TSA Blog Operators Blocking Post to Parent of Child Possibly Molested by TSO
 

A traveler posted the following in the TSA Blog, Gripes and Grins Par II.

"Duane said...
I need the name, email, and address for the Director of Federal Security at the Albany Airport to notify him/her of the egregious separation of my eight-year-old daughter from my girlfriend while going through security together. Then security patted my eight-year-old daughter down in a manner that I would be arrested for child molestation if I did it, while she was crying for her mother"

.................................................. .................................................. ..
I have tried several times to post a response to this person suggesting that if they truly believe that the TSO molested the girl that he should contact the local/airport police and file a complaint.

TSA Blog Operators have block all post from me in response to the OP.

They want the traveling public to trust TSA yet they do all they can to protect one of their own who may in fact be a child molester.

For the TSA types reading this, doesn't it make you proud to work for an agency that would cover up child abuse?

Alleged molestation, let's not forget.

..then why block it? Call it alleged..and let the truth fly. When TSA takes these tactics it just reinforces the public impression of the Goons....idiots and morons.

Any patdown of any person would be arrestable if conducted by a non-authorized person. If I arrested a minor (or was a TSO and did a screener patdown) and patted them down that's definite groping. It's just that I'm authorized to do so in the performance of my duties and where need arises.

Not saying that's what happened in this case, just another possibility.

I don't think enough detail will ever come out on this for even the FT jury to weigh in on.

However, I agree that if the poster's girlfriend's child appeared to be molested, then LE should be called in. The TSA should not object to that course of action being posted on their blog. IMHO it would give them more credibility.

Law dawg, I don't think a LE patdown could be considered "groping" as the term is usually understood.

Not to say that groping could not occur under guise of patdown.

Nor am I. My concern is that TSO has blocked all attempts to suggest to the OP on the TSA blog to consider contacting the proper Police Agency for that jurisdiction if he thought the actions of the screener were of a questionable nature.

TSA has for some reason not permitted my response. I have not violated in any way their posting rules.

The TSO may not have done anything yet TSA seems to be attempting to control communications that might cause embarassement for the agency.

I see the action of TSA Blog Operators as interfering with the timely report of a possible crime. Could this also be collusion in the commission of a crime?
If the TSO actions were found to be improper in a court could not the Blog Operators be charged with a felony?

This is why a screener is never, EVER to seperate a child from the adult. This has been shoved down our throats since day one...NEVER seperate a child from their adult companion.

All I know is that if it were my child that was allegedly molested, I would be raising some HUGE HELL;GINORMOUS HELL; and it would have started at the checkpoint. I would have had the screeners names, supes names, screening managers names, APD filing charges, FSD out of bed, videos being watched and everything else I could do. I would miss my flight and stay until the "molesting" screener was in jail! I would NOT be posting a quick snip of it on the TSA blog as my only attempt to do something about it.

No doubt about it that the poor girl was traumatized. We teach kids not to talk to strangers, don't take things from strangers, and never let strangers touch them in any way! She should NEVER have been seperated from the girlfriend.

Too bad the guy doesn't know to post on FT...he would get huge advice here!

(bolding mine)

My guess would be...No. The posting in question doesn't state that the girl was molested, he just says that it was done in a manner in which he would be arrested for child molestion. I don't know if he means that "if I were a TSO and patted down a child I would have been arrested for child molestion" or if he means " if I patted down some random small child at the grocery store I would be arrested for molestion". Since he doesn't say much about it, it is hard to determine what happened. I think that there would need to be some kind of intent, but I bet LAWDAWG could clear this up better than I. Technically, the girl was scared, seperated from her adult, being touched by a stranger and probably felt molested. The screener should NEVER have seperated the child from the adult. I am sure the intent was not to molest; however, perception is everything.

Cee, If the TSO in question did seperate the child from the parents, and was alone with the child during a hand screening then TSA has some major problems to overcome. Even if nothing happened the TSO will be unable to defend their actions. This is one situation that being proved quilty seems to have some latitude in favor of the child. He said, she said and Dad said = prison.

I suspect that TSA has contacted this person and is trying to resolve all issues while keeping the story out of the public eye. This is exactly why the public must know what is happening and stay alert for cover-ups by federal officials.

I hope some newsperson picks up the story and investigates.

The TSO is an idiot! You NEVER seperate a child from their adult, NEVER! Anything that happens from there is the TSO's own idiotic fault. Even if it wasn't stated in our directives, any person with any common sense could figure out that you do not seperate a child from their adult. NEVER

I find this one interesting, based only on a relatively recent experience on a DL flight where an employee's wife and child were on the plane. One of the FAs offered to take the kid up to the cockpit, something that was normal back in the day (though I'm pretty sure we were still on the ground this time). The true southern belle wife said something to the kid to the effect of it is OK to "trust an adult in uniform." Considering what we know happens in reality, that scares me. A LOT. Certainly I'm not suggesting anything improper happened in the cockpit on that visit ("Joey, have you ever been to a Turkish prison?" :D) but the idea that it is OK to trust those in uniform isn't all that foreign, so having the kid go along with whatever the TSO did isn't all that surprising to me.

this reminds me of the incident where the three or four year old boy was on the "no-fly" list, and they called over bunch of law enforcement types, which obviously traumatised the child, so the mother tried to hug him but was instructed "step away from the suspect."

