Kid's 'new' MP3 player was preloaded with smut

'I wish I could take the thoughts out of her head'

By John Leyden • Get more from this author

Posted in Music and Media, 31st December 2007 16:25 GMT

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A US father got a lot more than he bargained for when he bought each of his three kids an MP3 player from Walmart for Christmas. One of the devices was preloaded with pornography and explicit songs.

"Within ten minutes, my daughter was crying," Daryl Hill, the ten-year-old's father, told AP. "I wish I could take the thoughts and images out of her head."

It seems that the offending MP3 player - manufacturer unknown - had previously been purchased by another customer, who downloaded smut onto the product prior to returning it to the store. Somehow, and contrary to Walmart policy on returned goods, the product was then resold as new by a Walmart store in Sparta, Tennessee.

Walmart, which has launched an investigation into the incident, has offered to replace the tainted MP3 player. Hill is dissatisfied with the offer and has kept the product while he consider whether or not to sue the retailer. In the meantime he's bought his daughter a new MP3 player. ®

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