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Patrick Naughton Arrested

Pomme de Terre! writes "Patrick Naughton - Java-genius, Starwave CTO, & Infoseek VP - has been arrested for chasing 13 year old girls *and* having kiddie porn on his computer... and is probably going to be put away for a very long time. Very sad. " See also the Yahoo story. As executive vice president of products at Infoseek, was Naughton in charge of GoGuardian?

473 comments

  1. Re:Clarkson University: Too damn cold by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At the time he was there, the ratio was 6 guys for each (fat, ill-tempered) girl. To that, add sub-zero winter tempratures, a month of freezing rain each spring, and a dearth of activities other than homework and beer, you get a climate that easily leads to desperation. It can take a long time to thaw. It's a wonder there aren't more snipers and Unabombers listed in their alumni directory.

  2. shows the negative side of excessive computer use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Computer use can become like an addiction and it can dissociate some people from reality (much like being inside a car whenever you travel leads to the depersonalization of other drivers that leads to road rage).

    here is a guy who spent his formative years spending 100 hour weeks in a cube in Menlo Park. I'm not suprised he's so screwed up.

    For those of you who claim you aren't screwed up and you spend every waking moment in a virtual world, I say, "how do you know?" or "just wait and see".

  3. Re:seattle-> california by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "little slut"? "just not ripe"? You're part of the problem, you misogynist cretin.

  4. Role Playing Crimes? Federal Offenses? by runswithd6s · · Score: 1
    I've been browsing through these comments, and I'd be surprised if someone actually filters their way down to this one. Still, I think there is very important point that has to be recognized when using the "role-playing" defense of action in this case. It doesn't apply very well. Why? Child pornography is child pornography. The motive for making this law was to protect children from sexual abuse by prohibiting the sale or consumption of child pornography material. Pictures, videos, audio, printed, and yes, real-time chat. How does real-time chat really differ from any other media?

    Child pornography is child pornography. The US deemed it unlawful to partake in actions which constitute or contribute to a child pornographic environment. A chat-room (or channel) is an environment. Fantasizing and role-playing a child pornographic scene is still child pornography even if you have two 45 year old people chatting to eachother.

    That is one possible stance the prosecutor will try to take to defend the unlawful entrapment countercharges. Frankly, I think it'll be a strong argument. Not because of any virtue of it's own -- it clearly takes many liberties with the definition of the law concerning child pornography and how one defines pornographic material -- but simply because this topic involves protecting those who cannot protect themselves, the children. The prosecutor will play the sympathies of the jurors (if it ever gets to that) or to the judge. If any of these people are parents, the defendant will have a tough time of it.

    The defendant will have a tough time with this one, regardless of his guilt or innocense. The way it's been presented to me, he seems pretty guilty, but I'm not the investigator or the judge.

    --
    assert(expired(knowledge)); /* core dump */
  5. All this cause he used m$ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is how he should have done it.. Secure encrypted FS on a free OS & Spoofing..

    But seriously, Pedio's are sick. And If you ever do meet on on IRC, I think it's morally correct to try all your exploits on their boxes, (think about it, if someone cracked a box like this guy's.. they might have found something worth the crack). Also ICMP floods are justified against pedios. There is one other group of IRC nuts I rage war on, that's the guys who pretend to be girls.. totally sick.. try #userfriendly and see what I mean, illiyad needs glasses.

  6. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by w3woody · · Score: 1

    The problem here is that he had the *intent* to have sex with a minor. That's all the law requires: to show beyond a reasonable doubt that he *intended* to have sex with a person he believed to be a minor. (Did you read the article? Did you notice the fact that he received pictures of a 13 year old who he was told was the person he was talking to? Or the fact that he flew down from Seattle to have sex with this 13 year old? He wasn't caught in his office masturbating to a chat room--he had taken the extra step to actually go out and screw a 13 year old. Big difference.)

    The law requires only a demonstration of *intent* because the law recongises that having the police pimp out 13 year old minors in order to have sex with others is an unreasonable thing to do.

    Don't worry; you can continue to chat about anything you want. Just don't drive out there and have sex with a minor, okay?

  7. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    People who hang out in a "FATHER&DAUGHTER" sex channel have crossed a line. It isn't possible to nail them for that mere act. It's appropriate to nail them when they show they didn't just wander in, and begin actively engaging in predatory behavior.

    You aren't gonna find many people who agree with your point of view on this one. I recommend you go out in street with a placard and face mothers and fathers who won't agree that you have the right to act on their childrens' wandering thoughts during adolescence. Hiding behind a "handle" online makes it possible to have all sorts of weasely opinions. Get out more, air out some of those ideas so their wrongness can become apparent. It's in your interest to do so.

  8. Are you f*cking kidding me? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    What on earth are you talking about? Did you just pull this out of your ass? You're throwing your own opinions into what started as a purely legal explanation. You're using knee-jerk arguments, and trying to suggest that the legal matters have anything to do with the emotional ones. Fine, he's a loathsome individual, fine, pedophiles are disgusting, terrible people, but legal rights have nothing to do with how much you hate group a or group b.

    Legal rights are afforded to EVERYONE. That's how they work.

  9. Re:Fucked up analogy by w3woody · · Score: 1

    Except...

    Except that he *did* go out and meet his "victim." This, along with the chat room stuff, the pointers to web sites containing pictures of his genitals, and the suggestion that they were meeting to "make out", go a long way towards demonstrating his intention to have sex with a minor.

    The law is rather explicit about this: it is illegal to act with the intention of having sex with a minor. Whether he actually intended to have sex, or if he was just being a non-sexual creep is something for a jury to sort out.

    I wouldn't bet on him being found "not guilty."

  10. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by Rift · · Score: 1

    Well, yes, entrapment and the power of the law can be scary, but let's think this through..

    He actually thought that this girl was 13, and attempted to meet her to have sex with her.

    If he had meet an actual 13yr old vulnerable to his 'charms', he would have possibly had sex with her.

    Would you rather the law reacted to this, and let this girls life (and others?) possibly be ruined before they arrested him? Or should they try to stop it before he does it? If I had talked to this agent, who pretended to be a 13 yearold, I would have had a polite online conversation, and left her alone. (I have little in common with 13 yr old girls) They would not have arrested me, or searched my computer for kiddie porn. Why couldn't he do the same? The fact that he didn't do the same means he WOULD try it with any real girls he meets online.

    If I tried to hire a hitman to kill you, wouldn't you rather that the first one I found was actually an agent undercover, instead? If so, should I be let go because he wasn't an _actual_ agent, but only a pretend one? So by your logic, the crime never happened, right?

    I believe that the lawmakers go too far, and some law enforcers go too far. But in cases involving sex with minors (my sister is 13), I say, hang 'em all.

  11. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by dangermouse · · Score: 1

    Okay, sharp guy, would you rather bust a guy for crossing state lines with intent to have sex with a minor and throw his ass in jail (which is the current plan), or wait til he actually HAS had sex with a minor and charge him for that? Personally, I prefer the former, which under federal law is a crime, and he performed an act which violated it.

  12. Re:If twas no 13yr old girl, how can there be crim by Jherico · · Score: 1

    If you try to shoot someone and they happen to be wearing a bulletproof vest, you're still guilty of attempted murder, which is a crime.

    The point is that you have to have laws making it illegal to try to do something, because otherwise the only way you can possibly prosecute someone is to actually let them do harm, in this case, sexually abuse a 13 year old.

    Specifically, Mr. Naughton is charged with "Interstate travel with intenet to have sex with a minor". Big time felony. This is a 34 year old man who's life is over.

    --

    Jherico

    What can the average user can do to ensure his security? "Nothing, you're screwed"

  13. Re:Good by Saige · · Score: 1

    Apparently the FBI provoked the crime. Such practice is highly illegal, AFAIK, in my country.

    My question is: why haven't these people figured it out yet that the "13 year old kids" they talk to on IRC about sex are NOT 13 year old kids.

    If you check the statistics, I think the number of cases involving kids under driving age getting involved with older people over the net for sexual reasons or the like can be counted on one hand.

    If any of these guys even used a quick flash of common sense they'd know that the second someone starts talking to them telling them they're a little kid and such is either: a) another adult playing games, or b) a cop who's going to bust you.

    Sure the guy was dumb, but last I knew that wasn't illegal. (If I were feeling really cynical, I'd say that in fact being dumb is ENCOURAGED by the government... but I'm not feeling that cynical today)
    ---

    --
    "You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
  14. Re:The other story... by jem · · Score: 1

    Sorry... Conspiracy theorist on overdrive.

    I apologise if I was being accusatory.

  15. Legalized child porn? by Jules · · Score: 1

    Sure, screwing little girls is not right but he's clearly in need of some help, not death.

    While this is an unsavory act, what frightens me more is the sicko 'beauty pagents' that involve 8 year olds waving their rears in the air while sporting full adult make up (ever catch bits of documentaries on the JonBenet Ramsey fiasco? Yeah, those kind of pagents.).

    Just let kids be kids for chrissakes.

  16. Re:Sad (?) by sammy+baby · · Score: 1
    OTOH, the police who "set him up" should also be convicted (soliciting a felony, or some such, I forget the exact term). It's probably a lesser offense, but it still appears to be a criminal act.

    (Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, nor do I wish to be.)

    The law enforcement agents' actions are not likely to be criminal, at least by US standards. In the criminal sense, solicitation implies an intent to engage in an illegal transaction: in this case, statutory rape. We can safely say that the FBI didn't actually intend to have sex with Naughton, so they can use that argument much more convincingly than Trixie from 12th and Vine streets can.

    The exception here is in the case of entrapment, where law enforcement essentially forces a "suspect" into performing an illegal action. This doesn't appear to be such a case.

  17. Re:seattle-> california by QuMa · · Score: 1

    >You would have to be a pretty disturbed 37 year old to want to fuck a 13 year old

    So what? I thought the whole idea of freedom was that you're allowed to be 'disturbed' if you want to.

    So if he thought it WAS a roleplaying game, he should go free imho.

    And even if he new it wasn't there's still the question of whether a 13-year-old can't give consent... I don't think any 13-year-old would actually go into a father&daughtersex chatroom, and certainly not stay there and chat for 4 hours... But if they did, I think it's their choice. But that's an ethical discussion, not a legal one.

  18. Re:police provocation by Coward,+Anonymous · · Score: 1

    Soooo... hanging out in '#father&daughtersex!!!!!!!' isn't an attempt to elicit some kind of sexual response from someone else in that channel?

    It's not an attempt to elicit an illegal response from someone else. People go to swap meets to buy things, but if an agent at a swap meet is approached by someone who wants to purchase illegal drugs, the person can't use the excuse that the agent was at a place where people buy things and therefore the suspect's attempt to buy illegal drugs was elicited by the agent.

  19. It will only take a few years... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...before the other prisoners figure out what he's in for. At that point, he's going to be in real trouble!

  20. Re:Animals can't consent. by Sloppy · · Score: 1

    Is consent the only issue you have against animal sex? I mean, if you trained a sheep (with food treats) that being sex0r3d was good, and it 'consented' (didn't need to be held down) would beastiality suddenly be okay?

    Well, I think "okay" in that context is a bit of a loaded word. ;-)

    In one sense it wouldn't be "okay" to me, since I simply find it disgusting/unaesthetic/repulsive. (And the same goes for some other sexual devia--um, variations.) In other words, don't bother inviting me over to join in.

    But in another sense, sure, it would "okay" with me; I don't think anyone should be legally restricted from doing it. (And the same goes for some other sexual devia-- um, variations.)

    Not sure this is very much related to pedo, though. Young people have rights, other species less so. After all, we don't literally send human kids to a slaughterhouse to be killed and consumed.


    ---
    Have a Sloppy day!
    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  21. Hey now, I'm a GL too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
    Well, I post this not logged in for a rather obvious reason....

    Being a girl-lover ("pedophile" is fine too, it just has such negative connotations in today's society) myself, I'm not sure what to think of this case...Patrick was probably a pretty nice guy when it comes down to it, and if he is like any of the other girl-lovers I know (there are more then you folks may think!) he probably was just trying to get his jollys of virtually through fantasy. No matter how bad that may sound, just think, we have sexual frustration just like "normal" (hey, i think I pretty damn normal) people do. However, the fact that he actually was (or did) about to travel down to California to meet this 'girl' makes the case a bit harder to call...should be interesting to watch. Keep in mind people: most girl-lovers would never hurt a girl in anyway - our first concern is with the other persons happiness, just like in any normal relationship, not with personal pleasure.

    And remember the tag line of American justice: innocent till proven guilty. Now I understand that the FBI has forgotten this motto, but he courts will hopefully remember.

    We're normal folks too....
    -The Courier (not my /. nick)

  22. He was not arrested for "Chatting"! by Jherico · · Score: 4

    I'm seeing a ton of articles that are making statements with incorrect assumptions, and unfortunately on the main page all the incorrect assumptions seem to be moderated up.

    Patrick Naughton was NOT arrested for chatting with a purported 13 year old. The man arranged to meet with her and traveled from Seattle, WA to Santa Monica, CA, with the stated intent of having sex with her. He also did not appear surprised when he met up with a very young looking FBI agent posing as said 13 year old. Now I don't have any transcripts of the chat sessions, now know how convicingly 13 the agent was, nor do I know what happened at the pier where he was arrested, but in my book, this qualifies as "Interstate travel with intent to have sex with a minor" which is exactly what the man is charged with.

    Additionally, he has been charged, not convicted. If he want's to plead that it was all role-playing and that he didn't believe that she was really 13, that's fine. I doubt its true personally, but I'm not going to be on the jury.

    At any rate, before you start hollering about censorship and freedom, check your facts. If you think that "Interstate travel... etc etc etc" should not be a crime, write your congressman, or start a campaign to repeal the law here on slashdot, but in this case, the government caught a man who appeared to be trying to do something very bad.

    Not every crime is a soapbox to talk about freedom and opression. Some crimes are genuine crimes.

    --

    Jherico

    What can the average user can do to ensure his security? "Nothing, you're screwed"

    1. Re:He was not arrested for "Chatting"! by Dwonis · · Score: 1

      Now THAT should be a 5 (or at least a 4), unlike some of the other posts on the main poge.
      --------
      "I already have all the latest software."

  23. May Justice be served by Master+Switch · · Score: 1

    I will reserve judgement until I can better review the evidence. Just because Big Brother has accused this man, does not mean he is guilty. We should not be so quick to judge based on the actions of our government. We should be carefull not to encourage tyrany.
    If he is guilty, then may pay for his crimes, but not until he is found guilty by his peers.

    --
    -Master Switch, one more element in the machine
    1. Re:May Justice be served by Mystikite · · Score: 1

      I agree. its nice to know i'm not the only one
      who finds the FBI overzealous in seeking out someone in so high a position. I also find the scant media coverage on this extremely slanted.

      last i heard, i was innocent until proven guilty.. now i know better. I'm guilty as long as the media chooses to portray me as such.

      I can only hope that the Jury who handles this case has justice at the forefront of their mind,
      and resist the temptation to give in to the "protect the children" hysteria that has been raised to hide and justify the shady and unlawful actions of the goverment.

  24. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's certainly not inviting invasion of any of his orfices.

    Keep away from my cats, by the way.

  25. Re:The other story... by ramparte · · Score: 1

    >Oh, and convicted pedophiles deserve all that they get. I can't comment on the FBI procedures as they seem the only way to track down this kind of crime. I wouldn't like my privacy violated in this kind of way but... No. Heinous crime is heinous crime.

    This is a *very* dangerous attitude. I agree with your moral judgement about these people, but you must *never* allow the authorities to have this kind of exceptional power for any crime. That's how we got all these horrible anti-crypto bills: "terrorism is a special, horrible crime, so we need to trample rights to kill it".

    This way lies fascism. Literally.

    --
    "Oh, Senator, you're so gullible!" - Buckaroo Banzaii
  26. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by QuMa · · Score: 1

    I agree with most of you comment, except for the 'lock em up for good' part. Yes, sex with children to young to consent is wrong. But I'm sure there are plenty 'closet pedophiles' who are attracted to children, but see that it is not ethicly possible to do this. Punish the rape, don't punish a way of thinking.

  27. 2 comments... by ioscream · · Score: 1

    1) I am always amused by the sight of libertarians, anarchists, and other self-proclaimed anti-statists falling over themselves to pronounce judgement upon the latest individual picked up by law-enforcement and charged with whatever crime 20/20 is currently describing as an epidemic sweeping the nation. I would never posit a monolithic /. ideology, to be sure, but many of the discussions hereabouts do touch upon issues such as the appropriate role of the state in the lives of its citizens, and how little the state can be trusted in just about any circumstance [examples available upon request if needed]. Given the regularity of such exchange, I hope one can understand my bemusement when I encounter so many posters so quick to accept the state's narrative describing the facts of the situation. Perhaps the fellow is guilty; perhaps he isn't. But the only evidence we've seen so far isn't even evidence; it consists of press releases written by know-nothing hacks [and I use it in the most derogatory sense of the word] regurgitating law enforcement issued screeds designed to cast the involved agencies in the best possible light in expectation of the next fiscal year. Yes, yes, I know, the sexual abuse of children is an awful thing. And, yes, I agree, that there should be laws against it. But the severity of such charges--and the ease with which representatives of the state have so often deployed such charges in the past--lead me to greet incidents such as this with some skepticism. But, of course, I can perfectly understand why a predominantly white, predominantly educated, audience of bourgeois males would be quick to jump to another conclusion.

    2) Also amusing are the posts which offhandedly take prison rape and violence as a fact of life. Some of these posts even give the appearance of suggesting that such violence is an acceptable form of penal control and punishment. Recently there was a scholarly work [and I apologize for allowing the citation to slip from memory at this moment, but I'm sure Lexis could remember for you] which set about exploring the role of prison rape within the American penal system. Not surprisingly, the authors concluded that the process was, at the least, implicitly endorsed by the state, if not subject to consideration as an explicit technique used to intimidate individuals into toeing the line. What troubles me most about the posters' acceptance of prison rape and violence as acceptable techniques of penal control is the unstated premise: that the victims deserve it, because their presence in the penal system establishes their criminal guilt. Such an assumption is laughably ridiculous to anyone familiar with the mechanism that is American justice in this day and age... or, for that matter, to anyone with any acquaintances involved in big city, state, or federal law enforcement.

    Enough for now. Next time I'll explain why I find anti-statist libertarians who support the death penalty so pathetic.


    -ioscream@endofhistory.com

    "A 1994 survey, conducted by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect and costing taxpayers some $750,000 over five years, examined over 12,000 accusations of ritual abuse, finding no physical evidence to back up any of them." Remember the late '80s? Remember the individuals put away for life because 5 year old children testified they had been carried on flying broomsticks to far-away sites where they were forced to take part in dark rituals? They went to prison labelled predators of the worst type: persons who hurt children.

  28. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Oh give me a break. I think the premise here is that in this country, theyre is no such thing as consensual sex with a 13 year old. Called statutory rape, methinks. If you think this law is out of date and there should be age of consent at 13, then wirte your congressman ;-) or leave the US.

    As far as entrapment, yeah that's a tough one. I guess if they had sent him explicit pictures of a 13 year old girl to his e-mail and invited him to come onto IRC and then led him to a meeting, that would be a better argument for entrapment. But this guy sounds like a lowlife if he goes cruising on father&daughter and sends links of pictures of himself and sets up 'dates'.

    My god, there are enough 18 and above girls out there, leave the 13 year olds alone for christ's sake. It would be different (somehow) if he was just crising online for kicks, but trying to meet a little girl in real life to do something is just sick.

    Good. He belongs behind bars, and certainly does not belong in a position running a content network for little kids.

  29. Ha Ha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    That's embarassing as Hell. Funny article, though. Looks like this guy is gonna get the shaft (in more ways than one!).

    1. Re:Ha Ha by -stax · · Score: 1

      According to the NEWS.COM article, he is also in charge of disney's webiste. What did he do, promise that he'd give her mickey's e-mail address if she slept with him? According to the same article, he sent her a link to pictures of his genitalia online.

      Seems to me that this guy knew exactly what he was doing, and was looking for a young'un...

    2. Re:Ha Ha by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its just so funny that an otherwise intellegant person can fall into being so ignorant on IRC. Now this may sound sad, but i have been on irc since rfc2459, and over the years i have found it funny when people tell me they are 13 year old horny girls. 99.9999% of the time you KNOW they are not, with a couple of traceroutes and nslookups and digging around white pages you can find out who they really are and say "Hi Jeremy" or whatever. And on the odd occasion when u cant work it out, get them to call u, if they are sincere at all, u can work it out over the phone, away from IRC logs (which i have always considered inadmissable as legal evidence).

  30. IS ROB CENSORING THIS BOARD??? by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    Seems like an awful lot of comments all of a sudden disappeared. I had 3. Looks like the same people are posting now (i.e. jcr, etc.). What happened, Rob? And yes, my threshold is on -1.

  31. It's called "intent" by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    You moron. This is a proven method many municipalities use to capture pedophiles. How many times do we have to hear about some young girl being molested by a perv they met online? The man INTENDED to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. Do you think arresting someone for hiring a hit man should be called entrapment and the accused let go? I don't think so.
    Anyone who sees the method in which this PEDOPHILE was taken down either has too many delusions about the government or some other serious problem....

    1. Re:It's called "intent" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      This is a proven method many municipalities use to capture pedophiles. How many times do we have to hear about some young girl being molested by a perv they met online? The man INTENDED to have sex with a 13-year-old girl. Do you think arresting someone for hiring a hit man should be called entrapment and the accused let go?
      Hold on just a second. The FBI sent an agent into an area specifically dealing with sex with underage girls, and pretended to be an underage girl looking for sex with an older man. To use the hitman analogy, it's rather like the FBI putting an ad in "Soldier of Fortune" saying "Hitman for hire!" The essence of entrapment is, I think, encouraging someone to do something they wouldn't have done otherwise. The FBI's actions in this case come awfully close to the line...they're saved only by the fact that this channel was already about pedophilia. But it doesn't mean they don't bear watching. The FBI, that is, not the pedophiles.
    2. Re:It's called "intent" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I doubt they have real proof of his intent. Like that other guy said, maybe he went online looking for middle aged male '13 year old schoolgirls' if you get my drift. Flimsy case.

  32. Good by Skyshadow · · Score: 2
    Good. Man, I can stomach consenting people doing anything they want sexually so long as it doesn't involve kids or animals (the two groups who can't really give consent).

    You're going to hear a lot of bull about how this is somehow a violation of his privacy, but anyone trying to lure 13 year-old girls to his house deserves to be put away for a long, long time.

    My only beef is that they'll probably just lock him up for a few years and then release him without trying to give him the help he obviously needs.

    ----

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    1. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, right, like there are 13 year old girls in there. Probably just fat old guys pretending to be 13 year old girls.

    2. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      addendum: fat old guys and fbi agents pretending to be 13 year old girls.

    3. Re:Good by PigleT · · Score: 1

      Quite so, well said that chap.

      I don't buy any 'invasion of privacy' stuff - if it violates the law of the land by transferring pr0n over a state boundary (or whatever dodgy rule they have in the US) then it violates it. And someone who breaks the law deserves their ass kicked.
      (Of course, that law being a bit off is a different matter - you discuss the law first and break it second, not the other way round, though.)

      Is one allowed to say he's one sick bunny, these days?

      --
      ~Tim
      --
      .|` Clouds cross the black moonlight,
      Rushing on down to the circle of the turn
    4. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I understand where you're coming from but I'm not sure I agree. The FBI agent was hanging out in an IRC called #0!!!!!!!!dad&daughtersex.log. He approached the FBI agent. Bottom line is that the FBI agent told him over and over again that he was a 13 year old girl. He bragged about having sex with a 16 year old girl. He flew from Seattle WA to Santa Monica, CA in order to meet her. When he was arrested he told the police he had child porn on his computer. He wasn't seduced into this. I think the following quote says it all: "At 3:39 p.m. I received a private message from an individual using the screen name hotseattle. I described myself as a 13-year-old girl from Los Angeles...During the conversation hotseattle said he was interested in meeting in Los Angeles 'sometime' to 'kiss, make out, and play and stuff.' He also said he would 'lick and suck you all over.'"

    5. Re:Good by jmp100 · · Score: 2
      I think the whole thing is disgusting. People usually do stuff like this because it was done to them. Instead of giving them the psychological help they need, they're thrown in prison and abused more. When they get out, they're probably in an even more unstable position, likely to strike again. And the people who beat them in prison, who were probably put there for beating people outside of prison, get to do more beating, which doesn't help THEIR case either.

      I don't think prison is for correction. I think prison is for revenge. Anyone who thinks otherwise ought to look at the facts. Where is the "correction"? Where is the therapy that will reform the criminal into an ordinary person who will be of some use to themselves and to society?

      When he gets out, depending on where he lives, he may be required to inform everyone in his neighborhood of what he's done. Furthermore, he will have to announce it to whoever he tries to get a job from. (I've never seen a job application that didn't require disclosure of any convictions.) His prison sentence really won't end when he gets out. It will continue for the rest of his life.

      I don't condone what he did. I think that this variety of perversion is an evil that ought to be eradicated from society. But not by making the perpetrators destitute. It ought to be addressed by treatment. There ARE ways of getting this disease under control.

    6. Re:Good by Reject · · Score: 0

      Excuse me? Minor's can't give consent? (/me travels to M-w.com). I'll ignore that rather devoid of intelligence remark for now.

      The fact is, this IS a violation of his privacy. Rather, going by what the article says (and I realize forming an opinion based on a single article is rather bad practice) it was a set-up. Did the FBI agents have any reason whatsoever to pose as a 13-year old girl for him? Had they had any reason to believe he was a pedophile and in possession of child porn, it would be a different matter, but again, going by what information the article gives, I don't see anything suggesting that the agents had probable cause.

      If this is the case, (And again I've only read one article, I could be wrong) then I hope he gets off. Otherwise, you can get set up by any reason or no reason at all at any time.

      That being said, possession of child pornography is a crime, and he should be charged and convicted of _that_ offense, not some "attempting to have sex with a minor" charge.

      --
      Reject

      --

      --
      Reject
      reject@metaphorcity dot com
    7. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wonder if claiming that he knew would be an effective defense. Like he was using it as a fantasy channel. Interstate travel based on the fantasy could be difficult, but if he had any legitimate reason to be in the state other than this "girl" perhaps....

    8. Re:Good by jonathanclark · · Score: 2

      Moderators: You don't moderate something up or down based on weither you agree with it or not. How did this get to be a 5? It contains no information, it's not informative, and it's bairly insightful.

    9. Re:Good by jilles · · Score: 1

      first: the guy is a sick bastard and probably (if found guilty) deserves his punishment.

      BUT: I don't like the way he was arrested. His privacy was grossly violated and I fear the FBI is likely to apply its methods for other crimes as well.

      I don't like the idea of the FBI applieing 1984ish methods even if it's for the good cause of finding & arresting child abusers.

      The guy was set up and subsequently arrested. He was actively approached by an undercover agent clearly with the idea of arresting him. Would the guy have actively searched for a thirteen year old girl if he wouldn't have been approached? I'm not sure. If he wouldn't have done so, he wouldn't have committed a crime and there would not have been a reason to arrest him (assuming they would not have examined his PC for kiddy porn).

      "You're going to hear a lot of bull about how this is somehow a violation of his privacy, but anyone trying to lure 13 year-old girls to his house deserves to be put away for a long, long time."

      Typical reaction. Most people will have this "lets lynch the guy" knee jerk reaction. But this guy is coming back in society someday. Prison, especially the american type, is not well known for its educating effect on its prisoners. In other words an already sick person goes in and somebody even more sick is likely to come out. And as I already pointed out the presumed thirteen year old girl did actively lure him to this place (and she/he wasn't even thirteen probably) which puts things in a slightly different context.

      "Good. Man, I can stomach consenting people doing anything they want sexually so long as it doesn't involve kids or animals (the two groups who can't really give consent)."

      Interesting to mention that I read once that both forms of sexual disorders are very common across all cultures. It's a very political correct thing and in my opinion gratuit to disapprove of it. I think if you ask most people they will agree with you that it is a distasteful thing to do but at the same time both cattle and children are the victims of horny persons often. So I'll fully agree with you on this (just to be safe).


      --

      Jilles
    10. Re:Good by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

      Apparently the FBI provoked the crime. Such practice is highly illegal, AFAIK, in my country.

    11. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meanwhile, the NSA is chuckling to themselves, as they compile files on everyone's sex lives...

    12. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > nvolve kids or animals (the two groups who can't really give consent).
      Funny how there is never any justification given for these kinds of statements.

    13. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Yeah -- that is something that a lot of people don't get. I take in strays and get them homes and I have found that I essentially never need to ever raise my voice to train them. It helps that I am a 6'1" man with a deep voice, but there is a lot that is just eye contact and being firm, relaxed, and reliable. And I tend to take in and train and get homes for Rotts and pits, as the pounds around here normally kill them right away.

      If a dog is humping your leg, raise your eyebrows at him or her and stare. The humping should stop immediately. Then send the dog into the corner for a minute or two. In a minute or two you let them come back and they will be rolling on their back and smiling at you until they sneeze and letting you know that they think that you are definitely the boss and hope that you will overlook their little mistake. Problem solved.

    14. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Okay, I am not quite happy with the death sentence and this is probably an understatement. But now how do you know a 13 year old would know ? I guess you know all 13 years old yourself or what ?

      Some things just make me throw up and no, I am not a father, I am not even good with children and as far as adults are concerned, they can do what they want as long as no-one else is harmed.

      Having sex with a child though is the definite limit. No-one can just discuss his or her responsibility away or just pass it on.

      Such people do not treat and do not even want to treat children as beings. To them they are just things; trash, to be thrown away after being used.

      But let's assume 13 years old know, than how about "even if she says not, she means yes" if it comes to women ? Hey, they finally want it, right ? We do know better, don't we ?

      But I am off as yes, pretty angry right now and I might say things you do not deserve and take nothing of this personally but still, think it over perhaps.

    15. Re:Good by Tack · · Score: 1

      Okay, I am not quite happy with the death sentence and this is probably an understatement. But now how do you know a 13 year old would know ? I guess you know all 13 years old yourself or what ?

      Actually I know quite a few 13-year-olds, and even younger. And I remember quite clearly what I knew when I was 13, and also what my friends at that age knew. Simply, I've not met a 13-year-old who didn't have at least a somewhat informed idea of what sex was. I'm not saying there doesn't exist one; I'd definitely be wrong. Just as I'd be wrong in saying all 16-year-olds (which is the AOC in many states) have a clear idea of what sex is.

      Don't misunderstand; we do need these laws to protect people from the real predators. But realize that these numbers _are_ arbitrary. There is no real difference between 14 and 15, or between 15 and 16, or between 12 and 13. Lawmakers have the difficult (read: impossible) task of picking an age that is acceptable to society in both a restrictive and permissive point of view. (In other words, not too young, and not too old.)

      Jason.

    16. Re:Good by Geek+In+Training · · Score: 1

      You said "My question is: why haven't these people figured it out yet that the "13 year old kids" they talk to on IRC about sex are NOT 13 year old kids."

      The truth is, there are young kids out there online. Two examples:

      Few months ago, a local band teacher (Cleveland, Ohio, male, was caught in a dark alley, in his car, engaged in "inappropriate behavior" with a 15-year old maile from another city. They met online.

      I knew TWO people IRL who were 15-17 years old (this was about 6 years ago) who met 13-year old girls (I met them, too) online and engaged in "sexual behavior."

      The fact is, there is plenty of unsupervised, sexually-experience teenaged youth online. It's not a complete surprise that people are still fooled by FBI agents. The agents must be getting better at pretending. I'm all for it; even if it gets kicked out of court as entrapment, hopefully someone will end up with mental help as a result.




      --
      SlashSigTheorem: Humorous, Political, Critical, Constructive- If you have a .sig, someone WILL complai
    17. Re:Good by Geek+In+Training · · Score: 1

      I should have previewed that, I REALLY mistyped a few things. :)

      --
      SlashSigTheorem: Humorous, Political, Critical, Constructive- If you have a .sig, someone WILL complai
    18. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are an idiot. I was originally going to say I hope you have kids one day who get molested, but that is taking it out on the wrong person. I hope one day you get fucked up the ass by a rapist.

    19. Re:Good by C.Lee · · Score: 0

      >Meanwhile, the NSA is chuckling to themselves, as they compile files >on everyone's sex lives...

      If it means nailing freaks like you, I'm all for it. Go to hell and fuck the horse you rode in on. (But you're already doing that I reckon)

    20. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Personally, I suspect that, overall, there are more FBI agents pretending to be underage girls than there are actual underage girls in these channels...

