The New York Times recently reported on the online activities of a California pedophile named Jack McClellan. He has blogged about how and where he trolls for children, but because he has no record, he can't be barred from places where children congregate. The article describes the understandable rage of one stay-at-home mother in East Los Angeles who recently read a post of McClellan's that seemed to be describing her daughter at a neighborhood festival.(Photo: New York Times)
Obviously, even if he's not acting on his fantasies, this guy is a predator, and he's clearly tormenting the parents whose kids he's writing about and of whom he's sometimes posting (clothed, snapshot) photos. As a mother, we consider guys like this our worst nightmare.
And yet, that East L.A. mother is part of a movement to make posting any photos of minors on any sex-themed website illegal, which we fear would make it so, say, the online sex-and-culture magazine Nerve.com, where we've worked for a couple of years, would be subject to prosecution if a non-sexual YouTube video of a silly tween music video was linked to by one of the blogs.
Nerve's publisher testified (details here) in the March 2007 hearings related to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which required indecent sites (potentially even one that had just a photo of breasts) from access by minors. The ultimate decision: the judge who struck down COPA enforcement said, "perhaps we do the minors of this country harm if First Amendment protections, which they will with age inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection."
We agree. There have to be better ways to protect the community from the pedophile blogger. Suggestions?
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. This guy recently moved from my community because of the kinds of information he was posting on the web. He told authorities he was leaving for LA because he didn't feel like he had the freedom to observe his prey that he had before being outed.
Authorities "couldn't do anything" since he hadn't touched a child, but he photographed and posted pictures of local children at public events, thus skirting around the law.
This guy is sensitive to community pressure. Keep your eyes open. Watch him in public places. stand in front of his camera. Point him out to other parents and children with instructions to avoid.
We didn't have the luxury (until now) of knowing what he looked like.
Here's the story from here...
BREAKING NEWS Mar. 29, 2007
PUBLIC SAFETY
Pedophile Web site shut down
HOW IT HAPPENED
BELLINGHAM -- A Web site catering to pedophiles and listing family events in Whatcom County has been shut down.
Internet service provider Network Solutions, which hosted the site, had its legal department review the site and decided it went against the company’s standards, a spokeswoman said.
The man who runs the “Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Girl Love” site said earlier this week it had been shut down before. He apparently moved it to a new service provider.
It was not immediately clear if he would against move the site to a new provider.
A story on the Web site appeared in Tuesday’s Bellingham Herald.
The Snohomish County man behind the site has been investigated by several police agencies. While the site contained photos of young girls at public events, lists of area events they might attend, and information on the law, there was nothing illegal on it, police said.
However, the site had drawn the attention of Perverted Justice, an online watchdog group that exposes pedophiles and alerts police about them. Its founder called the site “one of the most disturbing we’ve seen.”
A phone call from Opinion Editor Scott Ayers alerted the ISP that hosted the pedophile Web site. This was his blog from yesterday..
Phone call leads to suspension of pedophile’s Web site
SCOTT AYERS
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Network Solutions, a Virginia-based Internet Service Provider, has suspended the Web site of a Northwest Washington man who promotes pedophilia.
The man’s site, at www.stegl.org, was run through Network Solutions until I phoned them Wednesday.
Spokeswoman Susan Wade told me the company’s legal department first contacted the man and demanded he give them a real name, and not the alias he had used to sign up for service.
The man told them his name is Jack McClellan. Wade said the department is still reviewing to make sure that also is not an alias, though the person did provide them with a driver's license or other identification. Local officials have since confirmed that is the Web site owner's name.
The legal department then reviewed the content of the site and suspended it for “going against our acceptable use policy,” Wade said.
The Web site called itself “Seattle-Tacoma-Everett girl love” and featured stories about pedophilia, links to other pedophilia sites and photos of local girls taken in public places.
Local police were monitoring the site, but said there was nothing illegal on it that they had found.
Whatcom County residents have been outraged since our news department broke the story of the site in Tuesday’s paper. Some who checked out the site found photos of their daughters or their daughters’ friends taken at public events in Whatcom County.
I was able to find the name of the ISP through a search tool known as Whois, which is available to anyone online. I contacted Wade as part of research I was doing for an editorial for this Sunday’s paper. Wade immediately told the company’s investigative office of the site and they took it down early Thursday morning.
Some people might argue that by doing so I have promoted censorship. I believe strongly that everyone has the right to free speech. But that doesn’t mean that businesses such as Network Solutions have to support that speech. They have the right to refuse service, and have done everyone a favor by shutting down this disgusting site.
Dramaqueen at 11:05AM on Jul 30th 2007
2. If parents today took control of their children's free time instead of allowing the computer/television/xbox to do the babysitting for them, predators would never have such easy access.
sandilytg at 1:17PM on Jul 30th 2007
3. This idiot was on CNN earlier today, and he is truly repulsive.
However, I agree with Sandy#2 - stop letting your minor children play on the internet unsupervised. The internet is a magnet for creeps like this guy.
Watch your kids, folks! That is just common sense with or without predators.
David S. at 2:19PM on Jul 30th 2007
4. "Those who would sacrifice freedom for 'security,' deserve neither."
--Thomas Jefferson (I think)
John Swinglish at 2:38PM on Jul 30th 2007
5. There is a cure for this "disease". It's called a bullet. Someone needs to help this guy out with the cure.
Kristen at 6:00PM on Jul 30th 2007
6. Confucious say: Man with hole in pocket, feels cocky.
Grant at 7:34PM on Jul 30th 2007
7. This guy isn't stalking his prey on the internet, that's his forum to display his "trophies," folks, his stalking takes place in the community, so the best way to deal with him? Continued pressure from the public and scrutiny from law enforcement. It's practically a certainty that he's done something illegal already (I'd bet dollars to doughnuts he has an illegal porn stash somewhere on his property). The continued pressure (within confines of the law, of course) is the best course of action the surrounding community can take--until he's (I dare say) caught with his pants down (let's hope not literally).
Blenderhead at 5:18PM on Jul 31st 2007
8. This guy is sick. When will the justice system start protecting the victims and not the criminal. Clearly if we had a stonger justice system people like this man would think twice before commiting an attrocity such as what he is doing. Clearly it's taking the general population taking matters into their own hands to run him out of town. I say hip hip hooray to those taking a stand.
Peggy P. at 8:52PM on Jul 31st 2007
9. "There is a cure for this "disease". It's called a bullet. Someone needs to help this guy out with the cure."
I agree Kristen, the only thing to do with people who are sexually attracted to children is to kill them without a second thought. Despite all the fforts wasted on them, pedophiles have a 0% rehabilitation rate. As for people like this McClellan who have supposedly "never acted" on such desires (which I find really hard to believe; how many of us non-sickos have "never acted" on their sexual desires?), I wouldn't even take the risk of letting him walk freely. Since the public should not be forced to keep these perverts fed with their tax dollars, the only humane thing to do is wipe them off the face of the erath. I hope to see more shooting and less handcuffing on "To Catch A predator" in the future.
Eddie at 4:38AM on Aug 1st 2007
10. well, i believe y'all are not looking at the flip side of this. i would not kill the messenger. despite his prediliction, he is providing parents and law enforcement with specifics. knowledge is power. don't hide it from your kids but give it to them straight so that will have another "weapon" in their arsensal for self-defense. i can't be with my kids all the time every day but im indefatigable about teaching self-survival skills in spite of what some parents believe should be hidden from children. that could wind up being a costly oversight.
boredwell at 2:31AM on Aug 2nd 2007