Pedo's web site - is he doing anything wrong?

[Dominic]

this guy has a web site where he claims he is a pedophile, but one that has never acted on his urges. He posts pictures of clothed little girls in non-sexual poses and links to children's activites in Sothern California (book fairs, parks, etc.)

There is an uproar about him and lots of people are mobilizing in order to stop him.

But is he actually doing anything wrong, under the law?

[amplify]

Nothing wrong legally. Morally, he's a cesspool, but freedom allows for that.

[Aloysius]

Anti Jack McCellan Website

NY Times Article

Apparently, according to the NYT article:

[ QUOTE ]
He had been posting nonsexual pictures of children on a Web site intended to promote the acceptance of pedophiles, and to direct other pedophiles to events and places where children tended to gather.

[/ QUOTE ]

This seems different from freedom of expression, imo. He's proactively galvanizing pedophiles and helping them find children... seems potentialy illegal but I'm not a law-talking guy so I don't really know.

-Al

[IronFly]

there is a difference between that which is wrong and that which is illegal

dude is wrong, no matter what the law says

[Aloysius]

Dom - think the below from the NYT article adequately addresses the legal issues here:

[ QUOTE ]
Theirs will most likely be a difficult road. While posting pictures of children in sexual situations is a felony, posting them fully clothed in everyday situations is not, even in the context of sexualizing them by proxy, so to speak, First Amendment scholars said. Further, while inciting others to commit crimes can be illegal, it is unclear whether giving people links to children’s book fairs is criminal.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
“It is an interesting case,” said Eugene Volokh, a law professor and First Amendment expert at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Professor Volokh cited a federal statute that bars the posting of bomb-making information on the Web, and suggested that a similar statute banning information that helps people find children to molest could be enacted, perhaps. But simply providing information about where children gather was not likely to constitute such a crime, he said.

In terms of children’s images, he said: “The general rule is pictures of people in public are free for people to publish. Now if it is without permission and the person is a child and he suggests the children are sexual targets, you can imagine a court saying this is a new First Amendment exception. But it would be an uphill battle.”

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the bolded is a very good idea.

-Al

[SNOWBALL]

I honestly sympathize with people who are sexually attracted to children but manage to not act on it. That is to say, I do not believe that thoughts or urges in themselves should be considered immoral or illegal. However, providing the location of events where children gather in the context of the rest of his website's content is just abominable. I seriously doubt that his claim of never acting on his urges is true.

[MicroBob]

If this isn't illegal then could I do a website where I help people break into cars and rob defenseless seniors?

What about identifying which banks or jewelry stores are easiest to rob and how to do it and on which days?

How about areas/parks/24-hour gyms/apartment buildings/whatever where you show people where there is zero security and at what times a specific female always goes there.
"I've personally never raped her. But this one is just asking for it and it would be SOOOOO easy....especially for a group of 3 or more to hold her down."


I seem to be more and more in favor of censorship of some of the more ridiculous stuff as I grow older.

[zasterguava]

[ QUOTE ]
If this isn't illegal then could I do a website where I help people break into cars and rob defenseless seniors?

What about identifying which banks or jewelry stores are easiest to rob and how to do it and on which days?

How about areas/parks/24-hour gyms/apartment buildings/whatever where you show people where there is zero security and at what times a specific female always goes there.
"I've personally never raped her. But this one is just asking for it and it would be SOOOOO easy....especially for a group of 3 or more to hold her down."


I seem to be more and more in favor of censorship of some of the more ridiculous stuff as I grow older.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is a website in England that promotes (and has resulted in) people of a left-wing persuasion being beaten up, car bombed and so on. The website posts their photo's and home adress etc. Apparently, there is no legal way to close them down as long as there clever in the way they present the information.

Article on website

[jackflashdrive]

Pedophilia is an interesting case because courts in the past have justified civil confinement of pedophiles AFTER their release from prison simply on the basis that (1) they are pedophiles and (2) pedophiles have a very high recidivism rate. I'm not sure what the current state of the law is, but given the fact that this individual (1) identifies himself as a pedophile and (2) knowlingly puts himself in situations where he has contact with children, I think civil confinement on the basis that he is a threat could be justified. I assume a judge would have to issue a restraining order first, limiting his contact with children for as long as he identifies himself as someone sexually attracted to children. Given the very threatening context of his web activities I don't think that would be unreasonable.

(Plus he is poor so how is he supposed to fight the restraining order? I don't think you get a public defender when issued a restraining order)

[Los Feliz Slim]

Holy crap, the Booby Brigade made the news? My wife belongs to that group. You need an invitation to join, I tried to get her to make a fake invitation for me so I could mess around with it, those ladies can be NUTS. They fight about everything. This was and remains huge story on her forum, I keep expecting this guy to get killed and for every husband of a member of Booby Brigade to be a suspect (Law and Order style).

As a lefty liberal, I think people should pretty much be free to express what they think with very few limits. This guy is awful close to that line, obviously. But, as the father of a daughter in LA, I'd like this guy to be taken out back and shot.