    21. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My question is: why haven't these people figured it out yet that the "13 year old kids" they talk to on IRC about sex are NOT 13 year old kids.


      It's an IQ test. Some people fail. [shrug] File it under "thinning the herd". Sad, but true.

    22. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think it gets reported in the press, of course, but there has got to have been some cases of the FBI going to one of these "sting" setups... and finding out that the person they were talking to and trying to bust is from LOCAL law enforcement (who do this kind of thing too).

      Imagine the scene:

      "Hi, little girl, nice to meet.."

      "FREEZE!"

      "No, YOU FREEZE! FBI!"

      "Um... LAPD."

      "Uh oh."

    23. Re:Good by JSBiff · · Score: 1

      Well, uh, I don't think that ever happens because. . . in every sting operation I've ever heard of involving kiddie molesters you have one primary criteri0n: The "predator" _HAS_ to initiate contact on the discussion forum/channel/board/etc. Law enforcement in not allowed to initiate conversations (that _would_ be entrapment). So if you have two parties (the two agents) that are "passive", contact will never be made between them.

    24. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next time a dog humps you, do nothing. Pretty soon, you're going to have a mess on your leg. Sure it's an act of dominance, but what does a dominate male do? Duh. Even a female dog will do this if spayed sometimes. It's biological, of course, sex is biological too. What do you think an animal is but a maching to make more machines?

    25. Re:Good by jilles · · Score: 1

      This particular "thirteen year old" girl glasly accepted all his propositions. I mean there's some pretty sick idots out there on the net. If I was approached like this I would have a hard time believing I was really dealing with a thirteen year old.

      If I read correctly he only told the police he had porn when they were going to check it anyway. I.e. he was trying to limit the damage.

      --

      Jilles
    26. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      Good. Man, I can stomach consenting people doing anything they want sexually so long as it doesn't involve kids or animals (the two groups who can't really give consent).

      So I suppose that when a dog is humping against your leg, he wants to be taken for a walk, right?

    27. Re:Good by Dredd13 · · Score: 1
      My only beef is that they'll probably just lock him up for a few years and then release him without trying to give him the help he obviously needs.


      Actually, all it will take is a few words from someone telling his prison neighbors what he did, and you'll be lucky if he comes out alive. Child porn/molesters/etc. have a VERY short life expectancy in prison.


      I remember an episode of Law and Order where the DA was like "You let that child molester off with only 15-20, what's up with that?" and the response was "I told a couple people inside what he did. Do you really think he'll live more than a year in there?". From friends who have been correctional officers, I can attest that this is most assuredly the case.


      As long as he sees prison time, he's screwed. :)

    28. Re:Good by Kintanon · · Score: 3

      Apparently the FBI provoked the crime. Such practice is highly illegal, AFAIK, in my country

      I read some more on this on Wired or Zdnet, apparently their first IRC chat lasted 4 hours, there were multiple chats where the 'girl' expressed interest or at least didn't attempt to dissuade him from sexually explicit contact. To me it all appears entirely consensual. If it had actually been a 13 yr old girl she would have known she was meeting the guy for sex, it was abundantly clear that he was not trying to 'lure' some 13 year old innocent to his house so he could rape her. He was hanging out in some FATHER&DAUGHTER sex channel on IRC for christ sake! It's not like some random innocent little 13 yr old girl is just going to wander in there.
      If he were stalking kiddies he would have been in some kiddie channel or something. I really don't think the FBI has much of a case here considering their methods... Also, another FBI agent sent this guy kiddy porn. Shouldn't the FBI agent be arrested for breaking the law? This is mildly absurd. I'm all against kiddy porn and non-consensual sex, but I really don't think this was either. This was just a nasty case of Entrapment.

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
    29. Re:Good by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 2
      So I suppose that when a dog is humping against your leg, he wants to be taken for a walk, right?


      No, he wants to be fucked up the ass. But he might just think you're an ugly, hairless canine and it's the best he can do on short notice. It'd be quite a rude awakening for the dog if you took him up on his offer and he woke up and saw you in his bed, naked and smoking a Pall Mall. It'd probably be enough to send him chasing cars on the freeway or freebasing crack for the rest of his miserable days.


      - A.P. ("It didn't tie!")

      --


      "One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

      --
      "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
    30. Re:Good by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 1
      So I suppose that when a dog is humping against your leg, he wants to be taken for a walk, right?

      No, he wants to be fucked up the ass. But he might just think you're an ugly, hairless canine and it's the best he can do on short notice. It'd be quite a rude awakening for the dog if you took him up on his offer and he woke up and saw you in his bed, naked and smoking a Pall Mall. It'd probably be enough to send him chasing cars on the freeway or freebasing crack for the rest of his miserable days.

      - A.P. ("It didn't tie!")
      --


      "One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

      --
      "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
    31. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, when a dog mounts your leg, he's trying to show that he is the dominant male; it has nothing to do with sex. That is, of course, unless your leg happens to smell like a bitch in heat, in which case you have some serious hygiene issues. UnkleHo

    32. Re:Good by Tack · · Score: 2

      Do you honestly feel he deserves a death sentence for this?

      He didn't actually have sex with a minor, so the only crime he truly did commit was possessing chld pornopgraphy. (The law may see committing and intent to commit the same [?], but I don't; his conscience may have gotten the better of him and he may have backed out at the last minute, given the chance.)

      Furthermore, his sexual intentions were no secret. In otherwords, the "13-year-old" knew what she was getting into. I argue that is consent. That means the crime he intended to commit was statutory rape. If this had taken place in a state where the age of consent is 13 (New Mexico), would this still be a crime?

      Clearly he committed crimes, and will be punished according to the law. But your implication that he deserves a death sentence (as is the case by letting word get out in prison) disgusts me.

      Jason.

  33. What they should have done. by WNight · · Score: 1


    They should have had a young woman, perhaps an 18yo who looked very young, and like the girl in the picture that was sent to him, waiting.

    That way they'd know from how he acted when he saw her if he was trying to have sex with her, or actually thought she was older, and that he did want to have sex, but thought it was someone older with the same fantasies he had.

    If he'd been met by someone playing the 13yo who he had talked to, perhaps he'd have shown through his actions that he didn't really intend there to be a young girl, or maybe he'd have tried to take her to a nearby hotel. Let him prove their case for them. The fact that they arrested him before he had a chance to do anything seems to suggest that they didn't think he would.

    And the kiddy porn shouldn't really be relevant. It shows that he had a fantasy about kiddy porn, but that's obvious from what he's fantisizing about. It doesn't show that he would actually do anything about it. It's a seperate crime, and he should be liable for any appropriate penalties, but it shouldn't be evidence against him at his trial.


    btw, I think he has a good case with the "I was sure she was just roleplaying" thing, mainly due to the way the FBI mishandled this. They were in a dad&daughter sex channel, even if that doesn't equal entrapment (He saw it and that gave him the idea he wouldn't have otherwise had.) it would indicate that the person on the other end wasn't really a 13yo girl. Then when they arrested him just for showing up, without trying to find out what he'd do if she did appear to be 13...

    I'm pretty sure the guy is a bit of a sleeze, but I'm unwilling to say he deserves a long prison sentence without them doing more to prove his guilt.

  34. Sick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is trully sick stuff, but what bothers me most is that the media is going to really portray this as "Hey look internet porn and violence and children are being lured bla bla is everywhere." -- more clamor for regulation by the gov from a bunch of people who know nothing about the net. (First post!)

    1. Re:Sick. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to mention those who use the net or computers excessively (or intensively if that's your view) will be stigmatised as predisposed towards kiddie porn.

  35. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you enjoy 'role playing' with a 45 year old housewife that involves the two of you sharing a fantasy that she is a little girl, then you know that she's a 45 year old housewife. If you believe in your heart that she's a 13 year old girl, you're showing a severe lack of judgement, and that given the chance, you'd do whatever possible to engage a 13 year old girl in immoral acts.

  36. police provocation by azatoth · · Score: 1

    I don't excuse him but I'm scared by the FBI methods.

    In most civilized country of the world yhe police has not the right to provoke a crime.

    --
    -- "Life is easier since I have excluded JonKatz stories from my homepage"
    1. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The key point here is that the law does not presume that illegal activities have any rights to occupy public channels/places. Even if a swap meet, or corner, or building, or vehicle, or IRC channel, or whatever, is commonly known to be frequently used for some illegal activity, you do not have the right to assume that someone present there is thereby offering to participate in the illegal activity.

      As another respondant pointed out, dressing like a hooker and hanging out on the Strip is perfectly valid for a vice cop to do. Even adopting the mannerisms is permissable as long as the suspect initiates the actual request.

      Entrapment is forbidden because it raises the clear possibility of coercion by the undercover agent. Hanging out in a location known for some illegal activity does not raise the same concerns. If the suspect initiates the request, he's clearly doing so of his own volition and merely taking advantage of the easy access to the agent. This is very different from having the agent suggest the activity.

      If you wanted to prevent law enforcement from using these channels, you'd have to also bar basically all undercover activity. In nearly every case a great deal of effort is spent to convince the suspects that the agents are receptive to illegal offers. Otherwise why would anyone ever proposition them? What is not permitted is for the agents to proposition the suspects.

    2. Re:police provocation by Kintanon · · Score: 1

      It's not an attempt to elicit an illegal response from someone else. People go to swap meets to buy things, but if an agent at a swap meet is approached by someone who wants to purchase illegal drugs, the person can't use the excuse that the agent was at a place where people buy things and therefore the suspect's attempt to buy illegal drugs was elicited by the agent.


      Your analogy is flawed. If the FBI agent was at a Swap Meet that specifically sold DRUGS then it would be logically assumed that that person was offering drugs up for sale. Last time I checked that was illegal...
      The only possible reason for being in some perverted sex channel is to find other people interested in the same kind of perverted sex. If the FBI agent had blown him off with a 'Sorry, I'm only 13, I'm not interested in sex with you.' The guy would have left I imagine, but she talked to him for 4 hours and then repeatedly talked to him over several months. She was TRYING to get him to invite her to have sex.

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
    3. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ah, but it's legal for an agent to dress up as a prostitute and hang out where prostitutes usually are and wait for somebody to proposition her/him. this is pretty good as a parallel situation for hanging out in a room where one would expect something like this to go down - the crucial part being that he had to approach her

    4. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NO! There was no 13 year old here, so there should be no crime. There was an FBI jerk hanging out in a chatroom, probably with a screen name like 13nSexy--that's provocation and entrapment, or at least it used to be until the Supreme Court started subverting our Constitutional protections against the FBI Secret Police. Naughton probably deserves what he's getting, but all we really know is that he tried to get it on with 2 undercover FBI jerks pretending to be underage--for all we know, he may never have done this sort of thing at all if not for this ENTRAPMENT (which it really is, our current erosion of rights notwithstanding). The only REAL crime we know he committed was possession of childpr0n--but the police wouldn't have uncovered that if not for their prior ENTRAPMENT. Aside from which, in the libertarian vein of thinking: why should having a picture be illegal? Since when was INFORMATION illegal, man? Just because I don't like childpr0n doesn't mean that a picture should be illegal, and having a picture of something doesn't mean you'll do what's in the picture. Is it illegal to have a picture of a murder being committed? Is the Zapruder film illegal because it shgows a crime? Then why sould possessing pictures of this crime be a felony? Explain that, wanna-be-libertarians.

    5. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      So they put a gun at his head and told him either to fuck a thirteen year old or he would get shot or what ?

      I cannot believe it. "Hey, the bank just stood there, so they provoked me to rob it".

      Just cross my way and if I can see your lower back I shall take this as a provocation to put one of my feet into the mentioned place.

    6. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because by furthering the market for such material you are encouraging the crime depicted. Therefore, you are an accessory to it. Simple. It's like paying someone to kill someone for your pleasure. You didn't kill anyone, but you are contributing the crime as an accessory.

    7. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sold. By preferring Leon over Lethal Weapon, do I encourage people to shoot SWAT teams?
      No, of course not, because Leon was just a movie, right?
      So, now I have to figure out whether these images are REAL or FAKE?
      No, because that's pretty much impossible. People doing their own stunts, and real people getting hurt don't look much different.
      So the law (in most countries at least) chooses to short circuit all of this by just banning the images.

      I think this is a bad mistake, though certainly not the one which most urgently needs fixing.
      Text of course is already protected (no court would believe that written DESCRIPTION of intercourse with a 13 year old girl implies that ACTUAL intercourse had taken place)

    8. Re:police provocation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are missing the point here, A: It was not a swap meet where the topic "Varies" with what is being sold or bought. It was in a "father&daughter"SEX"" chat, Hence The Topic is Fathers n Daughters Sex... THUS It is common knowledge that the typical topic for such a room is "SEX" in this case Fathers&Daughters "SEX". Now I will be the first to say I HATE child Molesters or ANY *ucking Idiot who feels he has to have a minor child as his "Mate", But I do know when Injustice is commited that we SHOULD NOT and WILL NOT let the goverment or ANY federal Agency have THAT much control over the actions of people within the internet community, WHEN loggin onto the Internet you assume responsibility for ALL your actions and the dangers that may occur. This in all Respects is Clearly "Entrapment" Why was the "FBI Agent" in this room in the first place? Ofcourse Try and set someone up! Lets make everyone "Afraid" of the internet so that they will allow us to change the rules to better suit our needs (Next from the office of DOD --Cameras in EVERYONES houses, Mandatory (gotta make sure nobody is abusing their children or wife)). ?Point Made?

      Had this been a "real" 13 year old and such crimes happened Then I WOULD undoubtedly admit that its his fault, although it would also be her Parents fault (even alittle more then his) for not monitoring what their teenage daughter was/is doing. I just cant visualize how a parent couldnt know what his/her children are doing, ESPECIALLY on the internet which is just like a "HUGE MALL" filled with Diverse people. The question to those types of parents would be, Would you leave your child alone in the middle of The Mall of America while you went to buy a new dress or look at that new computer?????? I mean come on people Use common Sense!


      .-_.-_Nternal*ERRor_-._-.

      *General Protection Fault in user.exe*

      Rules on assesing ISP Login problems,
      #1. PEBKAC = Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.
      #2. Tell them to replace user name with ID10T, so that the next tech will be able to better help them with thier problem.
      #3. End The Call With common curtesy (Have a nice day #mummble moron#). And always smile

    9. Re:police provocation by Coward,+Anonymous · · Score: 3

      The police did not provoke him. He initiated contact with the agent and he told the agent that he wanted to have sex with her, the agent presumably did not attempt elicit this response in any way. If the agent's conversation indicated that she was sexually interested in prior to his indication that he was sexually interested in her then it is entrapment, but once someone has indicated that they want to commit a crime, an agent can pretend that they will help them commit that crime. Entrapment is when an agent gets someone to commit a crime when there was no indication that the person wanted to commit a crime prior to the agent convincing them to. In other words, an agent can't ask you if you want to buy drugs, but if you ask an agent if they are selling drugs then the agent can pretend as if they are; agents can hang out on the streets and wait for someone to solicit them for sex, but they are not allowed to ask someone if they want to pay for sex. The agent did not proposition him, he propositioned her. The complete dialog between them was not available, but if it turns out that all he said to her was "hi" and she responded with something like "hi, i'm a 13 year old girl and i want to have sex with you" then the case will be thrown out of court because he did not indicate that he wanted to break the law until the agent proposed breaking the law to him.

    10. Re:police provocation by Kintanon · · Score: 3

      The police did not provoke him. He initiated contact with the agent and he told the agent that he wanted to have sex with her, the agent presumably did not attempt elicit this response in any way

      Soooo... hanging out in '#father&daughtersex!!!!!!!' isn't an attempt to elicit some kind of sexual response from someone else in that channel? I'd say once you enter one of those channels it's like automatically propositioning everyone else there.
      I mean, why else would you be in that channel if you weren't interested in that kind of thing? Seems pretty shady to me...

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
  37. LA County Deputy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "...along with a picture of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy at 13...."

    Man, LA hires 'em young. Most states require you to at least be 18 before you can be a deputy sheriff.

    I love the internet. You never know when "18-year-old hot cheerleader" is really "34-year-old burly cop".

  38. Re:No nails by stuntpope · · Score: 1
    You give the guy too many allowances.

    First, he apparently wasn't into this just for the chatting. Chatting was a means to an end, and he expressed definite interest in sex with minors and boasted of having sex with a 16 year old. Sure, some people like to go into chats and claim all sorts of things, but this guy was definitely predatory.

    If he thought he was just acting out a fantasy with a woman who was of legal age but they were pretending she was under-age, wouldn't you think he'd be concerned about the law and her true age, and upon meeting her ask for some proof of age? If I had a need to act out some kiddie-sex fetish but only in a fantasy sense, I'd sure make sure I was with an adult lest I get my ass arrested.

    She did not have to be 13 for his actions to be a crime.

    The FBI had what the news sources call a female deputy waiting for him, alone (seemingly) at the meeting place. Now, I think anyone can be deputized for a specific purpose, so this could actually have been a 13 year old, just as the police will send in real minors to try to purchase cigarettes and alcohol to check stores' compliance with those laws. Perhaps this deputy wasn't 13, but a young-looking 18...doesn't matter. He had stated his desire to meet a minor for the purpose of sex, and there he was, as promised, ready to commit the act. And upon meeting the girl, he didn't back out and say it was all just a game.

    I've seen several stories of arrests of men who either had sex with or propositioned sex from minors, both boys and girls, and they used chat rooms to get things started. You're naive if you think it's all role playing or a joke, and you're worse than naive if you think it's ok.

  39. If He's proven guilty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    to the gallows with him!

  40. Clarkson University: A Powerful Reputation by Trojan · · Score: 1

    See here. Somehow, this page about Haughton was pulled.

  41. Virtual crime, real injustice? by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 3

    I can't believe it -- he was arrested for chatting with someone who *claimed* to be a minor? What a joke. I can't believe how far it's going. I believe you can't blame someone until they've actually commited something for real -- what do we know? A lot of people might be turned on by the idea of having with 13 yo (not me!), that does'nt mean that when the occasion actually arises they will do it. This is sickening. Roleplaying -- that's what chat room seem to about, isn't it? Now it's forbidden to play anything but some PC shit. Absurd.

    1. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Outlyer · · Score: 1

      I don't remember talking about what I'd RATHER do. I was talking about the legal fact. Legally intent is a major part, but not the only part of the law. Attempted murder carries less than a third of the sentence of actual murder. Less than manslaughter even. We can all prefer whatever we wish, but I was talking strictly about the law.

      --
      ----------------- "I have a bone to pick, and a few to break." - Refused -------------------
    2. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by trenton · · Score: 1
      Regardless of how the man was nabbed, if he in fact had child pornography on his computer, he committed a felony. No one could allege that what the FBI said or did encouraged him to grab those pictures, which is the basis of entrapment.

      Furthermore, trolling chat rooms and intending to meet 13-year-olds for the purpose of sex is illegal. What you intend to do is quite important, regardless of the overall outcome. I'm sure the FBI logged all their chat room conversations, and by reading those, I would assume that his intents would become quite clear.

      --
      Too big to fail? Does that make me to small to succeed?
    3. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've always wondered on this note how hard it would be to get slammed for indecent exposure by exposing oneself to a security camera. If no live person actually saw...?? And if you think that the FBI are the only people wasting our tax dollars entrapping people, you should know that the Customs Department (!!) does this sort of operation as well. Still, the fact that he had kiddie porn in his 'puter suggests that maybe he didn't actually think that he was with some 19 yr old who just liked to pretend she was 13. Workin for the mouse...Haha.

    4. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by XiRho · · Score: 1
      I never said I approved of the justice system.

      "If you don't use windows then what do you use?"
      "FreeBSD."

    5. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good analogy. I think the answer is: no, but you shouldn't be charged with murder.

    6. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good analogy. I think the answer is: no, but you shouldn't be charged with murder, either.

    7. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by tongue · · Score: 5

      If you had read the article carefully enough, you would know that he wasn't arrested for _chatting_ with a minor--engaging in cybersex isn't a crime even with a minor. According to the affadavit filed by the FBI however, he set up a meeting for the purpose of having sex, then went to Los Angeles (which is a hell of a drive from Seattle, I might add) at the designated spot the online character set up. Coupled with the fact that in at least one conversation he gave a phone number to the agent, whom he thought was a 13-year-old, which connected to McNaughton's office, this is ample evidence that McNaughton had stepped far beyond the boundary of online role-playing. Additionally, he was also charged with child pornography offenses after a consentual search of his laptop computer turned up kiddie porn. For those of you who think that this falls under entrapment, think again. For this to even approach the legal definition of entrapment, the FBI agents would have had to made the suggestion to have sex and that McNaughton come to them or arrange for some other way of meeting. And while this is something I saw on the ZDNet talkbacks, I just wanted to state for the record that impersonating a minor is not a crime.

    8. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by XiRho · · Score: 1
      So in other words, if I pull out a shotgun, point it at your head, and then it backfires, I should be let free because I didn't actually blow your brains out?

      If someone has the will to do something, I don't see why they shouldn't be dragged out in the street and shot.

      In your logic, it is no longer the true crime which is important but the result. Because someone didn't actually hurt other people, they're somehow above those who did? That is absurd.

      "If you don't use windows then what do you use?"
      "FreeBSD."

    9. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by ambiguous+reference · · Score: 1

      If someone threatens to kill someone, you don't wait until they do it before acting. If someone walks into a bank with a gun, you don't have to wait until they ask for money to know they are robbing a bank. Yes you can and should be arrested for trying to commit a crime, even if you do not succeed.

      Furthermore, he wasn't arrested for thinking he was having online sex with a 13 year old. He was arrested for crossing state bounds to have actual sex. They could not have arrested him for this if he had limited himself for role playing.

    10. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Coward,+Anonymous · · Score: 1

      If you try to hire a hitman, but it turns out to be an undercover agent, should you be let go because you didn't hire a "real" hitman?

    11. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Outlyer · · Score: 1

      Nice try, whizkid. Legally, you'd be charged with ATTEMPTED murder... a lesser offense. The key element of the crime, is actually performing the act.

      --
      ----------------- "I have a bone to pick, and a few to break." - Refused -------------------
    12. Re:Virtual crime, real injustice? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Roleplaying generally involves two sides who know they are playing. This gentleman thought he was dealing with a real 13 year old. He had no idea it was an undercover agent. He was planning on time with a 13 year old girl. 'Nuff said.

  42. Very good then. by Dast · · Score: 1

    Things like that happen. I'm glad to see the story has been relinked.

    You'll have to pardon us crazies who are a bit set in our ways--all the recent changes on /. make us a bit jumpy. :)

    Overall, tho, I think it is better to jump the gun a little in defending free speech than to turn a blind eye to everything.

    --

    This sig is false.

  43. Re:This sucks... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    no doubt they'll be an inquiry into JAVA now on how it can turn sensible people into kiddie fiddlers. Brad

  44. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In this case, we have a 34 year old man allegedly arranging to meet a hypothetical 13 year old in an LA hotel room. Then that man actually travels to LA. While the media an "interest groups" will use this case to there own advantage, the case itself is about the actions of one man.

    You are right, however, about the political climate. I would never work with a youth group or children. In fact, I will only acknowledge the existance of kids of friends or family, and it is because of the reasons you state. And if I told you all of my male friends feel the same way... It's really pretty sad.

  45. Re:No nails by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    It's curious to note that some anecdotal, totally non-scientific data suggest that the great majority of "children" who are propositioned for sex online are acually FBI agents posing as children. In that there's only (last I checked) one reported case of an actual arrest of an actual pedophile for actually propositioning online and then meeting an (yes) actual child for purposes of actual sex, while there are many, many cases of FBI agents posing as kids.

    Which, even taking into account how rare it is that such things get reported, makes you wonder whether they might just be exaggerating the severity of the problem for political reasons.

    It certainly makes you wonder why anyone would actually believe they're actually talking to an actual child online...

  46. Re:Um, role playing a crime is not a crime. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are absolutely correct, pretending to be something else oneline is role-playing. "No one knows you're a dog on the internet". AFAIC, it stopped being "role-playing" when he showed up on the pier _in real life_, with the (alleged) intent to carry out that which was discussed online.

  47. "children" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    One issue I see overlooked in this case is the age of the children in the "child porn" on his hard drive.

    Okay, so he propositioned a 13 year old girl over the net. Ignoring entrapment and other such issues, is this really such a horrible crime. In my state, the age of consent is 14. At most, he planned on committing statutory rape. And I can tell you, there's a lot of that going around - it just usually doesn't cross state lines. An awful lot of 13 year old girls know exactly what they're getting into when they seek sex with an older man.

    And he had "child porn" on his computer. Again, was it preteens (sick sick sick) or was it merely under-18 porn? The latter isn't really a big deal... if a female is sexually mature (regardless of her age) then I don't see anything wrong with getting turned on by it. Maybe his "child porn" is an illicit pic of Traci Lords from one of her banned videos taken when she was 17.

    I think it's interesting how everyone assumes he's a pedophile. More likely, he's just a dirty old man.

    And of course there's the possibility that the FBI framed him. Oh right... what am I thinking... the FBI never lies... scratch that.

  48. Re:Score 3, Insightful? by drix · · Score: 1

    Well.. quit whining and move on. What's the only that wastes more time than an overmoderated post? A followup comment where someone bitches about it.
    If it really ruined your day, metamoderate down.

    --

    I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
  49. Child Molestors do NOT reform by Woodlark · · Score: 1

    I think the whole thing is disgusting. People usually do stuff like this because it was done to them. Instead of giving them the psychological help they need, they're thrown in prison and abused more.

    There is a big myth-conception that child-molestors are just sick people who, given the right counseling, can recover. This is not supported by the figures. IIRC, approx 90 percent of child molestors relapse upon release from prison -- even if they did have psychiatric help. Molesting children is completely a power issue. It's actually a very low percentage of child molestors who are just 'passing the love along' (ie, were molested themselves, in turn). Yes, prison will not help with these power issues, but rather exacerbate them, leaving the molestor (if he gets out alive) needing even more to verify to him/herself they are still in power over somebody... hence more kiddies. Sure, they're supposed to inform the proper authorities of where they plan to move and make sure they're not near an area with a high child density (much less a playground), but the simple fact is, they don't. They claim it ruins their life, people don't want them living near them, and so on. Think about it. Within two weeks, they know all the nearby parks as well as the regulars at each one. I find that scary.

    Maybe I'm a bit more callous than your average joe because I grew up in a country where the death sentence (as well as other punitary mutilations) are carried out quite often: Saudi Arabia. Let me say the crime rate there is amazingly low, though there are definitely drawbacks to their system which keep me from completely endorsing their punitary system.

    Where is the "correction"? Where is the therapy that will reform the criminal into an ordinary person who will be of some use to themselves and to society?

    I'm no fluffy bunny, but I'll tell you it is there. It's not the best, it's not available for everybody, and it doesn't always work, but for the handful of success stories we have I am unwilling to throw it all out the window. It is not successful with child molestors, though, and until then I am of the view they should be killed as they're not worth the tax money to keep them warm, fed and alive until they die of 'natural causes'.

    Droit devant soi on ne peut pas aller bien loin...

    --
    Droit devant soi on ne peut pas aller bien loin...
    Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far... -- Le P
  50. Jesus, would you people chill out? by Fastolfe · · Score: 1

    Every time something like this happens people invariably start posting things like "Censorship!" "Big brother!" "Slashdot sucks now!"

    Yet every single time it's happened it's either been a site glitch or human error. You'd think people would figure this out?

    Slashdot has always been about openness, full disclosure -- anything *but* censorship. Do you really think they would totally reverse that philosophy for an article like *this*? It really isn't even all that controversial.

  51. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by Silver+A · · Score: 1

    >One cannot actually solicit prostitution from a police officer (at least I hope not).

    Yes, you can. If you offer someone money to have sex with you, you have solicited prostitution, whether or not you believe the other person will take you up on it, and whether or not they do. Cops in vice stings have to be very careful to make the "john" offer money for sex, without actually offering sex for money themselves.

  52. Re:Hilarious by eventi · · Score: 1

    Not everyone is a fed, but every 13 year old Female is. Anyone who knows a 13 yr old girl knows that the last thing she wants is some old loser business man. So let me narrow that a bit more... Any 13 Yr old girl who wants to talk to _you_ is a fed. ---e (coincidence really)

  53. Fucked up analogy by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

    .. as usual.

    There is no 'attempted' crime: he was chatting, and (apparently) moved to meet his 'victim'. We don't know if he would have attempted anything.

    1. Re:Fucked up analogy by Kintanon · · Score: 1

      Except that he *did* go out and meet his "victim." This, along with the chat room stuff, the pointers to web sites containing pictures of his genitals, and the suggestion that they were meeting to "make out", go a long way towards demonstrating his intention to have sex with a minor.

      The law is rather explicit about this: it is illegal to act with the intention of having sex with a minor. Whether he actually intended to have sex, or if he was just being a non-sexual creep is something for a jury to sort out.

      I wouldn't bet on him being found "not guilty."


      Ahh, but you see, it was entirely consensual, the most he should get is Statutory rape. The girl AGREED damnit! He wasn't stalking here, he didn't try to hunt anyone down and kidnap or rape them. She AGREED to meet him and have sex with him. That's STATUTORY RAPE not molestation!

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
  54. Re:Score 3, Insightful? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It seems you don't know Slashdot-Speak: Around here, "Insightful" or "Interesting" are just different words for "I agree".

  55. Captain! Bad precedent on the long range scanners. by ryanr · · Score: 1

    I think some folks miss why this is potentially scary.

    I think that if the guy is guilty, then he ought to be punished, using some *reasonable* definition of guilty.

    Problem is, few folks agree on what's reasonable in terms of child sex/porn. Some think 18 is an unreasonably high age for consent. Some think child porn shouldn't neccessarily be illegal to own.

    Most think it should be illegal to have sex with 13 year olds, or produce photographic child porn (i.e. take pictures of). It's illegal in the US to own pictures of a 17 year-old taken in a country where it was legal.

    In between, it's a bit gray.

    Even if the laws are unreasonable, just try to compaign for allowing certain forms of child porn, and see how far you get. It will take a case like this going to the Supreme Court for a different precedent.

    I expect that if the guy gets charged with even just chatting, he will get nailed with a major crime. The minimum would be contributing to deliquency.. The most would be the same as if he actually had sex with a 13 year-old, despite there being no actual teenager involved.

    If you think the US doesn't prosecute thought crimes, or intent, then you haven't been watching the hacking cases. Bernie S. got nailed for having a red box, not using it. In many states, you can get prosecuted for carrying anything that might be considered a burglary tool, unless you're a locksmith.

    We're already well past the point where you can get arrested because you *might* commit a crime.

  56. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by cwinters · · Score: 1

    Let's look at a concrete example: the steel industry and the Pittsburgh area. You'd be hard-pressed to say that people like Carnegie and Frick gave a rat's ass about anyone but the wealthy when they were making their money. The common working man was a replaceable and necessary cog who needed to be kept down to do this grunt work.

    But the Carnegie library system in Pittsburgh is everywhere. The Carnegie museums entertain and educate many. Frick Park stretches for lush green miles.

    Do you have to throw out all good when it's 'tainted' by bad? Or are people, their motivations and their legacies just a little more complicated than that?

    Put another way: I know H. L. Mencken was one sharp witted guy and a great writer, but does the fact that he was an anti-semite make me ignore everything he's done? Or do I, as a thoughtful person, take that into account when I read his works?

    --

    Chris
    M-x auto-bs-mode

  57. just being a prick (off topic) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    it's crimethink

  58. Hooray for the FBI by Tim+Behrendsen · · Score: 1

    Considering all the silly paranoia around here about law enforcement, I just wanted to point out that this was a case of law enforcement done right. It doesn't take many cases like this getting publicity before the sickos trolling for 13 year olds get a message that the Internet is not a safe place to prey.

    1. Re:Hooray for the FBI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes indeed, there's nothing like a high-profile pedophile bust to renew people's confidence in the FBI. Especially after Waco. Why, if they hadn't been able to find kiddie porn on his computer, they might have had to put it there, just to make the case that much more impressive.

      Ha ha! Just a little joke there.

  59. Re:Stop the real crime... by jonathanclark · · Score: 1

    amen brother

  60. Disney by jalex · · Score: 1

    It's not suprising that it has the "Disney" corporation associated with the story. Disney is notorious, (from books like "Disney: the mouse betrayed", articles, and radio talks), for having child offenders as employees who, ironically, have direct contact with children. Heck, I think of child offenders when I hear of Disney so much that I forget about Mickey!

