Are they Sex Offenders, or just STUPID?

Dear Friend-

I'm sure everyone had heard in the news of teenagers taking nude pictures of themselves and sending it to other teens. This is starting to be a huge problem. Not only are these teens setting themselves up for embarrassment, but they are risking the chance of thier pictures getting on the internet and into the hands of pedophiles.

Preteens Unknowingly Contribute To Child PornSacramento County Sheriff's Department Finds Images On Sex Offenders' Hard Drives
http://www.kcra.com/news/18019985/detail.html

Not only are they risking becoming victims of child porn, they are also risking becoming sex offenders themselves.

Teens are now being charged with disseminating child pornography, and the reciepients of thier pictures are being threatened with child pornography charges also!

Teen Girl Faced Child Porn Charges for E-Mailing Nude Pictures of Herself to Friends
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/teen-girl-faces.html

These are not just isolated cases...

My question to you is,
Should teens be charged as sex offenders for sending nude pictures of themselves?

I have already spoken with a Senator on this issue, and I am interested in creating a law that specifically deals with this.

Are these kids sexually deviant, or just stupid?

How much of a price should they have to pay for what they have done?

A few thoughts to ponder before you answer:

This law should have gender equality, meaning you cannot treat the boys any different than the girls.

There are victims with this crime!
1) the picture taker is making themselves a victim of child pornography (but is it illegal and punishable to make yourself a victim on purpose)
2) The person who gets the picture has been forced to view "porn" - if they wanted to or not. Could this cause the person to have any emotional damage?

Are these children sex offenders, or should they be charged with a non-sex crime?

What would you like to see done with this law?

Tracy Golden
WASP Ohio
www.waspohio.org
waspsnest@yahoo.com
.
Be Proactive, And Not Reactive !
Women Against Sexual Predators

No faith is exempt from sexual abuse

Rabbinic Molesters Issue Moving Agudah

David Zwiebel of Agudah says he is closely watching emerging details of proposed sex abuse legislation in the Senate and Assembly.

by Larry Cohler-Esses

The recent rash of cases in which rabbis have allegedly molested young children going back decades has moved one group that usually bristles at government involvement in Orthodox schools to envision shifting its stance.

“Our general sense is that we’re much better off when government leaves us alone,” said David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America for government and public affairs. “But because of the sensitivity of this particular issue, I could see the possibility of our rabbis affirmatively encouraging schools to buy into the system, and even maybe affirmatively encouraging government to impose it on us.”

Zwiebel was speaking specifically about a new law that will, for the first time, allow non-public schools to voluntarily take part in a program to
fingerprint school employees for use in criminal background checks.

But for Agudah, an umbrella organization of ultra-traditional Orthodox groups that seek a degree of insulation from the secular world, it was a striking statement.

To be sure, Agudah contemplates no welcome mat for a mandatory government fingerprint program just yet. That would be “quite premature,” said Zwiebel. Agudah, he said, wants first to see how the state implements the voluntary law.

But in an interview with The Jewish Week, Zwiebel, with whose organization many in Albany check first on legislation involving the Orthodox community, appeared to offer a wary road map to supporting greater oversight by the government on issues relating to sexual molestation of children.

The pressure for increased government involvement has been building for years. It began with the shocking emergence earlier this decade of Catholic priests who, it turned out, had molested children under their care for decades, and had often been protected by their Church superiors.

More recently, credible allegations have emerged here in New York against a small number of yeshiva rabbis said to have also sexually abused their students over several decades. The alleged victims — often now adults — have also charged that the yeshivas and rabbinic supervisors were informed about their teachers’ conduct but did nothing, or even protected them.

Now, state Assembly Member Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), who has become deeply involved in this issue, speaks of hearing “hundreds” of reports of rabbinic sexual abuse — reports that appear to him to be credible. This week, speaking at a conference on this controversy, Hikind for the first time numbered these reports in the “thousands.”

Slowly, and somewhat erratically, the state legislature has begun to take up the question of legal reforms to address this situation. The fingerprinting law passed last year will permit non-public schools to voluntarily take part in a program that is already mandatory for all public schools.

But some lawmakers hope to go further next year, with legislation to make non-public school participation mandatory. They also want to pass a bill that would make clergy and non-public school officials “mandated reporters” — individuals required by law to report to the authorities any information or evidence they receive that a child has been abused or molested in a school setting. Public school officials are already required to do so, thanks to an education law passed in 2000 that excluded the private school sector.

Another bill, now stalled by differences between the Assembly and Senate, would extend the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of molesters and for civil suits to be filed against them. Presently, prosecutors cannot go after a child molester once the child in question reaches age 23. And a child victim of sexual molestation must sue his molester — or a school that fails in its duty to protect him — for civil damages by between one and six years after he turns 18, depending on the nature of the allegation. But experts say child victims can take many years, or even decades, after they reach adulthood to process what was done to them and act on it.

Agudath Israel does not oppose any of these measures in principle, Zwiebel said. But God is in the details. And one red flag for the group is disparate treatment.

“It’s never been our position that non-public schools should be treated differently than public schools,” when it comes to protecting children, he said. “But our position is that they should not be singled out.”

This led Agudath Israel to vigorously oppose a 2003 proposal that would have required members of the clergy and certain categories of religious educators and administrators to go to the authorities with any information they had received about child abuse by other clergy over the last 20 years.

Inspired by the continuing revelations coming from the Catholic Church, the bill singled out the duty of these religious workers to report on their colleagues — but not on sexual abuse from other sources.

In a memo then to leaders of the state Assembly and Senate, Zwiebel denounced the legislation as “patently unconstitutional” for its “apparent assumption that religious functionaries, more than any other element of society, are inherently suspect — and should therefore be subject to special legal scrutiny and reporting requirements — regarding allegations of child abuse.”

Since then, critics have frequently denounced Agudath Israel’s stand as obstructionist and cited its opposition to this bill as evidence of an intent to shield rabbinic abusers. Condemnations on the Internet against the group have been especially angry and intense.

But Zwiebel said that if the Legislature were to introduce a bill that simply included non-public school officials in the duty to report evidence of abuse of students in a school setting, as public school officials already must do, “At a minimum, I am pretty certain we’d advise our friends in the Legislature we don’t oppose this.”

As for efforts to expand the statute of limitations, whether criminally or civilly, “I don’t imagine we’ll oppose any of that” either, Zwiebel said. “Whether we would affirmatively push it, I can’t answer.”

Indeed, legislation on this appears to be stuck between the State Senate and the Assembly. And according to a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County), it is opposition from the Catholic Church and the insurance industry that is playing a role.

The Assembly’s bill would significantly extend both the criminal and civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse going into the future. But the Democratic-dominated Assembly is determined to also give those now beyond the civil statute of limitations a key back into the courts. Its bill would establish a one-year “window” for adults with allegations of childhood abuse to file suit, regardless of when the abuse took place.

Skelos’ spokesperson voiced concern about this provision, citing the potential difficulties of obtaining evidence in very old cases. The Senate, he noted, has passed three different bills to eliminate or extend the criminal statute of limitation. But it has refused to pass the Assembly’s bill. The Assembly, in turn, has held fast against the Senate’s bill.

Meanwhile, the regulations have yet to be published for implementing the law passed last year that would allow non-public schools to opt in on fingerprinting and criminal background checks of its staff.

Zwiebel made clear that Agudah’s willingness to accept a bill to make this mandatory for non-public schools will depend on how the voluntary program goes.

One regulation under consideration, he related, would institute a “roach motel” principle: Once a school chooses to opt in, it will not be allowed to opt out.

“I’m troubled by that,” he said. “It doesn’t sound like wise public policy.”
Another proposed rule would mandate that a school opting into the system must require every employee to be fingerprinted, without exception.

“I don’t understand that part of it,” he said. “It would allow us no discretion to [exempt], say, certain veterans about whom there have never been any questions from a criminal background check.”

Still, he said, “I’m not necessarily implying those two rules would push us away. I’d like to know exactly what the details are.”

In many cases, Zwiebel said, Agudah’s views have been misrepresented. He pointed, among other things, to an error in a recent Jewish Week story — since acknowledged — that stated the group opposed a mandatory fingerprinting law and another to make yeshiva officials mandated reporters.

But referring to disturbing exposes that have appeared in this paper and elsewhere, he said, “Some of the anguish and pain that has come in the last few years, though uncomfortable, promotes consciousness of a problem that’s been in the shadows. So, though our views have been misrepresented, I can’t say [the critics] are bad people. They obviously care a lot about this issue.”

Hella Winston contributed to this story.

Prisoners proud they beat child molestor to death

Prosecutor: Accused Jailhouse Killers 'Proud Of What They Did'
Defense: Accused Were Looking To Intimidate, Not Maim Inmate

INDIO, Calif. -- Lawyers representing four of five men charged in the killing of a fellow inmate told an Indio jury Wednesday that their clients did not intend to kill the convicted child molester, but wanted to intimidate him into seeking protective custody to get him moved.

