Wal-mart MP3 Player Comes with Free Pornby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 01 Jan 2008 06:52 AM Imagine giving your 10-year-old daughter a MP3 video player for Christmas only to find out that it was preloaded with video porn and explicit songs? That is just what happened to one family, according to the Associated Press (AP), who are reporting the story from Cookeville, Tennessee. According to the news report, Daryl Hill purchased an MP3 Player at a Walmart in Sparta, TN, as a gift for his young daughter. In fact, he purchased three of the players for his children. One of the devices was chock full of pornography that had his daughter in tears. "I wish I could take the thoughts and images out of her head," Hill told the AP news reporter. How did all of the nastiness get on to the player? The theory is that it was previously purchased by another customer, loaded with the pornographic images and songs, and then returned to the store. The Wal-mart store then sold the MP3 player as new. Selling used merchandise as new goes against Wal-mart Stores, Inc.'s policy. Stores are not supposed to return opened packages to the sales floor. But for some reason, they did. A company spokesperson told a local Nashville television station that the matter was under investigation. Wal-Mart did offer to replace the tainted MP3 player with a new one, but Hill declined the offer. Instead, he purchased a new player for his daughter elsewhere. He plans on holding on to the pornography-loaded device as evidence until he speaks with a lawyer. What would you do in this situation? Would you sue the store for traumatizing your child? Would you chalk the whole thing up to an innocent mistake? Dies this story make you more cautious about buying electronics or shopping at Wal-Mart? The other day, we were visiting an electronics store as a family and looking at HGTVs. To demonstrate the picture and sound quality, the sales associate put a DVD in the player. It happened to be the latest Harry Potter movie, and the opening scene scared the daylights out of my small children. Do you think that was appropriate for the sales associate to do? I'd love to hear your opinions! Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here. Related Articles: Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantcomputers tags User Comments  pamperedpeterson (13238) 01 Jan 2008 10:42 AMThe sales associate (yours) should have asked, but was probably more intent on getting the sale than actually connecting with you and sensing what you needed. That is a shame, and I would have made a fuss about it. As for the story (porn) making me more cautious??... I don't know. I don't purchase electronics anyway, so it doesn't really effect me that way. However, DH and I think the guy is smart for holding onto it. I hope he sues the pants off that store. (no pun intended)  Mary Ann Romans (26876) 02 Jan 2008 07:32 AMWe didn't purchase anything that day at the store, and in fact, we had second thoughts about purchasing a new television in the first place. I think the guy has a long road ahead of him if he is going to sue Wal-Mart. I imagine that the company has many resources.  Nicole Humphrey (15757) 04 Jan 2008 10:51 AMI'm not real sure about the whole Harry Potter thing. That is the video I see on display at a lot of places selling tv's. There are like 50 versions of it going on at the same time on every size screen imaginable. I guess because my children are older I never thought of it scaring them to be honest. My daughter has been watching Harry Potter since she was about 3 or 4 and I guess I have desensitized her to it (scary thought). More than likely the sales rep never even thought about it. The MP3 player - totally NOT cool. I cannot tell you how many times I have purchased something from Walmart that was SO obviously preused. It irks me and I know they DO put them back on the shelf - regardless of their store policy. I've lived all over the US and seen it at every wal-mart. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 04 Jan 2008 11:58 AMThe scene was of the black things that are sucking the life out of Dursley, and even my six-year-old son was terrified of it. Do you have any tips on how to tell if a sealed package has been pre-owned? Nicole Humphrey (15757) 04 Jan 2008 12:56 PMI wish I did. I have a friend who manages a store so I'll ask him what they do, 'cause I'm curious. Sorry your kiddo's were so terrified of it. I can see why that might be a problem for the younger generation. I think store clerks don't think of that, they are just trying to make a sale, and Harry Potter was 'the' big movie. Mary Ann Romans (26876) 04 Jan 2008 01:25 PMIf you find out about it, I would love to know! Maybe the stores could select a scene that wasn't scary and then replay it? Hmm, that might be more work than they are willing to do. There is a big Christian movement against Harry Potter, so I wonder if having that movie playing would actually hurt their sales. Community Tags Kids, MP3, pornography, walmart, Wal-Mart Discuss this article
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