he is 21 now. the rules stand. do i think that they will let him off, yeah. but i hope that they scare the shit out of him and teach him what ELSE he should not be doing.

i am just not convinced there is someone in his life that will do this.