But prosecutor Anthony Orlando disputed the defense version of what happened at Chuckawalla State Prison near Blythe on June 21, 2005, saying two of the defendants beat Michael Green so savagely that he never regained consciousness, and all five were in on the plan and "proud of what they did."

Security was tight as the trial got under way at the Larson Justice Center for Robert James Deffenbaugh, 27, Frank George Barbosa, 55, Jack Stewart Woller, 23, Reggie Allan Bullock, Jr., 25, and Johnnie Dalerae Johnson, 29.

Nine sheriff's deputies positioned throughout the courtroom of Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan.

Green suffered severe head trauma when beaten in a bathroom in the C Yard, 7 building, according to court documents. He was transported to Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe and then moved to the critical care unit at a UC San Diego hospital, where he remained unresponsive.

The 45-year-old Los Angeles man's family made the decision to take him off life support systems several days later.

The prosecutor told jurors that many offenses are accepted by the general prison population, but convicted child molesters are "in trouble."

Orlando said it's routine for prisoners to ask a new inmate for "paperwork" when they arrive in the yard, which he said Deffenbaugh and Woller did to the victim.

Green told them he did not have his papers, but information that he was in custody on a child molestation conviction was passed on to Barbosa, the "shot- caller," who then ordered Bullock and Johnson to "take him out," the prosecutor alleged.

That night after "last count," Bullock and Johnson followed Green into the bathroom and savagely beat him, Orlando alleged.

Bullock's attorney, Melanie Roe, said the case is not "black and white" and has two parts -- the assault, and what she contended was delayed -- and lacking -- medical care to Green.

"There are no eyewitnesses to this incident, and stories vary," Roe said in her opening statement.

She told jurors that "evidence will show no person charged intended to kill him (Green)." Instead, the intention was to get him moved to another facility to finish out his sentence, she said.

John Patrick Dolan, who is defending Woller, said his client was on hand when Green was approached and asked for "paperwork." Woller was silent or "maybe said a few words as he stood around," the attorney said.

Dolan said his client, who is doing time for a car theft conviction and had been due to be paroled in a few months, did nothing wrong. He was following an "honor among thieves or a code of honor," where inmates ask for paperwork to determine the bottom order -- child molesters and rapists, the lawyer said.

"The intention of asking (is) to get them ... to ask for protective custody," which would remove them from interacting with prisoners who consider child molesters the lowest type of criminal, Dolan said.

James Silva, who is representing Barbosa, denied his client was the "shot caller," as alleged by the prosecution.

"Barbosa is not guilty of conspiracy with any of these individuals," Silva told jurors. "He did not give the order to assault Green."

Johnson's attorney, Cameron Quinn, said his client was a "short- timer" who, at the time of the attack, was soon to be released.

"It did not make sense for his to subject himself to this," Quinn said.
The attorney told jurors that placing a child molester in the general prison population tends to "stir things up."

Quinn said the term used by inmates is to "roll up" someone they want moved -- but that means to "rough up ... beat someone up to get him out, and not to kill them."

Deffenbaugh's attorney did not make an opening statement.

The trial, which is expected to last five or six weeks, is in recess until Monday, when testimony is scheduled to begin.

Child Molestors Referee Pennsylvania school games

Push on for refs' scrutiny
3rd bill introduced to alter PIAA rules
Thursday, September 25, 2008
By Bill Moushey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Another legislative bill intent on forcing registered PIAA athletic officials to undergo criminal background checks was introduced yesterday in the Pennsylvania General Assembly in Harrisburg. It is the third to be introduced this week.

State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, citing recent Post-Gazette reports that showed child pornographers, molesters and other criminals continued to officiate games despite convictions, introduced a bill with more than 50 bipartisan co-sponsors requiring background checks on all officials who participate in sporting events on school property.

"We must protect our children from child predators in Pennsylvania," DeLuca said.

His bill will be sent to the House Education Committee.

Brad Cashman, executive director of the PIAA, has said existing checks and balances over officials and their criminal records are adequate, stating the newspaper reports identified less than 1 percent of all WPIAL officials as having criminal records. He had no comment on DeLuca's filing yesterday.

"I don't care if it was half a percent, all you need is a couple of kids to be harmed, you can't make up for the devastation they'd go through the rest of their lives. If one person gets harmed because there is no oversight, it would be horrible," DeLuca said.

The PIAA will consider instituting background checks at its October meeting.

Chester the Molestor banned from Indiana parks

Ban on molesters in parks is upheld
Ruling in Plainfield's case considered key for Indiana communities with similar rules

By Bruce C. Smith
Posted: September 25, 2008

Plainfield won a key court decision Wednesday in the fight over banning sex offenders from parks, a case closely watched by other Indiana cities and towns with similar bans.

Although courts struck down an Indianapolis ban two years ago, Plainfield's ordinance is the latest in a series of narrower measures to survive court challenges. Lafayette and Michigan City enacted bans against individual sex offenders that have withstood court review.

Greenwood enacted a ban similar to Plainfield's two years ago, and a suit over the constitutionality of that ordinance has been on hold pending the outcome of the Plainfield case. Another suit is pending concerning a ban in Jeffersonville.

The Indianapolis ordinance prohibited convicted sex offenders within 1,000 feet of a park or school. A federal judge found the ordinance overly broad, noting there were few places in the city that were not within 1,000 feet of a park, a school, a playground or other children's gathering spot.

Indianapolis officials chose not to appeal the ruling, and the City-County Council has not discussed trying to draw up a new version that might survive in the courts.

On Wednesday, the appeals court, in a unanimous ruling, said that while Plainfield's ban does have a punitive aspect, the ordinance did not violate guarantees to the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness under the Indiana Constitution. The ruling upholds a March decision by Hendricks Superior Court Judge Robert Freese in favor of Plainfield.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed suit in November 2005 on behalf of a Marion County man identified only as John Doe, claiming Plainfield's ordinance was unconstitutional on several grounds.

The ACLU had argued that enjoyment of the parks is a core value under the Indiana Constitution, and that banishment from the parks is a second punishment for a crime.

"Obviously we're disappointed because we felt this ordinance is impinging on constitutional rights," said ACLU Legal Director Kenneth J. Falk.
A decision on whether to appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court will be made within a few days, he said.

Town officials praised the ruling.

"We're pleased with the outcome and a 3-0 vote by the court," said Plainfield Town Attorney Mel Daniel. "We all know how very important the parks are in Plainfield, and how adamant the town is to keep them clean and safe for the kids."

Under Plainfield's ordinance, people listed publicly on the state registry of sex offenders are prohibited from going into town parks and recreational areas. People with convictions for such crimes as rape, child molesting and incest must register with the state.

The man identified as John Doe is a convicted sex offender who was released from probation in August 2004. According to the lawsuit, Doe and his son visited Plainfield parks until June 2005, when a policeman recognized him and knew he was on the state registry of sex offenders.
He told Doe the town ordinance bans anyone on the state's online registry of convicted sex offenders from being in the parks.

Doe sued Plainfield, setting off three years of twists and turns in the legal case. In one key development, Doe won a court ruling to keep his identity secret in the legal proceeding, even though he is listed publicly on the sex offender registry.

Pennsylvania man busted for child porn

Lower Pottsgrove man pleads guilty to child porn charges

By Carl Hessler Jr., chessler@pottsmerc.com
09/25/2008

NORRISTOWN — A Lower Pottsgrove man has admitted to possessing child pornographic images on his home computer.

Mark A. Neiva, 33, who listed an address in the 1300 block of Walnut Ridge, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of sexual abuse of children, possessing child pornography, in connection with a November 2007 incident.

President Judge Richard J. Hodgson deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigative report about Neiva. The judge will use that report to assist him in sentencing Neiva later this year.

Neiva faces a possible maximum sentence of 3 ½ to seven years in prison on the charge.

Neiva also must undergo an evaluation by the Pennsylvania Sexual Offender Assessment Board to determine if he meets criteria under Megan's Law to be declared a sexually violent predator. Those classified as predators face more stringent restrictions under Megan's Law, including a lifetime requirement to report their addresses to state police and mandatory counseling.

Neiva remains free on bail pending his sentencing hearing.

An investigation of Neiva began in November 2007 when a woman who shared access to Neiva's laptop computer reported to Lower Pottsgrove police that she and a friend discovered inappropriate images of female children on the computer, according to a criminal complaint.

Township detectives turned the computer over to members of Montgomery County's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force who conducted a forensic examination of the computer. Detectives discovered numerous images of child erotica and child pornography on the computer, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Lower Pottsgrove Detective Sergeant Michael Foltz.

When detectives searched Neiva's home, they seized compact disks that contained additional images of child pornography, court documents alleged.

