It's practically a requirement to love kids if you work on a show like Sesame Street. Fernando Rivas, age 59, loves them a little too much. The resident of Charleston, South Carolina was charged with the production, transportation and possession of child pornography.
Rivas is an intelligent person - that much is clear from his résumé. Educated at Julliard, Rivas' body of work includes 14 full-length musicals and the score for six movies. What's most shocking is that his steady stream of work seems to come from children's programming: Live5 WCSC reports that Rivas won two Emmy awards for his work on Sesame Street. He also won a Grammy award for his work on the "Elmopalooza" album, according to the New York Daily News. Rivas is also known for his work on the Disney Channel show "Handy Manny."
So what happened? Police searched Rivas' home on a lead derived from a child porn arrest in New Jersey. They found assorted images of a nude four-year-old girl on his computer. The girl was naked and in sexually suggestive positions. When asked about the images, Rivas admitted to police to taking the photos and sending them electronically to at least two others.
The Charleston Post and Courier reports that the Sesame Street composer pled not guilty to the charges and was released immediately after his hearing after posting 10 percent of a $300,000 bond. Rivas' attorney refused to comment on the charges against his client.
Beyond his connection to quality children's programming, it's scary to think that Rivas had regular access to children. He pioneered a jazz music program at the Porter-Gaud school and taught there from 2002 to 2009. Rivas taught upper school classes and was around high school students daily between those years. Officials aren't sure yet if his connection to the school and its students had anything to do with his lust for child porn.
It takes a sick individual to lust after children and an even sicker individual to act on those feelings. Certainly it's not a far cry to label Rivas as scum of the earth for producing and distributing kiddie porn. If Rivas indeed took the pornographic pictures of the poor four-year-old in question, what other acts has he committed that weren't documented on film? And what about the effects on his victim(s)?
A sole count of possession of child porn carries a maximum of ten years in South Carolina, never mind the other charges. In ten years, his victim will be 14 years old - certainly old enough to understand what happened to her. What will she feel if the pedophile who tormented her - a staff member of the beloved shows from her youth - is free to walk the streets again?
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Comments: 17
Let's see if you get any more traffic than she does. Hope not. Sorry, just tired of this sensational, yellow journalism. Good luck.
And if you look below, CJ and I have gotten a few things we are cheering about. Don't be a downer, help out or move on down the road.
Like pasted ornamentals
Waiting for winter
Is that better? I know, crazy, but trying to nice myself up.
If someone stands on a street corner every single day I walk to and from work and hurls the same claptrap, you get tired of it. And then one day, someone else is standing on the corner yelling the same claptrap, then you'll still be tired of it even if it better claptrap. Sorry if you're that second street corner hurler.
Actually, your work appears to be more complete and better propared than Chelsea's. She seems to simply rearrange a few sentences/ideas from the stories she links to and calls it 'commentary'.
And - I am not new to Gather, been here since the first few weeks it began. It still has a great many assets, but this new front page is unbelievable.
Go back to the front page and look for the story about the whale fossils creating a controversy between creationists and scientists. Then follow the link to the REAL story. There is NO mention of controversy.
I have nothing against you or your article. Nancy Grace is busy dancing right no anyway.
Are you a staff writer?
It's interesting how I can publish something like this and get a ton of views in a matter of an hour, but things more dear to my heart (I'm a sucker for animal rights and welfare, especially the few stories that end happily) barely get clicked on.
It's a matter of giving the people what they want and most people want the blood, guts, gore and sensation. It's easy to look at a guy like Rivas and say to yourself "that could have been me, that could have been my kid." And I think that's why it's a fascinating tale: because it could just as easily have been anyone.
Would you believe I'm not a fan of Nancy Grace?
You are obviously passionate about animals, as your other stories profess. I read the dog buried alive story you wrote (not my cup of tea, but a well written plea for the poor dog's suffering). Blessings on you.
You and I both would have been one of those neighbors digging the dog out. We have a bunch small dogs and one old big one. We are constently surrounded by love and our lives are never boring!
I agree that it would be great to organize your own home page - fantastic idea. I would love to be inundated with science, haiku and handy person advice. Maybe we should suggest it, I will!
As far as 'that could have been my child'. I certainly do think that when stories like Sandusky at Penn State come out. I am hoping that I can stay a big enough positive force in my grandchildren's lives to help them navigate the dangers of this world as well as the fantastic. Just two weekends ago, a man began talking to a grandson when I got up at Wendy's to get ketchup. I was only a few steps away and all I heard was, matter of factly, "I don't have to tell you my name."