    Could it be that Naughton got along well with Disney executives because they share the same hobbies and interests? Disney[World|Land] is still a nice place to vacation, even if they have their own police force and may not be controlled by local government or laws.

    Be kind to the children, it's not easy being a kid these days.

  61. He looks like that type of person by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    for a picture of the sicko Click Here. Does not look like a healthy minded person.

  62. Re:Pedophiles Unite! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Hungary the legal age is 12 for example.

  63. If twas no 13yr old girl, how can there be crime? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If there was no 13 year old girl, then how can there be a crime? FBI also lied to snare someone. Is this even legal? It seems to me like the FBI was as involved in the solitication of child themselves. This whole thing smells fishy. But I guess this is the trend. Why not just give up a few constitutional rights if it'll protect childred right? You're not agianst kids are you?

  64. Can he get out of this? by drix · · Score: 1

    Okay.. the guy is young, talented, and has been a high level exec at several of the hottest tech companies around. Let's just assume for a second that money isn't an issue here (it probably isn't).

    What are the chances that he can hire a "legal dream team" (I though that term died in `96) and get out of this. Hell, OJ stabbed his wife and friend, bled everywhere, and still got out, and there were no FBI agents asking to be murdered either. This guy was propositioned by the agent first, which to me sounds like good old-fashioned entrapment. My question is, what are the legal ramifications of this? Will he get out on a technicality? Or, do you think he'll be able to hire enough good lawyers that they can convince a jury that the guy got screwed?

    --

    I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
    1. Re:Can he get out of this? by ronfar · · Score: 1

      I doubt it. The first thing the people over at the 700 Club are going to do when they hear about this case is say, "See? What we told you about Disney is true!" Then they'll trumpet it to all their faithful. Naughton will become a symbol to the anti-Internet, pro-censorware crowd. Soon, he'll be a household name, at least among people who listen to Ollie North and Nora Schlesinger.
      Of course, things might not play out this way. But I don't think many companies are going to hire an alleged pedophile, it's the best way to "get" someone these days, remember The X-Files movie?

      --
      All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  65. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Coward,+Anonymous · · Score: 1

    BTW, do witnesses really swear on the bible in a trial in america?

    That is one of the oaths that a witness can swear. A witness can be given another oath if they do not wish to swear to god.

  66. It didn't for Michaelangelo, Lewis Carroll, etc. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While I personally abhor pedophilia there is no doubt that it has been around for a long time.

    If someone has truly made lasting contributions to society it will outlast the short-lived stigma of these events.

    Before we rush to condemn, let us not forget our own computer god, Turing who was forced to undergo "treatments" for his homosexuality by the very government that he helped to save during the war.

  67. Re:Censors++, freedom-- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yep, better this way ... still it will give more food to censor-happy freaks, who, I believe, are closet pedophiles, just like, according to a psychological study, a lot of homophobics actually have homosexual tendencies.

    I'm sure we can find a 'psychological study' that proves that because you've repressed your urge to cut a hole in the side of a watermelon for years, that you secretly desire to make love to one.

    First off, any psychological study that includes the term 'homophobic' in the text of the study is already showing it has an agenda and is biased.

    The notion that this is "just irony" because the creep works within a censorship company is, well, pretty misguided. Would you say that a detective who happens to be a serial killer absolves the crime of serial murder because he supposedly enforced laws against it?

  68. I do not believe it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Additionally, he was also charged with child pornography offenses after a consentual search of his laptop computer turned up kiddie porn.

    I don't believe this. I mean, sure the guy was dumb, but even a moron wouldn't take unencrypted kiddie porn on a laptop to a highly dangerous meeting to supposedly get it on with an underage girl -- and then give them permission without a warrent to search the thing! There's stupid, and then there's STUPID, and I can't see anyone being that dumb. I'm not one to underestimate the depths of human stupidity, but come on!

    I'd bet the guy did fly out there hoping to have an (ahem) intimate moment with a teenie, and got caught -- and then the feds planted the pictures on his laptop for a little insurance in case something goes wrong with the "crossing state lines" related charges.

    1. Re:I do not believe it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      people who try to screw 13 year olds are already F*cked up in the head, i have no trouble believing he was that stupid.

    2. Re:I do not believe it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You'd be surprised how careless people are. Go read the various search and seizure Supreme Court cases. A large number concern people who were stopped for non-drug related things, and consented to a search, even though they knew the cops would find the huge stash of coke or weed they were transporting. All they had to do was say NO, and they would have been fine.

      OK, I suppose drug lords don't hire the brightest people in the world to transport drugs around town, but Jesus...if I could stop the cops finding $20 million of my coke by hiring some law student to spend a half hour teaching my couriers how to say NO, I'd do it.

      Anyway, my point is that people are real stupid when it comes to letting cops search them.

    3. Re:I do not believe it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      people who try to screw 13 year olds are already F*cked up in the head, i have no trouble believing he was that stupid.

      That's why the feds can so easily frame people -- everyone believes that people can be that stupid.

  69. Oh, dear... by Millennium · · Score: 3

    It's always a shame to see aomeone fall from such heights as this. If he is indeed guilty, though, I have absolutely no sympathy for him at all.

    However, this is going to prove very problematic. Censors and snoopers alike are going to have a field day, thanks to the fact that this case will inevitably become quite high-profile. Censors will decry the ease of transmission of information on the Net, claim it's "a haven for chold pronography" and demand censorship (not like they haven't been doing it already, but now they have a high-profile case to latch onto).

    Snoopers, on the other hand, will show how "people like this" use encryption to hide their activity from law enforcement, therefore "they" need a backdoor. Worse, since their point is semi-valid, they'll sway a lot more people over to their side than they would with pure crap.

    Note I said semi-valid; they have a right to investigate, but it does not counter or override the people's right to privacy. I'll gladly let the FBI search my computer and decrypt my stuff, but they're going to have to show me a warrant first. If they don't, then they aren't getting into my machine, plain and simple.

    But I digress. The point is, even if justice is served in this case, it could very well pave the way for injustices of the worst kind later on. We're going to have to watch this very carefully.

  70. Re:Hey now, I'm a Girl Lover too... by Sand_Man · · Score: 1

    Hhmmm..... let's see........ Nope, not normal. Not even close.

  71. Hey now, I'm a Girl Lover too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    this post didn't seem to make it the first time around

    Well, I post this not logged in for a rather obvious reason....

    Being a girl-lover ("pedophile" is fine too, it just has such negative connotations in today's society) myself, I'm not sure what to think of this case...Patrick was probably a pretty nice guy when it comes down to it, and if he is like any of the other girl-lovers I know (there are more then you folks may think!) he probably was just trying to get his jollys of virtually through fantasy. No matter how bad that may sound, just think, we have sexual frustration just like "normal" (hey, i think I pretty damn normal) people do. However, the fact that he actually was (or did) about to travel down to California to meet this 'girl' makes the case a bit harder to call...should be interesting to watch. Keep in mind people: most girl-lovers would never hurt a girl in anyway - our first concern is with the other persons happiness, just like in any normal relationship, not with personal pleasure.

    And remember the tag line of American justice: innocent till proven guilty. Now I understand that the FBI has forgotten this motto, but he courts will hopefully remember.

    We're normal folks too....
    -The Courier (not my /. nick)

    1. Re:Hey now, I'm a Girl Lover too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, I hope you took more measures to protect your identity than just logging out and posting anonymous... /.'s anonymity leaves more than a little to be desired.

  72. Sad Re:Sad??????? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    The *sad* part is that a guy who's basically on top of the world has thrown away his career through sheer, unabashed stupidity.

  73. i'd hope not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    in the past craig charles, Red Dwarf's Lister, was charged with rape. this was around season 5 i think. at the time i was most worried that the show would be over, or they would baddly recast lister, who at the time was my hero. I never found out what the verdict was, but he continued on with the show, so i can only assume the case was dismissed. more recently, isaac brock, of modest mouse, was accused of rape. modest mouse is one of my favorite bands. to me, the man is a musical genius. his lyrics paint wonderful images in my mind. according to her story, he was playing a show or at a party, and she was in need of a way home. one way or another, they wound up at his place. he probably thought, great a cute back stage betty. maybe he was a little liquired up. according to her, he layed the moves on, and when she asked him to stop, he wouldn't. after all was said and done, he freaked out and went catatonic for a bit. now, there was a few hour period building up to this. i think she probably could have opted out before any of that happened, but i won't commit to that , since there's only two sides.. i don't know which to believe. i'd like to hope that it didn't happen and isaac could come out unscathed, but.. what if he did do it? i'd feel strange going to see them again.. i'd feel strange buying a cd knowing this guy could be such a bastard. why should i listen to him? i think in a way it does stain your image of that person. you tend to be distrustful. in the case of our molester friend here, he made some cool stuff that we can use. the use will always be there. but what about artists? people who can touch us somewhere we no like.. when you find out things like that, you tend to feel violated.

  74. Re:Are you THAT stupid??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the guy had any second thoughts, he wouldn't have flown all the way to S. Cal.

    Look, these guys live in fantasyland. Heck, the guy worked for Disney -- the ultimate fantasyland. IRC is a fantasyland. Most of these guys' only outlet for their "feelings" are fantasies -- that's why they get caught so amazingly easily. They think they're living out some fantasy they read on alt.sex.stories or something.

    But... there have been plenty of people who set out to do something wrong, and been stopped by the look on the face of the person they were about to hurt. Seeing the face might shock some of these guys out of their fantasies and back to reality. That's all the previous poster was getting at.

  75. Re:innocent until proven guilty... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    regarding 1x1 GIFs of child porn in email: Yes, it is entirely possible. A while back I was part of a large corporation's rollout of a major email client, and that idea occurred to me (as well as some other nasty tricks that could be played). So I tried it out (not with real child porn, of course!) and it works. A very good reason not to like or trust mail clients that understand HTML and/or Javascript.

  76. Re:Censors++, freedom-- by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On the other hand I would never read one of those Hubbard SciFi book because he did too much bad with his Scientology crap IMHO.

    Awww... C'mon.

    Hubbard is one of the world's best sci-fi storytellers. Don't blame him if he went a little off the deep end and started believing his own sci-fi. I feel sorry for those that take the writings of a fiction storyteller and view it as religion. That's what creeps me out.

  77. interesting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is the second CEO in one month to be
    hauled in for preying on children (the first being the CEO of a company called iBeam). Are sting operations targetting high profile figures, or are more CEOs perverts than we ever knew?

  78. Re:No nails by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Child porn is illegal because it is prima facia proof of child abuse.

    So, following that... why is drawn/animated child porn illegal? No one's been abused, yet it's still treated as equally as the real thing.

    (flame avoidance)Not that I'm condoning child porn in any way, just trying to make an argument.(/flame avoidance)

  79. Re:entrapment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Get a life! This is slashdot-think at its worst. There are few crimes more heinous than what this guy wanted to do..."oh but he worked on Java you say? He may have devoted some percentage of his brain cells to hurting Microsoft? Entrapment!!"

  80. Re:Are all 13 yr old girls FBI agents? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All of them?
    Most likely. How many 13 yr old girls do you know who are at all interested in sex, let alone cybersex with a very old man?

  81. Re:Are you THAT stupid??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hey, man, the guy INTENDED to meet with a 13-year-old girl to molest her.

    You don't know that. Nobody knows that. I agree that a crime was most likely about to happen and that this man is sick... but I wish they would of let him take the girl to the hotel then bust him. That proves intent.

    You never know, he could of wanted to meet with her, then when he got there decided that he is making a terrible mistake and left. At that point, he would just need some sort of psychiatric treatment... not jail time.

  82. Treating children as adults - DOUBLE STANDARDS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not to defend Patrick, BUT

    If you think treating children as adults is so terrible. Why is this the law?!

    "11-Year Old To Be Tried as Adult"

    http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19990918/us/stat e_vs__nathaniel_1.html

    YEAH! They suddenly turn so mature when they commit a serious crime. Why don't we call the people predators, who treat children as adult for their political gain.

    Ain't this a DOUBLE STANDARD.

  83. He'll never see jail. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If he's smart, he'll do "the honorable thing" first.

  84. Re:Are you THAT stupid??? by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    Again, another naive human being (YOU!). If the guy had any second thoughts, he wouldn't have flown all the way to S. Cal. End of story.

  85. Let's not travel in time please... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    These laws were written way before there was any concept of "emotional protection" for kids. Luckily for us, this is one case of an old law converging with a modern sensibility, but don't be stupid and project our concept of emotional health back a hundred years or two into the past.

  86. Generalization vs. classes by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

    I don't like christians means that I don't like the fact that people have the christian belief (muslim being worse in my book). Now, I can appreciate christians for other reasons. Just like I don't like football fans. As long as they don't bother me with their football, I don't mind. There is a huge difference in saying 'I don't like (jews|niggers)': being a hew is (99%) an inherited trait, something that people don't choose, and it means more than just a religion. By what "Jew" usually means, I could as well be considered a catholic.

  87. Re:SIGH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Pedophiles are loathesome, detestable creatures. They're not new, nor are they rare. But in the past, how many men in such a position could have been propositioned by a 13-year-old?

    You've messed up the order of the words in your sentence up there. It should read:

    "How many men in such a position have propositioned a 13 year old?"

    Plenty, by the way.

  88. Got the URL's? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    just kidding... really!

  89. What is the age of consent in various places? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Now I'm curious. I've heard that in a lot of places in Europe, the age of consent is 14, and even in some US states. What's the age of consent where you live? Does anyone know a list of the age of consent in various places?

    No, I'm not looking for sex with teenagers. I just think that this information could give us perspective on what different cultures believe about young people's ability to make their own decisions.

    1. Re:What is the age of consent in various places? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You should try http://www.ageofconsent.com that information. BTW, I don't like the FBIs methods one bit.

  90. Moderate the above up, please! by fable2112 · · Score: 3


    Admittedly, the content of THIS story makes me think that the alleged offender, if he truly did these things, needs to be locked up with the key thrown away.

    I can't bring myself to consider a 37-year-old having sex with someone he *knows* is a young teenager as anything other than predatory.

    However, a lot of organizations are losing a lot of good volunteers these days. A lot of schools are losing a lot of good teachers. People are scared to work with kids because they might fit the fictional profile of a molester. (Never mind that this almost never meshes with the actuality -- and yes, as a matter of fact, I *am* speaking from personal experience that I would rather forget.)

    Are you gay or bisexual? Are you online a lot? Are you ANYthing other than Protestant? Are you a single male working with children not your own? Guess what, if the answer to any of those questions is "yes", you're a real nice tempting target for a false accusation of child molestation, something that could completely ruin your life.

    What drives me still nuttier is this: Suddenly, giving an upset kid a hug could easily become a federal crime. ALL touch from an adult other than a parent is sexualized -- now what kind of fucked-up message does THAT send to kids, hmm?

    --
    "Somebody exploded a letter-bomb today ... but it wasn't anybody I knew" -The Moody Blues, "Dear Diar
  91. Re:Sad??????? by rit · · Score: 1

    I might remind all of you who are assuming that he is guilty already, these are allegations. Last I checked the constitution still guaranteed United States citizens the right to a fair trial and upheld the notion that we are all innocent until proven guilty.

    Until a court of law, and a jury of his peers has ruled a verdict upon Mr. Naughton, kindly show him some respect. These crimes are alleged - keep that in mind.

  92. Re:Are all 13 yr old girls FBI agents? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hope they have a lot. I hope guys that want to mess with 13 year old girls are now scared that the next little girl they meet may be a Fed. Man, make them think twice before they drive across two states to meet the little girl of their dreams (ugh!).

  93. Re:Big question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Under US law at least, someone who fires an unloaded gun (or a gun with blanks) at someone else is still guilty of attempted murder, if they didn't know the gun wasn't loaded. Of course, it is difficult to prove whether or not someone knew the gun was loaded or not....for a defense attorney it is very easy to just say that they did know it wasn't loaded, or it had blanks. But if someone honestly doesn't know, and they fire the gun, there is intent to kill there.

  94. They weren't targeting him by Fastolfe · · Score: 2

    They were simply hanging out in IRC chat rooms. They weren't targeting any specific person. He probably saw "her" online, initiated contact, and moved from there. The feds just sit and wait for someone to contact them. Usually they don't have to wait long.

    Let's not give unnecessary credence to any more Big Brother conspiracies. Slashdot has enough of them already. :)

    1. Re:They weren't targeting him by MrRoboto · · Score: 1
      I agree. If Big Brother was watching us, then you KNOW that we would all be in jail. MP3s, Warez, Hackz, Crackz, etc. Probably not getting the same, erm, treatment as Naughton, but in jail nonetheless. If Big Brother was really after all of us slackers, we'd have gone to court for Hacking, cracking, etc. And we'd at the least be broke from court costs. And then we'd not have enough money to buy these computers that we use as vehicles for bitching about The Man. So shut up. If you don't like the FBI, move to Albania.

      ----

      --

      ----
      If we're not supposed to eat cows, why are they made out of steak?

  95. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When you find out more about somebody that you didn't before know, of course it flavors your current view of them and what they have produced. That's called "learning" and a lot of us are into it.

    When you find out something that they've obviously kept carefully hidden, even if it has nothing to do with their output that you've benefitted from in the past, it's natural for you to look askance at anything you've previously appreciated that they produced.

    It's certainly not worth second-guessing or mulling over much.

  96. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ok, I'll bite. I'm haven't been in a relationship for some time, yet I am attracted to women. That does not mean it's ok for me to take advantage of a woman against her will. Patrick Naughton may not have been able to control his urges. However (assuming he is in fact guilty, which has yet to be proven) he made a rational choice to cross state lines to have sex with a child. Perhaps he could not prevent his condition, but he absolutely could have prevented his actions.

  97. I wonder if ABC news will report this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What will be interesting to see if ABC news' incestuous relationship with Disney/Infoseek/GO will quietely not call attention to this story. Funny how the media goes bezerk for Internet pedophile stories, this one involving an Internet celebrity which makes it more juicy for primetime sensationalists, but will ABC mention their own connection with this story?

  98. Re:Are all 13 yr old girls FBI agents? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How many 13 yr old girls do you know who are at all interested in sex...

    You think there aren't 13 yr old girls interested in sex? LOL. My 15 year old nephew has come to me for help in getting the 11 year old girls to leave him alone... after a couple of them offered to do a strip tease for him, he asked for help to avoid them -- fortunately he's well aware of how much crap he'd be in if he got caught with them. (and no this wasn't adolescent boasting... he was *scared*)

    Just like some, but not all, old guys like little girls, some but not all little girls are interested in sex. (Hopefully not with the old guys, though...)

  99. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by methuseleh · · Score: 1
    In a better society, they would have detected that guys massive problem and put him under medical treatment
    How would "they" have detected that guy's massive problem without seriously invading his privacy? Pedophilia is a "problem" not normally volunteered to the authorities, no matter how sympathetic they are.
    You may think the use of agents posing as children is playing dirty pool; but really, what other method does the FBI have, aside from actually waiting for some kid to actually be victimized, and maybe reporting the crime?

    --

    --

    --
    Think Green... Burn only 100% recycled dinosaurs in you car.

  100. patrick naughton arrested by eVillager · · Score: 1

    Pomme de terre deserves credit for recognizing naughton's contributions and not consigning him to the legal-moral category of dirty pervert. It also reminds us that this man is not out to destroy society, but a man who has predilections that almost any society will guard against. Charlie Chaplin and Roman Polanski are two movie people who actually had sex with young girls. As with drugs the enemy is us. However any society will protect children from being sold for prostitution or force into by homelessness etc. Finally, the question of rape deserves careful consideration. Therefore the defense of privacy is intriguing but insufficient. Those who question the use of deceit and lies by the police are on to something. Here the issue of consensual crime ought to be examined. Instead of simple condemnation, maybe we should listen first and decide later.

    --
    eVillager
  101. His fault. Bottom line. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I see a lot of comments here, saying that people are worried about the FBI being in #linux-sex or whatever, and that its not his fault, etc.

    Look. All you need to do to not have this happen to you, is pass when the nice person on the other end of the internet asks you to come and bugger them. "Thanks, but no thanks" will prevent all the misery and heartache, the loss of reputation, and the jail time.

    If you are walking down the street, and you see a guy with a sign that says "Free underage girls ripe for a boinking" then just walk away.

    And if you think that your money will protect you, well, think again.

    And if you must have sex with people you have met on the internet, try to politely inform them that you won't have anything to do with them if they are underage, and that you won't think twice about asking to see some ID if you don't feel confident that they are of age. If, after that, they won't talk to you, then chances are it was a cop.

    Lastly: homosexual != pedophile anymore than hetero does. The fact that the NAMBLA (or whatever its called) exists is disgusting, but it just means that that particular bunch of sickos is more organized that the hetero ones. If you think that homosexual == pedophile, then you are a closed-minded homophobic twit. Try to get some help.

  102. Re:Did you know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, I was gonna bring up this point as well. The funny thing is a 100 years ago, in this very country, you would have been searching for a husband for this girl, cause she was getting to old to marry off. Isnt it funny how when society changes and things become socially unacceptable, the ideas that maybe were commonplace a while ago are now.. sick perverted and twisted? Interesting times we live in, yes indeed.

  103. Rob, erase the logs! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rob, you'd best erase the logs or the feds will be busting down your door to find out this poster's IP address. They'll want to add him to their "keep an eye on 'em" list. :-)

  104. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by tweek · · Score: 1

    Oh no that is just utter bullshit. I'm sorry for the anger here but I have to say it. If we allow more and more things to be "something someone can't help" then sooner or later people will get off (in court) just becuase they can't help it. I am sick and fucking tired of people saying the equivilent of "the devil made me do it". People need to take responsibility for what they do. What he did was sick and twisted. I'm not denying that things in life can cause trauma. I've had my share but where do we draw the line between what is people choose to do and what people "can't help"? The only thing I've ever noticed is that alot of sexual deviance is just like addiction. Follow me here:

    Drugs - They say alot of hardcore drug use comes about by people wanting a better high

    Sexual - You can't "get off" on just looking at simple pictures, you want something more. Something more twisted.

    I will admit that it is an addiction but he made his own damn decision to even entertain the thought that a 13 year old girl was what he wanted.

    If this had been my little sister, I would have fucking killed him.

    Sorry for the rant but you are the master of your destiny. Take responsibility for it.

    --
    "Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
  105. Trend in American Justice by jabber · · Score: 2

    Lately (or at least since I've been paying attention) everyone says that we're innocent until proven guilty, but the converse seems to be true. Especially when it comes to matters of sexual misconduct. The mere accusation of misconduct is enough to make life very uncomfortable for the accused.

    Even if they are aquitted, if the accusation is withdrawn - or even if it is proven false in court, the stigma remains. A person accused this way may be vindicated morally, but often loses their job, and ends up moving out of the area, because of the ghosts that follow them.

    This tendency to blow accusations out of proportion is getting out of hand. Once the media and the gossip-mill get a hand on the news, it becomes so widely disseminated that facts don't have a chance.

    Don't get me wrong, I think that once proved guilty, the punishment should be maximal. I personally favor tatooing the convicion on the forehead of the perpetrator. But, we should certainly withold judgement until the machine has done it's work, and a jury has returned a verdict.

    And if we're not on the jury, let's get on with our lives. We'll read about the case soon enough (Except if it involves O.J., Jon Bennet, M$ or the Clintons). The Brits seem to manage this type of thing better - black out the news until it's done.

    --

    -- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
  106. I though I had cooled down, but ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... it might be news to some, but even little Thai girls are human beings.

  107. Re:Big question by Kalak451 · · Score: 1

    Kinda off topic, but i really think its strange that because you can't aim a gun properly and don't hit the person you are shooting at, that you are any less guilty of a crime than if you had actualy shot someone in the face? Yes i know that no one actualy died and there is no greiving family, but if the person wasn't so clumsy then there would be, and being clumsy is NOT a defence.

  108. It's only a matter of time... by Skratch · · Score: 0

    ... before they find all the goat porn Bill Gates has on his computer...

    --

    -- My neighbors dog has a four inch clit.
  109. Sad, but true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    As an unmarried white male in my 30s, there is no way in hell I would ever assist a child, period, in any way. I see a kid crying on the street... I look the other way and keep going. I see a confused and lost kid in a department store... I might tell the oldest female clerk in the area, but I ain't going near the kid. I see a little kid being chased by a guy wearing a hockey mask and swinging a chainsaw... well, I might call 911 but I'd do it anonymously, and I'd make sure I didn't leave any fingerprints on the payphone.

    In the US today, if you're a man, being around kids is dangerous for your health. Sometimes even if they're your own kids.

  110. innocent until proven guilty... by kevin+lyda · · Score: 1

    first, i hope he's innocent. i generally don't like to think people do things like that. so with that mindset, it's rather easy to see a scenario where he is innocent...

    let's say i'm an evil bad guy and i don't like mr. naughton. he fired me, he had an affair with my wife, he used closed source code, or maybe he's a business competitor. whatever, i don't like him. so i end up hunting around until i find one of the many undercover cops trying to snag pedophiles. (as an aside i don't really think it's a bad thing for law enforcement to do this - it just has to be done responsibly)

    anyway, i start to feed bits of info to this person. i like little girls, my phone number, and all the damning evidence. in addition i target mr. naughton. i find web sites he likes, or maybe generate some for him. a month before the meeting i set up, i start putting "img src" tags that are scaled to 1x1. the images are child porn.

    now i set up the meeting. i get mr. naughton there as well for some reason valid to him. if i'm really nasty i watch from somewhere nearby and laugh my ass off. my unsuspecting enemy thinking he can protect himself hands over his laptop - voila, the fbi see child porn peppered through his browser cache.

    i dunno if the img src tag thing would work (perhaps browsers don't load 1x1 pix or something), but one could also do it with email attachments, java applets, a virus, etc.

    i would hope the fbi would use backup info (non-computer) for conviction. dates and times of chats vs. the suspect itinerary for example. regardless it seems like an amazingly simple way to discredit someone.

    the man is innocent until proven guilty. my desire to think the best of my fellow man wants him to be proven innocent (an adversary is much more paletable to me then a pedophile), but my desire for compotent law enforcement hopes he's proven guilty and that the fbi isn't just some dupe in an effort to destroy someone's life. either way, i hope justice is allowed to happen

    --
    US Citizen living abroad? Register to vote!
  111. Re:Very shaky legal grounds. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's why they planted the porn on his laptop. They have a much better, albeit framed, case on those charges.

  112. Re:No nails by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He's not being charged with having sex with a minor. He's charged with solicitation. Solication is a much lesser offense. He might be able to plea it down to a non-sex crime or he might be able to get off (no pun intended) completely.

  113. Busted for downloading wrong picture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Technically you can busted for downloading a single picture of kiddie-porn, but I don't know if anyone has. You read about sting operations that usually involve FBI hme raids for disk evidence. I'm annoyed by accidentally clicking a usenet or ad that jumps over into general porn, but can we accidentally trigger a sting URL?

    1. Re:Busted for downloading wrong picture by D3TH · · Score: 1

      In order to be prosecuted, you need at least three images present on your hard disk. In addition, none of the cases that I came into contact with were prosecuted soley on the presence of 3 images. In every case there were significant additional items of evidence (chat logs, stories, e-mail etc.) I am aware of cases where an individual was using automated software to decode pornography posted to usenet and possessed several pornographic images of children, but was not prosecuted. It was clear by the contents of his machine that the child pornography was incidental to the adult porn that he downloaded, classified, and kept. On the other hand, there was a case where an individual was successfully prosecuted for possesion of 3 nude(not sexually explicit) pictures of children. This was due to the large collection of pedophilic stories and journal entries also present on his machine. The justice system is generally (with some notable exceptions)not patient with people who waste it's time bringing cases to trial that are without merit, so a great deal of care goes into picking what to prosecute.

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  114. Re:Good Move FBI, Bad move Infoseek by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    I think the fact that they found child porn ON his laptop hard drive is probably grounds enouhg to see that he is a pedophile and deserved to be fired on the spot. You think he's potentially NOT guilty on 2 charges? Wake up, brother. It's an open and shut case. Pedophile solicits TWO "young girls," engages in "erotic" chat with them, has child porn on his laptop, AND shows up for a meeting with a 13-year-old. I call that BUSTED! Period.
    Looking at it from another angle, do you really think the "family network" is going to hold on to a suspected child molester? I don't think so. Would you let this guy alone with your kids knowing what we all know now? Not a chance, and you know it.

  115. Yes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    at least that's what my parole officer keeps telling me....

  116. Re:Sick news for nerds by aphrael · · Score: 1

    > Especially when I have no idea who the heck this guy is.

    He was one of the developers on the original Java team. (OK, granted, that doesn't make it _Linux_ related, but it's probably enough to make it relevant news .... if Philippe were ever arrested for something similar, I'd expect to see it here.)

  117. Re:Sad??????? by unicorn · · Score: 1

    In my comments, I never made any assumption of guilt or innocence on his part. I merely expressed a distaste for the phrasing that /. editors had used at the end of the original piece.

    I don't think that there is anything "very sad" about this person getting arrested, unless and until ALL charges are proved utterly without cause. Then I would consider his arrest "very sad". But not until then.

    --
    "Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke
  118. Um, role playing a crime is not a crime. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    People who hang out in a "FATHER&DAUGHTER" sex channel have crossed a line. It isn't possible to nail them for that mere act.

    Isn't this just role-playing? I mean, these people may have twisted fantasies and enjoy "pretending them out" with others like them, but you can hardly bust someone for playing pretend. A girl saying she is 13 on an "father and daughter sex channel" is just all part of the game, right?

    I suppose the S&M crowd faces similar problems, where one is bound in chains, suspended from the ceiling while the other lashes him or her with a bullwhip while the bound one screams and begs the other to stop (just words as part of the fantasy). In reality they are both doing what they want to do. But if a cop passing by the house hears and looks in the window, arrests and charges will be made/filed. WTF?!

    1. Re:Um, role playing a crime is not a crime. by Skim123 · · Score: 1
      Regardless if they can bust him for any laws or not, his behavior was not becoming of an exec of a company that has to answer to shareholders.

      Infoseek stock, of which I own too much, has taken a dive over recent months, and has dropped nearly three points since this story was released. Ugh.

      Also! Dude, you shouldn't be going after kids. That's pretty fucked up right there.

      --

      I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

    2. Re:Um, role playing a crime is not a crime. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it is important to know exactly what happened (play-by-play) when he met her

    3. Re:Um, role playing a crime is not a crime. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Counterpoint: He might argue that he expected to find a fully developed woman (or man, or boojum, or giant fern) at the pier, and that he intended to conduct himself in a manner appropriate to the situation he found himself in once he got there. It's actually not *wrong*, in my opinion, to make a date with an anonymous person claiming any number of bizzare things that you have no way of authenticating. Just really wierd. (Likewise posting pictures of your privates and asking folks to have a gander. (Unless you work with them.))

      Assume for a moment that having sex with Alf is illegal. She might have said she was Alf, sent him a picture of Alf, dressed in an Alf costume at met him at the pier, but if he didn't have sex with her once he found out that she ACTUALLY WAS ALF, shouldn't he go free? He was arrested for "sick" role playing with an adult posing as a minor. Is there any proof that he actually inteded to have sex with a minor here? I don't see how there can be, without a confession.

      It is wrong to rape a minor (Which he didn't do). Hell, wrong to want to have sex with a minor. But it seems like the Feds have to prove that he actually believed this ruse, and wasn't just engaging in role playing. Seems like a bit of a strech. Still, perhaps all of this is worth it to protect tykes on the net. Even if you have to toss an innocent man or two in the pokey to do it.

      Aside to assuage my sick fascination with this case: Anybody know if this guy is (was) married?

    4. Re:Um, role playing a crime is not a crime. by Coolfish · · Score: 1

      True, Role playing is not a crime. However, child porn is (unless you're in British Columbia, Canada). He sent porn to a child, and that also is a crime. Although, it wasn't actually a child, was it. Crimminy, this is where internet law goes fuzzy. But they had enough reason to get a warrant to search his computer, found child porn, which is illegal in all states I think, and that's it.

      p.s. maybe now they'll untweak all the search engines so that they don't return porn sites when you do a search for practically anything....

  119. Geez, people, you've missed the point by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

    What he was saying, in a nutshell, is that not doing something for the sole reason that you haven't obtained consent can be a silly reason.

    If you're a animal-rights person, then you should have other arguments against killing and eating animals than simply "they can't consent to it". In the same way, it's not wrong to have sex with minors merely because they can't legally agree to it - it's wrong for a whole slew of other reasons.