Under state law, by pleading guilty to the charge, Neiva admitted that he possessed or controlled computer images that depicted a child under 18 years engaging in a prohibited sexual act or in the simulation of such act.

Man breaks in PA. home and assaults teen, also charged for assault on 6yr old.

Milton man faces new sexual assault charges

MILTON — A Milton man charged with allegedly taking sexually explicit photos of a 16-year-old girl now faces charges that claim he also assaulted a 6-year-old girl.

On Thursday, police withdrew charges against Thomas B. Flynn, of 362 Wall St., and filed a new array of charges.

Flynn was arraigned before District Judge William Kear of Milton on charges of photographing a sexual act with a child, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault, burglary, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse by force and indecent assault of a child younger than 13.

Kear reportedly raised Flynn’s original bail from $75,000 to $150,000 and placed him in Northumberland County Prison, Sunbury.

Police were called to Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg, on Sunday where the 16-year-old was being treated.

Flynn allegedly entered her home at around 3 a.m. Sunday and took photos using a cell phone camera of the 16-year-old while she pretended to be sleeping. The girl reportedly told police Flynn allegedly pulled down her pajama bottoms as he took photos. Police said they found the photos saved on his camera.

After filing the initial charges against Flynn, police later discovered he allegedly assaulted the 6-year-old by placing one of his hands in her pajama bottoms.

A preliminary hearing has been set for March 6.

Man busted for downloading child porn in a fire station

Milton man faces child pornography charges

MILTON — A Milton man accused of having 10 pornographic images of children and nine videos on his laptop computer was arraigned Monday before District Judge William Kear.

Thomas A. Dreistadt, 21, was charged with nine felony counts of sexual abuse of children and nine felony counts of possession of child pornography.

Dreistadt was stationed with the U.S. Coast Guard in California when the charges were pressed. He was detained and held by U.S. marshals before being transported back to Pennsylvania.

According to reports, police were tipped off that Dreistadt was downloading child pornography using the wireless Internet service at the Milton Fire Department.

Police subsequently seized Dreistadt’s laptop and allegedly found images identified as child pornography.

The Milton man reportedly lived at the fire station for a brief time.

Early reports from the arraignment indicate Dreistadt is maintaining innocence and claiming someone else must have used the computer to download the illegal images.

Dreistadt was locked up in lieu of $25,000 bail. His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 2.

50 yr old Texan busted for child porn

Greenville man convicted of child pornography charges

12:10 PM Tue, Sep 16, 2008

A 50-year-old Greenville man has been convicted of possessing child pornography and faces up to 30 years in federal prison, the U.S. attorney's office said today.

Steve Kelby Samples, 50, was charged with transporting, shipping and possessing child pornography after an undercover FBI agent downloaded child porn images from Mr. Samples' computer in September 2006, said Kathy Colvin, of the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas. In January of last year, federal agents seized a computer containing child pornography from Mr. Samples' Greenville residence, Ms. Colvin said.

Mr. Samples pled guilty to the possession charge last month and was convicted last week on the other charges, Ms. Colvin said.

In addition to prison time, Mr. Samples could face up to a $500,000 fine at his sentencing, scheduled for Dec. 18 before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.

Authorities said the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a national program intended to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

Monk in Hong Kong busted for child porn

Monk gets 8 months for stash of child porn

A Buddhist monk who was caught in a British internet sting was sentenced yesterday to eight months in prison for possessing child pornography.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008A Buddhist monk who was caught in a British internet sting was sentenced yesterday to eight months in prison for possessing child pornography.

In jailing Chow Yee-cheong, 41, Deputy District Court Judge John Glass ruled the offense was serious and that the sexual exploitation of children was a global problem that had to be stamped out.

The judge rejected a submission by defense lawyer Herbert Leung Yiu-fai that Chow, who lived at the Chuk Lam Sim Yuen monastery in Tsuen Wan, had purchased the materials to satisfy his sexual needs and was remorseful and ashamed at what he had done.

A psychiatric report indicated Chow was not suffering from any psychological disorder, but recommended he should get counseling.

Leung said the Malaysian-born monk, who arrived in Hong Kong in 1993, was aware that his offense contradicted his religious beliefs, and that he would be expelled from the monastery.

Leung said no level-five - the most serious - material was found among the two optical discs Chow bought in Malaysia, or the 17 videos and 85 photos he downloaded from a commercial child abuse website. The total length of the video clips and optical discs was nearly seven hours. Glass accepted that most of the material was not explicit, and did not include violence. But he rejected Chow's claim he bought the pornography out of curiosity and had only viewed it once.

Glass said the children depicted in the videos and photos were very young and may have suffered some physical harm during the production.

Although Chow did not share, produce or reproduce the child pornography, he indirectly encouraged the exploitation of children by paying for the material, the judge said.

Glass said neither a community service order nor probation was appropriate, but after taking into consideration Chow's previously clear record and his guilty plea, he decided on an eight-month term.

Chow, who holds a master's degree in philosophy, was the first in Hong Kong to be prosecuted in an anti- child sex abuse operation triggered by a British police crackdown on a commercial child pornography website last year.

Local police, acting on intelligence from Interpol, raided Chow's room in the monastery on May 7.

Couple molests and tapes children as young as three months old

Pa. jury weighs "excruciating" child-porn case
By MARYCLAIRE DALE Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 09/16/2008 04:41:13 PM EDT



PHILADELPHIA—A federal jury began deliberating the case of a man charged with producing thousands of images of himself sexually abusing children, including three infants, one just three months old.

John Jackey Worman, 41, of Colwyn had cameras mounted in the bathroom of a friend who baby-sat children in her Philadelphia-area rowhouse, prosecutors said.

The jury viewed what authorities called "excruciating" evidence for more than a week before starting their deliberations late Tuesday. Worman is charged with 51 counts of producing and possessing child pornography.
"It's excruciating to have to look at it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella told jurors, some of whom had looked away from their monitors during the trial. Worman had no such revulsion, she said.

"This defendant was riveted. He couldn't take his eyes off it," Rotella said.
Worman's lawyer, Mark Cedrone, told jurors Tuesday that they may hate his client, but still had a duty to see if the government proved its case on each charge.

Worman made the bathroom videotapes over a three-year period between 2003 and 2006, capturing children as they undressed and showered at baby sitter Concetta Jackson's home in Collingdale. Jackson, who pleaded guilty before trial, knew about the camera and assisted Worman with the filming, authorities said.

Worman sexually abused eight other children from 1997 through 2006, including five forced to engage in sex acts that were also videotaped and saved in Worman's computer, the January 1997 indictment charged.
Police recovered more than 1 million images from Worman's computer, they said.

Co-defendant Dorothy Prawdzik of Drexel Hill posed children in front of the hidden video cameras, prosecutors said. The jury will deliberate her case after reaching a verdict on the Worman counts.

Worman has been in custody since February 2006.

Florida Man Busted For Child Porn

Largo man charged in child porn investigation

Tallahassee, Florida -- A Largo man has been arrested in a child porn investigation conducted by the state's CyberCrime unit, Attorney General Bill McCollum announced Tuesday.

Christopher Bobo, 24, is charged with four counts of promoting the sexual performance of a child, and is jailed in lieu of $40,000 bond.

McCollum said investigators traced known images of child pornography to Bobo's home computer, which was seized for further examination. He said Bobo admitted to knowingly downloading the images, including videos of apparent prepubescent children.

If convicted, Bobo could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on each of the felony charges. Additional charges are pending, McCollum said.
FL Attorney General's Office

Only 10 yrs for Iowa man who recorded minors in sex acts

Davenport man gets max child porn sentence
Associated Press
8:19 PM CDT, September 16, 2008

DAVENPORT, Iowa - A federal judge has sentenced a Davenport man to the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on a child pornography charge. In addition, 55-year-old Donald Colbert was ordered to be on supervised release for the rest of his life and to register as a sex offender.

Prosecutors say Colbert was arrested in June 2006 and pleaded guilty the following May. The district court noted that Colbert caused a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction.

It said he was eligible for sentencing enhancements based on the fact the offense involved images of minors between 12 and 16 years old, that he possessed of images that portrayed violence and that he used a computer for the offense.

The U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of Iowa says the case was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Child initiative.

Child rapist only gets 30 yrs.

September 17, 2008

Man gets 30 years on child-porn charges

A Mason County man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- A Mason County man was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 30 years in prison for producing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Clyde H. Hall Jr., 37, of Point Pleasant, pleaded guilty in May, admitting that he took over 20 sexually explicit photographs of multiple children between 2004 and 2006, the news release states.

At the sentencing hearing, evidence was introduced that Hall had sexually assaulted at least three underage girls in Mason and Jackson counties, two while he was on probation from a state conviction on wanton endangerment charges, the release states.

U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. gave Hall the maximum sentence allowed. Hall will also be on supervised release for life if he is ever released from prison.

