E-mail with porn stirs official gasps

Ronda Storms forwards an e-mail with a nude photo to other commissioners. Two ask if she violated county policy or the law.

By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 12, 2002

TAMPA -- Since she launched her campaign against obscenity on public access television, County Commissioner Ronda Storms has gotten lots of colorful e-mail.

But one she got Thursday morning -- the one with the sexually explicit photo attached -- so disturbed her that she decided to share it with fellow commissioners.

Not everyone appreciated the effort.

Throughout the neighboring offices at County Center came a domino-tumbling reaction of gasps, sighs and cries of shock as commissioners' aides opened their e-mail.

Now, two commissioners are asking whether Storms may have violated county policy, or worse, broken the law, by distributing what she herself considers obscene material.

"I think for her to share that with staff ... without any warning is really not consistent with Ronda's position in terms of not exposing people to illicit material without their consent," said Commission Chairwoman Pat Frank.

Frank's aide, Carol LePierre, was working alone in the office Thursday when she got the forwarded e-mail titled "My picture." The e-mail's author accuses Storms, who has been fighting to shut down a public access show that features graphic shots of nude women, of trying to control free speech. The author calls her a closet viewer.

The e-mail then asks "How's this for free speech?" above an attachment. LePierre opened the attachment and was greeted with a full-screen color photo of female genitalia.

"It wasn't what I was expecting," LePierre said.

The e-mail, forwarded to each of the 11 other aides on the floor, included no pre-emptive warning from Storms.

"For your information -- we received this e-mail this morning," Storms prefaced the message. "Please contact our office if you should have any questions."

Frank promptly contacted County Attorney Emeline Acton to inquire if it is against county policy to distribute objectionable material on county computers. Commissioner Jan Platt did the same and is asking whether, if the material is deemed obscene, Storms violated the law by distributing it electronically.

The spat has been escalating since Storms first objected to The Happy Show, which airs on the county's public access channel and includes similar close-ups of female genitalia.

One of her objections was that the show's producer failed to include required adult-content advisories before, during and after the show.

A week earlier, Frank and Platt were on the losing end of a 5-2 commission vote that gave operators of the station 24 hours to prove they hadn't breached the contract by airing The Happy Show. The station's operators, the nonprofit group Speak Up Tampa Bay, have since been found in breach.

Storms said she found the e-mail so objectionable she felt other commissioners should see it.

"I don't see how you can be intellectually honest when you say you support funding that and object to receiving it on your e-mail system," she said.

Platt said the two aren't comparable.

"Cable you can turn off," Platt said. "This is just foisted upon you, like it or not. I'm surprised she of all people would be distributing that electronically because of the legal implications."

Stacey Easterling, one of the commissioners who supported Storms in the vote to scrutinize Speak Up Tampa Bay, said she felt distributing the e-mail was over the top.

"What I find peculiar is that as much as Ronda tries to separate herself from these people, she's now putting herself in their shoes," Easterling said. "She's peddling smut."

Easterling is challenging Commissioner Jim Norman for an at-large commission seat. Norman and Storms have been allies on the commission.

Easterling jokingly told one of her staffers she hopes no one uses the image as a screen-saver.

"I could only imagine someone saying, "It's my First Amendment right,' " Easterling said.

Acton, the county attorney, is reviewing the matter. While county employees are advised not to use county computers to send objectionable material, Acton said she is not aware of any such policy affecting commissioners.

Acton sent a letter Thursday to State Attorney Mark Ober advising him of the e-mail and asking him to investigate whether the original sender broke any law.

An e-mail sent by a St. Petersburg Times reporter to the return address on the e-mail did not receive a reply.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright