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An unidentified South Australian Labor MP has charged with four counts relating to the acquisition and possession of child pornography.
The arrest comes after polling revealed that the state’s ALP was in serious trouble, with just 24 per cent of the primary vote. Analysts think it is unlikely that these charges will help Labor, with child pornography playing badly in key demographics like parents, young people, seniors, the mortgage belt, tradies, women and men.
For the MP in question, the arrest comes at a bad time in the election cycle. Psephologists believe it’s particularly dangerous to be charged with possession of child pornography if you have to face an election at any time in the future.
The episode highlights the dangers for any politician who stops doing what is popular and starts pursuing their own beliefs.
The arrest and charges were carried out as part of Operation Decimate, which is targeting internet child sex offences. Although ‘decimate’ is used in the common vernacular to indicate almost total destruction, the word comes to us from Latin, where it means merely to reduce by one tenth—welcome news indeed for those about to be outed as paedos.
