$734,000 U.S. Study of Sex Magazines Hit

Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum attacked the Justice Department today for approving a $734,371 grant to a former songwriter for “Captain Kangaroo” to study the images of children in three popular sex magazines.

The Ohio Democrat called the grant to researcher Judith Reisman “off the wall” as well as a waste of taxpayers’ money at a time Congress is trying to slash the budget deficit.

The grant has come under scrutiny since it was first disclosed a year ago that Reisman received government money to study how Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler portray children in pictures and cartoons.

Fairy Tale Figures

The study also calls for taking a look at whether the magazines print sexual portrayals of children with such fairy tale figures as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Santa Claus and Snow White.

“I don’t believe I’m alone in indicating a keen sense of disappointment over the way funds for the Office (of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) are being spent,” Metzenbaum said.

Metzenbaum made his comments at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on juvenile justice on the operations of the Justice Department office, which handles projects involving juveniles.

“I have read these magazines myself. We’ve had them at these hearings,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the subcommittee. “I have never seen a picture of a crime being committed on a child.”

Reisman has seven full-time employees handling the study and 12 part-time data analysis employees.