Copenhaver ordered Hall to pay roughly $27,000 in restitution to pay for counseling for the victims, according to the release.

Congress Considers Child Exploitation Act

Congress considers a bill that would change the way police pursue suspected child molesters. The proposal gained national attention on the Oprah Winfrey show.

We hear from those who work locally with victims and investigate the offenders, and we want to warn you, some of this information is graphic.

Hundreds of children in the Big Sandy region are examined for signs of sexual abuse each year. National researchers say 80 percent of people with child pornography have images of children being raped, and 21 percent have images of children gagged or tied up during sadistic sex.

Laura Kretzer, Executive Director of the Big Sandy Children's Advocacy Center, says, "Yes, there are severe reports of child sexual abuse in our region. Last year we saw approximately 200 children."

Workers at the Big Sandy Children's Advocacy Center and state police are often overwhelmed with caseloads. Investigators handled more than 700 cases since 2006 in the Big Sandy area alone. Some take a year to go to court.

Kentucky State Police Public Information Officer Mike Goble says, "They're tough to get prosecuted, due to the fact that a lot of times there's a lack of evidence, and pretty much you only have the victim's word."

U.S. Senate Bill 1738 aims to change that by increasing police authority to investigate internet crimes against children, among other measures. The idea is that going after child porn collectors will lead police to those actually molesting children.

David Keith, Hollywood actor and board member for the National Association to Protect Children, says, "It makes it a slam dunk case. You basically have a hard drive full of child porn, and you don't have a fragile little child on the stand who has to point her finger at, you know, Uncle Joe."

The legislation would cost more than half a billion dollars, but supporters say you can't put a price tag on a healthy childhood.

Texas mom busted for selling sex with her 5yr old.

No bond for mother accused of trying to sell girl
By MICHELLE ROBERTS – 3 days ago

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A mother accused of trying to prostitute her young daughters cried in court Tuesday as a magistrate ordered that she be held without bond.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Stein Nowak concluded that 25-year-old Jennifer Richards, who moved to San Antonio from Phoenix nine months ago, was a flight risk and is likely to be convicted.
"It's about as dangerous as it can get when a mother sets up her own child for this," said Nowak in finding that Richards should remain in custody.
The waitress with shoulder-length blond hair sat with her shoulders hunched and began to cry.
Richards is charged with using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, a charge that carries as many as five years in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Braun said other charges could be added.
Clare Koontz, Richards' attorney, said the Internet exchanges about child pornography and sexual assault were just chat room discussions.
"All of this is fantasy. It was chat room stuff," Koontz said in court. "This was a fantasy response to Mr. Block, not actual conduct."
FBI agent Rex Miller testified that Richards offered to allow her 5-year-old daughter to be molested in exchange for a car, an apartment and money for day care for her 10-month-old daughter. Richards also planned to use the baby for child pornography when she got older, the agent said.
She allegedly took the girls to meet an informant she thought was a child molester and accepted $300 on the promise that they would meet again. Richards was taken into custody a short time later.
Authorities say neither girl was sold for sex and are no longer in Richards' custody.
He said Internet chat logs also recorded her and her boyfriend, 40-year-old Sean Michael Block, making plans to use the girls to create child pornography. Block, who allegedly offered the girl to the informant through a text message, was ordered held without bond Friday; he faces a charge of distribution of child pornography.
Miller also described chat logs in which Richards and Block allegedly talked about luring a teenage girl from a bus station or night club to sexually assault her and cut her face.
"Many of the stories were instigated by Ms. Richards," Miller said.

KY Gov. grants pardon to child rapist!!

Governor grants partial pardon to Lexington child molester


LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Gov. Steve Beshear has restored some civil rights to a Lexington man convicted of child molestation.

Beshear gave back the right to vote and to hold office to Ron Berry, who served three years in prison after being convicted in 2002 on 12 counts of sodomy involving teenage boys.
Berry, 64, formerly headed Lexington's Micro-City Government youth program, which is now defunct.
Jay Blanton, Beshear's spokesman, said Berry's application for a partial pardon was sent to Fayette Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, who prosecuted the case. He said the governor's office received no objections.
Larson said he didn't object to it because he didn't see it.
"We object to people who kill people and people who are sex offenders," Larson said. "And I just obviously didn't see it."
Blanton said the governor had refused to restore the civil rights of felons in each of the 56 instances when prosecutors have objected. Attorney Gayle Slaughter, who represents several people who accused Berry of molesting them, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that she doesn't mind Berry being allowed to vote but was surprised the governor would let him hold office.
"I guess it is good to know which side of the fence the governor is on in this battle against this scourge on society," Slaughter said.
Blanton said the governor routinely approves the partial restoration of civil rights if applicants have served their sentence, paid restitution and have no further charges against them. Blanton said allowing Berry to vote gives him the right to run for office.
A full pardon would have restored all of his civil rights, including the right to carry a firearm and sit on a jury, and would have wiped away his convictions.
"We apply the same standard for everyone," Blanton said.
The partial pardon was signed Aug. 20 and filed Wednesday in Fayette County court.

Couple busted for years of sexual abuse to children

North Middleton Township

North Middleton couple charged with sexually abusing children

By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter, August 28, 2008

Last updated: Friday, August 29, 2008 7:36 AM

EDTA former North Middleton Township couple was arrested Wednesday on charges that they had sexually abused children over a six-year time span, according to North Middleton Township police.Renee Lamason, 27, now of the Betty Nelson Trailer Court, Lower Frankford Township, was taken into custody about 10:30 p.m. at her home, police said, and her husband, Scott Lamason, 28, formerly of the Betty Nelson Trailer Court, was taken into custody about 7 p.m. by police near Bessemer, N.C.The investigation that sparked the arrests began on March 3, police said, when a child said the Lamasons engaged in sexual contact with him and a female child. The abuse is believed to have begun around August 2001, when the family lived in the first block of Evandale Court in North Middleton Township, police said, and ended in Sept. 2007, after the children were placed into foster care by Cumberland County Children and Youth Services.Scott Lamason, who is expected to be extradited back to Cumberland County soon, faces charges of rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and unlawful contact with a minor, police said.Renee Lamason is being held without bail in Cumberland County Prison on charges of attempted rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, incest, endangering the welfare of children and unlawful contact with a minor, police said.
Her preliminary hearing before Cumberland County Magisterial District Judge Paula Correal has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 4, court personnel said, and she has applied to be represented by a public defender.

Can you believe that these sick freaks are smiling? They must be proud of thier abuse. This is exactly what the registry is for, to warn parents of sick pedophiles like them. Hopefully now they will never hurt another child.

Vermont needs more money to fight sexual predators

More Resources Needed To Investigate Sex Crimes

Vermont's Senate Committee on Judiciary meets Friday to investigate further and discuss how the state handles sex offenders. The committee heard from the director of the Vermont State Police, Col. James Baker, and Detective Sgt. Ingrid Jonas. Also it heard from Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling and Sheriff Roger Marcoux, president of the Vermont Sheriffs' Association.
More Resources Needed to Investigate Sex Crimes
Baker said Vermont State Police are ready to take the lead on the issue of protecting communities from sex crimes. But he said the roles of state police need to be redefined, as he's publicly said before.
Sheriff Roger Marcoux said he will advocate that the sheriff's departments are a partner in the reorganization of state police if it happens.
Col. Baker said he would like to see state police and probation bridge their roles. For instance, he said in the special investigation units, specialized probation officers would work along with investigators.
He said in preparation for additional special investigation units around the state, Jonas, their expert in the area of child sexual abuse and domestic violence against women, will work full-time at headquarters to lay the blueprint. She emphasized the need for well-trained investigators who are skilled at interviewing children.
He said the additional special investigation units needed across the state should be like the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations, but essentially on steroids.
Burlington's police chief has an extensive background in child exploitation and computer and Internet investigations. Schirling said the state needs to recognize sex offenders are a completely different animal than other criminals. "As we talk about crime prevention, response to crime, really two completely separate approaches are needed. I don't think Vermont as a whole has evolved to address those two things separately. We still deal with criminals, or people committing criminal acts, in one big bucket, versus, specialized individual buckets, with a few exceptions."
He said the Internet plays a huge role in sex offenders' manipulative ways of doing business. He said sex offenders are constantly finding ways to beat and manipulate the system. He added that seemingly unrelated crimes like a robbery can be related to an addiction, for example, of finding young boys on the Internet.
Baker added that violent sexual predators need to be supervised to the point where they worry about when they will be checked next. He said "mail covers," meaning permission to check someone's electronic and paper mail routinely, without warning, need to be done.
"We live in a different world today. The way sexual predators groom their victims is much different than it used to be," said Baker.

