CSAM & Predators - A CP defense: Under the influence of testosterone

Here is some information about an Arizona ICAC Task Force case that was recently adjudicated. The Arrest In 2004, Keith Alan Jarrett, age 50, was arrested for possession of Internet-traded child pornography. Jarrett admitted to his crimes and said that he knew that child pornography was illegal.

Jarrett immediately blamed his collection of child pornography on prescribed testosterone injections that had been given to him by a physician. The injections, he said, turned him into a “sexual superman.” An Alleged Medical Problem According to a letter later written by Jarrett, the testosterone injections had the following effect: The shots slowly consumed me. They turned me into a mad man, with uncontrollable sexual urges. At the time I was oblivious to it because I felt great and was now dependent on them. I felt like a sexual superman. I discovered Online chat rooms. My sexual urges now turned to the internet. I started spending every waking moment in chat rooms, opening any and every link that chatters posted. I was going through profiles looking for porn. I was masturbating constantly, 6 or 7 times a day, sometimes all day long if situation allowed it. I was in there night and day, watching web cams, reading nasty conversations, collecting photos, and masturbating. And to say there was some child porn and other inappropriate photos being posted in chat rooms, would be an understatement. They were every where. 

 The Explanation Jarrett’s attorney began to build a defense around the testosterone-injection causation theory. The attorney, Antonio Zuniga, consulted with Dr. Richard Krueger M.D. of the Columbia University Medical Center Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Krueger examined 12 documents related to the Jarrett case including reports by physicians, a polygraph operator and Mr. Jarrett himself. 

Dr. Krueger never personally interviewed Jarrett and did not review the police reports documenting the investigation. Dr. Krueger authored a letter that Jarrett’s defense counsel used in his defense. In the letter, Dr. Krueger said that Jarrett had a history of being sexually victimized as a boy by an adult, and said that the history of victimzation could increase also his predisposition to view child pornography. Dr. Krueger also documented the findings of others who said that Jarrett suffers from depressive disorder, alcohol abuse, and hepatitis C. According to Dr. Krueger, Mr. Jarrett “engaged in his acquisition of child pornography while under the influence of testosterone.” 

Here is an excerpt from a letter by Dr. Krueger to Antonio Zuniga, lawyer for Keith Jarrett: It is my opinion, with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that Mr. Jarrett during the period from approximately January of 2003 through November 2004 developed an excessive sexual drive which resulted in, among other things, his acquisition of child pornography, as a result of receiving excessive dose of testosterone from his medical physician. It is also my opinion, with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that without these testosterone injections, Mr. Jarrett would not have engaged in the acquisition of child pornography. It is also my opinion, with a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that even with an admission of guilt to crimes involving possession and/or distribution of child pornography that Mr. Jarrett’s risk of actually abusing a child is remote, and that he could be safely managed in the community. 

The Sentence Jarrett decided not to try his unusual defense before a trial court or a jury. On June 14, 2007 Jarrett waived trial and plead guilty to two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor (child pornography) in Maricopa County (AZ) Superior Court. 

He was sentenced to five years incarceration, lifetime probation, registration as a sex offender, monitoring by a global positioning device and prohibition from consuming alcohol.