Ex-UN Weapons inspector charged with child sex offense? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2... I'm not sure how quite to feel about this. Did he commit an actual crime? No actual 15 year old girl was involved, he allegedly just exposed himself in a webcam for a police woman posing as a 15 year old, and for that, go to jail for 7 years?
The nature of these pedophile stings kind of bother me slightly. As a parent, I worry about pedophiles, but if someone performs cybersex with an adult, who lies about their age and says they're 15 years old, how can you throw someone in jail for 7 years for that? The crime only happened in the mind of the perp. Does that mean people who consume "barely legal" porn in which adult actresses pretend to be borderline illegal are all guilty?
- Ray Cromwell
Scratch that, this seems like a pattern. Scott Ritter was caught before trying to arrange, and showing up at, a physical meeting with a "16 year old" in 2001. The first case was dismissed, but the fact that he is up to it again shows he can't really help himself (wouldn't you quit after having had a case dismissed, almost being sent to jail?). These kind of stings still make me feel uneasy since the police are essentially going online and trying to seduce people, preying on their weaknesses.
- Ray Cromwell