Sex offenders locked in the looney bin may lose the ability to get government grants for education

Sex Offenders May Lose Pell Grant Eligibility Under Revised Higher Education Act

Published 04 August 08 04:49 PM Student Loan Girl

Starting July 1, 2009, sex offenders confined in treatment centers throughout the country may no longer be eligible to receive need-based federal Pell Grants, under a new provision of the reauthorized Higher Education Act, according to an article in the Associated Press (“Congress Cuts Off College Aid For Sex Offenders,” Aug. 4, 2008).

President Bush has yet to sign the act into law, but after the act passed through Congress July 31, Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., said, “Today, the most insane wasteful spending program in America comes to an end.”

Keller cited an AP article from March that revealed dozens of rapists and child molesters had taken higher education classes at taxpayers’ expense while confined to treatment centers after serving their prison sentences.

Some prisoners were using the financial aid to buy clothes, DVD players, and music CDs even after they had dropped their classes in some cases.

While the U.S. Department of Education does not know exactly how many sex offenders receive Pell Grants, spokeswoman Stephanie Babyak predicted that making sex offenders ineligible for the aid would save taxpayers millions.

Critics say the new measure may rule out a higher education for sex offenders who are trying to rehabilitate themselves. Instead of cutting off grant aid to all sex offenders, Congress should better regulate how it administers the program in order to help prevent abuses, said Michael Macleod-Ball, chief legislative and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

The grant aid provision would affect the 20 states that allow violent sex offenders — those who it is believed would likely repeat their crimes if they were to be released — to be held indefinitely in treatment facilities after they have served their prison sentences. Prison inmates have been ineligible for Pell Grants since 1994, but sexual offenders can qualify for the grants once they are transferred from prison to treatment centers.


Yeah, like these crazy violent sex offenders are gonna use thier "education" to get them a good job after they get out of the nut house. I don't know of any "good jobs" that are going to hire a felon who has been in the nut house, do you?

Sex Offender busted again in MO.

Monroe City man arrested after selling computer filled with child pornography


KIRKSVILLE — A Monroe City man has been charged in Adair County after his girlfriend sold his computer containing several hundred pornographic images of children.

Joseph M. Ketsenburg, 31, is currently in custody at the Adair County Detention Center on a charge of possession of child pornography.

He was arrested over the weekend after his former girlfriend, April Bass, told Kirksville police she sold Ketensburg’s computer and a flash drive to her stepfather, Ernest Gotham on July 20. Ketensburg gave Bass the computer to sell to repay money he owed her.

According to a probable cause statement filed, eight days after Bass sold the computer, Ketensburg went to her residence and asked for it and the flash drive, stating “there were things on them that would put him in prison for life.”

He asked her to mail them to him or burn them when she recovered them.

When Bass relayed this conversation to her stepfather, he observed numerous pornographic images on the computer, some including children.

Gotham then turned over the computer and flash drives to police, and officers observed hundreds of images of Ketsenburg and children ranging in ages from 5 to 14 years in various sexual engagements and positions.

According to the probable cause statement, a check of Ketsenburg’s criminal history indicated a prior conviction for statutory rape and statutory sodomy.

He was also charged July 17 in Circuit Court on felony charges of domestic assault, endangering the welfare of a child, and a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment. He was released July 24 on his recognizance.


What this article leaves is questions. Was he charged with assault on his girlfriend, what did he do to that child that he was charged for endangering her welfare, and who did he falsly imprision. Also in the photos found on his computer were they pictures of him WITH the children, or pictures of him and pictures of children?

This guy is definately an idiot. He beats up his girlfriend then gives he a computer that he has child porn on and expects her not to turn his sorry butt in? DUHHHHH!

Teachers aid busted for child porn

Teacher’s aide indicted on child porn charges

By JOHN SIEVERS Contributing Writer
Published: Monday, August 4, 2008 2:26 PM EDT

LEBANON ‑ A local man was indicted last Thursday, July 31, by a Hunterdon County grand jury on charges that he allegedly had images of child pornography on his home computer.

The man, James Leonarczyk, 39, had been working as a teacher’s aide at Phillipsburg Middle School in Phillipsburg after clearing a criminal background check in 2004.

The indictment charges Leonarczyk with second and fourth degree counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
WTF is this???? Where is the child porn charges? Does this mean the perv doesn't have to register?

He is accused of distributing child pornography between August 2006 and July 2007.

Leonarczyk is also accused of knowingly possessing or viewing child pornography between August 2006 and April 2008, according to the indictment.

Authorities began investigating Leonarczyk last year after getting a tip from the Rhode Island State Police that he might have received child pornography from someone who had been charged with possessing illegal pornographic materials.

Authorities said they had learned through their investigation that Leonarczyk had been involved with another person who had child pornography in Gloucester County, who was also charged.

Using computer forensic technology, investigators were able to gather enough evidence to execute a search warrant.

Leonarczyk was arrested last Nov. 9. Investigators seized several computers in a search of his home, and images of child pornography were found on the computers, according to authorities.

Cleared Background Check
Any school employee must undergo a criminal background check, according to a spokesman for the state Department of Education.
Certain crimes disqualify employment at a school system, according to the spokesman, who was interviewed at the time of Leonarczyk’s arrest last November.
The school district suspended Leonarczyk after his arrest. Last Friday, a spokesperson for the Phillipsburg School District would not comment on Leonarczyk’s status, saying that it was not the district’s policy to comment on personnel matters.

Indiana man busted with over 5000 images of child porn

Local man held on child porn charges

A Jackson Township resident has been charged after a compact disc which police said contained images of child pornography was found at his former residence in the Spring Valley Shelter in Valparaiso, the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said.

Michael T. McGinley, 38, of 975N 250E, has been charged with five counts of child exploitation, a Class C felony punishable by a term of two to eight years; and five counts of possession of child pornography, a Class D felony punishable by a term of six months to three years.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Lt. John Ross of the Valparaiso Police Department, on June 26 an employee of Spring Valley Shelter was cleaning an apartment recently vacated by McGinley and found a CD. On viewing the CD, Ross stated, the employee observed child-pornography images.

Ross subsequently made contact with McGinley on July 24 and in an interview, Ross stated, McGinley confirmed that the CD was his but advised that someone had sent the images to him and he had been unable to delete them.

After further questioning, however, McGinley authorized Ross to search his computers and several discs, Ross stated. McGinley also advised Ross that the hard drive of his computer contained “upwards of 5,000 images of child pornography that he has received and downloaded,” Ross stated.

“Furthermore, Mr. McGinley admitted to managing the images by placing them into particular folder files and titling them with names particular to the images contained in the file folder,” Ross stated. “He further admitted to disseminating the images across the Internet and provided me with various e-mail and Internet accounts and their respective passwords.”

Ross added in his affidavit that he viewed the CD found at Spring Valley Shelter and confirmed that it contains images of sexual conduct by children “who are clearly under 18 years of age.”

McGinley was being held at Porter County Jail.

Child exploitation is defined as knowingly or intentionally managing, producing, sponsoring, presenting, exhibiting, photographing, filming, videotaping, or creating a digitized image of any performance which includes sexual conduct by a child under the age of 18.

Possession of child pornography is defined as being in possession of an image which depicts or describes sexual conduct by a child under the age of 16.


What he was trying to say was "Someone sent me the images, but I was unable to delete them because I wanted to add them to my well catergorized collection for later viewing"
Sick freak

Pfizer executive is a sick freak

Judge denies bond in Child porn case
MICHAEL P. MAYKO
Article Last Updated: 08/04/2008 05:56:52 PM EDT


BRIDGEPORT — The former Pfizer executive caught in a child porn scandal won't be getting out on bond despite offering to post $500,000 Monday.

Following an hour-long hearing, Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton told Alan Hesketh that he considers the former global patent attorney for Pfizer a risk of flight by virtue of his owning four properties, including one on the Isle of Man off the Irish Sea, and because he has been an international traveler. "I'm not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I can rationalize my decision by my long experience in life" Eginton told Hesketh, a 61-year-old with the English equivalent of Ph.D and receipient of three different pensions. "But I can rationalize my decision by my long experience in life.

" Given the extent of his assets and his knowledge of travel I consider him more of a risk of flight," the judge said.

Eginton struck down a request for release pending sentencing from Jonathan Einhorn, Hesketh's lawyer. Last week, Hesketh, a British citizen who has been living in the U.S. for the past six weeks, pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing more than 1,000 images of child pornography.

As a result, he faces a mandatory minimum five year prison term when sentenced Oct. 17. The federal sentencing guidelines recommend he receive between 10 years and 12 years seven months in prison.

Once he completes his sentence, Hesketh is expected to be deported to England.

Einhorn told the judge that Janet Hesketh's the defendant's wife of 39 years, needs Hesketh home to help her arrange the family's finances in preparation for the prison term he received in October. He said the couple's four children all live in the United Kingdom.

