Councilors sign letter condemning colleague

Six of Boston's 13 city councilors signed a letter condemning Councilor Chuck Turner for holding a news conference this week in which he displayed sexually graphic photographs that he said depicted US soldiers raping Iraqi women.

The letter, addressed to the press and public, described Turner's actions as "hasty, of dubious intent, highly inflammatory and embarrassing to those of us who support our troops."

"We, the undersigned members of the Boston City Council, disassociate ourselves from the disgraceful actions of Councilor Turner," the letter reads.

At a press briefing Tuesday, Turner said the public had a "right and responsibility to see the pictures," which he said showed US soldiers raping Iraqi women. A Globe story about Turner's news conference noted that the photographs contained no evidence indicating that the people in them were US soldiers or that the photos were taken in Iraq. At his news conference, Turner said he did not know the origin of the photos.

The councilors said they verified that the images matched photographs on a pornographic website.

"I was outraged," said Councilor Paul J. Scapicchio. "Chuck Turner speaks only for himself when he exhibits pornographic pictures and tries to paint a negative picture of the brave men and women who serve this country. I think we as a council are a very patriotic group."

Councilor Jerry McDermott said Turner's actions were "deplorable."

"The people of this city, and certainly our troops serving abroad, deserve better," he said.

The letter was also signed by councilors James M. Kelly, Maureen E. Feeney, John M. Tobin Jr., and council President Michael F. Flaherty.

Turner, who chairs the council's Human Rights Committee, did not return phone calls to his office yesterday.

In an editor's note yesterday, the Globe apologized for publishing a photograph taken at Turner's news conference that showed the pictures.