    He is not arguing that it's OK to kill, harm, or eat animals, just that there are better reasons not to than "they didn't agree".

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  120. Slashdot Poll proposal :) by SONET · · Score: 1

    I'm:

    Straight
    Gay
    Pedophile
    Asexual
    Cucumber
    Huh?

    --
    Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do. --Benjamin Franklin
  121. Re:First of all... by ronfar · · Score: 1
    I think what people are reacting to with OJ is the belief that there was "jury nullification" there. I don't like the term "jury nullification" because it is a term usually applied when the jury is black, and it could just as easily refer to the old KKK run South, where a racist murderer couldn't get convicted (see the movie, Ghosts of Mississipi for an example.) In other words, the idea of a jury doing something deliberately unjust in order to "get even" with a group of people they hate.

    A more apt comparison would be the old Fatty Arbuckle case A description of the famous silent film era scandal, in which a "not guilty" verdict didn't restore a man's life.

    Open and shut case? Why not have a French Revolutionary 'Reign of Terror' or Salem Witch Trial system of justice then? Innocent until proven guilty, but the FBI has put an end to that right in this case.

    And this is an age when the FBI (post-WACO lies about using incendiaries) is looking particularly corrupt.

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  122. Re:If twas no 13yr old girl, how can there be crim by Alfthemack · · Score: 1

    Raising a knife against someone is assault with a deadly weapon in most US states. Plunging it above the waste is likely to be attempted murder if it doesn't strike the arm. Plunging it into the groin (ouch) is either attempted murder or malicious wounding in some states. Otherwise, it's assault and batter with a deadly weapon.

    My attitude is "Book 'im, Dano!"

    --
    --Al
  123. Re:America's sexist attitudes by janey · · Score: 1

    Actually that teacher went to prison and is still there.

    Make sure you have the facts next time.

    --
    ::: jane :::
  124. Re:Did you know? by smkndrkn · · Score: 1

    I can't believe how many people on this site actually are defending a would-be child molester. Anyone who thinks a 13 year old girl could consent to sex with a 37 year old man is just stupid. Period.

    A 100 years ago women were not allowed to vote and blacks were segregated. Your right we were MUCH smarter then

    Yes "Sick,perverted, and twisted" would be the words I would use to describe this bastard. And the fact that you think its OK just proves where you are on the evolutionary ladder.

    --
    ======== In the future, everything will be artificial. ========
  125. NOW..for the bigger picture by flyneye · · Score: 1

    i know,he hasnt been convicted,theres probably a lot of little loopholes for him to get out of and he hasnt engaged in physical intimacy with a minor(that we know of).
    HOWEVER what we do know from this story is that he is willing to do the nasty with a girl of
    thirteen.thats enough.thats beyond the limit of tolerance.thats enough in more rural counties than not to have him turn up "dismembered"and decomposing on a backroad in an "unsolved"murder.
    there is no hope for these offenders.they consistently repeat when freed.no liberal rehab program works on a high enough percentage of them
    to make freeing any of them an acceptable risk.
    every little person has a right to a healthy
    childhood,mentally and physically.
    these are predators,not human and therefore
    fair game for anything however severe.dont hire them,dont help them,drive them from your communities.they dont care about our children,theres no reason ethically or reasonably
    to allow them to live.theres nothing they could return to society that justifies even one child getting molested.
    the humanitarian way in this case is"a fair trial and a decent hanging".his contributions far underweigh his potential for evil.

    --
    *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  126. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Nick+Ives · · Score: 1

    Here in the UK the age of consent is 16. I think that this is much, much more suitible than 18, at least for our culture, as most people end up having sex for the first time at the age of 16/17 anyway. Also, quite a few girls do go for 'older' guys, its not unuseual for a 16 y/o girl to go out with, or at least sleep with, someone who is in their early 20's or so. Not to mention the 14/15 year old girls who go out every weekend fully tarted up looking like they are 18 trying to pick up older guys.

    Back to the issue at hand, if the guy was honestly intending to screw a 13 year old then he is guilty of *something*, but if he honestly thought that it was just a fantasy and it was really a bored housewife willing to let him spank her and tell her what a bad girl she is, then thats just fine. It appears to be the former, but it could very well be the latter. Who is to say what goes on in the mind of someone else?

    Nick

    --
    Nick
  127. Reply to "Crimes he might have committed" by ktheory · · Score: 1

    I've read a few posts that wonder why he was in trouble for crimes he was PLANNING to commit, but hadn't actually committed. Though this may seem Orwellian, I don't really think it is. Let me explain.

    My father is a minister, which classifies him as a "counselor" (along with lawyers, psychiatrists, and a few other types of people). This means that if someone comes to him and confesses a crime, my father is breaking the law to tell the authorities of this confession. It's the same idea as attorney/client privileges, but it extends to a few other occupations. It basically ensures confidentiality.

    The sole exception to this is crimes involving children - such as child abuse, or sexual abuse as the case is with Naughton. In these cases, my father is required to tell the police. I wholly agree with this clause because it protects children who are not able to stick up for themselves. If a crime is committed against another adult, then that adult at least has the capacities to take action and report it to the proper authorities. It's quite possible that a thirteen-year-old girl that could have been a victim to Naughton would not even know that what she was doing was wrong. Young people who are not completely independent need responsible adults to protect them against people trying to harm them.

    Although the technical age of consent may be debatable, I'm glad that we do have these laws that prevent people who attempt to take advantage of young people from doing so.

  128. Sadness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When stuff like this happens it saddens me in a couple of ways. The first being not only was it wrong of him to do to this teenager, and he could mentally screw her mind up and cause lifetime damage, but what does it say for the computing community? When a VP of a huge company does this that makes it seem even easier for the lower people like us to do things like this and gives us computer "users" another form of a bad image. Some people just dont make sense. Sorry i didnt log in i forgot my password, artlu AJ

    1. Re:Sadness by Shadowlion · · Score: 1

      What is says to me is that there are dirty old men in the computing industry, just as there are dirty old men in every industry in the world.

      The only difference is that the computer industry, unlike the cement mixing industry or the auto repair industry, is in the face of the average Joe on a daily basis.


    2. Re:Sadness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This says nothing about the computing community. There are freaks of all walks of life. And as fars as this happening with some big shot VP does not make it easier for people on the lower end of the computing totem pole to commit these crimes. Most people have good morals and standards. You make it sound like we can't think for ourselves, and that we just want to do what the rich and famous do. Give me a break!

  129. Re:Stupid => go to Jail now! by smkndrkn · · Score: 1

    he should go to jail for trying to screw a 13 year old not for being stupid enough to get caught. I for one am very happy that he was stupid enough to get caught. Because now he can have sex with people he deserves...dirty AIDS ridden BULL QUEERS in jail. Java Programmer, Oil Magnet, Jesus Christ himself...it doesn't matter...dirty bastard

    --
    ======== In the future, everything will be artificial. ========
  130. no it isn't by / · · Score: 1

    There have been some efforts to expand laws to include depictions of minors having sex regardless of whether it could be demonstrated that they were actually minors. Such efforts have failed and are unconstitutional besides.

    --
    "If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
  131. Naughton no PHB by bmarklein · · Score: 1
    Your comment implies that he is a clueless exec with no tech savvy. Actually, he started out as a software engineer with Sun. I work with a few ex-Sun people who knew him, and they all say he was damn good, although he was really arrogant.

    He was also responsible (in some sense) for Java. He was going to leave Sun for NeXT, and McNealy asked him to write a letter telling him what was wrong with Sun. This led to the FirstPerson "skunkworks" project that eventually spawned Java. Here's a good article about it.

  132. Sad (?) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I cannot see what would be "sad" aside from some ******* trying to have sex with children. Guess once in jail he is going to be in for some well deserved treatment.

    1. Re:Sad (?) by HiThere · · Score: 1

      Treatment? Aversive conditioning, perhaps, but not directly connected to the stimulus (i.e., he's in for a rough time).

      If things are as they appear, then he should be found guilty. OTOH, the police who "set him up" should also be convicted (soliciting a felony, or some such, I forget the exact term). It's probably a lesser offense, but it still appears to be a criminal act.

      If anyone knows of a legal way to effectively treat this kind of problem, they've kept it hidden (but see Rober Anton Wilson's "Promethius Rising", etc. for possible approaches).

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
  133. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Alfthemack · · Score: 1

    Although the consent age in the UK has nothing to do with this case, you should know that the age of consent varies from state to state in the U.S.

    Here, in California, the age of consent is 18. In my home state of Louisiana, it's 17. There is a two year age difference allowed if the girl is under the age of 17. That is, if the man is 18, the girl must be 16 or older. If the girl is 15, the boy may be no older than 17. Pennsylvania has the youngest age of consent at 14. (Ouch!) Most states (GA, MN, etc.) have 16 as their age of consent.

    Hopefully, this helps for our friends outside of the U.S.

    However, the above rules apply for statuatory rape, not child molestation. There's a heckuva difference. Child molesters (generally those who engage in impure acts w/ children under the age of 14) are given harsher sentences and must often be placed into protective custody to serve their sentence. Child molesters are considered violent offenders. Whereas stat. rapists are simply sent to jail. Depending on the state, both must register as sex offenders for pretty much the rest of their lives.

    Hint: If you're going to get caught committing a crime, make it possession of illegal narcotics (for personal consumption, *NOT* intent to distribute).

    --
    --Al
  134. Gives PHB a new meaning.. :) by mvw · · Score: 1
    I am not happy about the agents offering this sicko a bait. Aren't they provoking people who are on a small grate to commit a crime they won't do without opportunity?

    Except this, I wonder how stupid those high tech executives are. The Internet is the place where you can be easily identified if you don't use criminal tactics (like hacked accounts) to cover your id. How did he expect to get away with this?

    And yes, I am delighted to see one of those, forgive me the strong wording, censorship companies getting problems of this nature. Nice irony.

  135. History Lesson by ronfar · · Score: 1
    Anyone ever heard of the Silent Film Era comedian, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle? If not, here is a quick refresher course:

    Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Website

    Reading this site makes me think that the not guilty verdict reached in this famous case was probably correct. Too bad for Arbuckle, though, he was branded a rapist for life.
    One of the interesting quotes on this Website is:

    Used as a scapegoat by Will Hays for the ills of Hollywood, Roscoe found himself unemployable as actor. -- Roscoe Arbuckles Biography on this page

    Of course the FBI loves silicon valley, the Internet, and all this wonderful technology that is making it harder and harder for them to keep tabs on all of us and what we are doing. They'd never decide to "make an example" out of someone prominent in order to make other prominent people think twice about criticizing them or their methods. Just like they never used incendiaries at WACO. We should all trust that the FBI is releasing all this info to the press, to ruin this person in the court of public opinion, because they have a really strong case against him and will be able to put him away for many years, not because they are covering themselves in case he gets off. You trust the FBI, don't you? You'd better, I'd hate to think what will happen to you otherwise...

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  136. Re:Entrapment by DHartung · · Score: 2

    kidzero asks:
    >Is he a child molestor if he didn't actually commit a crime?

    A reasonable question. He's not charged with child molestation, but with "crossing state lines to have sex with a minor" -- and it's been recognized for some time that the target can be an adult law enforcement officer, but because of the defendant's predisposition to the crime, he is guilty. (Lack of predisposition is the crux of any successful entrapment defense -- such as the one you cited. That individual had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to be cleared, though.) This is one relevant Supreme Court case.

    It's a smaller crime than actually molesting someone, but part of the purpose of these stings is media attention -- that is, ruined careers, friendships, etc. The idea is that they do enough of these high-profile arrests and fewer people will have the balls to go through with the real crime with real kids. In a word, deterrence.

    Aside from the solicitation, though, Naughton was caught with a bunch of child pornography on his computer. Even if he gets a light sentence for the solicitation (which is likely), he'll still face imprisonment for the porn.

    --
    lake effect weblog
    {Network engineer in Chicago--looking for work!}
  137. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by /dev/niall · · Score: 1
    Ten years ago people tried to *fix* homosexuals. Now we just say that different people have different sexual preferences. You can not *fix* a homosexual because they are not broken. You also can not *fix* a pedofile. They just have a sexual preference that society does not approve of.

    All well and good. We should be allowed to think or fantisize about whatever we want.

    The instant that pedophile tries to live out their fantasies is the instant they cross the line and should be stopped. Whether it's meeting underage children in person, taking pictures, or in my opinion looking at pictures (by pictures I mean photographs of actual children) they have crossed a line and need to be stopped to protect those who may not be able to protect themselves.

    Do you know of any sexually abused children with happy abuse stories? Do you know of any abused children who aren't horribly scarred by their experiences? These people are violating the trust of children and destroying their innocence.

    I'm not sure that I understand your post at all. I hope you are being sarcastic. I know society has a tendancy to force morals on people based on popular approval; this is not always right when it doesn't respect an individual's rights or wishes. Pedophilia's moral standing in society shouldn't even be an issue - practicing pedophiles are forcing their preferences on individuals who have little or no defenses against such an attack.
    Sickness and disgust aside, this in itself is wrong, and merits attention in the form of protection by laws, stings, prosecution, and ultimately very long jail sentances.

    --
    --
  138. SIGH by lythander · · Score: 3

    Your tax dollars at work...

    Pedophiles are loathesome, detestable creatures. They're not new, nor are they rare. But in the past, how many men in such a position could have been propositioned by a 13-year-old? Does the FBI really need to go around drumming up business? Aren't there enough ACTUAL criminals without the FBI turning some POTENTIAL criminals into new ones. Besides, what of people who think they might commit a crime, but stop at some point (a point after which a zealous agent might already have arrested them) before actually committing a crime? Obviously one doesn't want to wait until the suspect is actually committing the act, but showing up can hardly be a crime, maybe he was just going to yell at this kid and find her parents and yell at them for being such morons. (I'm not gullible, he's probably a schmuck, but don't these people have bombers and such to find? They've proven they can catch one sicko who, left to his own devices, would likely have never hurt anyone, but they can't catch Erik Rudolph!)

    1. Re:SIGH by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      There seems to be a confusion here, as there is in society in general, about pedophiles.

      A pedophile is someone who has a sexual attraction to children. This is a morality-neutral attribute. People can be attracted to whoever or whatever they happen to be. Whether it is a matter of internal wiring or external influence or choice (though I believe it is the first option) is irrelevant.

      A pedophile is not automatically a child molester. To believe so is to believe that, say, every heterosexual man is a rapist. (Andrea Dworkin notwithstanding.)

      The great majority of pedophiles respect and love (yes, in nonsexual ways) children. There have been several organisations online that helped pedophiles work together to deal with their desires and not give in to the temptation to have sex with children. All but the most dangerous recognize and admit that sex with children tends to harm them psychologically and physically. Those that truly love children are bound by their love not to harm them, frustrating as that might be.

      I'd love to provide links to some of these organisations here, but I can't, any more than I (an occasional poster who has never had to use the Anonymous option before) can identify myself. The moralistic bigots who become blinded by hate whenever the subject comes up consistently hunt the support groups and shut them down, which serves not to protect children but to remove some of the societal curbs against such harm.

      If people were open to understanding that peoples' desires do not necessarily translate into action, and if pedophiles were able to face their desires without secrecy and self-loathing, our children might be better off.

      Who knows... if the man accused in this case might have had access to means to face, accept, and deal with his desires, all this might not have happened. And we'd all be better off for it.

    2. Re:SIGH by ushirageri · · Score: 1

      What makes you think this is the first time he's done this? I think the term "potential criminal" is far too kind. I can hardly believe, based on the amount of contact, that this is his adventure into molesting minors. The FBI didn't suddenly say'Hey let's get this SOB, he's making too much money", or whatever. This was an ongoing investigation and he happened to take the bait, as have probably several other lesser known I'm sure, individuals. Policing is NOT a there's a crime, lets go solve it profession. Investigation is a major portion of a cops work. This solves not only crimes already commited but also crimes that may be in the planning stage. I, for one kinda like the idea of removing the cancer before it causes irrepairable damage.

  139. Re:If twas no 13yr old girl, how can there be crim by lilgorgor · · Score: 1

    He said it was the only fair system. Not that it was the system currently in place. I agree.

  140. May Justice be served by Master+Switch · · Score: 1

    If he is guilty of this crime, may justice be served. However, I reserve judgement on this matter until I can better understand the facts. No one here has seen the evidence, yet everyone simply assumes that because the FBI says so, this man is guilty. Let us not be so trusting of big brother. Let us review the evidence, and judge the matter without prejudice. Let justice be served

    --
    -Master Switch, one more element in the machine
  141. Re:Does a horrible act invalidate ..... by bmarklein · · Score: 1

    Actually, Naughton is an author. He's written a couple of Java books. He was a software engineer on the original Java team at Sun.

  142. He deserved it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What kind of idiot flys down to california to have sex with someone without talking to them extensively on the phone first???

  143. Re:Entrapment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    There is a big difference between the two - it is still illegal to purchase sex from someone who is not a "prostitute" (as in by profession) but is pretending to be one. It is not illegal to have sex with an adult who pretends to be a minor.

    Yes the his legal defense is weak. But surely you think that the prosecution's case is much weaker than it would be if he was caught "picking up" a 13 old who had been voluntarily bugged as part of a sting. I don't hang out in chat rooms - I certainly don't hang out in the young sex chat rooms where this all took place. I can't say if there is a reasonable expectation that the "preteens" in those rooms are really adults.

    The defense is not strong but if you think about it makes more sense. Listen to the charge - "interstate travel with intention to have sex with a minor". Intentions and beliefs are the central issue in the charge and will be in the court case. The prosecution has to prove his intentions, and the culture of the chat room is important in doing or not doing that.

    He is probably sick and may even be inclined to child-sex. But can it be proven enough to through him in jail. Sometimes criminal justice does not work well - its hard to have a fair system that works from jaywalking to murder. This may be a case for social justice, but we really should be patient - we have only heard part of the story.

  144. Let's keep it cool by lovebyte · · Score: 1

    Let's not forget that all this is about someone's private life. If he has commited a crime (he's not been found guilty yet!), he'll be judged and condemned for it. Well, hopefully. Otherwise he'll be freed. Well, hopefully.
    None of this is my business. So I'll just shut up.

    --

    I'll do it for cheesy poofs.

  145. I dig 13-year girls too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd like to make out with a 13 year oldie too! They are nearly perfect, so young and haven't done it all yet. They sure are sweet! (I'm 21...)

  146. Another dumbass.. by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    If you even think for one second that ANY 13-year-old is mature enough to make rational decisions about sex, you outgh to get your thick skull checked, you idiot.
    How the hell can you call this a witch hunt??? This is a known and effective way of capturing people who directly solicit young children for sex. You tell me how many more stories YOU want to hear about some girl who ran away with a man 3 times her age, raped her, and threw her out the door. I'd rather guard against sick assh*les like that than "protect people's freedom."
    No one should be scared of interacting with kids if they have nothing to hide.

  147. Re:Sad (?) to bad for "Short eyes" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it Madison Avenue that encourages this sick behavior or is it our animal past.

    I would venture to say that it's neither, but rather the moral relativism that permeates our culture, and tells us that "anything is okay as long as nobody gets hurt" without defining "hurt" properly.

    Which is a very difficult task, but something that human cultures have done intuitively over centures and developed codes of behavior to guide by.

    There's a conceit that people have in "modern society" that none of our traditions and cultural biases of the past have any meaning. It's conceit that hides a deeply-rooted sickness, in my somewhat humble opinion.

  148. Score 3, Insightful? by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but I don't see anything more insightful here than what your hear in your local pub from "réactionnaire" drunks.

  149. What about other "yanked" stories by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like the Andover.net IPO story that was "yanked" from the front page after it was revealed from SEC filings that Taco and Hemos made over $6 each when they were acquired?

    I guess the powers that be ... are being.

  150. Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Terao · · Score: 1

    ..... the rest of the persons achivements?

    For example if your favourite writer was reveald to be a child molester could you still enjoy his/her books?

    1. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Foogle · · Score: 1

      I don't think so, no. I found out awhile back that I man I'd known quite well had been wanted by the police for attempted murder and domestic abuse. I said to myself "Well, y'know - he was a really nice guy..." I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I think if I saw him today I'd probably say hello and shake his hand. He was always a decent fellow to me and quite active in the church... Of course, he's in jail now, so it's sort of academic.

    2. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

      He was always a decent fellow to me and quite active in the church...

      As an atheist, I love the previous statement ... in the US, you think that just going to church is a statement of morality. Gullible^H^H^H^H^Hreligious people are no better than the others.

      BTW, do witnesses really swear on the bible in a trial in america?

    3. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Foogle · · Score: 1
      No, the act of going to church does not make him a better person - I said he was "active" in the church, and by that I mean he was an active member of the community, helping others and providing a sense of leadership. Yes, that is a statement of morality. I could just have easily said that he was "an active member of the men's basketball league", but that wasn't the case.

      Did you really find it necesarrily to trash another person's country and religion based on some preconception that we're all gullible? Yeah, you're my hero.


    4. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      As an American, I'm amused to see a Frenchman doing all he can to promote the stereotype of the snobby-but-clueless Frenchman. HAND. And as if atheism weren't as presumptuous as the rest... {shrug}

      I'm quite sure that you don't have to swear on the Bible in a U.S. court, considering that one can affirm instead (as certain religions forbid the swearing of oaths as such). I suppose an agnostic or atheist could make a strong case for swearing on a volume of the U.S. Code...

      'suppose, were I ever to be dragged into court, I could make a case that swearing on a book that whose contents I do not fully accept would be rather disrespectful of those that do, and arguably blasphemous. What they really require is the verbal version of signing your name to a statement that you're not about to commit perjury; once that's entered in the court records, you're bound by law regardless of whether it was a paper signature or an oath sworn in court in front of witnesses or what have you.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    5. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

      I just don't like christians. That's just me -- that's how I was born. I was thrown out of sunday school at 8.

      Besides, catholicism is the most prominent religion here -- and they have so many case of pedophilia among their priests it gets almost funny.

    6. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by axolotl · · Score: 1

      Edgar Allan Poe is widely suspected of some pretty extreme crimes, but lots of people still read his books.

      axolotl

    7. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... Woody Allen ? I'm sure there are tons of people that are pillars of the community, popular, successful, etc that are supposedly worthy of admiration because of their work. But it is the things you do/don't do when no one is looking that is the real test of character. Most will fall... 6 billion ppl in the world.. it may be a life time search, but I've got time.. and will distinguish between the show/hype and what is truly worthy of my respect (something I don't give out very easily) IMHO, anyway... (might be overly idealistic, but what else have I got? ... )

    8. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Bald+Wookie · · Score: 1

      ..... the rest of the persons achivements?


      I think that I would have a very negative view of the writings of a child molester. I couldnt imagine having a big stack of books from some known pervert. That would be sort of like having a Gacy clown painting hanging over the mantle. To some extent, actions of that degree do invalidate the rest of their achievements. If this guy does do serious time, do you think that his cellmates will care about his terrific Java skills?

      This almost seems a bit Godwin like in this forum, but here it is anyway.

      Take, for example, Bill Gates. Over the last fifteen years, MS has engaged in a lot of uncompetitive bullshit. Its seems to have gotten even worse since the release of Windows 95. So call him an anti competitive megalomaniac with a misguided view of the future of technology. In the realm of child molesters, that is pretty tame.

      Lets say that he gives a total of 80 billion to charity, most of which wont benefit Microsoft.

      Fast forward fifty years. How much will it matter that BG ran his company like a robber-baron? Will people still view the money as tainted by the blood of PC techs everywhere? I doubt it. The PC's of today will seem as irrelevant as the first generation of TVs in the late 40s and early fifties. So the question follows: How bad does an action have to be to invalidate a person's legacy?

      -BW

    9. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... by Foogle · · Score: 1
      Ok, admittedly the Catholic church has gone through a lot of crap about some of their priests. It's certainly not a majority of them though - not by a long shot.

      How can you say that you don't like Christians? I refuse to believe that there is not a single Christian out there who you would call your friend. That's stereotyping - same as if you said I just don't like jews or even I don't like black people Slashdot is supposed to be an open forum, so you can say whatever you like, but c'mon - leave the bigotry at home.

  151. Censors++, freedom-- by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

    And yes, I am delighted to see one of those, forgive me the strong wording, censorship companies getting problems of this nature. Nice irony.

    Yep, better this way ... still it will give more food to censor-happy freaks, who, I believe, are closet pedophiles, just like, according to a psychological study, a lot of homophobics actually have homosexual tendencies.

    Also, that guy is filthy rich and can hire the attorneys he needs; now think about the little guy who will be caught thusly ... Think OJ Simpson ...

    1. Re:Censors++, freedom-- by mvw · · Score: 1
      Also, that guy is filthy rich and can hire the attorneys he needs; now think about the little guy who will be caught thusly ... Think OJ Simpson ..

      Someone in this discussion asked if one could enjoy a book by a molester. In the case of OJ I still can enjoy "Capricorn One", because it is such a damned good film. But it gives one the shivers.

      On the other hand I would never read one of those Hubbard SciFi book because he did too much bad with his Scientology crap IMHO.

      Good I never liked the Java books of this guy, but that was mostly due to his co-author Schildt, whom I personally can't stand. (The effect is comparable to seeing "Demi Moore" on a film poster :)

    2. Re:Censors++, freedom-- by Arkay · · Score: 1
      censor-happy freaks, who, I believe, are closet pedophiles, just like, according to a psychological study, a lot of homophobics actually have homosexual tendencies.

      Maybe it's the psychologist that have homosexual tendencies. Or maybe it's the marching homosexuals that have hetero-tendencies.

      Or maybe it's the rabid Linux advocates that have Microsoft tendencies.

      Or maybe the Psychologists are just full of @#$@!

      :-)
      --
      Richard R. Klemmer
      WebTrek L.L.C.

      --
      Richard R. Klemmer
      WebTrek L.L.C.
      http:/www.webtrek.com
  152. First Post!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I'm hip.

    CooL!

    Warz baby!

    -right?
  153. Big loser : Disney ! by Thomas+Miconi · · Score: 2

    Oh dear, I can't believe it. The timing just seems so incredibly perfect !

    Wherever this (rather muddy) story ends up, I can't help noticing the fact that it is brought to public attention just after Disney's acquired Infoseek and decided to set up its new "kids-safe" portal GoGuardian.

    Even more flabbergasting [tm] is the fact that this scandal rises just as Disney launches its "SafeSurfing week" in Europe. This campaign is aimed at "giving children and parents basic tips of safety on the internet". Paedophilia is among its primary subjects...

    This is no conspiracy stuff. I simply find it extremely amusing to see those oh-so-virtuous people discovering wolves in thir own shepherds.

    Thomas
    Happy /.ing to all.

  154. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by rark · · Score: 1

    First of all, the issue is not 'should (or are) 13 year olds having sex' -- I'm 21, and growing up, I had several friends who were parents at that age, so whether or not anyone believes 13 year olds *should* be having sex, at least some *are* having sex.

    The issue, however, is should *an adult* have sex with a thirteen year old. Understanding, of course, that in this society, adults have a hell of a lot more power than anyone under the age of 18. The legal answer is no, and my personal answer is no.

    It is unfortunate that worthy people are scared to be around/help/mentor children for fear of being branded as a child molester. The number of people who are accused of (never mind arrested and convicted for) child sexual abuse is very low compared with the number of people who are around children. Very very few of these are completely unfounded. Hence it's a risk, but a very small one, especially if the adult in question acts responsibly and doesn't even go into grey areas (discussing sex, etc. and it's also unfortunate that our society is so screwed up over sex that many adults can't conceive of, much less parcipate or allow others to participate, in intelligent conversations about sex, but that's *not* the fault of sexually abused children, nor the adults that wish to protect them).

    There are many more child molesters that go unpunished than innocent people punished for being child molesters.

    And in this case, by all accounts that I've seen, 'mentoring' was not even a possibility.

  155. Re:First of all... by jeddz · · Score: 1
    It's a great point. Regardless of what they find with this guy, his life is already destroyed.

    It's both the value and curse of our media. Things explode even before there is a chance for our legal system to decide one way or another.

    True, we have to give credit to law enforcement officials for a "job well done," but everyone has rights, including alleged pedophiles. I think one of the ways our legal systems need revamping is in how it goes about releasing this sort of information.

    Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the freedom of information, but freedom at the cost of destroying a life? Who knows for certain what this guy did? All we have our reports from an organization who lives and breathes by finding these kinds of monsters, but who's to say that Naughton is until a judge or jury decides?

    At least keep the poor schlep's name confidential.

    --jeddz

  156. Catalyst by chuckw · · Score: 2

    13 year old girls should be out playing with their dolls, not being manipulated by old men. I just hope this whole event is focused on Naughton and not the internet. The internet is a medium, it is people with bad intentions who do bad stuff in that medium. The rest of us are not children and we would thank the law makers to recognize that the problem is the people who break the laws and not the medium that allows them to do it. Most of us are responsible. Please live with the fact that you cannot catch them all and cracking down on the medium is only going to hurt the larger population without affecting the bad guys one bit.

    If you replace the internet with any other medium for doing bad you get the same thing. Guns can kill people, the internet can proliferate violence against children (and adults), knives can be used to kill, etc etc etc. Taking away the internet (or heavily regulating it) will not stop the child molesters, it will simply force them into another medium. We have to accept that bad things will happen and in a free society you can't stop EVERYONE. The only way to stop everyone is to take away all freedoms. If there is freedom, someone, somewhere is going to take advantage of it and use it for their own personal gain. This is why we have law enforcement. They will never end crime all together, they are simply there to keep things peaceful.

    We must accept our freedom with two caveats:

    1. We must defend it.

    Politicians are on the front lines and get a lot of messages coming from many directions. Victims are justified in lobbying for tougher penalties and stricter regulation. However the politicians need to hear our side of the story to remind them that although we agree and deeply sympathize(SP?) with the victims, it is the criminals who broke the law and not the medium they broke it in. This is why Rob started "Your Rights Online".

    2. There will always be people who will break the law.

    Accept the fact that there will always be someone who is going to break the laws for their own personal gain (or some other twisted reason the shrinks can sort out later). In fact, being able to break the laws is an important "right" in itself. Civil disobedience is an important driver for social and political change. When stealing a small item at a convenience store results in the death penalty, the price of civil disobedience will simply be too high and that "right" will effectively go away. The best defense is to be vigilant and defend yourself when necessary. You could defend yourself as easily as calling 911 or in an extreme sense with a gun.

    Thank you for your time.

    -Chuck

    --
    *Condense fact from the vapor of nuance*
  157. Hilarious by usurper · · Score: 2

    I found this news pretty damn funny, actually. Two important things to note:

    1) Everyone on IRC but myself is an FBI agent.
    2) "hotseattle" is one hell of a funny nick.

    - E

  158. Re:Animals can't consent. by Skim123 · · Score: 1

    Don't forget comatose patients. They can't give consent either.

    --

    I could not justify my existence if I were a turkey farmer. Would I terminate myself? Undoubtably, yes.

  159. Naughton Changed My Life by Pomme+de+Terre! · · Score: 4

    I am the person who submitted this story to Slashdot. When I first ran across the headline "Infoseek Exec Arrested" I was very uninspired to read the story. Something in my head told me to continue, however.

    Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the executive in question would be Patrick Naughton.

    I am a 3rd year computer science major, but while I was still in high school I was not very serious about computer science. (I just coded for kicks.) That all changed when I read a 1995 (?) issue of InternetWorld. Inside was the greatest interview I'd ever read... a techy, smart conversation with a Starwave executive.

    This exec freely stated his opinions on Microsoft, Java, the Internet, and the future of technology. He was brilliant, fun, and clever. He was who I wanted to be.

    I changed my entire perspective on code, software, computer science. I looked at things analytically... I decided to do things the Right Way. All thanks to an interview with Patrick Naughton.

    Now, it may sound stupid to many, but this man indirectly changed my life. That's why this whole situation is pretty difficult for me. All of his accomplishments, in the eyes of many, are nonexistant. He was a pioneer in Java. He wrote the original Hot Java browser. He went on to lead Starwave, a company that pushed the boundaries of web site design and content. He then settled in a comfortable position at Infoseek. A hell of a life, filled with lots of money and accomplishments.

    But that probably won't mean much anymore.

    I'm sorry for you Patrick. Thank you for changing my life. I only wish that you'd have shown better judgement in your own.

    Pomme de Terre

    1. Re:Naughton Changed My Life by given_to_fly · · Score: 1

      If you ever worked for or new someone who worked for the guy you would not be singing the same tune. the guy's a dick..
      To give him credit he did play a mean game of foos ball.. but thats it.