"I don't know if that's going to be a detriment or an advantage," said the judge after hearing that initially Hesketh's wife wanted nothing to do with him after learning of the charges.' Hesketh was arrested at the Kennedy International Airport on March 26. At the time, federal agents found a portable hard drive containing 1,981 images and 71 video files many depicting sadomachistic activities on infants and young children.

A resulting investigation alleged that Hesketh carried this item with him on business trips and to work where he sometimes traded his collection over the internet.

"The images present were the most horrific depictions of infants and young children being abused," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Slater.

Agents from the U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement came across Hesketh's involving while investigating Gregory Nadolski, 29-year-old Buffalo, N.Y. man who lives at home with his parents and works as a company mail clerk. The pair traded dozens of images.

Nadolski, who cooperated with authorities, is free under house arrest.

Einhorn sought the same kind of conditions for his client, who was willing to post $500,000 backed by equity in his homes.

The lawyer also suggested if free Hesketh would receive necessary mental health treatment.

Hesketh is being detained without bond at the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls, R.I..


People may think that child porn is picture of naked kids standing there doing nothing, but that is far from the truth. Sure that can be considered child porn and be prosecuted as such but most times this is not what child porn collectors are interested in. Child porn is more like pictures of INFANTS, TODDLERS, and every age of children being TORTURED with sadistic sexual acts being not only forced upon thier little bodies that cannot withstand the abuse, but they are also forced to perform this upon other children and adults. Children have died from massive trauma to thier frail bodies as a result of some sicko getting his jollies. What is even worse is that these men KNOW that this child could die, but they don't care. This is another testiment that pedophilia cannot be "cured". These people are psychopaths and need to be institutionalized.

Internet predators getting busted in N.D.

Police pose as predators on online stings
An AP Member Exchange Feature By TERI FINNEMAN
The Forum
The Associated Press - Monday, August 04, 2008
BISMARCK, N.D.

Steve Harstad remembers the cold winter night when he first became a teenage girl.
Sitting at his computer, Harstad entered an Internet chat room. All it took was a few clicks on the keyboard to establish a new identity: that of a 13-year-old girl.
It didn't take long to make new friends.
Within two hours, a Fargo man struck up a flirtation with "her" as they exchanged typed messages. The man asked to meet in person the next day.
If he had shown up, he would have found himself surrounded by law enforcement and under arrest for Internet luring of a minor.
Harstad, 34, is a special agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Bismarck.
Part of his job is to catch online child predators. That means getting in touch with his inner teenage girl a few times each month to see if anyone tries to solicit "her" for sex via the computer.
"I feel very strongly that crimes against children are the worst possible crime," Harstad said.
"To be a part of something that maybe I'm getting that guy put away, maybe I'm getting that guy before he gets to the next child, is very rewarding for me," he said.
But opponents of law enforcements' efforts say men are being set up and prosecuted for victimless crimes.
"I think they're ruining a lot of lives, I guarantee you that," said Darnell Hitterdal-Olson of Moorhead, whose 24-year-old son was arrested earlier this year for solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual contact.
"There's two sides to every story," she said.
Both Fargo and Moorhead police departments assign officers to investigate Internet luring.
But, like for Harstad, trying to find time for the work isn't easy when there are child abuse, child pornography and other computer forensic cases to get done.
"Unfortunately, a big portion of what we do is reactive, where somebody has brought us a case and the child has already been affected," Harstad said.
"We're working on and hopefully being fairly successful with getting to be more proactive."
Because of their ongoing work, officers can't disclose all of the details about how they find child predators online.
They also declined having photos of themselves published because they are involved in arrests and don't want to be recognized.
However, they can give an overview of their training and what it's like to talk online to men interested in minors.
For Harstad, it isn't too difficult to sound like a teenage girl when he's typing back and forth with someone online.
He has nieces and nephews who keep him connected to what's cool and how they talk. He also pays attention to what's new in music and popular on TV.
Since men often ask his teenage personality for a photo, BCI takes pictures of young women who work in the office.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children then transforms the photos through age regression or other alterations.
"You can't just randomly take a picture off the Internet," Harstad said of why the extra work is done to create the photos. "What if (a predator) runs into that child? We have to be pretty careful with that."
With his photos ready, Harstad also creates Facebook, MySpace, Yahoo and MSN accounts to add to the believability of his teenage personality.
So far, it works.
"I've never had anybody call me out. I've never had anybody say you're not who you say you are," Harstad said.
"In general, I'm trying to talk to somebody else who's 35 or 40. They don't necessarily know what a 13-year-old would be into. In general, I'm talking to somebody else who's as naive about it as I am, I guess."
The publicity of "To Catch a Predator" means it takes longer for men to suggest meeting the "minor," Harstad said. But the show hasn't deterred men from seeking out children online.
"They're not real smart. It's a disease. It's an addiction for them," he said.
Not all men want to meet. Some just want to chat, but all conversations are documented if they're needed in court.
Fargo police investigator Paula Ternes said it isn't easy for her to chat online with child predators.
"It's a very strange feeling, thinking that the person on the other end of that computer wants to harm a child," she said. "Even though we are police officers and we've seen a lot and done a lot, that's something I'll never get used to by any means."
Ternes, 41, has only spent 22 hours or so posing online as a young teenager since April. Other duties kept her too busy.
Yet she's started forming pages on social networking sites and developing her online teenage personality.
A few years ago, Fargo police assisted Perverted Justice a group that goes after child predators online by making four arrests, Ternes said.
Ternes also worked with Moorhead police this year to arrest Allen Duane Halstad, 24, of Moorhead.
Halstad pleaded guilty to going into an Internet chat room and speaking with individuals he believed to be 13-year-old girls for the purpose of engaging in sexual contact.
He was actually talking to Ternes and Moorhead Police Sgt. Mike Detloff.
Moorhead police have made two arrests and are working on several cases since starting undercover chatting in January, Detloff said.
Detloff, 36, does research at home to keep his online teenage personality believable.
He pays attention to his preteen daughter and her friends "so I can throw that drama back into my online identity." He also listens to Taylor Swift and watches "Hannah Montana."
Men involved in the chats include college students, businessmen and "worthless bums," Detloff said. Conversations can turn dirty within minutes, and some men will use Web cams to show sexual images, he said.
"It's not uncommon for me to be having six conversations at one time," Detloff said.
His recent promotion in the department means another officer will soon take on the online chatting. He hopes efforts and funding to catch child predators will increase.
"This is a priority for us."



I've actually seen this in action here in Ohio. All it takes is a matter of minutes of a 13yr old girl popping up in a chat room and she has numerous men trying to talk to her. The "girl" only has to say something to the effect of "female 13 ohio" and within seconds she has adult men instant messaging her sexual messages and sending her links to thier webcams- featuring the men masterbating. It is wrong to think that these police try to "frame" these men. They always give them a way out by reminding them they are 13. Only on a rare occasion does someone tell the girl she is too young and to leave the chat room. Most of the time the men just say "If it doesn't bother you, it doesn't bother me". I just can't fathom how a 35 year old man can not be bothered at the notion that a 13 year old girl is watching him materbate, and he even takes it a step further to ask this CHILD very sexual questions and tell her explicitly what he would like to do to and with her sexually. These men are not "framed". They are sick, and are just upset that they got busted.

Sex offenders living with children?! This reporter doesn't think it is dangerous!

The Ohio House of Representatives has recently passed legislation that makes it a case of neglect if a parent allows a sex offender to reside in the same home as children. This legislation needs to be passed by the Senate before it can become law.

A reporter (Margo Pierce) for a Cincinnatti based newspaper (City Beat) was interviewing a woman (Jackie Sparling)who is a high ranking member of SoClear Media about the effects this law would have on sex offenders.

If you haven't heard before, SoClear Media is a radical group of sex offenders who will do anything to abolish the sex offender registry and other legislation dealing with sex offenders.

I offered Margo Pierce Women Against Sexual Predators opinion of the legislation so that she could have both side of the story for her article.

Margo Pierce intentionally misconstrued what WASP said to fit her own agenda- to defend sex offender rights.

here is my original letter to Margo:

Dear Margo,
I have been informed that you will be interviewing Jackie Sparling concerning HB111. I am sure you would understand my concern about you running a story about sex offenders living with children, and you only print the sex offenders side of the story. I would be willing to give WASP's opinion of the legislation, and even contact information for the parent who asked Rep. Collier to bring this legislation forward.

