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San Francisco Kid Serve mural artist arrested for child porn

July 1, 2011

Federal agents arrested a Bay Area mural artist on child pornography charges and discovered offensive images imbedded in murals he created throughout San Francisco, including one he built with students at Sunset Elementary School. [The Bay Citizen]

The FBI arrested Anthony Josef Norris, 42, on June 2, for possession of more than 600 images of child pornography after officials from the school district discovered an offensive tile in his mural and reported him to police.

Norris was executive director of Kid Serve, a nonprofit that works with children to create murals in their schools and communities.

Norris first came to the FBI’s attention in July 2010 when an FBI agent in Minnesota monitoring an online bulletin board downloaded five videos containing child pornography that were posted by a user named “Spanky.”

The FBI traced the postings to Norris’ San Francisco address. They obtained a search warrant and when they arrived at his home in April he admitted downloading child pornography and said he’d been collecting it for a few years, according to court papers.

It wasn’t clear whether the alleged obscene tiles were reported before or after he came to the FBI’s attention.

Investigators said the images, which they refused to describe, appear in a small number of the more than 10,000 1-square-inch tiles placed in murals he created throughout the Bay Area.

“I think as an adult, you’d look at these tiles and see possibly, uh, some sort of sexual connotation to them,” said Mike Biel, commander of investigations for the FBI.

Investigators scoured 67 murals in San Francisco that Norris worked on and found 100 tiles they deemed inappropriate. The district removed tiles from three sites. Norris also worked in Oakland, San Rafael and Mill Valley; school districts in those cities have been notified.

Norris posted a $200,000 bond after appearing in court on June 23. The city has suspended Kid Serve pending an internal review.


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Hmmmm…let’s see, an “artist” that gets arrested for child porn and just happens to be the Executive Director of a non-profit organization called “Kid Serve” that works with young children. What could possible be wrong here?


This person is beyond sick.


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This is a disturbing story, at best . . .


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I use to go up to SF three or four times a month on business and was surprised almost everytime I went in one way or the other. One time I went up there and saw a guy dressed up in a dress with a cute little lady’s hat on. Fingernail polish and a hairy chest. Quite a sight for this country boy. He was talking to three suits in the financial district. At that moment my whole life flashed through my head and almost knocked me down. I hadn’t realized that some people had bounded so far out of the closet. Stopped me in my tracks. I couldn’t help but stare. I meant no offense, just couldn’t believe it.

Another time my wife and I were walking along shopping and behind us came this top-of-lungs-full-out-scream. We thought he must have been attacked but he was just screaming to scream. Must have been something horrible going on in his head, poor guy. I started to talk to him to see if I could help him but he looked right past me and kept up the screaming so I left him alone. God bless that poor guy and others like him. I have lots of other odd stories about SF but those two jumped out at me.

I no longer go to SF on business, thank God. I would rather stay home with all the bs that goes on right here in Atrashcadero thank you.


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“I think as an adult, you’d look at these tiles and see possibly, uh, some sort of sexual connotation to them,” said Mike Biel, commander of investigations for the FBI.


I think most visually illiterate adults (i.e. most Americans, plus the Taliban) could look at prehistoric cave art smudges and see possibly, uh, some sort of sexual connotation!


In this instance, no child was touched, assaulted or harmed in any documented manner. We have an artist who has engaged hundreds of school children in an artistic endeavor bringing beauty to their schools & parks, which will empower them to continue to strive to replace urban ugliness with beauty in their communities. It has given those kids an option from their idiotic and violent and now legal video war games. They have learned how to cooperate & work with each other in a focused way. They are using their hands and eyes and have built something enduring.


No child was harmed.


Instead of just replacing the supposedly offensive tiles, issuing a warning to the artist, and perhaps increasing supervision, this artist is now a criminal for life and permanently banned from the program and art he conceived and guided in it’s execution. He is a criminal for what was on his personal computer, in his home, for his own use.


Never forget that we are living under a police state. If they want to put you down, for any reason (and they are inventing new ones every second) they can and they will, whether you’re armed or not. Our best recourse is watchdog websites like this, and readers who are willing to be activists.


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I am not for anyone that artistically glorify sexually screwing babies or children.


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The Feds should already know this, I hope.

he is using 1960 “SUBLIMINAL” suggestion to promote child pronography.


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Also if the art work is done well enough, it will have some affects in children accepting it without understanding why they feel that way.


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Are you referring to “Sesame Street?”


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willie said: “ I am not for anyone that artistically glorify sexually screwing babies or children.”


Aren’t you are projecting a bit? You made quite a leap from the article text, to your implication as to what the artist actually did.


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R.Hodin


I have an engineering background, research the method since 1960 and see what they can do with subliminal technology. You’d be empressed.


As for this guy, I see a satanic application.

Just my hypothesis, what do you think?


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I still think you have a very fertile imagination. Not a bad thing, in general, but perhaps you want your imagination validated whereas you want the artist’s to be censured? Just an observation, not a judgement.


As to the engineering of subliminal images generally, are you remarking on their pervasiveness, their perniciousness, or their perversity?


Do we condemn their use across the board, or only when we detect their use for selfish and immoral purposes, and let all of the other millions of them pass by unnoticed and unremarked on?


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It’s really very simple.


When child pornography is embedded throughout an artist’s work for children to see over the course of generations, then you bet, buddy…censure is absolutely appropriate. The art world will survive, thank you, without this person’s “contributions.” What about this isn’t appropriate to you?


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For those who would argue that it wasn’t child porn, per se, discovered within those tiles, I submit you connect the dots. The police did.


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R.Hodin


I am tickled how you put it to me so mildly.

Its common knowledge that children learn approval or disapproval from adults.


If you are from a country where they approve of “S” like this, then I say it is okay for this guy to screw your child daughter while someone takes vedios of it to use in the child’s classroom and share its approval to the rest of the children. But in this present day and time regardless of where you are from, there is pretty much an interntioan prohibition against child pronography.


As for sublimial techniques, its just a fancy word for sneaking things or seeding things into you subconscious mind.


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Out of San Fran, who would have thought! Cesspool of immoral’s.


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Took the words right out of my mouth, Robert!


Just par for the course.


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Wow, two sort of crazy Bobs. Even though SF has a ‘far out’ reputation take a hard look and you will find that city is usually ahead of society in all things, ahead. Why do you suppose it is called ‘The City’?


Do I detect ignorant jealousy from the right?


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You guys are full of cr@p. I love SF. You think there’s no pervs in SLO? SF is a diverse beautiful city. You sound like redneck country bumpkins. Don’t spit your chew in my yard.


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