A traffic stop on the West Coast brought down a rare type of criminal, a woman accused of making and possessing child pornography.

Here's the story: Kings Mountain woman, Crystal Dawn Johnson Smith, 21, allegedly took pictures of some preteen girls in sex acts back in 2008. Then she took off and ran from the charges for over two years.

Kings Mountain Police Capt. Derek Johnson said Smith sent the photographs to her boyfriend, a military servicemember who was stationed in California.

The photos weren’t posted online, but were “disseminated electronically,” Johnson said.

Police say the Naval Criminal Investigative Service interviewed Smith’s boyfriend and his case was handled in the military justice system.

Smith induced the girl to engage in “various and multiple sexual acts for the purpose of producing material containing a visual representation depicting this activity,” the arrest warrant states.

Johnson wouldn’t say whether Smith is accused of participating in the sex acts, but he did say investigators have no other sus-pects in the case.

The alleged incident took place on Oct. 9, 2008, and a warrant for Smith’s arrest was issued in April 2009. The Washington State Highway Patrol stopped Smith’s car on Sept. 20 and learned of the warrant through the National Crime Information Center database, Johnson said.

Cases about women involved in making child porn are rare. But it does happen. In Maryland, a 19-year-old woman, Patricia Ann Tasker, pleaded guilty to making a sexually explicit video of an 8-year-old she was taking care of.

During Operation Wire Breaker, in 2010, which was a nationwide child porn sweep, an Iowa City woman received two years in prison for possession of the illegal images.

Jennifer Marie Abbott of Iowa City pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on March 25 to possession of child pornography. Today Judge James E. Gritzner sentenced Abbott to 2 years imprisonment, 5 years supervised release and required Abbott to pay $100 to the victim’s assistance fund.

A minute entry for the March change of plea hearing noted that the Court “finds extraordinary circumstances present.”

It's estimated that more than 5 million pornographic pictures and videos of children are circulated on the Internet every day, according to a report on Oprah.com.

Say what you want about Gov. Beverly Perdue — make fun of her voice or her lack of media savvy — but at least she has the guts to stand for what's right.

Friday, Perdue said she will vote against the proposed ban on same-sex marriages. Way to go, Lady Gov.

Gov. Bev Perdue issued a statement Friday saying that she opposes the proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriages and civil unions that will be on the ballot in North Carolina next spring.

But she said that she did believe that a marriage is between one man and one woman. She said she opposes the amendment, which will be on the ballot on May 8, 2012, because of its potential effect on job recruitment in the state.

“My top priority is creating jobs. Too many people are out of work and I’ve heard from several business leaders who’ve told me that the proposed constitutional amendment will harm our state’s business climate and make it harder to grow jobs here,” Perdue said.

If the General Assembly paid attention to the people they were sent to Raleigh to represent, they'd know this constitutional ban is a waste of time.

Fifty-six percent of North Carolina residents oppose a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriages, according to a poll released Friday.

The Elon University Poll, which surveyed 594 adults statewide between Sunday and Thursday, found support for recognizing gay marriages growing in North Carolina. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

So, why is the government wasting time on this when the economy has gone to shit, unemployment is still high and let's not even talk about the roads.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police apprehended a suspect in yesterday's robbery and sexual assault.
From the police:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Detectives have arrested Daven Lorenzo Teeter, B/M, DOB: 03/07/1990 in relation to this case. He was arrested at the 1800 block of Vinton Street and charged with

1st Degree Rape, 1st Degree Sex Offense, 1st Degree Kidnapping (2 counts), Breaking and Entering, Armed Robbery, and Communicating Threats. Mr. Teeter will be transported to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office, where he will remain in their custody.

Shortly after midnight on this night, [Rae]Carruth and his pregnant girlfriend Cherica Adams were leaving the Regal Cinema in south Charlotte. They drove separately, so Adams was following Carruth in her car. Suddenly Carruth stopped in the middle of the road, causing Adams to do the same. A car pulled alongside her and gunshots erupted. She was struck four times — in the neck, chest, and abdomen. The car carrying the shooter, and two other men, sped off. Carruth drove away as well.

Bleeding profusely and holding on for dear life, Adams was able to call 911, telling the operator that she'd been shot and that she believed Carruth was involved. Police and paramedics arrived minutes later and Adams was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center. Doctors performed emergency surgery to deliver her baby boy, for whom she had already picked out the name Chancellor. He was born 10 weeks premature. After undergoing surgeries and fighting for her life, Adams managed to write notes for the police explaining what happened during her shooting, once again implicating her newborn baby's father.

If you remember, Carruth was a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers and is now serving a 19-year sentence for his role in Adam's murder.

Former Panther, the late Fred Lane, died in a domestic dispute with his wife. More accurately, Deidra Lane shot him with a 12-gauge shot gun.

Her 24-year-old husband, a running back for the Carolina Panthers who had recently been traded to Indianapolis, was shot to death as he came home from visiting his family in Tennessee. Police found Fred Lane's body just inside the front door of his house. His packed bag lay nearby, and his keys were in the door lock.

Prosecutors portrayed Deidra Lane as a cold-blooded and abusive woman who murdered her husband in hopes of collecting on a $5 million life insurance policy.

They said she waited for her husband to get home, shot him in the chest with a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, then walked through his blood and shot him again in the back of the head.

But the defense said Lane was a battered wife who killed in self-defense. Her lawyer said that during a three-day period while Lane was nine months pregnant, Fred Lane rammed his wife's head into a wall, broke open her lip and threw her down a flight of steps.

"He just got shot because he wouldn't leave me alone," a sobbing and screaming Lane told a 911 operator the day he was shot. "I kept telling him to stop."

And there are the other teams in the NFL where players have been arrested or charged with assault on a female.

But in those cases, there were never any suspension.

Last February, the NFL Player's Association did team up with Verizon Wireless to provide money to programs that focus on teen domestic violence programs.

George Atallah, NFL Players Association assistant executive director, external relations, said, "At the NFL Players Association, we are concerned not only about the well-being of our members but also about teen athletes and their development on and off the field. We are glad to partner with Verizon to bring this valuable training to our program and be part of the solution to end domestic violence.

Yet, no word on an effort to stop domestic violence with in the NFL. So, we'll applaud the NFL for wearing pink in October to raise awareness of breast cancer — but we have to question when the league will address domestic violence.