      --
      "I'm like an opening band for the sun" -Pearl Jam ; Yield ; Push Me , Pull Me
  160. No bad. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nature decides the age of consent, not the govt. Puberty == Adult End of story.

  161. Re:Keep your pants Zipped (was Re:Good) by Tack · · Score: 1

    In New Mexico the age of consent is 17, not 13.

    Ahh, quite right. In particular I missed 30-9-11 F.

    Anyway, my question was entirely academic, and I could have used [insert fictional state where AOC is
    It's interesting and even a bit startling to note how widely the AOC varies from place to place. In Canada, where we are very Americanized, the age of consent is 14, which is much lower than most states. There is also a fairly significant philosophical implication here, as well: lawmakers pick arbitrary numbers that are used to define society's code of ethics.

    Jason.

  162. There was no REAL crime here, fellow libertarians by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NO! There was no real crime here. There was no 13 year old here, so there should be no crime. There was an FBI jerk hanging out in a chatroom, probably with a screen name like 13nSexy--that's provocation and entrapment, or at least it used to be until the Supreme Court started subverting our Constitutional protections against the FBI Secret Police. Naughton probably deserves what he's getting, but all we really know is that he tried to get it on with 2 undercover FBI jerks pretending to be underage--for all we know, he may never have done this sort of thing at all if not for this ENTRAPMENT (which it really is, our current erosion of rights notwithstanding). The only REAL crime we know he committed was possession of childpr0n--but the police wouldn't have uncovered that if not for their prior ENTRAPMENT. Aside from which, in the libertarian vein of thinking: why should having a picture be illegal? Since when was INFORMATION illegal, man? Just because I don't like childpr0n doesn't mean that a picture should be illegal, and having a picture of something doesn't mean you'll do what's in the picture. Is it illegal to have a picture of a murder being committed? Is the Zapruder film illegal because it shgows a crime? Then why sould possessing pictures of this crime be a felony? Explain that, wanna-be-libertarians.

  163. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    That does not mean it's ok for me to take advantage of a woman against her will

    um, back up back up back up. Just because you can't spell statutory rape without r-a-p-e doesn't mean that anyone's doing anything to anyone against their will.

  164. seattle-> california by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    I'm almost with you on this, except that he supposedly tried to meet up with her in California having travelled down from Seattle for this purpose. That's taking role playing to excess I would think. If she had (pretended to be) 16, I would say that the little slut was asking for it, but 13 ? You would have to be a pretty disturbed 37 year old to want to fuck a 13 year old - they're just not ripe at that age.

    1. Re:seattle-> california by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

      I'm not claiming the guy is squeaky-clean.

    2. Re:seattle-> california by Kalak451 · · Score: 1

      from what i read in the ZD article, he didn't get arrested for just talking to the girl, he got arrested when he wanted to meet her somewhere and he actualy showed up! if thats not intent then i don't know what is. how else could they have arrested him? watied for him to actualy have sex with a 13yo and then bust him? This is exactly how this kind of arrest should go down.

    3. Re:seattle-> california by ToiletDuk · · Score: 1
      • And even if he new it wasn't there's still the question of whether a 13-year-old can't give consent... I don't think any 13-year-old would actually go into a father&daughtersex chatroom, and certainly not stay there and chat for 4 hours... But if they did, I think it's their choice. But that's an ethical discussion, not a legal one.

      It SHOULD be an ethical decision, but our braindead government has made it into a legal one.

  165. We're not all sitting in judgement.... by ronfar · · Score: 1

    Please read my posts about this man. I trust law enforcement about as much as you do. I consider prison rape one of the most disgusting abuses of power allowed and accepted by the people of this country. (Citizen Redneck says, "Let's make sure that that car thief gets sexually abused in the most degrading ways possible." Why? So that when he gets out of prison he'll be a murderer or other violent criminal? I don't understand people.)
    Remember, Republicans who claim to be (note the small l) libertarians because they like some Libertarian ideas are not Libertarians. They just want to get the Libertarian vote. I doubt real, registered Libertarians can stomach this kind of abuse by the FBI. I certainly can't.
    Of course the true beauty of the kind of public accusation levelled against Naughton is that if you oppose it for any reason you are apt to get labelled as a pedophile yourself. Salem-style witch hunt's have been back in a big way for a while in this country, you may see Libertarians who are afraid to point out just what a huge abuse of the legal system the FBI is guilty of here, for fear Naughton will be convicted and they'll find they have been defending the rights of a pedophile.
    Incidentally, I've noticed a number of fist time posters with this post, I wonder who they are and why this story brought them here.

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  166. Re:Entrapment by DHartung · · Score: 2

    Here is the Jacobsen vs United States case involving the man targeted in a child porn sting. Even though he was convicted and every appeal along the way affirmed the government's case, the Supreme Court agreed that the investigation as conducted was entrapment.

    --
    lake effect weblog
    {Network engineer in Chicago--looking for work!}
  167. What they did. by lentil · · Score: 1

    What they did was decide that this guy traveling so far... screw how far - he could have walked accross the street... to meet what he believed was a 13 yr old, and don't think for a second he thought it was some hairy 45 yr old guy ready to ram him, was enough intent. Enough of an attempt.

    I havent seen the chat transcripts, but this guy obviously thought she was 13. According to his porn files, some Jay Leno looking guy in leather wasn't his bag.

    Surely his guilt could be proven basing it on his actions and not whether the FBI provided a small child in a parking lot to meet him.

  168. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Gromer · · Score: 1

    While I agree that paranoia about child molestation has in some cases gone too far (to wit, "recovered memory" psychology, but that's another rant), this just isn't one of those cases.

    I agree that an 18-year-old sleeping with a 16-year old is no problem (and I say this as a (barely) legal adult in a relationship with someone who is (barely) a minor), and as several people have pointed out, the law usually makes exceptions in those cases. Even if such cases aren't covered by the letter of the law, nobody enforces the law in such situations, not even the child-molestation demagouges. That would just be ridiculous, and everyone knows it.

    This, on the other hand, is totally different. She was 13, he was 34! Sorry, that's not the same as the difference between me and my girlfriend. For crying out loud, she was still busy being born when he was old enough to drink! One can quibble about the age of consent, and the maximum age difference underneath it, but 13 is just out of the question, as is a 21-year age difference. A 13-year old simply cannot be regarded as an emotional and psychological adult when it comes to handling sexual advances from a middle-aged man.

    If he really did what the FBI says he did (and, although the case agains him looks pretty bad, let us not forget the presumption of innocence), I have absolutely no qualms about sending him to jail for as long as the law provides. This case, at least, is no witch-hunt. The laws about this were written for exactly this sort of situation, and to fail to punish this sort of behavior would be unconscionable.

    So, while I agree that there are some issues with our current shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later approach to child molestation charges, this is hardly the case to be fighting these issues over.

    --
    "Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" -Salvor Hardin
  169. Re:Big question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    God bless American law. It provides for a number of crimes which are comitted just by crossing state lines :) Crimes, which from the evidence shown, they will have no problems getting a conviction under :)

  170. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by laktar · · Score: 1

    But of course, what a wonderful idea! Why attempted murder, that's not a crime at all! If somebody's about to kill somebody, then of course the police have no right to arrest him/her whatsoever.

    Aside from the absurdity of not arresting somebody for trying to comit a crime, there's also the fact that they found kiddy porn on his laptop, the search for which he consented to.

    -Laktar, a.k.a. Nick Rosen, laktar.dyndns.org


    If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord:
    69. All midwives will be banned from the realm. All babies will be delivered
    at state-approved hospitals. Orphans will be placed in foster-homes, not
    abandoned in the woods to be raised by creatures of the wild.
    -- Peter's Evil Overlord List, http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

  171. Why has this disappeared from the home page? by Nicolas+MONNET · · Score: 1

    Huh?

  172. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I tried to hire a hitman to kill you, wouldn't you rather that the first one I found was actually an agent undercover, instead? If so, should I be
    let go because he wasn't an _actual_ agent, but only a pretend one? So by your logic, the crime never happened, right?

    IF you got arested for such a crime and the cops framed you which would you rather be the case?
    Nobody would defend you as they would be afraid of being labled and harased by others. Notice that the people arguing the case of police entrapment are almost all Anonymous Coward.

    Cops have been known to frame people and such a case might by the perfect frame.


  173. Re:Did you know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    heheh Well I can understand your point even though its not very valid.

    This was not a Viewpoint shared by this country alone, this was a worldwide viewpoint, and in many countries it still is. In fact im sure if you go back through your family line, many of your ancestors were married to 13 year old brides.

    You are right, back then We didnt have Nuclear war or internet Startups pushing Vaporware :) We are much smarter now

    The point I made was not a agreement or a disagreement, just a observation on the times :)

    GET a grip

  174. tragedy upon tragedy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this is a terrible, awful tragedy, and it sickens me to see this url crossed with this one to get this cruel joke.

  175. Re:No nails by jmp100 · · Score: 1
    It's illegal to have it in the USA. This is probably because a child is not able to provide consent, even if for no other reason than that they can't legally sign a contract. I think that part of shooting porn is that you have to have a contract and some sort of evidence that the subject is of age... hmm, chicken or the egg?

    However, it is not illegal to take pictures of naked children, as long as they aren't "sexually explicit". I read a news article a long time ago about pictures of Brooke Shields. Her mother signed a contract with a photographer, who then took pictures of her before and during a bath. Rather gross if you ask me, but then I don't understand lots of what people call "art."

    Where does art end and crime begin?

  176. First of all... by Mawbid · · Score: 4
    this is vapourware of sorts. He hasn't been convicted. Innocent until proven guilty, right? You've said it a thousand times, now live by it.

    That doesn't stop anyone from discussing what he is or deserves if he's found guilty, we should just be careful to qualify our statements with "if he's guilty" or speak in general terms. Most people seem to be doing this, actually.
    --

    --
    Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
    1. Re:First of all... by Xamot · · Score: 1
      Kind of like that OJ thing. Oh wait he was even found Innocent, but everybody still says they know he was guilty. To which I always ask "How do you know he was guilty, because I have no clue if he actually did it or not?"

      Let me repeat that before somebody claims I defending OJ or this guy. I don't know. Granted some evidence heavily pointed toward OJ, and he may have done it and used all his money to get off scot free. But I don't know that nor have any proof to claim that.

      The public will decide this guy's guilt or innocence long before the justice system does. But from the sounds of it this is a pretty open and shut case and if so I hope he gets a punishment appropriate for the crime(like multiple public whippings ala Starship Troopers). But we've all see what money can do :)

      --

      --
      ?
    2. Re:First of all... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      he had child pornography on his computer.
      i for one don't see a way he could _not_ be found guilty of _something_.

      possession of kiddie porn isn't really a very ambiguous crime, or something you can defend yourself against. either you had it, or you didn't.

      i posted this once already about half an hour ago, but it never appeared. i'm gonna try again. sorry if this winds up here twice.

    3. Re:First of all... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "he had child pornography on his computer. i for one don't see a way he could _not_ be found guilty of _something_." Replace "had" with "is alleged to have had", add the presumption that he put it there / knew it was there, and that's what we have at present. A trial is intended to establish whether that allegation and the consequent presumption are true or not. On the information we have, it seems likely that they are, but believe it or not the safeguards in the system really are there for a reason.

    4. Re:First of all... by wangi · · Score: 1

      This is the high-tech version of the village witch-hunt...

      Any male who is accussed of sexual crimes toward children is automatically harassed in the community - pictures of them nailed to trees in the park and such like.

      What if they're innocent? That's their life ruined anyway...

  177. No nails by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4

    I don't think they have much to nail him on for the following reasons:

    1. It would probably be easy to show that the agent's chatting characteristics (they way she wrote, what she wrote, intelligence, maturity etc.) were not consistent with that of a 13 y/o thus leadig 'hotseattle' (he should get time for the nick) to believe he's talking to someone more mature then they pretend to be.

    2. When was the last time anyone in a chat believed what they were told by someone else? There is no concrete way in a chat to know who you're talking to. Just because she said she was 13 does not make it true. People tend to fib alot in chats. This FBI story makes this point even more salient.

    3. It would be arguable that even if the FBI agent had sent him a photograph of her 13 y/o self or any other 'evidence' he still had no real way of knowing her true age.

    4. I doubt the FBI had a 13 y/o waiting for him in LA. It would be easy for him to claim that when he saw an adult waiting he decided to go ahead with it. Had he seen a 13 y/o he would have backed out bla bla bla.

    In summary, he can claim a zillion things stemming from the fact that there is no way for anyone to know who they are chatting with in a chat room.
    The only punishment he will get is a nuked career....

    BTW is possesion of child pornography (for personal use only, of course :) illegal?
    1. Re:No nails by crbill · · Score: 2

      I sure wish someone would decribe exactly (and legally) what constitutes child pornography.

      1) I've seen a few pictures of myself right after being born with my bright-red, freshly snipped pecker.

      2) Is that child porn? Should my parents be arrested for having the picture? What about me mailing the picture to my fiancee in some other state? Have I distributed child pornography?

      3) Now, what about getting circumcised at the age of 13 -- the doctors take before and after pictures and give them to my family. See point #2. Suppose somehow these two pictures are distributed (either accidentally or on purpose) separately, and no one knows that they're to show the results of a medical procedure. Are those two pictures considered pornographic?

      I guess what I'm asking here is, how to you figure the "purpose" of a picture? Where is the line between child pornography and documentation?


    2. Re:No nails by Foogle · · Score: 1
      You're grabbing at straws and no court in this man's country would let an obvious pedophile off on such a basis. The fact is that this "13 year-old" told him that she was 13. He had *every* reason to believe that she was. It doesn't matter if he couldn't prove that she was 13 - that's totally incidental. And that crap about seeing an adult there and going ahead with it would never stand up either. He didn't actually have sex with a 13 year-old, did he? No, but that's not the charge - it's intent.

      Having said all that, I firmly believe that all men are innocent until proven guilty. Should it turn out, in court, that McNaughton was unfairly arrested, then I think he should be let go. The facts presented in these accounts do not seem to lend themselves to that scenario, however.


    3. Re:No nails by lilgorgor · · Score: 1

      it is?

    4. Re:No nails by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      Some random notes...

      * With the chat transcripts only, one *might* be able to make a case that he wouldn't *really* have gone for a 13-yr-old; *maybe*. There'd have to be some strong indications from his part, 'tho, in what was said; if he never contradicted that during the conversations or elsewhere, then he (and his lawyers) have a tougher nut to crack.

      His having kiddie porn *seriously* damages his case, methinks, since it makes it far harder to argue that he wouldn't pursue young teens.

      * Yes, people fib in chats. But there have been instances of teens actually running off from home to meet people that they meet online, suggesting that some aren't being raised paranoid 'nuff. It happens.

      * About child porn: I'm pretty sure that it's illegal to transmit across state lines, or even possess. Off-hand, I don't know whether that's a result of anti-obscenity measures, or whether it's based on non-consent somehow. Anyways, there have been high-profile cases of people busted for sending it across state lines, anyway.

      * It's akin to a phone conversation. It's pretty difficult to verify that anybody whom you're not meeting in person is who/what they say they are, but if (say, a decade ago) you called a number in Medellin and asked for a hundred kilos, neither the DEA or a jury is going to buy an argument that you were just kidding around.

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    5. Re:No nails by mountain · · Score: 1
      BTW is possesion of child pornography (for personal use only, of course :) illegal?

      I don't know about the states. IIRC, in my country it's not (New Zealand). Of course the distribution (IIRC, in any quantity) is.

      IANAL. And I'm not condoning it.

      --
      --- "If a man speaks in a forest, and no woman hears him, is he still wrong?"
    6. Re:No nails by gad_zuki! · · Score: 2
      In the US all child porn is illegal, even possesion. Its a lot like drugs, except drugs make every feel good...

      All these 'chat room' cases stink of so much entrapment. Open flirting, more lies than you can shake a child-sized dildo at, charges filed before any real crime is commited, imo.

      Whats the charge at this point - soliciting sex? Where's his pedophilia sexual history? What are they going to use in court other than some lame chat room transcript that really can't be used to prove age. Most 13 year old girls on the web are 30+ year old men. Maybe he just wanted some anal action.

      If your get convicted for soliciting sex from someone pretending to be a minor, then you should goto a pretend jail.

      I don't want to sound like I'm defending pedophilia, but I am going to critisize the fed's methods and integrity and very fine walk across the entrapment line. This guy may be the biggest perv of them all, but catching him in a pretend crime is BS. You can't call it a crime in progress if there isn't a real victim.

      Big Brother doesn't just watch us, he teases us , plays with us, and then takes us down.

    7. Re:No nails by jmp100 · · Score: 1

      Heh... I think the rest of the "13 year old girls" are actually 45-year-old gay men... :)

    8. Re:No nails by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      why would gay guys pretend to be female? they're not usually transvestites

    9. Re:No nails by swb · · Score: 1

      No, child porn is not illegal in the same way that drugs are. Child porn is illegal because it is prima facia proof of child abuse. You can't get kiddie porn without abusing the kiddie. Possession of child porn makes you an accessory to the abuse.


  178. Hark, Fellow Libertarians! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NO *real* crime was committed here! There was no 13 year old here, so there should be no crime. There was an FBI jerk hanging out in a chatroom spending my well-earned TAX DOLLARS, probably with a screen name like 13nSexy--that's provocation and entrapment, or at least it used to be until the Supreme Court started subverting our Constitutional protections against the FBI Secret Police. Naughton probably deserves what he's getting, but all we really know is that he tried to get it on with 2 undercover FBI jerks pretending to be underage--for all we know, he may never have done this sort of thing at all if not for this ENTRAPMENT (which it really is, our current erosion of rights notwithstanding). The only REAL crime we know he committed was possession of childpr0n--but the police wouldn't have uncovered that if not for their prior ENTRAPMENT. Aside from which, in the libertarian vein of thinking: why should having a picture be illegal? Since when was INFORMATION illegal, man? Just because I don't like childpr0n doesn't mean that a picture should be illegal, and having a picture of something doesn't mean you'll do what's in the picture. Is it illegal to have a picture of a murder or a tax evasion being committed? Is the Zapruder film illegal because it shows a crime? Then why sould possessing pictures of this crime be a felony? Explain that, wanna-be-libertarians.

  179. Slow day for replies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is it me, or have there been 0 comments on /. today?

  180. That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3

    Not that I chat online all that much, but sheesh it seems like if you are into cyber-sex you'd have to be very careful these days.

    Yes, the article says the FBI agents repeated said they were 13, as part of their phoney persona, but when did they say it? And even so, does that count? It was chat, there was no way of actually verifying age - and much of online chat is about role-playing and fantasy (how many cyber sex females are actually female).

    Suppose you meet someone online, engage in some pretty crazy fantasy, and want to pretend she is a teenager. She says she is 13. She is really an overweight housewife of 45. Have you done anything illegal? Not in my book.

    This guy probably did in fact believe the girl he was talking to was 13, but that is a very fine line to walk. It is quite a bit different than an adult man trying to seduce a teenager in the real world.

    Now granted, attempting to actually meet (real world) someone you met online, that you believe is 13, for the purposes of engaging in sexual activities, is pretty damned shady. But still, did he actually do anything?

    The idea of getting arrested for a crime you might have committed is frankly very Orwellian. But there does appear to be quite a lot of lee-way in the American judicial system in this regard. Prostitution busts follow the same pattern. The Jon's are arrested for soliciting prostitution, in a situation in which a prostitute is not even present - it's a cop. The Jon is effectively arrested for his intent, what he thought the situation was, not based on the reality of the situation. One cannot actually solicit prostitution from a police officer (at least I hope not).

    I don't know much about the legal precedents surrounding these sorts of things, but it seems to me that this sort of thing is getting out of hand.

    I know, kiddie porn sucks, pedaphiles should be arrested - but only for committing actual crimes. I don't believe the framers of the constitution had in mind this bizarre form of preventative law enforcement.

    1. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by ronfar · · Score: 2

      Someone who knows that they have kiddie porn on their laptop consents to a search of it by the FBI? That doesn't strike you as a little, well, odd?

      --
      All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
    2. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by CoreDump · · Score: 1
      Suppose you meet someone online, engage in some pretty crazy fantasy, and want to pretend she is a teenager. She says she is 13. She is really an overweight housewife of 45. Have you done anything illegal? Not in my book.

      Nor was that what he was arrested for. He was arrested for alledgedly attempting to do more than just chatting about it.

      Now granted, attempting to actually meet (real world) someone you met online, that you believe is 13, for the purposes of engaging in sexual activities, is pretty damned shady. But still, did he actually do anything?

      Let's pick a different example. Suppose you chatted online with an undercover officer about robbing a bank. You go the bank in question at the time you told the undercover officer you were going to rob it. The cops are waiting, and upon searching you find a gun in your pocket. You haven't technically robbed the bank yet, but you damn well better believe that the police will arrest you for attempting to do so, they aren't going to give you the opportunity to point the gun at a teller and ask for money. The penalties would be stiffer had you actually pulled it off and been caught than if you get caught attempting to do it, so it's not unfair in my book.

      This is the same circumstances as took place here. A court will determine the final verdict and render a sentance appropriate with what they find him guilty of.

      --

      ---
      Segmentation Fault ( core dumped )

    3. Re:That does it - no more cyber sex for me. by Didian · · Score: 1

      "much of online chat is about role-playing and fantasy"

      But this man (reportedly) had child porn on his computer.

      This was not entrapment. Nor is it role-playing.

      He was the one who (reportedly) suggested that they meet, that she skip school, that they "kiss, make out, and play and stuff." And he actually did go to Santa Monica to meet her. Not much role-playing going on when you hop on a plane.

      --
      "You despise me, don't you?"
      "If I gave you any thought, I probably would."
  181. Stupid => go to Jail now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Someone this stupid deserves to go to jail. A key designer of Java should know that there is no privacy on the net, unless you use encription developed outside the US. Least of all IRC, the stupid, stupid idiot. I'll bet he uses his wireless phone to call his crack dealer too.

  182. Percarious internet startup... wierd CEO by heroine · · Score: 2

    Well if you've ever seen Jeremy Ellison in an interview at his house you know that the guys who run successful internet businesses are pretty wierd. We're talking perfectly spaced shirts, Pluto wierdness. Wierdness seems to be a prerequisite to gamble your life on something as percarious as internet startups and they're wierdness just somehow attracts fbi agents.

    1. Re:Percarious internet startup... wierd CEO by vladimire · · Score: 1

      And lets not forget about the CEO's who were 'abducted by aliens' (Joe Firmage) during preparations for their IPO (now THATS out of this world guidance)

  183. Re:Keep your pants Zipped (was Re:Good) by Tack · · Score: 1

    Anyway, my question was entirely academic, and I could have used [insert fictional state where AOC is ...

    That is: [insert fictional state where AOC is
    *sigh* I even used < and it previewed correctly. :)

    Jason.

  184. The Night of the Disappearing Comments by wilkinsm · · Score: 1

    I'm curious enought to post. According to the other articles, comments posted here disappear.

    We shall see.

    I wonder what's going on? Where's Arthur C. Clarke when you need him? I'm sure he could explain this.

  185. Re:The other story... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...or maybe somebody is posing as Jamie McCarthy? - conspiracy theorist to the end

  186. http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/Re:Pedophiles Unit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree! We have laws dating back to the 1880s (Victorian Era) that feminists lobbied for "to keep a girl from making such a terrible mistake" (their words). They thought that fornication was terrible and that a girl shouldn't be allowed to do it until she was "at least 18". Before that, states genrally had AoC laws at 10. It was based on a very conservative estimate of how old a girl could be without being physically harmed by sex with an adult male. Since then, the Victorian values changed people's sexual values to view sex as "dirty" and a "necessary evil". Even today's society (US) is _very_ prudish. Of course if sex is thought of as bad then children have to be protected from enjoying themselves! Several months ago in Chicago, an 11 year old girl and 13 year old boy were BOTH charged with "molesting" the other. They aren't the only ones being charged with such rediculous charges either.

    Why 18? It dates back to the US and possibly a little earlier in the British society origionally in 2 ways, millitary ability and a few schools ending at that age. Before about that age, many men can't carry heavy packs making them unsuitable for millitary service at that time. Also some schools (mainly boarding schools in England) would finish at about that age. Later it progressed into ageist laws for whatever reason.

    As far as the McCarthyism, I agree. 400 years ago, it was the witches, 50 years ago it was the communists, 30 years ago, gays, ever since the government started framing people for Child Satanic Ritual Abuse in 1984 (and having to quickly start charging people for BELIEVEABLE charges, the media convinced people that 1% of the people (pedophiles) were the new monsters. No one can dare defend THE group that happens to be the current decade's monster (like always) without resorting to anonymously doing it (thereby loosing some credibility) like I am doing by using an anonymizing proxy.

    You've got straight people who are homophobic. "It's all those queers perverting our society!" Gays who say, "It's not us, it's the pedo's!". By the way, "How DARE you discriminate against me and cast me out of society just because I'm different than you! Lynch the pedos!" With pedosexuals like me who don't bother anyone (and are considered likeable people by others) know that if I were to come out of the closet, I would be treated exactly like "witches" were 400 years ago! And when gays try to demonize pedos, they're proving that they're no better than the homophobes they complain about.

    How dare you defend FBI pigs who lock up someone for roleplaying in a chat room with someone and get "caught" with the very same child porn that was EMAILED to him by the very same pigs! How dare he have any fun huh?

  187. Completely unfounded? It can happen ... by fable2112 · · Score: 2
    Sorry, but I do have to take issue with this. There are a LOT of unfounded accusations of this nature out there. Just ask anyone, particularly any male adult, who has tried to start a support group for gay teenagers. Oh yes, and I had completely forgotten the long list of Satanic Panic influenced cases.


    Go spend some time over at www.religioustolerance.org especially in their section on "Sadistic Ritual Abuse." This epidemic DOES NOT EXIST. Innocent people's lives were completely ruined by this, both the alleged offenders who have at best had their reputations destroyed, and at worst are still rotting in jail. And the kids who now believe thanks to improper questioning by well-meaning therapists that they HAVE been abused are going to be screwed up probably for life.


    I know, I'm ranting. But since I am bisexual and pagan (two strikes against me, right?), and I am also a survivor of sexual assault, this issue puts me on a reallllly short fuse. Hell, I'm supposedly more of a risk to kids because I *am* a survivor. This is insane.

    --
    "Somebody exploded a letter-bomb today ... but it wasn't anybody I knew" -The Moody Blues, "Dear Diar
    1. Re:Completely unfounded? It can happen ... by rark · · Score: 1

      I didn't say completely unfounded charges *didn't* happen. However, very few of the charges made each year (by percentage) are completely unfounded.

      And you're right, a lot of those are made against gay/bi people and people of different religions by adults with agendas. A number are also made by divorcing parents who want to deprive another parent of their child (and also the child of their parent, but apparently they don't think that way)

      The scary thing about all those charges above, is that they give people who are clearly abusing children an out.

      Justice is a hard thing to mete out, at times.


    2. Re:Completely unfounded? It can happen ... by fable2112 · · Score: 2
      "The scary thing about all those charges above, is that they give people who are clearly abusing children an out."


      Exactly. And while I don't have hard numbers for unfounded accusations vs. accusations with *some* cause, and while some of these accusations don't make it into court, they are still pretty darn common. And for the most part, we have homophobia and most of all the great SRA scare to thank for that. The bigger problem is that (in my experience) the *real* abusers will more often than not fit few-to-none of the stereotypes. You know, your basic God-fearing (supposedly), married, professonal man who's got a dirty little secret or several involving little kids. *sigh*

      --
      "Somebody exploded a letter-bomb today ... but it wasn't anybody I knew" -The Moody Blues, "Dear Diar
    3. Re:Completely unfounded? It can happen ... by rark · · Score: 1

      Depending on who is doing the numbers (as usual)
      approximately 90% of all child sexual abuse is perpetrated by adult males on female children.

      And you're right -- there is no appropriate stereotype, it crosses class, racial and other boundaries.

  188. Slashdot is broken by Tack · · Score: 1

    "[insert fictional state where AOC is _less than or equal to_ 13]"

    Geez, slashdot's brokenness is making me look dumb. :)

    I'm using [amp]lt; and it's previewing fine, but it's broken once it gets posted. Moderators, do your job on this subthread. :)

    Jason.

  189. Entrapment by Skyshadow · · Score: 4
    Here's a legal clarification for all the good /.'ers out there siding with the child molester:

    The Man can provide the opportunity to do a crime. What they cannot do it provide encouragement or somehow otherwise force or draw someone into performing an illegal act that they wouldn't do without the Fed's involvement.

    For example, providing an opportunity for someone to solicit a 13 year old is not entrapment, because the scumball in question took the initiative. Note that what's important here is the subject's intent and their belief -- I don't actually have to intend to kill a guy's wife for him o break the law by hiring me to do so, so long as he believed that I was a professional killer. I add this in because some moron actually posted that this was roleplaying. Yeah.

    In any event, everyone protesting that this pedophile's rights were violated really needs to look in the mirror and ask themselves where their "privacy" rights end and the rights of their 13 year old daughter or sister or whatever not to be sexually fsck'ed up for life begin.

    This guy needs to be removed from any position to hurt kids. I know some of you are so jaded from hearing politicians talk about "protecting children" that you can't see the forest for the trees anymore, but this is actually a case of protecting children from a sick individual.

    ----

    --
    Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
    1. Re:Entrapment by Kid+Zero · · Score: 2

      Is he a child molester if he didn't actually commit a crime? I recall a case 6-8 years ago where the FBI kept sending a guy in Nebraska child porn magazines and the like, hoping to trap him. He finally bought one in an attempt to shut up the mailers, whom he didn't know was the FBI. The courts threw the arrest, charges and what not _way_ out the window. With extreme predujice. Clearly they ruled in this case the FBI pushed the man until he did want they wanted. John de Lorean's cocaine conviction got thrown out under similar cirmunstances. If this is one of those cases, the courts will probably throw it out. Course his carrer will be toast, but, them's the breaks.

    2. Re:entrapment by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      Nope, it's not.

      Entrapment is when you're coerced into doing something that you wouldn't otherwise do, such as being made to sell drugs to avoid physical abuse by undercover cops.

      Jumping into an illegal transaction without coercion is not entrapment - it's called a sting.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    3. Re:entrapment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I believe that it is only entrapment when the person is enticed into committing a crime which he never would have committed without the enticement.
      If the person is arrested for a crime which he has
      a proclivity to committ, then it is not entrapment, as I understand entrapment

      Anonymous Coward waiting for my password to be emailed

    4. Re:Entrapment by Laner · · Score: 1

      Thannk you - this guy needs to be put away for a LONG time, and I can't believe anyone would actually defend this human piece of trash.

    5. Re:entrapment by Shadowlion · · Score: 2

      Some types of entrapment aren't that overt.

      A few years ago, I read about some guy in California who had purchased gay-themed child pornography before it had been made illegal in the United States (sometime in the late 1970s, IIRC). The police decided to go after this guy *after* the material had become illegal, so they bombarded his house with magazines and ordering information for his preference of child porn. After *many* months, the guy finally ordered some, and the police arrested him.

      The case, however, was thrown out because the judge ruled that while the man had purchased material in the past, it had been legal at the time. The police had not demonstrated that the man was actively buying new material in violation of the law, and that the constant bombardment of literature in his mail box constituted entrapment because the man testified that the only reason he bought the new literature was because he had received this material so much that he eventually decided to check it out.


    6. Re:entrapment by substrate · · Score: 1

      Just pretending to be a 13 year old girl doesn't make it entrapment. An undercover cop impersonating a prostitute in an area known to be frequented by prostitutes isn't entrapment for instance. If the undercover enticed somebody who wasn't trolling for it then it would be entrapment (I was on my way to work, I was at a stop light and this person offered to show me a good time)

      It all depends on who brings up the sexual context first in this case. The fact that kiddy porn was found in his posession probably indicates that there is some sort of history that he does go out of his way for it.

    7. Re: Entrapment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Uh-huh. I'm sure what you're providing is a "legal clarification" given your judicious use of objective words like "needs", "moron", and "scumball".

      I don't think you would know a mens rea if it bit you in the hiney.

    8. Re:Entrapment by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      I agree completely with your clarification. A further analogy, if I may:

      An undercover cop dresses up like a prostitute. A potential "client" consents to buy sexual favors from the pseudo-ho. The "john" is arrested, tried, and convicted of solicitation.

      The argument of "I didn't know (s)he was a police(wo)man, and besides, I didn't actually get to have sex" does not hold up in those cases.