Tracy Golden
President
Ohio Chapter
WASP

Her reply was this:

Dear Ms. Golden,
Thank you for your interest in my upcoming article. If you've read any of my work you know that I frequently review and analyze state legislation. I have some experience in this area and do not spare poorly written laws criticism, not matter how they are cloaked – helping the elderly, protecting children, saving jobs. Thoughtful analysis that attempts to extrapolate potential consequences (intended or otherwise) and the legality of the action are my primary goals.
Please do not make the mistaken and simplistic assumption that if I do not agree with the way a law is written that I support the opposing view (e.g. if I find this legislation lacking then I support allowing all sexual predators to roam free and victimize whomever they choose). I support good public policy that is able to accomplish what is is designed to do and call law makes to task on sloppy, inn-conceived work.If you could take some time to respond to a few questions that would be helpful. I can't make any guarantees about how much, if any, of your responses will be included simply because my word count is only 675 and my editor has final say.My deadline is Friday, so I will need to you're your responses by noon tomorrow. If I don't hear from you I'll presume you aren't interested,
Best regards,
Margo Pierce


Her Questions: My answers in purple

How does this law make children any safer when child welfare agencies already have extensive rights to investigate even a hint of abuse and all of the people in any household where an accusation is made?

As everyone already knows, Child Welfare Agencies consistantly are poorly ran. Everytime I hear from a family who is having problems getting thier childs sexual abuser prosecuted is due to the lack of help and actual hinderance from Children Services. Unless there is DNA left in the child, many times they refuse to prosecute because they refuse to take the words of a child as true.
This law will make children safer because it will do what some parents lack to do, which is use common sense. You do not place your children in a home with a convicted felon who has a propensity to sexually abuse. We all know the staggering statistic that the over 90% of victims know thier attacker. It would be foolish to assume that this is not occuring in thier home.
From RAINN:
In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.
Of these, 75% were girls.
Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.
93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.
34.2% of attackers were family members.
58.7% were acquaintances.
Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

The language for HB111 does not include any language that protects parents who are unaware of a former conviction in their guest's past – if the person lies, is not registered and therefore not on any list, etc. – so what recourse will these parents have to get their children back? What is going to be done to prevent the unnecessary trauma children will face being wrongly separated from their families?

Parents will have to prove to children services that they are no longer neglectful IE: remove the offender from the home.

They will not be wrongly seperated from thier families. They will be seperated for thier own protection until the sexual offender is removed from the home. You do not leave the fox in the chicken coop and hope that he leaves. First you protect the chickens, then remove the fox.

Your own analysis of this bill makes it clear that you expect many children to be removed form their homes. Why is there no funding included to pay for the added burden this will place on the already under-funded child welfare system?

I don't know if there will be a significant number of children affected due to the fact that most sex offenders are "loners" after release.
I did not write the legislation, so I don't know. This bill was mirrored after one in Florida.

As I'm sure you know, up to 95 percent of the victims of sexual abuse know their attackers – a parents, sibling, aunt, uncle, coach, teacher. If incest is identified and reported, the families will never be allowed to reunite and heal under the threat of minor children being taken away when parents are charged with neglect. How does this help the child?

Are you serious? Most children do not want to "reunite" with someone who has raped or molested them. The farther away from thier abuser they are , the more safe they feel. If the childs parents still want to hang out with Uncle Joe who raped thier little girl, then they can go to his house and visit him, and leave thier child with a babysitter.

The goal of the child welfare system is to reunite families whenever possible – to help create healthy family environments – but this legislation will eliminate that possibility because any placement of the child back in the home will result in another charge of neglect if the offender is in the family. How can HB 111 be a protection for children when you eliminate the possibility of returning to their biological families?

The possibility is not eliminated. The child can return home when it is offender free. The child cannot LIVE with a sex offender. If the family really felt that the offender was an important member of thier family, they would visit them. This law is not about keeping children out of the presence of all sex offenders ~ it is about keeping KNOWN sexual abusers out of the homes with children. A child cannot dictate who they live with, but this law will at least keep sexual abusers out of thier homes. A child has a right to not be FORCED to live with thier abuser.

It is impossible to prevent a crime – if another person wants to commit a crime, they are going to do it. The most anyone can do is practice personal safety – if protecting children is what you want to do then why is there no provision for educating the public about how to practice personal safety related to sexual assault and identify the behaviors in children that are hiding the fact that they are being hurt? (When a child's parent is threatened by her attacker, the child does not tell so how is a parent.)

I'm sure you have heard , but the Gov. has decided to cut funding in those areas. I would love to see some type of legislation that makes this mandatory in schools.

I do not see any language in the bill that addresses false accusation – how is a family or parent supposed to defend themselves against this open-ended language and vindictiveness of others? Say an ex-husband doesn't like the man his ex-wife marries, so he makes an unfounded accusation that subjects the children and the family to an unnecessary invasion of their privacy. (The number of false charges that occur in divorce situations alone make it impossible to say this kind of thing will not happen.)

This legislation only is geared towards convicted sex offenders, not "suspected".

Her response:

Dear Ms. Golden,
Thank you for taking time to respond to my questions. Just like everyone else, I have a boss and my editor is the one who makes all final decisions about what ends up in print. As soon as the HB 111 review is up on line I'll forward a link so that you will be able to see what answers you provided are printed, poor grammar and all.
In the meantime, I am writing to remind you that your responses are all "on the record" and can be used in the article. You avoided directly answering a number of questions. made some broad and potentially inaccurate assumptions about the victims of sex crimes and misrepresent the truth of the potential repercussion of this legislation.
Best regards,
Margo

Margo Pierce
Staff Writer, CityBeat
513.665.4700 Ext. 136
mpierce@citybeat.com
811 Race Street, Fifth Floor
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
www.citybeat.com


NICE HUH?


Her Article:
http://citybeat.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A145630

News: Background Checks for Houseguests
Ohioans might be at risk of losing their kids if they don't know a visitor's criminal history
BY Margo Pierce Posted 07/16/2008

A friend from another state spends a few nights in your home. One morning before he leaves, a social worker shows up on your doorstep with a cop telling you that she's there to remove your children pending an investigation of an anonymous allegation of negligence.
If convicted of child endangerment, you could lose custody of your children. Permanently.
Sound like a bad made-for-TV-movie? It's a real-life scenario that will play out all over Ohio if House Bill 111, already passed by the Ohio House, moves out of a Senate committee and is voted into law by legislators.
The brief summary provided by the bill's author, State Rep. Thom Collier (R-Mount Vernon), states that the law will in part "expand the definition of neglected child to include a child whose parent, guardian or custodian knowingly allows certain sexually oriented offenders or child-victim offenders to reside in the same residence as that child."
If you're not aware of a houseguest's conviction on a sex-related crime, your children could be defined as "neglected." Can't prove you didn't "knowingly" allow this to happen? You're going to be in deep, because anyone could make an anonymous call to the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services (JFS) and start an investigation.
One of the many problems with this law -- beyond unnecessary trauma for children who aren't at risk and debates over wrongful convictions -- is that it's redundant. JFS already has the power to launch investigations of parents; all they need is a suggestion of abuse, according to Jackie Sparling, administrative assistant for the Sex Offender Support and Education Network.
Sparling is a child-victim of molestation at the hands of a family member. She passionately believes that former offenders have the right to a second chance.
Sparling says that most individuals on the Ohio electronic sex offender registry are male and many have children. She says HB111 all but guarantees that former sex offenders will be prohibited from living with and therefore parenting their own children.
"Case workers are human beings," she says. "Human beings come with their own set of prejudices. ... They're going to go in (to home investigations) with a preconceived notion ... and I fear happy, healthy, well-adjusted children are going to be taken out of perfectly fine and wonderful homes ... and put into foster care."
The potential for false accusations and botched investigations is something Tracy Golden, president of the Ohio chapter of Women Against Sexual Predators, avoids addressing. When asked to comment about the potential harm done to children and families when false accusations of abuse are made, she doesn't respond. She does point out problems within the agencies as proof this law is necessary.
"As everyone already knows, child welfare agencies consistently are poorly run," Golden says. "Every time I hear from a family who is having problems getting their child's sexual abuser prosecuted (it's) due to the lack of help and actual hindrance from Family Services. Unless there is DNA left in the child, many times they refuse to prosecute because they refuse to take the words of a child as true.
"This law will make children safer because it will do what some parents lack to do, which is use common sense. You do not place your children in a home with a convicted felon who has a propensity to sexually abuse. We all know the staggering statistic that the over 90 percent of victims know their attacker. It would be foolish to assume that this is not occurring in their home."
Golden says children won't be taken from a safe home environment as a result of HB111.
"They will not be wrongly separated from their families," she says. "They will be separated for their own protection until the sexual offender is removed from the home. You do not leave the fox in the chicken coop and hope that he leaves. First you protect the chickens, then remove the fox."
Aside from providing no evidence to support her claims about JFS obstructing investigations, Golden's logic is flawed. She assumes that any person convicted of any sex crime is a risk to a child.
The nature of the mental health issues that cause people to act out sexually aren't all the same (see "Postcards from the Edge," issue of Jan. 12, 2005). Portraying people convicted of any sex crime as out to molest children and a guaranteed repeat offender isn't helping children or anyone else, according to Sparling.
"There are about 600,000 people in the national registry," she says. "According to the Department of Justice, only about 5.3 percent are people you'd really want to know if they were your neighbor -- they are of the predator caliber. The rest of them are paying for that 5.3 percent.
"Ninety five percent of all new sex crimes are committed by people who are not on that registry. So tell me, what good is it? It's a public gallows. It's a shaming tool. We should know from past history that it does not work."
One of the things that concerns Katherine Blacksmith (not her real name) of Northern Ohio is the "false sense of security" laws like HB111 give the general public. She believes the money spent on registries and enforcing laws that prohibit former offenders from living within 1,000 feet of a school perpetuate a "lie" that children are safe from sexual abuse if these laws are enforced.
After working with former offenders for five years, Blacksmith says that most people still aren't aware that most offenders know their victims.
"It's a false sense of security because ... it's normally someone that's close to the victim," she says. " 'Stranger danger,' are there those icky pedophiles out there? Yes. But they make up such a minute part of the population and yet everybody is being classified as being that dangerous."
Now married to a former sex offender who committed his crime more than 25 years ago, Blacksmith says the stigma is an added punishment but the laws on top of that make it difficult to move on.
"We have the worst of the worst case here with my husband," she says. "What I find very disturbing is that he spent over 19 years in prison. He received treatment. He got a very good job since he got out. He's getting on with his life. He has remorse. He doesn't blame anyone else for what he did, and yet he's going to be persecuted for life."
Unwilling to subject his victim to potential publicity participating in an interview could bring, Blacksmith and her husband decided to remain anonymous. They want to live their life together with their daughter, who's a toddler, and that's what they're trying to do despite his requirement to register for life as a sex offender.
"My husband is a lot of things: He's a husband, a father, a Viet Nam veteran," Blacksmith says. "He had a great naval career, he's a hard worker, he's a friend. He's somebody's uncle, cousin. But sex offender still remains. ... Does that ever go away?"
HB111 additionally mandates that former sex offenders can't change their name or they'll face fraud charges. It also contains outdated language -- the passage of Senate Bill 10 last year changes all of the offender categories -- and includes an exception for an offender who's a juvenile in order to allow families to deal with problems related to incest when the offender is under age and a blood relative.


