Dad (Jack A. Buckner II), Daughters And Porn Make For Tricky Legal Case

Crystal Buckner was waiting in a therapist's office last summer for her 8-year-old daughter to finish a session. The child had been having behavior problems — anger, acting out. At the end of this session, the therapist came in looking grim.

"The counselor put the kids in one room and called me into her office and said, 'Crystal, you need to sit down,' " Buckner recalls. Buckner's other daughters were there for counseling, too.

Buckner says her daughter had told the counselor that late one night at her father's house, he'd shown his daughters pornography on a computer.

"When he called them over, it was a live webcam of a woman by herself and Daddy was typing to her what to do," Buckner says.

The live webcam action was followed by exhibitions of other online video pornography. The pornography was all adult. The girls reported that their father, Crystal's former husband, Jack A. Buckner II, said he was showing them the pornography because sex was something they needed to know about.

The girls kept it secret for months, but the 8-year-old eventually told her therapist — and after informing Crystal Buckner, that therapist called child protective services in northern Texas.

Tricky Language In The Texas Penal Code

The case landed on Randall County District Attorney James Farren's desk. And there it sat for months, a legal conundrum.

"It is not illegal to possess adult pornography," he says. "It is not illegal to look at adult pornography regardless of how we may feel about it morally or philosophically."

But Farren wanted to prosecute the father. The Texas penal code allows prosecution of anyone who sells or shows harmful material to a minor. And the law stipulates that pornography is considered harmful. The law was written in 1973, but it came with one important caveat, Farren says: It doesn't allow prosecution when the child was accompanied by a consenting parent or guardian.

In this case, not only was the minor accompanied by a parent during the exhibition, but the parent was the exhibitor. Nevertheless, Farren says he was willing to take his chances with a West Texas jury anyway. But there was a hitch.

"If the judge is made aware of that, I won't even get to a jury," he says. "He'll give me an instructed verdict."

Farren is unhappy with the language in the Texas penal code. So he has charged the father with a different crime — child endangerment, a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. To get a conviction, Farren will have to prove the father put his daughters in "imminent danger of mental impairment" by showing them pornography. It may be a long shot, the D.A. says, but he's going to try.

The Issue Of Parental Intent

George Dix, a law professor at the University of Texas, is less enthusiastic about the state's putting itself in the middle of this situation.

"It may be impossible to define with precision what a parent should be permitted ... to provide to a child in the course of 'the talk,' " he says.

Dix says cases like this one speak to the issue of parental intent: Was the father really trying to educate the girls, or was it sinister? Educational intent is also a defense under Texas law. This can be a tricky area for a prosecutor to wander around in. And then there's the fact that parents who are divorced are often hostile to one another and motivations can be twisted.

"These situations often involve disputes as to parental rights," he says. "They pose a difficult problem for prosecutors in deciding whether or not there really is a public reason for prosecution."

Indeed that is the case here. In the aftermath of the alleged porn revelations, Crystal Buckner is seeking to alter the child-custody agreement, which previously had the three girls living with their father.

Jack Buckner II declined to comment about the case. His current wife, Jennifer Buckner, told NPR the exhibition was a one-time occurrence. She said her husband knew the next day he'd made a mistake attempting to educate his young daughters by using computer pornography.

And District Attorney Farren knows that in conservative West Texas, people are wary of aggressive government intrusion into matters that could be seen as private.

But he says his constituents are disgusted by the case, and so is he.

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Jack Buckner II has been charged with child endangerment after forcing his 8 and 9-year-old daughters to watch online pornography, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

The father is accused of placing his daughters in danger of imminent mental impairment by showing them porno while they were visiting him. The girls' parents are divorced and shared custody of them.

"I'm sad because it's my daughters' dad," said the girls' mother, Crystal Buckner. "I'm glad that justice is going to be done and no one else can do what my ex-husband did. Even though he did do this he's still their dad."

Randall County District Attorney James Farren said last year that he wanted to charge Buckner using the state's indecency law but believed he couldn't because the law allows parents to show "harmful material" to their children.

Farren charged Buckner with two counts of child endangerment on Monday after Texas' attorney general advised Farren that he could prosecute the Amarillo father using a different statute.

Crystal Buckner says the incident happened early last year at her ex-husband's home. Her three children were watching a movie, though the youngest one had fallen asleep.

Buckner said the girls' father was at his computer and told the girls to come look at what was on the screen.

If convicted, Buckner faces up to two years in state jail and a $10,000 fine on each count.



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A prosecutor has filed child endangerment charges against a Texas man accused of forcing his two daughters to watch online pornography.
Jack A. Buckner II is accused of placing his 8- and 9-year-old girls in danger of imminent mental impairment by showing them porn at his Amarillo home.
Randall County District Attorney James Farren initially wanted to file charges using the state's indecency law, which apparently was written so as to protect the privacy of parents who want to teach their children about sex. The law states that parents can't be prosecuted for showing "harmful material" to their kids.
Farren on Monday charged Buckner with two counts of child endangerment instead.
Buckner's wife said Tuesday that he had no comment. She said he does not have an attorney.

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This "Father" would have been sexually abusing them next. (if he has not already) He was priming them. I hope the child endangerment charge prevents him from contact with his and everyone else s children.

Randall County District Attorney James Farren said last year that he wanted to charge Buckner using the state's indecency law but believed he couldn't because the law allows parents to show "harmful material" to their children.

WHAT???? There is a law somewhere that says it is legal for a parent to cause harm to their child????

Welcome to Texas!!

A law passed in the 70's should have been revised at least a decade ago. The Texas Governor, Rick Perry, is an idiot. And, correct me if I am wrong but didn't we have a Texas Governor who became President? And wasn't his father President, too? And aren't they both from Texas????????

I cannot believe this! Yet, God help you if you are caught with marijuana in Texas!

As far as Ms. Buckner, she sounds like an excellent mother who, even though she is doing the right thing, feels badly because this is her children's father who faces prison time. IMHO, I doubt he will do any prison time. In fact, I will be shocked if he gets probation.

This law has GOT to be changed and I am writing to every State Senator and Representative in Texas.

I just emailed Kay Bailey Hutchinson, John Cornyn, and Gov. Rick Perry. I copied and pasted the first post on this thread with my comments.

It's worth a shot.

Texas is like a different country! I agree this guy was on the road to abusing his children. He is definitely not normal. I dont hold out much hope for justice, as usual.

Texas is like a different country!

That, my dear Artgal, is an understatement!!!!

Yee Haw!!

We now have a follow up on an Amarillo man accused of child endangerment.


Jack Buckner, Jr. was arrested and bonded out Friday on $7,500 bond for each of the two charges he faces.

Buckner admitted showing his two young daughters pornography.

The Randall County District Attorney says Buckner put his children in imminent danger of mental impairment by showing them the images.

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It is one thing to talk about sex with your children as a natural attraction between tow people that care about one another.

It is entirely out of your friggen mind crazy to show them a video of a woman masturbating.
I agree that this would probably lead to more turn ons for the father involving the girls.