      I see this as similar. A policeman posed as a child/prostitute, and a pedophile/john offered to have sexual relations.

      Does this armchair lawyering hold up? It seems reasonable to me, but I'm not a legal professional.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  190. Media, truth and public opinion. by Hast · · Score: 2

    These kind of cases tend to make me feel a bit sick. And not necessarily because of the fact that pedophilia is despicable.

    Not too long ago there was a case about an alledged pedophile here in Lund where I study. (He was a researcher at some liberal-arts institute.) Apparently they had found child-pornography on his work computer and thus he was prosecuted. The papers naturally made a big deal out of it and he seemed to be very guilty. (His name was never mentioned, but since he was no longer allowed to work at school it wouldn't be hard for someone to work out who he was.) The papers had some stuff about how he had told someone that the pictures where "research" and then given a different story to the police.

    Later on it turns out he had been on leave for about half a year. During this period of time he hadn't been using his computer very much naturally. This did, unexpectedly not appear in very many headlines.

    My point is that I find these witchhunts that the media persue again and again to be in some cases worse than the crimes. The current "witch" at least in Sweden are pedophiles, formely they have been BBS-junkies (who were alledgly bombmaking terrorists). Similarities can for instance be seen in Littletown with goths. (I'm not making any claims about goths' sexual preferences or anything of that kind here.)

    Why is it that so much of todays media are sensational? Why does todays news have to be more gruesome than yesterdays? And why do so many people put up with it?

    And then I read some of the comments here on /. and they were almost worse. From the artcles I saw no real conclusive evidence that the man *hadn't* seen it all as a "roleplay". Now I don't have the IRC logs, so I can't really make a judgement here. The point is, neither does anyone else. (Unless you work for the prosecution or so.)

    Another thing that frightens me a bit is that the guy is mentioned with full name, occupation etc. Even if he is found innocent he will be marked as "pedophile" for the rest of his life. So sue the papers you say, but will that make his life better? It's not as if he has a shortage of money.

    I'm not condoning his alledged actions. I'm not trying to say that pedophiles are "only misunderstood people ". I am trying to say that with all the new technology we have at our hands today it becomes easy to pump out news at a rapid rate. And for many more people to see the same news than ever before. (Not that I'm telling you something new here.)

    Unfortuantely it also seem like many people fail to understand that there are actually people behind those news. And it often seem as if the reporters don't remember that either. So before you start lighting up the tourches and marching off to burn a new witch, make sure it's not some innocent old lady.

  191. My friends are Thai... by ronfar · · Score: 1

    The thing about Thailand is that the government is pretty much allowed to do whatever they want and the people don't have constitutional rights like they do here. So, instead of pedophilia being less common than it is here, it is more so.
    Just one of the many reasons why I'm against a government which isn't accountable to its people. If you want more, and more horrible crime, let the government be of men and not of laws. Naughton was an executive at a big company. If he were director of the FBI, he could pretty much do whatever he wanted along these lines right here in the USA and "none could call his power to account" (to quote Macbeth), right? At least it seems that way to me, and that's why I've been complaining about the way they've handled this case in my other posts.

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  192. What this really proves ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, if the guy's guilty, he should go to jail. But what is really, really interesting here is how easy it was for the F.B.I. to catch this guy in particular.

    The F.B.I. and other fed. agencies have lobbied for tight control of the internet and privacy-enabling technology, saying how necessary it is to catch the bad guys. But Naughton, a very technically adept and wealthy man, had access to the very best technology available, and the F.B.I. was able to snag him easily.

    The way I see it, a real child-molester would have to use the very means that Naughton did to get to children, and that makes them easy to catch. It's a turkey-shoot for law enforcement officials! Just go to a chat room and distribute pictures of yourself when you were 12. Wait for one or more suckers to take the bait, then BAM! Book'em Dano! Same way for child pornography. I'm sure these guys don't check I.D., except maybe to make sure your Visa is valid.

    This is really low-cost law enforcement. All you need is a $800 computer, an ISP connection, and the ability to pretend you like "Hanson" (or whoever tiger-beat is drooling over these days.)

    If Naughton does get off the hook, and if people think he was a guilty (as many feel O.J. was) then we could see a see a serious public outcry, probably followed by some very bad knee-jerk legislation. Remember that hopeless anti-terrorist law that passed right through congress after the Oaklahoma City Bombing? Hmmm... I smell a conspiracy theory brewing.

    1. Re:What this really proves ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just got through watching the late night news. Right after the Naughton story, there was a story where Janet Reno was addressing a new "high tech crimes unit." Reno said there should be a "Balance" between privacy and protecting the rights of children. Ya know, somehow I don't think that "balance" leans toward my side.

  193. patrick naughton by exabyte · · Score: 1

    In the words of kyle from south park:

    Thats pretty f***ed up.

    IRC, chatting with teens, executive vp, too much time on his hands ? Hmm or maybe not enough time on his hands ...

  194. Moderate this one up... by ronfar · · Score: 1

    Moderate this up. People need to read this.

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  195. Let's leave L. Ron Hubbard out of this... by jcr · · Score: 1

    (Well, I've heard that's he's *somebody's* favourite author!)

    Seriously though, is there any reason to believe that this guy actually molested any children? I don't really want to see the FBI out there trolling so they can bust somebody for thoughtcrime.

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
    1. Re:Let's leave L. Ron Hubbard out of this... by Foogle · · Score: 1

      Eh... I agree with you to a point, but driving from Seattle to California goes past that point. The FBI had every reason to believe that he would've gone through with the act had this actually been a 13 year old girl. That's a whole lot more than just thoughtcrime. I think it's good that they caught him before he actually did take advantage of any underage girls.

  196. Re:Not a big surprise by Mawbid · · Score: 1

    You know, I'm pretty sure there are decent, non-paedophilic homosexuals out there and that they are just as good at being scout leaders to unprejudiced children with unprejudiced parents as heterosexuals are.
    --

    --
    Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
  197. http://anon.free.anonymizer.com/Re:Hey now, I'm a by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I agree! We have laws dating back to the 1880s (Victorian Era) that feminists lobbied for "to keep a girl from making such a terrible mistake" (their words). They thought that fornication was terrible and that a girl shouldn't be allowed to do it until she was "at least 18". Before that, states genrally had AoC laws at 10. It was based on a very conservative estimate of how old a girl could be without being physically harmed by sex with an adult male. Since then, the Victorian values changed people's sexual values to view sex as "dirty" and a "necessary evil". Even today's society (US) is _very_ prudish. Of course if sex is thought of as bad then children have to be protected from enjoying themselves! Several months ago in Chicago, an 11 year old girl and 13 year old boy were BOTH charged with "molesting" the other. They aren't the only ones being charged with such rediculous charges either.

    Why 18? It dates back to the US and possibly a little earlier in the British society origionally in 2 ways, millitary ability and a few schools ending at that age. Before about that age, many men can't carry heavy packs making them unsuitable for millitary service at that time. Also some schools (mainly boarding schools in England) would finish at about that age. Later it progressed into ageist laws for whatever reason.

    400 years ago, it was the witches, 50 years ago it was the communists, 30 years ago, gays, ever since the government started framing people for Child Satanic Ritual Abuse in 1984 (and having to quickly start charging people for BELIEVEABLE charges, the media convinced people that 1% of the people (pedophiles) were the new monsters. No one can dare defend THE group that happens to be the current decade's monster (like always) without resorting to anonymously doing it (thereby loosing some credibility) like I am doing by using an anonymizing proxy.

    You've got straight people who are homophobic. "It's all those queers perverting our society!" Gays who say, "It's not us, it's the pedo's!". By the way, "How DARE you discriminate against me and cast me out of society just because I'm different than you! Lynch the pedos!" With pedosexuals like me who don't bother anyone (and are considered likeable people by others) know that if I were to come out of the closet, I would be treated exactly like "witches" were 400 years ago! And when gays try to demonize pedos, they're proving that they're no better than the homophobes they complain about.

    How dare you ./ers defend FBI pigs who lock up someone for roleplaying in a chat room with someone and get "caught" with the very same child porn that was EMAILED to him by the very same pigs! How dare he have any fun huh?

    By the same logic that most men DON'T rape women, most pedosexuals DON'T rape children. You'd be surprised if you realized who around you is secretly a pedo. BTW, there ARE people around you who are pedos; you just don't notice it. :)

  198. Did you know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In some societies girls are married at 12 and are having kids by 13. In deleware the "consentual sex" age is 14.

    13 is borderline, but it's not like it was a 7 year old...

    1. Re:Did you know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no, back in the middle ages we had feudal lords using inherited power to take advantage of their vassals and friars traveling europe selling pieces of the holy cross. we were much smarter then.

  199. There you go again. by jcr · · Score: 0

    Listen, you withc-hunting jerk: I'd trust any of my gay friends to watch any kids I cared about long before I'd trust a priest (of any franchise) with them.

    If you really want to cut down on child molestation, abolish christian "youth counselors", and the Catholic Church. This kind of shit has been going on since long before Martin Luther nailed it up on the door of the church in Wurtemburg!

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  200. Why is that sad???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why in the world is it sad that this guy is a scumbag. Sure maybe he's a genius, but does that put him above stuff like that?

  201. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by laktar · · Score: 1

    16 & 18 is VERY different from 13 & 34. VERY different. I agree that statuatory rape laws and the like should be changed to include some kind of at least 4 year difference thing as well, but posessing kiddy porn and going to meet and have sex w/ a 13 year old girl are things that should get this guy a long jail sentence.

    -Laktar, a.k.a. Nick Rosen, laktar.dyndns.org


    If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord:
    8. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a
    quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during
    which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.
    -- Peter's Evil Overlord List, http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

  202. Re:Keep your pants Zipped (was Re:Good) by BlakStone · · Score: 1

    yeah, except if you're 19 or over, the age of consent ups to 18....
    my 18 year old brother almost got himself arrested and charged when his girlfriends parents found out how old he was, she was 14 but looked older and lied about her age. but if he was 17 he could nail her all he wanted.

    thats just warped.

    --
    Gnothe se Auton
  203. Positive - Negative by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    If Naughton's convicted:

    Positive: On the one hand, he's apparently got about $15 million in stock(?), so he could be okay despite serving time. And he should be able to afford a decent defense.

    Negatives:

    a) While in prison, he probably won't have access to up-to-the-minute stock prices. Or, for that matter, access to a phone to call his broker. I hope his stock is good for the long term.

    b) Q: how much of his paper wealth is in options, and if any, how the options are affected by termination.

  204. Re:Unreal... by expunged · · Score: 1

    The point is they are trying to PREVENT it from happening to any 'potential' child by a person who is obviously interested in doing it.

    I have three siblings, 6, 14, and 17. It brings tears to my eyes to even IMAGINE what kind of pain it would bring to them for something so horrible to happen. NOBODY deserves to be coerced, manipulated, and convinced into a situation like that, child or not. Children have more of a disadvantage at being able to deal with the situation, tell their story, and move on. Adolescent girls (and boys) have so many hormones, emotional changes, and physical changes going on that they aren't sure what to think of sexual things... and to have someone completely trash them for life (or even CONSIDER it) like this just is not okay.

    I don't think "everybody does it" is a good excuse, porn or sex.

  205. Why always instant criminalization? by mvw · · Score: 1
    Sorry, but we both should agree that this kind of crime fighting is very questionable.

    In a better society, they would have detected that guys massive problem and put him under medical treatment. Here he gets directly sent to jail (maybe not, because he has money).

    The same holds for drug problems, where it is not as clear to me, when someone is a criminal or when someone is sick, as it seems to be clear for certain other folks. Compare attitudes in the US and the Netherlands to see what I mean. If it were an easy problem/distinction, we already had a nice solution for treating such people. But it is not. It is a hard problem.

    1. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by Jason+Earl · · Score: 1

      So you would rather wait until some child's life has been ruined before you put the brakes on the pedophile?

      Personally I think that this line of reasoning is quite disengenious. After all, in this particular case if there would have been a little girl and not an FBI agent waiting for our pedophile friend then he would have had his way with her.

      After all, that's why he had traveled all that way.

      Quite frankly, if it were _my_ little girl involved I would want him prosecuted for simply having a sexual chat with her after she mentioned she was 13.

    2. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by jmp100 · · Score: 1
      Let's say I blaze up some crack and chug some beer. I then go driving in my car and hit a school bus. Every child in it is either killed or irreversibly disabled (mentally, physically, whatever). People who do drugs, victimless criminals? Sometimes, sometimes not. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) would opt for the second.

      Personally, I think marijuana should be legal, if beer and cigarettes are. It's arguably just as bad for you, even if it isn't physically addicting. But let's pay attention to facts. Drugs alter how the mind percieves reality. That's the whole point behind them. If you get snockered and then try to drive home and wind up killing someone, it ceases to be victimless.

    3. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by Stonehand · · Score: 2

      In a better society, who would have detected this particular apparent problem, assuming that he didn't voluntarily step forward? His family? Co-workers? Sysadmin? (It does happen; remember a former head of the Harvard Divinity School? A computer techie discovered his (non-kiddie) porn collection; that's why he's former...).

      Or law enforcement, or one of his victims? In the former case, they'd have to be either acting pre-emptively (as in this case), or real-time (monitoring all communications), or passively (waiting for victims to emerge). In the latter case, how many would be willing and able to come forward?

      At least in this case, it seems that there isn't a trail of victims to attribute (directly) to him. {shrug}

      --
      Only the dead have seen the end of war.
    4. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by cs668 · · Score: 2
      When it comes to issues of sexuality like this I think criminalization is the only way to go.

      Ten years ago people tried to *fix* homosexuals. Now we just say that different people have different sexual preferences. You can not *fix* a homosexual because they are not broken. You also can not *fix* a pedofile. They just have a sexual preference that society does not approve of.

      I personally don't want my family to be the victim of some shrink's latest theory about how to change someone's sexual preference.

      If someone is attracted to children lock them up for good.

    5. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It all depends on wether you view child molestation as a 'sickness' or a criminal act. I choose to view it as a criminal act. If this guy wants to try an insanity plea, I suppose that's his option.

      We are all granted a certain amount of choice in and how we choose to focus our attentions, and that includes our tastes in the erotic. People who choose to claim they are compelled to behave in a certain way exhibit a form of laziness, an unwillingness to take control of their will.

      It seems like a lot of people insist on offering up the notion of 'freedom of choice' (be it in sexual preference, fetishes, etc.) but then try to turn it around and say they have an 'addiction' or were 'born to these preferences' when problems come up due to their behavior. They can't have it both ways. I choose to have a positive view of humanity as a whole, and ascribe to us freedom of choice, and the ability to channel our free wills. With that comes responsiblity for our actions.

      Counsolers and people who make a lucrative living 'helping' people live blamelessly with their problems (look up 'codependency' sometime) will of course advocate for the people who are 'victims' of their own desires. It's good business, I guess.

    6. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by QuMa · · Score: 1

      >So you would rather wait until some child's life has been ruined before you put the brakes on the pedophile?

      If it's the choice between that and emprisoning someone for life for what is in essence an opinion: Yes.

    7. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by Sloppy · · Score: 1

      There are already laws against criminal negligence and reckless driving. The crime isn't in frying your brain; the crime is choosing to fry your brain and then choosing to drive a car. I just don't see a lot of difference between killing someone because you fried your brain, killing someone because you were paying more attention to your cellphone than the road, or killing someone because you were checking your makeup in the mirror.

      If you specifically outlaw drugs because drugged people might hurt others, then you have to add more and more laws, every time someone thinks of a new way to be stupid (which might hurt others). It seems so much more simpler to just hold people responsible for negligent actions in general.


      ---
      Have a Sloppy day!
      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
    8. Re:Why always instant criminalization? by Sloppy · · Score: 2

      I don't see how you can compare Mr. McNaughty to drug users. Pedophiles have victims; weed smokers do not. Smoke some crack or shoot some heroin, and you're only fucking up yourself, but with pedos, there's another person involved, and it's a person who society has agreed needs to be protected even from their own decisions (i.e. we don't let them vote or buy alcohol, so their decision to have sex is likewise invalidated). There's just no comparison 'tween pedos and drug users, except for maybe minor drug users.


      ---
      Have a Sloppy day!
      --
      As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  206. Re:If twas no 13yr old girl, how can there be crim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I do not advocate child abuse, nor am I a
    pedophile, but I am against arresting
    people for intent to commit a crime. Indeed,
    the only fair system is where a crime gets
    prosecuted when it is commited. Raising a knife
    at someone is not a crime, plunging it in is.
    So the only crime he has commited (rather then
    intended to commit) is possession of child
    pornography. I am ot sure why the latter is a
    crime at all, since this seems to violate the
    first amendment, guaranteeing the freedom to
    possess, process, transfer and generate
    information without restriction.
    Still, I would not want such a person in charge
    of a major internet infrastructure, but that
    has already been taken care of by Infoseek and
    Disney.

  207. Re:Not a big surprise by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I pulled my kid out of the scouts when I learned his scoutmaster had outed himself as a heterosexual. I don't want my kids exposed to that kind of thing.

  208. If it's true... by hipworld · · Score: 1

    If it's true, then he needs to be put away. There aren't too many things much more disgusting than kiddie porn in my book!

  209. Read the Affidavit by GMontag · · Score: 1

    Affidavit here. IF what the FBI says is true, looks like they did it correctly. No telling if this actually happened in the manner stated by the SA without full transcripts and traffic logs.

  210. Re:America's sexist attitudes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    True, but that was only after the second time she was caught fooling around with the same kid.

  211. Re:Big question by jmp100 · · Score: 1
    If he crosses state lines, it ceases to be the state's problem and becomes the fed's problem. If convicted, he will go to a federal prison, where he will be treated better than at a state prison.

    I say this because where I used to work, a fellow came in one time and told me that when he was in the military, he got busted in a foreign country for drug something or other and then extradited to the US. He was placed in federal prison because it really wasn't any state's problem.

    That's why there are laws that specifically contain language to indicate that state lines were crossed.

  212. Re:Keep your pants Zipped (was Re:Good) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thats odd; Mind you, I don't think teens should be
    playing around in the first place, but basically,


    if two 17 year-olds are in the bed together, and
    the guy has a birthday, then they have to stop
    what they're doing and wait until the girl's birthday?

    if that was enforced...

  213. Re:Some interesting comments on similar cases.. by angelatlarge · · Score: 1
    The fourth paragraph you quote (describing one subject's collection of stuff which has references to his sexual interest in children) is rather distressing. The issue is that sexual interest is not a crime, not should it be. It is reasonably well established, for example, that Reverend Dodgeson (better known as Lewis Carrol, the author of Alice in Wonderland) probably experienced sexual attraction to children. This is not a crime, as long as the person does not engage in sex with someone who is not able to withhold prudent concent - such as a child. By the same rules, videotaping children at a playground, is not a crime either. It is used in Freeh's address purely as a scare tactic: they are watching you!

    --
    And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another -Hesse
  214. Brooke Shields by DHartung · · Score: 2

    jmp100 wrote:
    >I read a news article a long time ago about pictures of Brooke Shields. Her mother
    >signed a contract with a photographer, who then took pictures of her before and during a
    >bath. Rather gross if you ask me, but then I don't understand lots of what people call "art."

    That would be the film Pretty Baby, written and directed by the late Louis Malle. In the context of portraying Keith Carradine's character's sexual interest in young girls, the character played by the young Brooke Shields is portrayed fully nude. It was intended to be shocking. While such a film might not be made today, it was completely legal under the pornography laws in place in 1978 (and probably still is, except in Kansas ...).

    --
    lake effect weblog
    {Network engineer in Chicago--looking for work!}
  215. Re:Not a big surprise by avdp · · Score: 1

    Are you trying to imply that gay people are paedophiles, or are more likely to be paedophiles? C'mon! Give us a break, this is the most ridiculous unfounded prejudiced biggotted accusation I have read for a long long while...

  216. Take some responsibility! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Regardless of how unfair the FBI's sting technique is, this guy deserves everything he's going to get when they throw him in prison for the next couple decades. The biggest problem with this country today is that people can't accept responsibility for their own actions and leave it at that. This is nothing more than one sick guy who doesn't have any concept of self-control. I thought it was wrong to hit on 13 year olds when I was 16 for Gods sake! This has nothing to do with the evils of the Internet like the media will make it out to be; this is merely a single guy receiving the consequences of his own actions.

  217. Freedom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    What is freedom, really? I mean, when we're talking about our rights in the U.S.... We have very few rights seemingly bestowed upon us by the constitution until we finally turn 18.

    So how about something new, eh? How about asking kids when they want to make their own decisions, when they want to be independent, and when they want to do these things...?

    Of course there are limits, but they can be deduced by observation. When does a kid understand these concepts? I myself remember being pretty darn clear on these things before 10 years old... By 13, I was on my own most of the time, by choice, avoiding my parents, hanging out with my friends, and dreaming about you know what with some nubile fems in my class... By that time, I felt a resentment at being controlled by my parents that had been growing for at least a few years.

    So should we say that a kid like that 'doesn't know what he's doing' when he goes in search of sex?? Or should we admit straight up that kids that age DO have those desires, and DO really want it sometimes? I think the latter.

    The other issue of course, is that of parental control. Let them try to control their kids up to 18 if they want, but I say don't go around putting people in jail, etc. on the assumption that 13 year old kids are babies.

    They make the same wrong decisions that adults make, for the same reasons: They want something, but they don't realize what the consequences are. This is the whole problem with drugs, and it's not dependant on age! Only on experience...

    Please.... think about these things rather than just spitting out some convenient argument.

    1. Re:Freedom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd have to agree it's really more about the age of independence than that of consent (one which seems to be so ambiguous).

      I can remember as an adolescent, not too long ago, being more frustrated by my lack of rights than concerned with the issues today spliting hairs over exact age. Think "Wonder Years". It's just not part of the thought process when you're 13, and you want the same thing as everyone else. It was obvious that younger members of the opposite sex were taboo, and those the same age or older were fair game (provided they weren't already taken by upperclassmen).

      I can also remember being a senior and having the opportunity with a girl 5 years my junior. It's not that I didn't want it, or that she wasn't physically mature, but I let it go because it was clear to me then that it just wasn't right (sometimes, I still kick myself).

      It's not that my knowledge or desire of sex had changed all that much, but something definitely changes when you get a little older and cross over to the other side (no, I don't mean that side). I mean that precarious leap from utopian 17 to jaded 18, where the childhood ideology fades and social/political/economic reality hardens.

      Whether that leap occurs at 15 or 25, I don't think sexual contact between members on both sides makes a whole lot of sense. On one side you have exploration, self-growth and infinite possiblity. The other is home to commitment, responsiblity, and ideas greater than most care to fathom at 13, whether we like it or not. IMHO.

      At the same time, I don't think the argument claiming the need to protect helpless, naive children in the form of draconian laws that short-circut our rights holds up in situations where the "child" has entered an online sex chat room and has agreed to meet at some seedy motel knowing full well what she/he is in for. Faith in the father and his two-barreled shotgun for protecting common morality has somehow been replaced by a sh*tload of political FUD that has everyone and his dog convinced that "Internet pornography = child pornography = child molestor sneeking in your 11 year old daughters window while she's sleeping with her teddybear".

      In this case, everyone's ready to crucify Patrick Naughton (some /.ers seem to think capital punishment is appropriate) for not forgetting what it was like to be 13 and attracted to a 13 year old girl. Come on people, lets be honest here. Obviously, his alleged intent went too far in the eyes of the law -- but 20 years worth?

      After all, this is about intent, not action, and the thought police are listening.

      http://www.eff.org/pub/Groups/BCFE/limit2.html

  218. Re:Big question by JerkBoB · · Score: 1
    The real question is, was there a crime committed?

    It does look that way. If you'd read the article at all (or perhaps a little more closely), you'd have seen that he's been charged with crossing state lines with intent to have sex with a "minor."

    The question isn't whether or not he's been charged with breaking a law, but whether or not the law should have been there for him to be charged with breaking.

    (Yes. We shouldn't have to wait until someone actually molests a child before we get them out of society.)

    --
    A host is a host from coast to coast...

    --
    A host is a host from coast to coast...
    Unless it's down, or slow, or fails to POST!
  219. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    I've got this 13 year old hootchie chasing after my 19 year old boyfriend. Surprise, surprise - He doesn't mind. My $0.02 is that if the kid's already had sex willingly, is wanting to do it again, and is the one trying to initiate it then who gives a damn. I mean, you KNOW those FBI types are so eager to catch the big bad CEO that their fictional 13 year old is going to be the horniest 13 year old in the world. True Jerry Springer style.

  220. My God...how stupid can you get? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Man, how stupid are you? Think. There are real 13 year old girls in chat rooms. It's luck he found a fake 13 year old girl first (assuming this is his first time).

    If the FBI had lured him into chatrooms and stoked his latent pedophilia or something like that, you'd have a point, but here all it looks like they did was plant some traps to catch people who were actively seeking to exercise their pedophilial tendencies.

    1. Re:My God...how stupid can you get? by Kintanon · · Score: 1

      Man, how stupid are you? Think. There are real 13 year old girls in chat rooms. It's luck he found a fake 13 year old girl first (assuming this is his first time).

      Ahhhh! But are there real 13 year old girls in #0!!!!Father&daughtersex ????? Last time I checked that wasn't a popular place for kids to hang out....

      Kintanon

      --
      Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
  221. America's sexist attitudes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not that I condone what this guy did.. BUT, a female teaches gets pregnant from her 13 year old student (I forget her name - Laterno or something), and the courts let her go, Jay Leno makes a few digs at her, and we y'all feel vaguely sympathetic todards her .. AND here is this guy, who actually didnt DO anything, and all of the country is ready to lynch him!!

  222. Disneys odd banner ad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I went to Disneys site just to see if there was any official statement there. There wasn't, but I did get a banner ad that touted a "free video" as "the smarter way to shop for kids". I suppose I should be ashamed of myself for laughing.

  223. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by jmp100 · · Score: 1
    There is a solution to it that cures the pedophile and his or her victims and allows both parties to resume happy lives, but I won't post it here, since I'm not fireproof. Something in the Bible about not casting your pearls before swine. I'd know what it was if I was religious.

    C'est la vie...

  224. Kiddie porn should be legal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this just goes to show that many decent, respectable people like to look at kiddie porn and have sex with teenagers. Why exactly is the legal age for porn and sex so high? 13 year olds can't consent to having sex? Naughton should be freed and child pornography should be legalized.

  225. Calling people morons by Mawbid · · Score: 2
    Try not to do that. Nicolas MONNET made a point about roleplaying. Personally, I think that point is pretty much negated by the man going through with the meeting -- or do I? I'm not sure. I can imagine him being into roleplaying sick shit like that and then going to the meeting, seeing a woman and not a 13 year old girl and thinking "oh what a relief, I thought maybe she really was 13, boy would that have been embarrassing!". I don't know how highly I'd rate that possibility if I were on the jury, though.

    Anyway, obviously Nicolas and I are morons in your view and not only that, we're sick morons because we're "siding with" the accused. Fuck, I don't know why we even go on living.
    --

    --
    Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
    1. Re:Calling people morons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, you're not a moron. You have intelligence and choose your position. That makes you responsible for your choices. "Ethically crippled" might be a better label to attach.

      Lots of people are ethically crippled. It's a hard handicap to break free of, in a society where we're all so enabled by "therapists" with an agenda.

  226. Keep your pants Zipped (was Re:Good) by ecampbel · · Score: 1

    In New Mexico the age of consent is 17, not 13. Also, since this guy crossed state lines, he can be charged with a Federal crime, not simply a state crime. So, even if this "13 year-old" had been from New Mexico, he still would have been in big trouble.

    --

    Sig goes here
    1. Re:Keep your pants Zipped (was Re:Good) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the ages are within a year (possiby a little more or less) rape would be extremely hard to prosecute.

  227. PROVOCATION .... OR ENTRAPMENT ?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Get your words straight you phukn pervert. You probably do shit like that to. Sick motherphukah !

  228. How do you know that? by timothy · · Score: 1
    Solarus7 wrote:
    The FBI certainly didn't put the porn on his machine so he can't try an entrapment defense.


    On what do you base that claim?

    It may be unfair / unprovable, but certainly credible claims have been made that they are not above putting incriminating evidence onto hard drives to ensure a conviction. (Or keeping hard drives full of business-critical data with the threat or intention of putting people out of business, ala Steve Jackson.)

    And kiddie porn seems an obvious choice for a smear tactic. If you want to make someone look bad, put some kiddie porn on their hard drive -- how effective are denials, after it comes out that someone has even been *suspected* of that?

    Kiddie porn == bad, clearly.

    But I think it's prudent to consider the history of distortions and advantage-taking that US (for instance) law-enforcement bodies have in prosecuting people. No doubt there are many ethical, well-intentioned people in the FBI etc, but the events of the past several weeks should at least make you raise your eyebrows a few times.

    Eh?

    timothy
    --
    jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
  229. The other story... by jem · · Score: 2

    ...this news bite appears and a couple of minutes later it is pulled from the index page. The title changes from "Patrick Naughton Jailed" to "Patrick Naughton Arrested" and the story remains off the index page in spite of a new news link being added to it.

    While the initial title was incorrect, and thus irresponsible journalism, having something yanked off Slashdot is just to wierd for me. Something that is a valid news article is hotter than publishing information on how to access people's personal email when the Hotmail crack was released?

    How does that work? The Slashdot community wants to know this story. Tell us little people who slapped your wrists and what next.

    -------
    Oh, and convicted pedophiles deserve all that they get. I can't comment on the FBI procedures as they seem the only way to track down this kind of crime. I wouldn't like my privacy violated in this kind of way but... No. Heinous crime is heinous crime.

    1. Re:The other story... by jamiemccarthy · · Score: 4
      ...having something yanked off Slashdot is just to wierd for me.

      There's nothing insidious going on - I'm still getting used to slashdot's administration software, hit the wrong button, and accidentally posted the story for a few minutes before I was done editing it. Sorry!

      Jamie McCarthy

      --

      Jamie McCarthy
      jamie.mccarthy.vg

    2. Re:The other story... by RebornData · · Score: 2

      It seems to be on the index page now, with the new headline.

      It bugs me that some people jump so quickly to the conclusion that "big brother" is censoring slashdot when it probably was just a technical issue. Just apply Occam's Razor, and think about how often there are "glitches" compared to how often /. censors stories.

      And I'm glad they caught the idiot. Even if you can rationalize the stuff that happened in the chatroom as "role playing" that ended when he showed up in person. Do you think he was expecting to find someone that was "role playing" with him?

  230. Re:This sucks... by Mawbid · · Score: 0
    This is what comes from thinking of children as objects. :-/

    Sorry, bad taste, couldn't resist.
    --

    --
    Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
  231. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I have to ask: What can be done to help someone with a problem like that? Unless there's some magical new therapy I hadn't heard about that'll make the evil desires "go away", I'm not entirely certain what any amount of therapy could do.

    And on another note, some people may be confused by your statement "it's not his fault", and think that that somehow means he shouldn't be locked up. Someone with a highly communicable and fatal disease (say, tuberculosis) can't "help" infecting others, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't quarantine them for the safety of others. Likewise, the pedophile who has actually molested someone, whether or not it's his "fault", still needs to be forcibly kept away from children, since it's clear that the individual can no longer keep himself away on his own. Am I off base on this?

  232. Re:If twas no 13yr old girl, how can there be crim by bmetzler · · Score: 1
    Indeed, the only fair system is where a crime gets prosecuted when it is commited. Raising a knife at someone is not a crime, plunging it in is.

    Intent to commit a crime is just as guilty as committing the crime. You need to read about more drug busts. And other crime investigations. Because believe me, this is common. FBI agents play undercover to get drug deals all the time. And the drug traffickers are arrested and tried. No difference.

    Still, I would not want such a person in charge of a major internet infrastructure, but that has already been taken care of by Infoseek and Disney.

    I disagree with this. If Infoseek dismissed him because he committed a crime, that's wrong. You are innocent till proven guilty. However, I suppose there are many reasons you can dismiss someone. If they are in jail or on trial, it's hard to have a job.

    -Brent
    --
  233. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Tim+Pierce · · Score: 1

    NEWSFLASH: Most teenagers in the US are sexually active WAY before the age of 18.

    Very true. Usually with someone else who's also under 18. The kids in my high school (not I, alas) did an awful lot of screwing around with each other at 15, 16 and 17. Even 13 and 14, sometimes.

    The point is that there's a pretty big difference between a 14-year-old hitting on a 13-year-old and a 34-year-old hitting on a 13-year-old. While I agree that age-of-consent laws can be pretty screwed up, most of the problems can be fixed with "sliding window" rules: e.g. if you're over 18 and she's under 18, but there's only two years' difference between your ages, then you're okay. Under no circumstances should it cover a twenty-year age gap, which represents an incredible imbalance of power.