Did you notice that they focus entirely on the fact that most abusers are known to the child
*THE VERY REASON for this bill that they now deny a need for

Now does that seem like a fair story?
I didn't think so.......
so I decided to write the editor of the paper, John Fox
My Letter..........

Dear Mr. Fox,

I am writing in complaint of the article recently published about HB111. I contacted Margo when I learned through the sex offender support forums that she was writing an article against HB111, and was planning on asking one of the senior members of the sex offender support group for an interview (Jackie Sparling). I offered Margo my opinion on the legislation so that she could get both sides of the story for her article.

Little was I aware that Margo seems to think that the sex offenders are the victims. I came to this conclusion after reviewing Margo's numerous articles on the subject of sex offenders and the legislation against them. In every article she quotes individuals from various groups that support sex offenders, or advocate for thier rights- yet she rarely interviews victims advocates about thier side. When she does, she makes them appear as if they are crazed lunatics.

I am assuming that Margo must have a sex offender in her family that she feels is getting a bad wrap, or else she would not be interviewing and siding with convicted felons, thier families, and the radical groups that they belong to.

SoClear Media- a group almost entirely consisting of child victim sex offenders and thier loved ones. Jackie Sparlin belongs to this group. Her husband tried to lure a 13 year old to his home to be his captive sex slave. Jackie feels that the public should not be aware of sex offenders and thier crimes http://www.wikisposure.com/SOclear_Media_Productions

Roar For Freedom- The founders (Betty Price) husband, convicted of sexual battery of a child under 12. One member wanted to start a "sex offender militia". He wanted to arm themselves, and he said that the media and polititcans would be thier targets because of all of the grief that they have caused sex offenders.
http://www.wikisposure.com/Roar_for_Freedom

SOSEN- The former leader Shirley Lowery believes that pedophiles are a natural part of society and even claimed that Jesus was a pedophile. She also claims that Jessica Lunsfords death was actually an assisted suicide by John Couey. They kicked Shirley out only after she started sabotaging her own group. The new leader Linda Pehrson, welcomed her husband back into her home after he was convicted of molesting her daughter, who is also still in the home. http://www.wikisposure.com/SOSEN

Most members of these groups are also members of the other groups. Many have signed this petition created by a NAMBLA member, that basically wants to abolish the sex offender registry, to eliminate the age of consent so that ANY child under 18 can legally consent, and any other law that may restrict sex offenders. http://www.wikisposure.com/Reform_Sex_Offender_Laws_Campaign

I could go on and on about the groups she has decided to associate your paper with supporting.

Not only that, she misleads the public as to the true consequences of the law. She falsely states that if someone spends the night at your home and they are a sex offender, your kids will be taken away.

The law as passed by the house states that if an convicted sex offender resides in a home with children, it is considered neglect. Residence refers to a place of adode that is more than merely temporary. ( http://definitions.uslegal.com/r/residence/ )

Then she posts the link to the legislation as it was INTRODUCED, not the link to what the bill was when it was passed - basically leaving out the amendments.

I have also attached below the copy of our correspondence. She was exceptionally rude without provocation other than she did not agree with my opinion.

You will also see that she lied about me refusing to answer her questions. If I did not know, I stated so. And when she asked a question about false accusations, I corrected her, I did not refuse to answer. Only people convicted of a sex crime are considered. If you have pled guilty to or been convicted of a sex crime- that is not a false accusation, but a proven fact in the court of law.

I suggest you do something about Margo turning your newspaper into a sex offender advocacy "free for all". The vast majority of citizens believe that sex offender restrictions and legislation are important to keep our families safe. Your articles should be about what is important to your readers, not Margo.

Oh, and by the way- this is "on the record", as I will be posting this on various websites.

Best Regards,
Tracy Golden

If anyone feels the need to write the editor, or Margo
thier email as listed on the city beat website is
John Fox - Editor & Co-Publishere-mail: jfox@citybeat.com
Margo Pierce - Staff Writere-mail: mpierce@citybeat.com

Man abducts two men, rapes and tortures them in Wisconsin

Man charged with 12 felonies in Wis. abductions
By ROBERT IMRIE Associated Press Writer

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. — A paper mill worker accused of abducting and sexually assaulting two men was charged with 12 felonies Friday, and authorities said he told an investigator "he knew what he did was wrong."
A judge found probable cause for a preliminary hearing for 46-year-old Edward Lanphear.

Police say Lanphear held two men in his house, stripped them, chained them up, beat them and assaulted them several times. One of the men told police Lanphear threatened him with a gun.
Police said that after one of the men escaped early this week, the other was found in the basement of Lanphear's home in a rural area outside Wisconsin Rapids, in the central part of the state.
Lanphear faces felony counts of kidnapping, sexual assault, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment, substantial battery, and misdemeanor impersonating a peace officer. He's being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
Lanphear, 46, said little when he appeared in court by video conference Friday afternoon, and his attorney declined to comment on the charges. Lanphear remains in jail on $1 million bond.
Investigators have been searching Lanphear's home but have found no evidence of other crimes committed there, Wood County Sheriff Thomas Reichert said.
According to a criminal complaint, Lanphear picked up a 23-year-old weary from a night of drinking as the man sat at a curb Friday. Lanphear then allegedly hit the man over the head and abducted him. He kidnapped a 21-year-old man early Tuesday morning after the man got drunk at a Wisconsin Rapids bar and passed out in his truck, the complaint said.
Lanphear chained both men naked in his home, blindfolded them with duct tape and sexually assaulted them, the complaint said.
The 23-year-old told investigators Lanphear put what felt like a shotgun to his face at one point. He said he also heard a gunshot and smelled gunpowder and Lanphear told him, "This is just to let you know I'm serious," the complaint said.
The 21-year-old told investigators he was able to escape Tuesday night because he asked Lanphear for a cigarette and Lanphear left the home to buy some, the complaint said.
The man said he removed his blindfold, dragged a ladder close enough so he could use it to climb to the ceiling in the garage, got out of his restraints and ran naked next door to seek help, the complaint said.
Lanphear returned as officers were talking to the man, the complaint said.
When officers went to Lanphear's home, he had the 23-year-old get dressed and brought him from the basement, Reichert said. He said there was no evidence Lanphear intended to kill the men and that he had talked to one of them about possibly releasing them.
Lanphear spoke with one sheriff's deputy and told him "that he knew what he did was wrong," the complaint said.
He has since stopped speaking to investigators and asked for an attorney, so investigators do not have a complete statement from him, Reichert said.
So far, authorities have collected more than 100 pieces of evidence, including chains, restraints, handcuffs and guns, Reichert said.
The two men were home with their families Friday, recovering from bruises and cuts and the emotional ordeal of a "truly nightmarish" incident, the sheriff said. He called them heroes for doing what they needed to do to survive.
"They were subjected to some things that boggle your mind," Reichert said.