A taxpayer-funded initiative in California has enabled prisoners to access pornography and sexually exploit minors, according to an investigation into the state’s “digital equity” program.
Championed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, the program allocates tablets to inmates for educational purposes including Bible access and re-entry resources. However, the investigation revealed that dozens of death row inmates reported using the devices to watch pornography and engage in sexually explicit conversations.
Robert Maury, an infamous rapist and serial murderer from the 1980s, stated he received topless photos from a 22-year-old German psychology student. The student sent him the images with the hope that he would share his story for a class project.
Samuel Amador described alternating between watching short clips of his “family at the beach” and pornography delivered in 30-second intervals on the tablets. He said guards attempt to stop explicit messages but inmates find ways to bypass restrictions.
Nathaniel Ray Diaz, currently incarcerated in Avenal State Prison for sex crimes against a 12-year-old girl, allegedly used a tablet to engage in prolonged conversations with a minor, leading to new charges of child exploitation.
Douglas Eckenrod, a former California parole operations director, warned that the program is enabling widespread grooming. “I would bet my pension that there’s a vast amount of childhood pornography on the tablets,” he stated. “There are probably several thousand [children] that are currently being groomed.”
The initiative has allocated $189 million in taxpayer funds to provide inmates with these devices, according to officials who claim they serve as “tightly controlled education tools” to reduce recidivism.