    Not that I support the truly sick pedophiles out there that prey on children, but I can't help but wonder what this modern-day witch-hunt has done to discourage good people with a lot to offer youth groups and their members from participating.

    Your point would be better taken if the evidence in this case were a little more ambiguous. As it is, Naughton doesn't seem to have much room to claim that he didn't know what he was doing, or that the police snookered him into it. I find it hard to weep.

  234. Question for you Law people out their. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sorry if this gets posted twice I clicked sumbit and netscape crashed on me. I would be in like but I'm addicted to AHL.

    Since I am a minor it wouldn't be illegal for me to try and "lure" another minor to my house correct. What if I lied to the minor and told them I was over 18?

    Kiddie porn is still illegal for me to look at right? Thats a shame because although it might discust and piss people off, I like to looking at pictures of 13-18 year girls. As long as they are some what developed. I'm sorry if this pisses any one off but I'm a minor to me looking at pictures of 30-100 year olds dosen't just appeal to me.

    If Its not a crime for me to lure little girls to my house I think I'll try to get some 13 year old F.B.I. agents at my house tommorow. heh J.K.

  235. GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU COMMIE FAG ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    HE IS AN OBVIOUS CHILD MOLESTER. YOUR CRIMINALLY RETARDED PERVERT.

    1. Re:GO FUCK YOURSELF YOU COMMIE FAG ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I always wondered how Slashdot could be American and yet be safe from standard American diatribes and prejudices we see everywhere on the Internet.

      I'm still wondering how it could. Sheer luck, I guess.

  236. ?:Privacy policies/Logging processes at major ISPs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anyone in the know want to comment at what major ISPs like AT&T Worldnet, AOL, etc do to log web traffic and newsgroup traffic? What their privacy policies are? Sometimes you stumble across bizarre and questionable stuff if you spend any amount of time on the web or newsgroups...I'm been getting a bit paranoid lately about what gets logged. And I'm not talking strictly pr0n, but there's also warez, crackz, etc.

  237. Open and shut by Xamot · · Score: 1
    Open and shut as in if the Government did not use entrapment and he wasn't set up, what is there to argue about? They pretty much caught him red handed. Unless he had a good reason for having kiddie porn (which I can't come up with one legit reason). Now there is the question of Intent. Did he intend to have have real life sex with what he thought was a 13-year-old? That surely will be the debate, but it could be a tough argument either way depending on the evidence found in the previous correspondance. Since it involves knowing the thoughts of one man he will probably be the only one to ever really know the truth.

    The Fatty Arbuckle thing looks like it is exactly what I was talking about. Naughton will be scarred for life whether he is guilty or not.

    I really don't get the reference to the Salem Witch Trials. How does dunking a person, if they drown they were innocent, relate to me thinking there isn't a lot of points to argue in this case?

    Of course a lawyer with a enought money can probably come up with quite a few things I can't.

    --

    --
    ?
  238. No ABCNEWS Bias by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here is a link to the article on ABCNEWS.GO.COM. It wasn't exactly front page, but you gotta commend them.

  239. Re:Not a big surprise by gad_zuki! · · Score: 1
    The facts show that the guy that rapes your boy scout isn't openly gay Bruce, but tough straight
    Scoutmaster Bob who does his best to hide his tendencies. I dont see how you can make pedophilia == homosexuality as most child offenders go both ways on kids, depending on what they can find. Not to mention how heavily watched a gay scoutmaster would be.

    The joys of camping...

  240. GO Guardian and PATRICK NAUGHTON! by hotsunnyvale · · Score: 1

    The FBI Released a TRANSCRIPT: NAUGHTON: I've got a GO GUARDIAN in my PANTS LITTLE GIRL: I want to TURN ON GO GUARDIAN!

  241. Naughton drove SEEK into the ground by given_to_fly · · Score: 1

    I worked last summer at seek and I was there when the Starwave merger was released and Naughton was given the VP job. Basically he was a bastard and pushed everyone arround. Since then people have been leaving SEEK like rats off a ship.
    Oh.. and a java genious he was not..
    i hope the sick bastard gets screwed in a very uncofortable place
    - not like the back of a Volkswagon

    --
    "I'm like an opening band for the sun" -Pearl Jam ; Yield ; Push Me , Pull Me
  242. 13 was the age of consent in Victorian England... by Ixpath · · Score: 1

    In many other societies the age of consent is 11,12,or 13 years of age. I heard a story of a couple who were married in mexico, the man was 18 or 19, the women I think was 13. Anyhow they came to the US to live with the girl's parents. A couple months pass, one of her teachers discovers out what was going on and the man was arrested.
    Im not saying I particularly agree with the views of that society or not. I don't see how you can make a particular view of any one culture into law in a country that is supposed to be a "melting pot" of cultures. As long as you do not infringe on someone else's rights in the expression of your culture I don't see why it should be considered "wrong" in the eyes of the law.

  243. Can it be a set-up ? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 1











    It is actually an easy task to set somebody up.

    What the authority has to do is to arrest someone, confiscate his computers, and then, in some government lab somewhere, announced something like "We found kiddie-porn materials inside."

    Hey, all it takes is two diskettes filled with kiddie-porn jpeg pictures and the guy's reputation is ruined forever.

    Think about it, will you?









    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
  244. Yep, that's pretty weird. by Dast · · Score: 2

    One thing that was good about slashdot back in the day was that you could be certain that no "outside forces" were going to affect what stories were posted. Here it seems as tho someone upstairs didn't like this story--considered it Too Hot to be on the front page of slashdot.

    This doesn't look good. I, of course, give Rob and Crew the benefit of the doubt, that maybe it is a bug of some sort, and the story will be reposted/linked a little later.

    If it isn't, I will have to rethink why I read slashdot. I don't want "Filtered news for nerds, stuff that isn't Too Hot".

    I guess we will have to wait and see.

    --

    This sig is false.

  245. Java Sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Right on! We should arrest *all* java programmers! No God-Fearing upright Christian nation should tolerate such perversions!

  246. Not His Fault! by thundrcast · · Score: 3

    We must remember that it wasn't his fault. He was actually the helpless victim here. He has a sexual addiction that he can not control. It's a sickness, not a choice. From what I've heard, it all stems from that fact that his he didn't have a stable childhood becuase he both his mother and grandmother wanted to care for him. It's really sad. I think the FBI should be offering help for him, check him into therapy not co-arranging visits to CA so that they can arrest him! :)

    1. Re:Not His Fault! by Jimhotep · · Score: 0

      you feel his pain.

    2. Re:Not His Fault! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, its because he's a Clarkson alumni. We were deprived. Most of us chose sheep. Apparently he chose a different path. :-) (Clarkson '89)

  247. The age of consent in New Mexico by telos · · Score: 1

    Just so you don't accidentally mislead some one: the age of Consent in New Mexico is 16. No one really bothers with this law there, but that is the law and if you are over 18 you sure give it some thought. They might not proscecute you if you are under 18, I don't know, I did not try to find out.

    --
    "Alt-F4 that's for quitting" quoth Dan_Wood
  248. Age Of Consent. by jelwell · · Score: 1

    It's very interesting to note how old the sting agent said she was. If she had said 14, instead of 13, then Patrick Naughton would not be suspected of anything in 2 States in the US (24 Countries also would not prosecute). If the FBI agent had said 15 then Patrick would not be accused of a crime in 5 states (and many Countries).

    Check out ageofconsent.com to find out the Age of Consent in your country/state.

    I think it would be interesting to see how old the slashdot readers were when they "lost it". But more interesting might be how old their significant other would have been. There's a big difference between a sexually active 13 year old, and a 35 year old who would have sex with that person. I'm not trying to take any position on the subject. I don't know what Patrick did, I don't like that he was set up - but I don't know if he is a child offender. It might turn out that he has a child molestation ring that he runs.

    Joseph Elwell.

  249. They went at him for MONTHS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And plenty of times they let him know his "target" was a 13 year old girl. He knew what he was doing.

  250. Out of Order by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well, Patrick Naughton got the geek dream a little out of order, oops! * boink 13 year old --+ * graduate high school | * coinvent Java language | * achieve geek stardom | * get rich, get married | * live happily ever after | -+

  251. Re:Pedophiles Unite! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I was 13 I really wanted to have sex with an adult woman. What about you guys?

  252. 2 missing threads by maphew · · Score: 1

    There are two missing threads in this discussion:

    1) A whole schwack of msgs re:Entrapment - was it or wasn't it? while his possession of kiddie porn is mentioned but not really discussed. Excepting the good question about the difference between porn and documentation. (My answer to this one would be context, of which I haven't seen enough evidence of in this story to judge for myself)

    2) What's the relationship between the so-called 'stereotypical' computer geek who has problems socializing face to face with members of the other human species and sexually aberrant behaviour?

  253. Just wondering... by Craig+Davison · · Score: 1

    (Probably offtopic)

    Wonder if the FBI agents sold their Infoseek stock before arresting this guy.

  254. Slashdot Peers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The ping might have been a little high when he was chatting, but it wasn't a really long distance relationship. He might have mentioned his money or at least travel being practical. He flew south to possibly mate with someone he'd never met in person. On IRC there are a lot of women that could be classified as internet addicts. He should have known that women use entrapment. The number "13" can work as a description, she'd be 3 points higher than a "10". At that age some girls have a sexual father/policeman image in mind. The FBI shouldn't be sending anyone pictures of a deputy who had naked pictures of herself at 13. She should be required to make herself look legal after all. After checking the pictures on his computer, the FBI has an idea of how old and ugly the girl he went to meet could have been before he turned her down. He shouldn't be after the model type girl, but instead after full-figured girls. The full-figured girls come in clubs and will eat food off of you.

    Homosexuals=pedophiles/sex offenders (with the exception of those who were really unsure until after turning 18) because no one is supposed to have any interests in anyone under 18

    Here is an excerpt from
    http://www.just-well.dk/rotterd.htm

    Responsible for this merciless assault on Bobby was Janet Reno, the chief prosecutor in southern Florida then. She was a self-styled crusader for children, who was especially concerned to prosecute sex abuse cases, believing sex abuse to be the ultimate evil and believing that children never lie about sex abuse. Her "Miami method," as it came to be called and emulated by prosecutors around the country, involved the kind of aggressive interviewing used in the McMartin case. Reno's method, however, was more apt to plant "ominous seeds in the minds of children," as a recent New York Times article was entitled, than to elicit veridical memories.

    Reno personally oversaw Bobby Fijnje's prosecution. When the jury reached a verdict, Bobby had to wait a nerve-racking two and a half hours to hear it so that Reno could be present in the courtroom, presumably to take the credit for his conviction. Thanks to Ceci's testimony showing how the "child abuse experts" had corrupted the children's testimonies, Reno's trip to the courthouse that day was wasted. In a recent interview with Bobby (who is now in his 20s) shown on American television in October this year, Bobby was asked what he would say to Reno today, if he had the chance to speak with her. His answer was:

    Why did you spend so much money trying to convict a 14-year-old kid? Why even try to place a kid who's 14 in a maximum security prison? Why would you even think of doing something like that, if you're a crusader for children?

    Reno has never apologized for this aggressive prosecution, or even acknowledged that it was improper in any way. Her reward for her inquisitorial zeal was to become U.S. Attorney General, the highest ranking law enforcement official in America. One month after taking this office in 1993, Reno ordered a tank and tear gas attack on a religious cult near Waco, Texas, after hearing from the FBI that sex between adults and under-aged girls was occurring. All these girls, as well as all the other cult members, died in this attack. In the end, by the way, it turned out that these FBI reports of abuse were unfounded. Reno's zeal to "save" the children yet again produced disaster.

  255. note how the sick losers post as anonymous coward? by doctorbob · · Score: 1

    Notice how that the sick idiots who are replying to this article with messages such as 'I like 13 year old's too' or 'legalise child pornography' are all posting as anonymous cowards?

    For the record my name is Rob Casey - I live in Melbourne, Australia - and I think that those of you who truly believe that Naughton did nothing wrong are yourselves maligned.

    Rob (aka. DoctorBob)

  256. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No it doesn't mean it's OK to rape somebody.

    The point is, is that people are deterministic thought processes. You happen not (hopefully) to have to deal with an overwhelming urge. That's what it's like. This RUINED his life. His life is over, probably in more ways than one.

    I'm only pointing out that is unfair to state that this is "all his fault" because it isn't. It's a sexual disorder, one of the most difficult ones to control and to treat.

    You need to have incentives not to break the law, but the purpose of the law is to protect the innocent, not to punish the guilty. He should be locked because he's a THREAT, not because he's a "pervert". There is a huge difference between those two. He's going to be ostracized and possibly killed because he happens to have an condition that is VERY difficult to control. That's why I feel sorry for him, and you should too. That doesn't excuse what he did, it only tells you why he did it.

    Don't be so certain you can prevent your actions either. Let's say you constantly 24 hours a day obsessed about sex with a woman. Now do that for a year. Naughton probably didn't reach that point, but a lot of sex offenders do. Think you can withstand that? This is why I feel badly for him. Sure, he did cross the line, but don't think he wasn't a bit compelled to do it. Pedophilia is a TERRIBLE paraphilia, nobody becomes a pedophile willingly or happily. Some pedophiles mutalate themselves (guess where) to try to prevent it. I couldn't imagine it, could you?

    Still, Naughton must be removed from society to protect society, not to punish him.

  257. Why seduce an FBI agent? by ToiletDuk · · Score: 1
    What I don't understand is why this guy was trying to seduce an undercover FBI agent for sexual purposes. I mean why would he try to have sex with an FBI agent pretending to be a 13 year old girl when he probably could have found a real 13 year old girl, and get a taste of the real thing.

    I hope he gets put away for a long time, though. Soliciting an FBI agent for sex is just SICKENING.

  258. Rockin' Jerry Lee Lewis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ol' "Great Balls of Fire" himself married his 13 yr. old cousin when he was in his twenties.

    A lot of women start having sex in their early teens, usually with older guys.

    As far as the pics of "teen porn" on his 'pute, good luck proving they're younger than 18. I worked with a twenty year-old in Huntington Beach who didn't look a day over twelve. She couldn't get a date anywhere. I was 24 at the time, and people would stare at us when we went out to lunch.

    But the law is the law, it's one thing to want something, but if it's illegal, you have to pay the consequences!

    I guess he's a white computer-type, too. Child molesters have a very rough time in prison; he'll probably get gang-raped pretty fast.

  259. Animals can't consent. by WNight · · Score: 1


    Um, I don't exactly recall a waiver being signed by the ones being herded into the slaughter house either.

    Is consent the only issue you have against animal sex? I mean, if you trained a sheep (with food treats) that being sex0r3d was good, and it 'consented' (didn't need to be held down) would beastiality suddenly be okay?


    No, I'm not an animal rights freak, and I enjoy a good steak. I just thought it was funny that you didn't like animal sex, simply because they can't consent. (Like, he lusts after them, but except for ones trained to sign, he's too polite to simply assume that they want him. :)

    1. Re:Animals can't consent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an animals rights freak (who hates PETA) you could just as easily argue that you can do anything to an animal period with your logic. Including torturing them to death for fun and amusement. Please do no forget, or at least try to realize, that although an animal is not a human being, a human being is an animal. They feel pain, they feel neglect, they have emotional capacity too. Certainly they have different capacities than we have, but to ignore the reality that we and they are more similar than we are different is an illogical position. Just because you have the power and legal right to kill something doesn't give you an ethical right to do so.

    2. Re:Animals can't consent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As an animals rights freak (who hates PETA) you could just as easily argue that you can do anything to an animal period with your logic. Including torturing them to death for fun and amusement.

      Please do no forget, or at least try to realize, that although an animal is not a human being, a human being is an animal. They feel pain, they feel neglect, they have emotional capacity too. Certainly they have different capacities than we have, but to ignore the reality that we and they are more similar than we are different is an illogical position. Just because you have the power and legal right to kill something doesn't give you an ethical right to do so.

    3. Re:Animals can't consent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      YOU may not be an animal rights "freak." But the poster (like many people including, myself) may have concerns for animal welfare. The poster is also correct (you chose not to address his argument) children and animals cannot give any reasonable consent. Our society chooses to recognize this fact for children.

  260. Prevention better than cure! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sure someone somewhere said prevention was better than a cure...

    So, why, as a society that is rightly so offended by child molesters, is there no proactive why for these sick people to help themselves? As someone pointed out in another post, this people are ill and need to seek professional help.

    Ask yourself the question, 'if I were a paedophile and I decided I needed help, where would I go?'

    Got any answers?
    How many children have been hurt because someone wanted to help rid themselves of this disorder but had no idea where to turn?

    By not providing the channel for these people to help themsevles we are all partly responsible for their actions. There are many scape goats for the all the ills of todays society. The repulsiveness of this crime should make us all the more zealous to help these people, not condem them.

    Drawoc

  261. Re:How do people do this stuff? by Kintanon · · Score: 1

    I'm not going to debate whether or not he should be sent away if this is true, it's beyond debate and you need to ask yourself some serious questions if you think he didn't intend to commit a heinous crime if it is all true.
    I've got a much more esoteric question. How do people do this stuff? I'll open up and admit that I was well in to my highschool years before I learned a lot of things about girls, I never knew how to tell if they liked you, I had no confidence, I couldn't read their body language, I never knew how couples became couples. I guess my social expectations were all screwed up or something, I was a nerd (I still am but more ladies like me now..;) I admit it. I don't think I'm alone in this group. I was a social late bloomer and I can still be really intimidated by women and I know am one of the most unorthodox dates most women ever experience. Anyway's I kind of figured things out and I'm still learning, it took a while but it happened. There is totally a learning process that you have to go through.

    Now IRC throws me for a loop. I've been on there before, usually in technical forums or some kind of geek related stuff, I've never spent hours on it. I've gone in to one or 2 "social" channels and I was blown away, there was so much talk and I couldn't follow it all, it seemed like everyone knew each other already. Guys were acting like girls, I don't know if any girls were there, I don't know how old anyone was, it was far more intimidating to me. On top of that, I'm in the know, I knew there were sexual predators out there and I knew there were guys pretending to be girls and tons of deception. When I talk to a real woman face to face I don't know what to say sometimes, I had no idea what-so-ever what to say to a virtual maybe-it-a-woman. How do people arrange these sexual encounters on IRC? I've heard of people getting married to IRC friends and stuff like that. I'm not really interested in trying it, I just want to know how it happens. It seems really uncondusive to a romantic relationship with a woman. Am I just that much more sexually and socially reserved than most people? Is it close to the same level as soliciting a prostitute? I'm much more fascinated by a woman than by sex, I've never solicitated a prostitutes because they don't really do it for me but having sex (making love) to a woman I'm really attracted to is far more stimulating. Do you just have to be more trusting to talk to some stranger you can't see on IRC and start a relationship? Or is it just plain sex? or what? It just boggles my mind that this stuff happens. I'm not sure how you'd fall in love on IRC. The beautiful thing about women is their abstract and complicated nature combined with their physical presence, it seems like you'd only get a partial view and that view would be clouded because it would be what they wanted to present.

    Does this question make sense to anyone? Or am I just a complete loser and missing out on something? I'm not looking for a pervert's guide or something like that, I'm just curious as to what the relationship entail and what's expected when people meet in chat rooms.


    Ok, I'm qouting the entire thing, slap me...

    Anyways, I met my fiance on IRC, we both hung out in a channel calld Krynn, a Free Form Role PLaying channel using Ad&D style rules and characters. We happened to end up talking out of character and I said something that caught her eye, I said I prefered women who didn't wear make up. After that we got into a long discussion, it turned out we had a lot in common, liked the same things, and liked each other. After that we were friends for about a year, then somehow we decided we would be a couple... So we talked on the phone, chatted all the time etc.... Then we met for the first time face to face about 1 yr 9 months ago. After that we met several times, visited each others family, stuff like that. 9 months ago at the beginning of this year I moved to baltimore and now we're living together and plan to get married in almost exactly 1 year.

    Whenever someone asks me how to find a 'date' online I tell them this, DON'T GO LOOKING FOR DATES ON IRC YOU IDIOT!!! It's just asking for trouble. Instead go to places where you would normally be interested in hanging out, programming channels, RPG or game channels, whatever. Meet people there who have similar interests, eventually one will be female and you can start a conversation and become friends. Also, people in 'normal' channels are less likely to be men impersonating women. The key to finding a relationship is to look for someone who is interested in what you are interested in. However, if you just wanna 'cyber' go hit '#superhotwetsexwitheveryone' or something like that...>:)

    Kintanon

    --
    Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
  262. Missing the other story!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    What about the other story??

    Wasn't he in charge of the software that is supposed to protect children from the internet?

    I know of one company that markets an internet filter, that used to have a large x-rated section on their BBS/web-site. Shortly before the came out with the filter, they put the x-rated section on 4mm dat and sent it to another BBS/web-site.


    Injured software engineer wins against Mattel

  263. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What can be done to help someone with a problem like that?

    Truthfully, I don't know. I don't think anything. Still, any help is better than no help. This is why I feel bad for him.

    And on another note, some people may be confused by your statement "it's not his fault", and think that that somehow means he shouldn't be locked up.

    I'm not saying this at all. He should be locked up, but not to punish him, but to protect others. Vengeance gains nothing. This may seem like a fine distinction but people need, I think, or at least should try to understand that people don't often chose to be what they are.

    You have to keep in mind that this is a dysfunctioning individual. You lock him up to prevent him from harming others, you don't lock him up to punish him for something he didn't willingly get into.

    What really needs to be done is to understand the roots of this type of behavior so it can be prevented. It's a disease not a choice. Nobody chooses to be a homosexual, or a heterosexual, or a pedophile, or a fetishist and not all are harmful. Shit happens, it's as simple as that. That's why I feel bad for the guy. I just wanted to say he doesn't really deserve contempt as much as pity.

    He was entrapped too, but still, he does need to be either locked up, and optimally treated if possible. I cannot help but feel badly for him. One thing I realize is that it could have just as easily been me that ended up this way, or you, or anybody. That's the tradgedy of the situation. No choice involved about this. It's as sad as a schizophrenic that can no longer function in society at all. I cannot help but feel for him. I'm sorry.

    Likewise, the pedophile who has actually molested someone, whether or not it's his "fault", still needs to be forcibly kept away from children, since it's clear that the individual can no longer keep himself away on his own. Am I off base on this?

    No. Society takes priority over the individual. Lock him up.

  264. Re:Sad (?) to bad for "Short eyes" by Mr+UFT · · Score: 1

    He will have a new title to add to his existing stellar credits "short eyes" which is prison slang for child molestors. And from what I understand they are not embraced in the system. So he will likely come out of this more dangerous then when he went in. Is it Madison Avenue that encourages this sick behavior or is it our animal past.

    --
    Mark J. Panick -Eat Flaming Death Fascist Media Pigs- Philip Proctor aka Firesign Theatre
  265. can't 13-yr olds have sex if they want to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    As far as I'm aware, it's perfectly legal in most of the Western world for 13yr olds to have sex, marry, and have children. If 13 year old girls can have sex, why can't they have sex with men twice or three times their age? I don't want to suggest this practice should be recommended or that it should be legal for an adult to have sex with a 13 year old. But the outrage expressed here seems a little out of proportion.

    What is more: this person has not been arrested for, of even accused of, having sex with a 13 year old girl. The girl in question didn't even exist.

    He wasn't even caught in an attempt to commit this offense: this was probably just going to be a first date, as far as he was concerned.

    His attempts to 'seduce' the girl aren't illegal, either; after all, she doesn't commit an offense by having sex with him.

    All that remains, as far as I can see, is his apparent intent. US citizens, if the mere intent to commit a crime is punishable by 15 years in prison, I think you'd better leave the country now.

  266. Thanks... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Glad to see another techy "pedosexual" speak out. The more of us that talk about it, the more people will understand that we are just like them - only our sexual inclinations are differnt (we still even like quake! :-) Thanks for the support, The Courier (not my /. nick)

  267. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The bible doesn't condemn pedophilia. It condemns bestiality and homosexuality but not pedophilia. I know, because I read that stupid book, it was a collosal waste of time. The bible also states, that, as punishment for a particular case of rape, the rapist must marry the rape victim.

    Don't believe me? Think I'm taking that out of context? Read it for yourself:

    Deuteronomy 22:28-29

    That's showing him that rape is BAD isn't it? Stupid book, stupid religion.

  268. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Michel · · Score: 1
    I have no problem with two underage teenagers going at it in the back of Dad's car... hell, I was there once myself but...

    NEWSFLASH: The second you turn 18 you lose that. You can vote. You can buy cigarettes. You can drive a car without limitiations on the time. You can join the army. You cannot boff teenagers under 18. That's just the way it works.

    Let me get this straight:

    So you're saying that two underage people (say; 16 and 17) having sex and all is fine, but the minute the 17 year-old turns 18, you just have to STOP because some law tells you to? And then you have to wait for 2 more years 'till miss 16 turns 18, and you can get at it again with no fear of being arrested and burned at the stake for being a SEX OFFENDER?

    Is that how it works??

    I'm curious if that's really how you think about it...

  269. I have one of his books... by ronfar · · Score: 2

    The Java Handbook, it's ok, I use it a lot but I have better Java books. But I like the Java development history Naughton gives in the epilogue. It's about something which has been fairly important in software (not as important as the hype, but important) by a guy who was there from the beginning.
    As to the details of the case: Naughton is legally innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, but he's been ruined, probably, no matter what the court outcome is. The publicity surrounding the case has turned it into a "guilty even if proven innocent" situation. This is a case where I wish someone would prevent the FBI from spilling all this stuff to the press before there has been a trial. I mean, it undermines the whole concept of a fair trial for someone to be tried in the press. Of course, Naughton may be guilty of the crimes he has been accused of, but the FBI ought not to be allowed to use the press as a weapon in this way. Trial by public accusation is a violation of due process, anyone think Naughton will have a career at Disney even if this turns out to be a frame job? How about any other prominent place in Silicon Valley?
    On a personal note, I do think that parents need to be careful about letting their kids do any of the various forms of chat on the Internet unsupervised. As a veteran former MUCKer, I know the majority of what people tell you online (at least the people I used to hang out with) is lies. I loaned over 700 bucks to a woman I met online and had felt close too for over a year (she was desperate about her rent, she told me) and soon after that she lost interest in me. Needless to say, I never got the money back, but I learned a valuable lesson about the kind of people you can meet on-line.
    I hope people will at least wait to see the kind of evidence that is presented to the defense before pre-judging this thing, though. I get suspiscious when prosecutors or police decide to release huge amounts of damaging information to the press. It makes me think they are covering themselves in case it turns out that there was massive impropriety in their case. Remember, this FBI hasn't been looking too good, lately, because of some of the crooked stuff it has pulled. Maybe Naughton looked crosseyed at the wrong politician. I'm not saying it is a case like this, only that it seems odd that they've presented such a heavy case to the press before it has even gone to trial.

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  270. Re:Not a big surprise by radja · · Score: 1

    >I'd love to have an out homosexual as my kid's scout leader... NOT.

    and why not? I fail to see the link between homosexuality and pedophilia.

    --

    No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
    --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
  271. This person is just another arguement... by Haven · · Score: 0

    This person is just another arguement for having no anonymous posting... this person acutally used up slashdot bandwith and used space on the hard drive to make some disguting comment about having sex with 13 year olds.

  272. Fine Lines by telos · · Score: 1


    The answers to your first two questions are no and no. Those photographs do not constitute child pronography because a.) you were not put in a sexually compromissing possition, b.) they were not taken with the intent to distribute for the purposes of sexual arrousal.
    Now, on the topic of your third question, at no point in time would those pictures be considered pornographic because they were taken for medical reasons. It is analogous to taking a photograph of a naked corpse. No one is goig to get aroused over that unless there is something seriously wrong with them.
    This case is not about documentation vs. pornography, it is about a person who may or may not be guilty of trying to suduce some one below the age of consent in every state in the Union. For the record, I know girls that were sexually mature at the age of 10. Sexual maturity just means that the girl is menstrating, it has nothing to do with emotional and intelectual maturity.
    The fine line between pornography and ordinary photography is only difficult to distinguish near the border of art. What is art? What is just meant to get a rise out of the viewer? The reasonable question is: Can you spot a photograph intended to arouse? Most people can.
    It is a judgement call in court when presented with photographic evidence as to what is and what isn't. The rule of thumb is: if it is questionable and has underage people in it, it is. If the people in it are all above the age of 18, the legal age where you can sign a contract, then there is no case.

    --
    "Alt-F4 that's for quitting" quoth Dan_Wood
  273. Re:note how the sick losers post as anonymous cowa by Mike+A. · · Score: 1

    Well, duh. If you came out in favor of a position that is not only almost universally condemned, but outright illegal in most jurisdictions, would you post your name? Sick, yes. In need of help, yes. Idiots, no - idiots would've posted with their name.

    --

    --
    Do I look like I speak for my employer?
  274. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by /dev/niall · · Score: 1
    Let me get this straight: So you're saying that two underage people (say; 16 and 17) having sex and all is fine, but the minute the 17 year-old turns 18, you just have to STOP because some law tells you to? And then you have to wait for 2 more years 'till miss 16 turns 18, and you can get at it again with no fear of being arrested and burned at the stake for being a SEX OFFENDER?

    Everything except the burned at the stake part, yup. Welcome to the wonderful world of adulthood and learning to live with others. Gotta draw that line somewhere, and it's drawn for a reason.

    --
    --
  275. Re:Pedophiles Unite! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No. It's 14. Trust me, I live there.

  276. Curious ... by RabidMonkey · · Score: 1

    I'm curious what the FBI agent puts on his time sheet for all the time he spent on IRC chatting with this guy. Who pays people to pretend they are 13 year old girls looking to meet up with 31 year old guys.

    Glad they aren't MY tax dollars.

    Fjord. eh.

    --
    We emerge from our mother's womb an unformatted diskette; our culture formats us. - Douglas Coupland
  277. Re:Does a horribel act invalidate ..... (Offtopic) by muwahaha · · Score: 1

    > For example if your favourite writer was reveald to be a child molester could you still enjoy his/her books?

    Something similar to this happened to me. One of my favourite authors used to be Graham Greene. Then I read his biography, and
    found out that he was a philandering hypocrite. After that, everything by him stank of pompous moralizing.

    So I would say yes, particularly in the case of a writer or someone else you admire because of the philosophy they espouse.

    Alex.

  278. For the record, however, by Dast · · Score: 1

    I did give Rob and crew the benefit of the doubt, and I certainly never cried "Slashdot sucks now!" I even appologized to the poster of the story.

    But I can't deny that it freaked me out a bit.

    --

    This sig is false.

    1. Re:For the record, however, by Fastolfe · · Score: 1

      I kinda vented -- Posts like that are all-too-frequent and I just picked one and responded.

  279. Isn't this what they call irony ? by casanova · · Score: 1

    He spends his time at work trying to protect kids and family from the smut of the net and gets nailed for this. Bhahah! Mayby it was research.

  280. Good Move FBI, Bad move Infoseek by Mr.+Competence · · Score: 2

    I am glad they got the (alleged)slimeball, but Infoseek jumped the gun. I have seen many people ACCUSED of crimes, then found innocent; and they already have had their lives ruined. Infoseek should not have fired him YET. They should have put im on adminstrative leave or something and fired him if it turns out to be true.

    --
    Those who open their minds too far often let their brains fall out.
  281. Sick news for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This type of 'story' on Slashdot is a bit sensational, isn't it?

    Of course, I don't want anyone to think I'm in support of such dispicable behavior (then again, the guy was only ARRESTED!). Why is it that criminating news is only news before it is actually publicly declared criminal?

    I have a hard time figuring out why the words Java and arrested have to appear in the same headline, unless it specifically involves SUN MICRO, especially when I have no idea who the heck this guy is. This is poor, really poor. If I want to see this type of stuff I'd watch FOX news or read ZDNET daily.

    Once again, a disclaimer: just about everything about this story makes me sick.

  282. Fired before proven guilty? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I see on TV news that his employer has stated something like is "He is no longer an employee".

    I guess the guy's lucky his employer didn't just hang him up by his balls; they seem to not understand the concepts of fairness and due-process our founding fathers had the good sense to impose on the federal government. Oh yeh -- I forgot -- today we feel free to act out any uncivilized impluse as long as there's a legal loophole that allows it.

    Well, I hope this employer's employees get the message about how they will be treated when accussed, but not yet convicted, of misdeads. I'll not soon forget their behaviour.