Really, until some of these LEOs start getting long prison sentences for this kind of thing, it's going to be a part of flying.

I agree that the poster said that if he had touched a child under different conditions and in such a manner, he would have been arrested for molestation. He was not alleging molestation.

On the TSA website it says in bold print:

There is not a word about patdowns, although there is the obligatory "we will have to clear an alarm" statement.

Children are taught nowadays to never let a stranger touch them, then we take them through an airport where apparently a stranger can touch them pretty much anywhere they want.

I think everyone with children should teach their kids to scream blue bloody murder if they are ever touched by a screener. :D

In the past, in this forum, we have had screeners tells us that they are not allowed to touch children and that children under a certain age are not supposed to be SSSSd. After that post, several of us came back with links to pictures of children being patted down.

There's now a comment over there (I believe from an F/Ter) that mentions all 3 of his young children, including a 9-month old, being patted down.

So, I ask you screeners who know whereof you speak are young children patted down on a regular basis?

Are all babies and toddlers in diapers patted down in the diaper area? I've seen old folk in wheel chairs and probably wearing adult diapers felt up in that area.

Let me begin by stating very clearly... I HATE SCREENING CHILDREN.

If a child alarms the metal detector, yes they have to be screened. If a child is traveling with an SSSS, yes they (and their belongings) need to be screened. Previously (previous to the orange alert, I believe) if a child was traveling with an SSSS, we only had to screen their belongings. It was changed to include the child. (I have had many debates with superiors over the wording of the SOP in this area, to me it isn't clear, but of course I have to go with their interpretation). If a child under 12 is the only person traveling in the group with an SSSS, we can deselect the child. If the child is over 12, does not have an SSSS but their adult does, they do not need to go thru the SSSS screening. It is confusing,(not to me) because there are a lot of exemptions and most TSO's, though they should be familiar with the exemptions, are not. If a mother is carrying her child thru the metal detector and it alarms, both mother and child need to be screened.

Everyone has to be screened...children, elderly, disabled, etc. Some screeners lack tactfulness in these situations, and that is when problems occur.

A blog is not an appropriate place for a discussion about a possible case of child abuse. TSA management and if appropriate the police should be involved.

A blog entry is not the reporting of a crime. It's a blog entry. A report of a crime is more substantive. It involves face-to-face contact. One has to swear that their complaint is true and correct and acknowledge that there are penalties for lying. That sort of thing.

Anyone can write anything on a blog.

Hence my previous comment. And I should add, anytime we agree on something it almost has to be correct. :)

If it's done right it is, my friend.

A real patdown will involve hand-to-genitalia contact. Weapons are hidden everywhere, not just approved places. :)

If I walked up to someone on the street and started feeling all parts of their body, that's assault if it's not done with their permission. If it's a child, then we go that direction. What allows a TSO or LEO or whatever to get away with it is need in performance of their duties.

:D

I hadn't gotten to it as I was taking them in order. But now I have and -

Oh. My. God. :eek:

What more can be said. ;)

Oh but they will! They're all SME's in this area. :rolleyes: (wondering how many pages this will roll on to)

Anytime you get onto a moderated message board, blog, etc., you're subject to the rules of the powers that be and while not 'reasonable', it's their playground so if you don't like the rules, even the unwritten ones, don't play.

I don't agree with the 'open' premise of the TSAs blog, but I will agree with their right to filter what they want from the content, albeit to make themselves look better.

Write your congressman/senator or even meet with them. Seriously doubt they'll do anything but if the only action one takes is venting here, you're not getting anywhere.

A comment on Duane's post re his daughter's patdown has finally been published, with the advice that he contact the police.

Having basically given up flying because of the TSA and therefore not getting to see for myself what goes on at checkpoints as much as I used to, I'm getting the idea that pat downs are becoming more "thorough", i.e., rather than just patting down the legs from mid-thigh down, it sounds as if the TSA might be leaning towards a more LE-like procedure; women's breasts might actually be getting squeezed; the palms of the hands being used rather than the back of the hand. I thought that you only got patted down if the HHMD beeped - but it's sounding to me as if everyone needing a secondary is getting a pat down. What other reason could there possibly be for touching a child in such a manner?

(I agree with doober who suggested that parents teach their kids to scream if they are touched by a screener. Get the attention of everybody in line as to what is happening to our children in airports.)

The TSA website says that a person who accompanies someone with "hidden disabilities" can be with that person during the secondary search:

It certainly seems to me that this should be SOP when it is required to pat down a minor child.