  283. Re:There's role-playing and there's a line... by ToiletDuk · · Score: 1
    • it's quite obvious that pedophiles are a predatory, and dangerous breed

    That's an umbrella statement, in addition to being an incorrect one. Just like animals in the wild, not all of them are predatory. Sure, there are some pedophiles who seek out young innocent children who have no predisposition to sexual contact. But just like there are scavenger animals who wait for a weak or dead animal to pounce upon, there are also scavenger pedophiles who look for individuals who are OPEN to sexual contact (for instance someone who's already in a channel called "Father&DaughterSex").

    There is quite a difference between the two types of pedophiles, and I assure you they do exist. I see it as an unforgivable crime to molest or seduce a child who is not showing any signs of sexual activity. But let me tell you I was one fucking horny bastard when I was 13, and I know plenty of girls who were just as horny as me, and would have jumped at the opportunity of having sex with an older man. Hell, I know a few who did.

    In my eyes there's nothing wrong--awkward, yes, but not wrong--with having consentual sex (yes it is possible) with a minor, no matter what the age. As long as it's fully consentual, age doesn't matter.

  284. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by Michel · · Score: 1
    Welcome to the wonderful world of adulthood and learning to live with others. Gotta draw that line somewhere, and it's drawn for a reason.

    So you'd dump your girlfriend just because all of a sudden some law says you have to? Because you crossed some arbitrary line? Don't you at least agree that that is somewhat silly?

    Oh, by the way, don't get me wrong: I definitely don't agree with the 13YO - 30+YO thing. No way ever. I just can't imagine you or anyone ditching your girlfriend at your 18th birthday because some law tells you to.

  285. Surely you jest! by fable2112 · · Score: 2
    NEWSFLASH: Girls, on average, mature faster than boys. If I had been restricted to under-18 guys when I was 16, I'd've been bored silly. (Of course, I was also in college.)


    I've never met or talked to anyone before, even a PARENT, who thought two years was a big deal. And the AOC laws in my state allow for (IIRC) up to a five-year age difference. At that age, for most kids, five years *is* probably pushing it (it wasn't for me; I was a college sophomore). But there's a big difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old, and a 28 year old dating that same 16 year old. *shrug*


    Perhaps your sister *is* coloring your opinion here. But have you ever asked HER how she feels, or are you just being overprotective because you think she needs it? :P

    --
    "Somebody exploded a letter-bomb today ... but it wasn't anybody I knew" -The Moody Blues, "Dear Diar
    1. Re:Surely you jest! by /dev/niall · · Score: 1
      NEWSFLASH: Girls, on average, mature faster than boys. If I had been restricted to under-18 guys when I was 16, I'd've been bored silly. (Of course, I was also in college.)

      Big difference. I hung out with an older crowd. The guys who dated girls two years younger than them were always making fun of their "little girls". It bordered on sick. Yup, they were REAL mature. ;)

      I've never met or talked to anyone before, even a PARENT, who thought two years was a big deal. And the AOC laws in my state allow for (IIRC) up to a five-year age difference. At that age, for most kids, five years *is* probably pushing it (it wasn't for me; I was a college sophomore). But there's a big difference between an 18 year old dating a 16 year old, and a 28 year old dating that same 16 year old. *shrug*

      Definately. Like I said, you gotta draw the line somewhere, and 18 sounds good to me. Of course it won't be the ideal solution in some cases, but I think it makes a good general rule of thumb.

      Perhaps your sister *is* coloring your opinion here. But have you ever asked HER how she feels, or are you just being overprotective because you think she needs it? :P

      She's all grown up now (well, sort of, 22) so I don't imagine she needs much protecting anymore. ;) But that's not what I meant, I never tried to mess around with her relationships (and man did she date some real losers - age had nothing to do with it).

      It's a pity we all don't have loser quotients" ... we could do away with all these age limits and just use those instead! ;)

      --
      --
    2. Re:Surely you jest! by fable2112 · · Score: 2
      Well, if you have to draw the line somewhere, what's wrong with the "sliding windows?"


      My problem with your original post was twofold: Two years is NOT a big deal to most people, in fact a one-to-two year age difference is considered the norm in most high school relationships. And, taking your post to its logical conclusion, either people shouldn't be involved in relationships at all until they turn 18 (male or female), or you'd only better date someone with the exact same birthday as you. What about one person who turns 18 four months before the other? Should they break up for four months? That is patently silly.


      Of course, there's never going to be a perfect solution, but if a two-year age difference is OK when he's 16 and she's 14, why is it less OK when he's 18 and she's 16? Makes no sense.


      And yes, a loser-meter would be nice, but if I had a fifteen-year-old daughter, I'd trust her more with someone a few years older (as long as he didn't have a known pattern of dating ONLY younger girls) than I would with the average fifteen-year-old boy. *grin* So there is also that to consider.

      --
      "Somebody exploded a letter-bomb today ... but it wasn't anybody I knew" -The Moody Blues, "Dear Diar
    3. Re:Surely you jest! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> Girls, on average, mature faster than boys.

      What bullshit!

  286. Big question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The real question is, was there a crime committed? (With the 'girl', not the chld porn. The kiddyporn is unquestionably a crime.) There was, in fact, no 13 y/o girl that he was seducing. So what's left? 'Intent'?

    It's like arresting someone for murder for murder one if you hand them a saturday night special (loaded with blanks) in a moment of rage. They fire, but there's no corpse. Is it murder?

    1. Re:Big question by Mr+T · · Score: 1
      With the current climate in the US, intent is all that is needed with some crimes. For example if you hit someone and scream a racial slur it can be classified a hate crime and bumped up a notch on the crime scale. That's different because there was initially a crime and it's just being declaired a worse crime.

      With child molestation it's a little different. You don't want to wait until the crime happens, intent should be enough. The general concensus also seems to be that once someone is given to that type of crime, they are damaged and need to be removed from population (maybe forever.) The Polly Klaus law reflects that attitude, once a sex crime has been committed you could very well be labeled a pervert and sex offender for the rest of your life.

      I'm totally against thought crime and that sort of thing but I think the right thing was done here. Here is a guy, clearly an intelligent adult human being with lot's of money and power. He has some sexual fetish, not a big deal we've all got some sexual desire which could be labeled fetish by someone. I'm even willing to cut some slack, I've got no problems with someone going on IRC and talking dirty to someone else, even if that other person happens to be a minor. He went above and beyond that, he flew down to LA and went to a place for an expected rendezvous. That's a lot, what other reason could he have been there? He's a pedaphile, he's got a problem, he need's to be isolated from society and he need's to get some kind of help. Did he ask for pictures or a telephone call or make any attempt to find out if she wasn't really 13? The article makes it sound like he was looking for sex with a minor and I would expect the Disney media powerhouse to do everything they could to sugarcoat it.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many signatures like it but this one is mine..
    2. Re:Big question by substrate · · Score: 1

      Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, assault. If there's no body there's no murder but there still may be a crime. If I shoot at you and miss its not murder but it is attempted murder. If I hire somebody to kill you and that person is an undercover cop no murder happens but there is a conspiracy to commit murder.

      There is a similar gamut of crimes to cover near-offences of child molestation.

    3. Re:Big question by ushirageri · · Score: 1

      Bigger question...Was there intent? If so, he's guilty, not of murder but of the lesser crime.

  287. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by /dev/niall · · Score: 1
    So you'd dump your girlfriend just because all of a sudden some law says you have to? Because you crossed some arbitrary line? Don't you at least agree that that is somewhat silly?

    I don't know because I never dated anyone younger than me. Maybe. I still think it's wrong though.

    --
    --
  288. Irony of actual vs. potential crime by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Naugthon is probably going to prison for this. He didn't actually have sex with a minor but he arraigned to have sex with a person he believed was a minor. My neighbor across the street, Greg, told me that my next door neighbor, Joe, had a 10 year old girl strip for him at Greg's lakehouse while Greg and the rest of the family were by the shore. Joe was a trusted friend of the family. Later, the girl told her parents. Her dad told Greg. He was mortified. He told Joe if it had been HIS daughter, he would have beaten the hell out of Joe. That was the end of their friendship. This guy did something and he's free. Naughton corresponds to someone he thinks is a kid, goes to meet them and gets arrested. Did I miss anything?

  289. Are all 13 yr old girls FBI agents? by loki7 · · Score: 1

    I thought it was pretty weird that at one point in his chat he confused her with another 13 yr old girl who was also an FBI agent!! Just how many agents does the FBI have masquerading as horny teenagers? All of them?

  290. Stop the real crime... by imac.usr · · Score: 5

    Arrest Jon Katz before he writes an article on the subject!

    --
    I use Macs for work, Linux for education, and Windows for cardplaying.
  291. There's role-playing and there's a line... by mosch · · Score: 2

    Role-playing is fine... I'm sure there's many a person who has had sexual play that's not quite kosher, but there's a difference. This guy was told 'I'm 13 years old' and then he proceeded to discuss sexual fantasies with this person. You just do NOT do that unless you can verify that the person is really a 45 year old housewife with a fetish.

    They found kiddie porn on his computer AND he crossed state lines in order to hook up with this girl. That's so, so wrong. Personally, I hope he enjoys the company of his new boyfriends in jail.
    I don't think this is a defensible action.

    This really makes me glad of one of the things that the ops of one music-chat channel I frequent do. Whenever we notice an underager, we try to befriend them in order to be sure that they can have somebody to talk to who is SAFE. To protect them from these perverts. Unfortunately I know (IRL) somebody who was the victims of one of a pedophilic bastard. After seeing the psychological damage it does, and the condition she was in previous to the abuse, it's quite obvious that pedophiles are a predatory, and dangerous breed.

  292. Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too far. by Chuck+Milam · · Score: 5

    This will seriously piss some people off, but here goes: NEWSFLASH: Most teenagers in the US are sexually active WAY before the age of 18. I sometimes question the reason behind the US "age of consent" laws. I remember sweating and stressing when I was in high school and I turned 18, but my girlfriend for the last year was still 16. The way these laws are enforced today, I could have been considered a "child sex offender" and forced to register for the next 20 years or whatever. Creepy stuff. Amazing how we in the US are willing to surrender our liberties in the name of doing what's "best for the children."

    In the past, I've worked with youth groups that have very strict controls and rules for working with children, including a complete FBI background check. Unfortunatly, the developments over the past years have casued many otherwise good people and mentors to leave the organization for fear of some kid making up a story about abuse and ruining a life.

    Not that I support the truly sick pedophiles out there that prey on children, but I can't help but wonder what this modern-day witch-hunt has done to discourage good people with a lot to offer youth groups and their members from participating. Sure, we "may protect the children" from the occaisional bad apple, but at what price? There is no way to measure what kids may be missing from never having the opportunity to meet a potentially great teacher or mentor who is now scared of interacting with kids.

  293. Agent Provocateur by Per+Abrahamsen · · Score: 2

    It's illegal in Denmark too. The idea is that the police should provent crimes from happening, not provoke crimes to happen. The counter-argument is that certain kind of criminals (drug dealers) are hard to catch without the use of provocateurs. It is one of the hottest political issues in the justice debate.

    It boils down to a difference in how you view humans. Are there basically two kinds of people, good honest citizens who would never commit a crime, and evil criminals who will continue to do bad things until caught? Or is it a spectrum with people in between, who will not normally live an honest life, but may be provoked into doing crimes?

    I don't know how much of this debate relates to the present case, there seems to be some evidence against the man, besides his conversation with the provocateur.

  294. Naughton, not McNaughton. by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 1

    Get a clue: his name is Patrick Naughton.
    -russ

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  295. Arrogant, yes. Stupid, no. by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 1

    Naughton has written pages and pages of assembly. You want to see some of it? He's no PHB, although he is quite arrogant.
    -russ

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  296. Clarkson has no courage by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 1
    Clarkson University has no courage of conviction. As the old alma mater parody goes:
    • The weather here
      is very nice
      I think my balls
      just turned to ice

    -russ
    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  297. And all this could have been avoided by asad · · Score: 1

    If he only went to somewhere like Thailand to do his dirty buisness. I just wonder about this guy, he sounds like he has a brain but then does the stupidest thing you can possibly think of. On the other hand I wonder how many times he has gotten away with this before.

    --
    Vidi, vici, veni. (I saw, I conquered, I came)
  298. Great, but... by davek · · Score: 1
    Great, they caught the bad guy. Lock him up and throw away the key.

    My question is how did the fed know which chat rooms he was in? How did the agents know where he was on the internet at any given time? With all the /. stuff about big bro watching, it makes me think for a moment...

    -davek

    --
    6th Street Radio @ddombrowsky
  299. Very shaky legal grounds. by Outlyer · · Score: 1

    If I was Mr.Naughton's attorney's, I wouldn't be at all concerned. The FBI has cornerned themselves. The complete basis for the arrest, and in turn, the case, is the DEFENDANT's mind.

    They have to prove that he was aware of the fact that the individual was in fact thirteen. It's one thing to prove an actual crime, but considering all they have (at best) is intent, and at worst, they can't even prove that he didn't know that the individual was older.

    Unless they can conclusively prove that he was fully aware of her age (something impossible, considering he didn't know that it was an FBI agent) -- in effect, they'd have to prove that he did know, what he couldn't possibly know.

    (Just for the record, I'm not defending his intentions, but legally.... )

    --
    ----------------- "I have a bone to pick, and a few to break." - Refused -------------------
  300. The mind boggles by Ledge+Kindred · · Score: 3
    All these undercover FBI people online huting down "perverts" makes me think of one of those "News of the Weird" columns where they related an event with undercover Miami Police arresting a bunch of undercover FBI agents who sold them drugs while the FBI guys come busting in the door to arrest the undercover Miami Police for buying them.

    One wonders how many things like this happen online:

    bigweenie: Hey baby, come on over to my place.
    imjust14: ok i'll be right over and we can have sex
    bigweenie: Yowza! I'll see you soon
    imjust14: you're under arrest for soliciting from a minor!
    bigweenie: under arrest??? I'm undercover FBI lookie for kiddie pornographers!
    imjust14: oops! ha ha!
    bigweenie: boy is MY face red! ha ha!
    imjust14: let's not tell anyone about this...

    One also wonders what all those FBI agents who run around acting like 13 year-olds online and the ones hunting down kiddie porn all day long do in their spare time....

    -=-=-=-=-

    --

    -=-=-=-=-
    My mom's going to kick you in the face!

  301. Re:WHY'S THIS ON /.???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But it is news about nerds!

  302. Keeping 13 yr old safe...for other 13 yr olds.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    'cause most 13 year olds these days are pure as the driven snow...certainly not running around doing drugs & having unprotected sex... See..this is why IRC sux, that girl you're talking to is either a hairy gay man or an FBI agent..or both.

  303. FBI out of control? by BugMaster+ChuckyD · · Score: 1

    I certainly don't condone kiddy porn or people trying to seduce little girls, but I must say I've heard of many instances of people getting arrested for meeting people who claim to be kids on the net, but turn out to be cops, but I can't remember hearing about any actual molestation cases where the molestor met his victim over the net!

    Given the media's propensity to over-hype anything net-related, its seems likely that it doesn't happen all that often. My local paper seems to have stories about pedophiles getting arrested every week, but non of them seem to be net-related.

    This leads me to the conclusion that most of the "children" trolling for sex on net chat rooms are actually law enforcement officials. Shouldn't they be doing something more useful? Now if these people are actually prodcung child porn, then busting them obviously should have a high priority, but you only hear about these people possessing it, not making it. They probably got it from some FBI troll anyway. It looks to me that the cops like this because they can sit on their butts eating tax-payer doughnuts and look like they're doing something useful.

  304. Not a thought-crime, not entrapment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Note that the arrest was made only when he took that last step of traveling to LA after arranging to meet the '13 year old' in his hotel room.

  305. Re:Pedophiles Unite! by tweek · · Score: 1

    The consent law is more for emotional protection. Despite what some would have you believe, a 13 year old girl is NOT capable of dealing with the emotional aspect of sex.

    --
    "Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
  306. Re:Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Look.

    Are you heterosexual?

    Become a homosexual, right now.

    Can't do it?

    That's what it's like. Pedophilia is insidious since it gets worse as the pedophile ages. You can read case history after case history about how it become compulsive. Thoughts about it interfere with work, pedophiles sometimes think about it constantly, all the time. That's what they have to fight. It's a whopper of a disorder.

    You're just another person that has absolutely no comprehension of the disease. He may have made a choice to give into it, but it's not easy to fight it off either. That's what you lack. Try NEVER having any sort of sex at all. Completely abstain for a month from any sort of sexual stimulation whatsoever, and then you might have an idea of what it's like.

    You want to simplify the situation, well, it's not simple. People always want it black and white, but it's grey. Too bad it doesn't fit into you tiny little rigid world. I feel bad for the guy, he's likely to soon be dead now. He should have sought help. All I'm saying is that he couldn't prevent his condition and I'm right about that.

    You're just LUCKY you don't have the same problem. Hear me? LUCK makes you what you are, not choice. It could have just as easily been you. Not everybody is lucky is all. Patrick Naughton was unlucky. Think he chose to be a pedophile? Think again.

  307. Re:Do it "to protect the children"--Has gone too f by /dev/niall · · Score: 1
    NEWSFLASH: Most teenagers in the US are sexually active WAY before the age of 18. I sometimes question the reason behind the US "age of consent" laws. I remember sweating and stressing when I was in high school and I turned 18, but my girlfriend for the last year was still 16

    I have no problem with two underage teenagers going at it in the back of Dad's car... hell, I was there once myself but...

    NEWSFLASH: The second you turn 18 you lose that. You can vote. You can buy cigarettes. You can drive a car without limitiations on the time. You can join the army. You cannot boff teenagers under 18. That's just the way it works.

    Aside, I think 18 year olds who date 16 year olds have a bit of a problem. I mean, come on! You're telling me you didn't feel at ALL strange with someone TWO years younger than you!? Makes a big difference at that age! Of course, I have a sister two years younger than me that may be coloring my opinion here!

    --
    --
  308. Dude, she was *13*. by Wakko+Warner · · Score: 2
    I don't care what state you're from or what beliefs and value system you subscribe to. The "girl" in this case was one third his age. That's absolutely revolting.

    NEWSFLASH: Most teenagers in the US are sexually active WAY before the age of 18.

    Are you using this as some sort of justification for what he was going to do? "She was menstruating anyway, what's the big deal?"

    I remember sweating and stressing when I was in high school and I turned 18, but my girlfriend for the last year was still 16. The way these laws are enforced today, I could have been considered a "child sex offender" and forced to register for the next 20 years or whatever.

    Most states' laws provide for cases like this, so long as one partner is within three years' age of the other, which seems reasonable.

    I, for one, think these particular laws serve their purpose well.

    - A.P.
    --


    "One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

    --
    "Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
  309. How do people do this stuff? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    I'm not going to debate whether or not he should be sent away if this is true, it's beyond debate and you need to ask yourself some serious questions if you think he didn't intend to commit a heinous crime if it is all true.

    I've got a much more esoteric question. How do people do this stuff? I'll open up and admit that I was well in to my highschool years before I learned a lot of things about girls, I never knew how to tell if they liked you, I had no confidence, I couldn't read their body language, I never knew how couples became couples. I guess my social expectations were all screwed up or something, I was a nerd (I still am but more ladies like me now..;) I admit it. I don't think I'm alone in this group. I was a social late bloomer and I can still be really intimidated by women and I know am one of the most unorthodox dates most women ever experience. Anyway's I kind of figured things out and I'm still learning, it took a while but it happened. There is totally a learning process that you have to go through.

    Now IRC throws me for a loop. I've been on there before, usually in technical forums or some kind of geek related stuff, I've never spent hours on it. I've gone in to one or 2 "social" channels and I was blown away, there was so much talk and I couldn't follow it all, it seemed like everyone knew each other already. Guys were acting like girls, I don't know if any girls were there, I don't know how old anyone was, it was far more intimidating to me. On top of that, I'm in the know, I knew there were sexual predators out there and I knew there were guys pretending to be girls and tons of deception. When I talk to a real woman face to face I don't know what to say sometimes, I had no idea what-so-ever what to say to a virtual maybe-it-a-woman. How do people arrange these sexual encounters on IRC? I've heard of people getting married to IRC friends and stuff like that. I'm not really interested in trying it, I just want to know how it happens. It seems really uncondusive to a romantic relationship with a woman. Am I just that much more sexually and socially reserved than most people? Is it close to the same level as soliciting a prostitute? I'm much more fascinated by a woman than by sex, I've never solicitated a prostitutes because they don't really do it for me but having sex (making love) to a woman I'm really attracted to is far more stimulating. Do you just have to be more trusting to talk to some stranger you can't see on IRC and start a relationship? Or is it just plain sex? or what? It just boggles my mind that this stuff happens. I'm not sure how you'd fall in love on IRC. The beautiful thing about women is their abstract and complicated nature combined with their physical presence, it seems like you'd only get a partial view and that view would be clouded because it would be what they wanted to present.

    Does this question make sense to anyone? Or am I just a complete loser and missing out on something? I'm not looking for a pervert's guide or something like that, I'm just curious as to what the relationship entail and what's expected when people meet in chat rooms.

  310. I'd hate to be him by Solarus7 · · Score: 1

    From the article, he was caught trying to solicit
    sex with a minor. Major no-no. Then, he gave his
    consent to have his harddrive searched. They then
    found kiddie porn on it! Even worse.

    The FBI certainly didn't put the porn on his machine
    so he can't try an entrapment defense.

    However, since he's probably quite well off due to
    his investments and severance packages from Sun plus
    any others, he could probably pay for a very good
    defense team. OJ anyone?

    Lets also not forget that he's innocent until the
    court has convicted him.

    Sol

  311. irc pervs by Ludd+Kilken · · Score: 1

    i remember a few years ago on IRC i'd find some people looking for netsex, and you pretended to be a 13 year old girl and have interesting netsex with them and then after the kinky show you announce that you're really a 16 year old boy to freak'em out.
    But this is killer, you know, instead of "haha! look, i'm a 16 year old male! fooled you, pervert!" it's "haha! i'm an undercover agent! fooled you, criminal!"
    The paid ones always take it a little further than most...

    --

    fou aje oym asoyf ueyf jaffaq afset su!6j!/\ op 'ua>|7!>| ppn7

  312. Just like soliciting prostitution by mal3 · · Score: 1


    Alot of people are trashing the FBI for their methods of catching perverts like this. It however is nothing new.

    If you walk up to an undercover cop and try to pay for sex, you'll get arrested for soliciting a prostitute.

    This isn't any different, the guy was blatantly solicting sex with a minor, and in my personal flamebait opinion should be put to death slowly and painfully.

    --
    Non gratis rodentus anus
  313. Re:Homophobes like you... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just a little reminder buddy: if someone is homosexual, that doesn't make them a freakin' pedophile. By that logic any heterosexual male would automatically be hot for little girls. The suggestion that a homosexual scoutmaster might impart his tendencies on little boys (turning them 'gay', whatever!!) is also ludicrous. There is not and has never been any evidence to support this! So, to complete the subject line: ...can get the f*** back into the hole they crawled out of.

  314. Feel sorry for the guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    At the risk of going against the grain...

    I've studdied sexual deviancy to some extent. It was a subject that I started reading about when it was pointed out to me that the function of life was to produce more life, therefore sex is the key to life. This is a reductionist point of view, are are machines to make more machines and our function is to reproduce.

    Anyhow, most sexual deviants are helpless to change their orientation. This does not excuse what he did. He should have seeked help, but nobody chooses to be a sexual deviant.

    Pedophilia is a paraphilia. Paraphilias can range anywhere from a harmless shoe fetish to a sadistic murderer. Most paraphilias are harmless, and studies suggest that paraphilias are anything but uncommon. The American obsession with breast size is classfied as a paraphilia for example. Pedophilia becomes more uncontrollable as the pedophile ages. It's an evil and chronic condition. If you are a pedophile now, you're going to get worse. Get help.

    Don't hate the guy. He's a predator, but it's not his fault. It may not be a popular thing to say, but society does make us what we are. He did not make a decision to be a pedophile. He's as much a victim as a victimizer.

  315. Unreal... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If I tell you "I want to kill you", arrange a meeting with you, you don't show up, and police shows up instead - what the f*ck will happen!? Will I get 15 years for doing that?

    No. But I will get 15 years for cybersex with the FBI agent that claims (s)he is 13 years old, and even doesn't show up when I arrange the meeting.

    A glitch (in the Matrix)?

    What taxpayers say about this!? Police spends money and human resources on...

    1: Internet Access for FBI agents, so that they can cybersex around the IRC

    2: Forcing a guy to commit a crime, and that takes few months

    ... while every day kids get raped by insane idiots everywhere!

    Or it's maybe the fact that more and more people are becoming 'media w***es'? You know, now the detectives and the attorney will have their names in the newspapers... BIG CASE, WOW!

    But at the same time, the shit is happening elsewhere... in the neighbourhood. But of course, not done by the VP/CEO/WHATEVER of some corp. But do they care?

    Don't think so.

    We're all going down the drain :(

    On the other hand, I really can't wait to see how far all these law will go... I mean, if I have porn on my computer, I'll go to jail. What if I record me & my gf during the 'session', make a .AVI file and place it on my computer? Do I go to jail too? Or what if I 'you know what' my gf next to the computer? Why don't I go to the jail? Can I put a sticker on the computer, that is made of frame out of the porno AVI? Or I go to jail too? So, porn is 'dangerous', but at the same time, the blowjob-man can have his video testimony BROADCASTED 24 hours per day on all major TV stations, web sites, all together with the text, projections, etc, etc. And kids must be enjoying that!? Ah of course, that porno is because "of the higher interest".

    Man... it's all about POWER! If someone wants you nailed - they'll find ANY idiotic reason to nail you. No matter how good you are, or what you have done/not done.

    While we're wasting the time discussing about 'mortal' topics, the "big boys" are enjoying their power that these same people gave them. How pathetic... Now think about "How to reduce their power"? You can't...

    People don't get busted because of the porn on their computer - they get busted because someone needs a simple way to bust them - and that is exactly the porn on computer... You know that almost everybody does it.

    (btw: why I don't get busted for having porn tapes in my drawer, huh!?)

  316. Are you THAT stupid??? by Electric+Eye · · Score: 1

    "Potential" criminal? Hey, man, the guy INTENDED to meet with a 13-year-old girl to molest her. What the hell else do you need to be convinced that the guy is a PEDOPHILE? If the report is true that he also had kiddie porn on his 'puter, then that's just about all the evidence I need. No one MADE him do this. He fell into a trap many other sick bastards have fallen for. I can't believe you would be dumb enough to say he probably would have shown up to yell at the kid!!! Wake up, bozo! Would you like to buy a bridge? I have one for sale.
    Good riddance to another sicko.
    And to think he worked for Disney.....

  317. Some interesting comments on similar cases.. by gleam · · Score: 4

    Okay, here goes.

    I'm trying to to get involved in the name calling and blame throwing, since the man is indeed innocent until proven guilty. AFAIKT his major crimes are possession of child pornography and attempting to meet this supposed teenager.

    Freeh, the head of the FBI spoke to congress in 1997 about child pornography, and so here are some excerpts:

    Sexual exploitation of children involves sexual activity in which the perpetrator receives sexual gratification and may benefit financially, such as through the manufacture and distribution of child pornography. Exploitation may include contacts for sexual purposes, prostitution, pornography, or other sexually exploitative activities. Increasingly, pedophiles and sexual predators are using the Internet and on-line services to target and recruit victims and to facilitate the distribution of child pornography.

    Pedophiles often seek out young children by either participating in or monitoring activities in chat rooms that are provided by commercial on-line services for teenagers and pre-teens to converse with each other. These chat rooms also provide pedophiles an anonymous means of establishing relationships with children. Using a chat room, a child can converse for hours with unknown individuals, often without the knowledge or approval of their parents. There is no easy way for the child to know if the person he or she is talking with is, in fact, another 14-year old, or is a 40-year old sexual predator masquerading as a peer. In other instances, a pedophile may use e-mail capabilities to send child pornography to persons who enter a chat room, even though the recipient does not request or want such mail.


    Any similarities seen here? Let's continue.

    In July 1996, 16 members of a group that often frequented a chat room known as the "Orchid Club" were indicted in federal court on a variety of charges involving the production and distribution of child pornography, as well as conspiracy. A joint investigation by the FBI, the United States Customs Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service determined that individuals used the chat room to arrange for and transmit child pornography. While in the chat room, they also discussed their involvement and desires in molesting children. What was especially significant in this case was that many of those conspirators later admitted active participation in child molestations within each of their own geographic locations.

    One subject of the "Orchid Club" case admitted to having sexual attractions to girls age four to ten years old. He also admitted to writing diaries of his sexual desires for children and to secretly videotaping children at playgrounds. During a search of this subject's residence, investigators found approximately 700 floppy diskettes, 100 videotapes, diaries, writings, books, magazines, clippings, and related materials that indicated the subject's sexual interest in children.


    This isn't quite the same, but it is an interesting notion.. (assuming he's guilty) would he have eventually progressed to this?

    In 1994, the FBI initiated an innovative and proactive investigation, designated as "Innocent Images," to focus on the sexual exploitation of children through the Internet and on-line services. This investigation grew out of our experience in the May 1993 disappearance of George Stanley Burdynski, Jr., a 13-year old, in Prince George's County, Maryland. [snip] As of March 5, 1997, the "Innocent Images" investigation has generated 200 search warrants, 40 consent searches, 81 indictments, 33 informations, 91 arrests, and 83 felony convictions.

    The "Innocent Images" Task Force is staffed by agents of the FBI's Baltimore, Maryland, field office, other federal agencies, and investigators from surrounding state and local jurisdictions in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. However, it is estimated that 95 percent of the subjects identified by the "Innocent Images" investigation reside in other states.


    My assumption here is that "Innocent Images" was either behind the sting on Naughton or a major contributor of information and tactics.

    And finally, from Freeh again to a congressional subcommittee,
    Encryption. When I testified last week before the Subcommittee on the FBI's 1999 budget request, I outlined for the Subcommittee a number of challenges facing the FBI as it moves toward the 21st century. One of these challenges is the growing use of encryption by criminals to conceal their illegal activities. The "Innocent Images" initiative has uncovered sexual predators who use encryption in their communication with each other and in the storage of their child pornography computer files. This encryption is extremely difficult, and often impossible, to defeat.

    It is essential that law enforcement agencies at all levels of government maintain the ability, through court order, to access encrypted communications and data relating to illegal activity.


    I figured I'd just throw in a little encryption debate for you all to chew on.

    It strikes me that Naughton has little hope. If he is convicted he'll be very lucky to not get jail time, and his life will be saved if he doesn't. Others have mentioned this already, but it is an enormous problem (or lack thereof, in some peoples' opinions).

    Please, though, let's not judge him until the courts do.

    Regards,
    -efisher
    ---

    --
    this .sig is not a .sig.
  318. Sad........ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This man obviously did not take the time to weight out the 2 decisions here... 1) Stay a successful and respected business exec.. or 2) Chance at getting knabbed fer kiddie porn and sex with a minor only 2 loose everything.. hmm.... I hope he did not have a wife or kids. I dont know about the rest of the world, but I would have at least thought about the jail time before I followed my desires.. Well there are some people in prison that enjoy thier stay........

  319. BEWARE! This whole /. article is an FBI sting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    This entire article is a FBI sweep!

    Anyone showing anything but total disgust with with this guy will be subject to an FBI probe (no pun intended).

    Hmmm, Methinks the FBI should get a Score:-1 Troll for this case!

  320. Sad??????? by unicorn · · Score: 1

    Frankly, I'm a little offended at the "very sad" at the end of the piece.

    At the very least, it is very poor editing on the part of /., and you just think that he's a sad person. That this is a sad statement on society at large, that people like this are running around, and that they are using the Internet to facilitate what used to be far more difficult to do in a small town.

    Otherwise it makes the editorial staff of /. sound like they are sad that a fellow webster of any sort is being jailed. No matter how sick a person he is. And that is offensive to me. There are people that need to be removed from the main segment of society. Yes, I do think that treatment would be nice for this person. But if he's soliciting sex from what he believes to be an extrememely underage girl, he needs to be taken off the streets. And the fact that he was busted is not sad, in any way, shape, or form.

    Newspapers issue revisions, and updates to story's in later editions, and in future papers. I think it would behoove /. to edit this piece to clarify what the editorial bent on this happening is.

    --
    "Politicians are interested in people. Not that this is always a virtue. Fleas are interested in dogs." P.J. O'Rourke