Level 3 sex offender accused of sexual contact with a child in the city

Let the pedophile advocacy begin. We have learned in the past week or so how many Batavian's condone this behavior. Come on guys, its your time to shine.

In an indirect way Tim is right. Does this guy deserve a THIRD chance? Apparently when chances are given to these sex offender types it just gives them a chance to do it again. People have beaten around the bush in the past week or 2 that no matter what these people are convicted of they deserve our forgiveness. So does that mean this pile of garbage is forgiven? Just sayin.

"...accused of having sexual contact with a child under 11 from the City of Batavia on more than one occasion over a period of several months"

Under 11? I would be happier with our system if (when convicted), punishment was an acid bath of his private parts. Under 11... beyond sick

I didn't at all mean to offend you Howard, I appologize, (infact, ironically IF YOU ONLY KNEW how much i have been defending you in the past week to my friends, family and co workers I guarentee I would top your "top 10 defender's" list :) however I am very shocked at the soft stance and carefree attitude that this subject has brought out in some people lately in the previous Nigro, and 2 Smith threads. Its scary :(

Besides the obvious exception of murder, this crime should rank on the top of EVERYONES "top 10 most hanis crimes" list, and with all the defense that has been displayed, one has to wonder where this crime rates with some people.

Good point..... where ARE all the pedophile advocates???

~~~~chirp chirp chirp~~~

Can you hear the crickets???

/end rant

There are 26,335 registered sex offenders living in New York State. About 5,700 reside in New York City. NYC represents 42% of NY population with about 20% of the offenders...

There is a trend among convicted sex offenders to reside in clusters. Laws that bar registered sex offenders from living near schools, playgrounds and other places where children congregate, force offenders to concentrate in places where their integration satisfies those conditions. That means places with minimal scrutiny: rural, suburban apartment complexes, low-income, red-light districts, transient hotels, rooming houses. These concentrations result in clusters.

Kentucky's sex offender registry discovered not just one or two sex offenders living in the same zip code- instead 10, 20, 30 or more. In some cases, they were living on the same street. In one case, the registry revealed 25 sex offenders living in the same apartment grouping in a Louisville neighborhood.

In NY, the Colonie town board voted to form a task force to address clusters of sex offenders. A proposed law would restrict level 2 and 3 sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of one another.

Long Island has 39 convicted sex offenders living within a half-square-mile area. Fifteen reside on one block, and 11 properties house multiple offenders. Of the 39 offenders, 17 are Level 3, the most dangerous classification, one of whom sodomized three boys younger than 8. The remaining offenders are Level 2. 31 of the 39 offenders had victims aged 16 or younger.

In Long Beach, California a real estate investor bought a 12-unit apartment building in foreclosure. After renovating it, he rented exclusively to registered sex offenders. 15 registered sex offenders are, reportedly, living in the Alamitos Beach dwelling on the state tab.

The town of East Rochester, NY, only 1.3 miles long, passed a law banning sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of schools, playgrounds and parks, recreation and community centers and day care facilities. (Watch out Fairport, Perinton and Penfield!)

Indiana University at IU Bloomington has aligned with SU Arizona in formulating a sex offender strategy for management of jurisdictional interplay. The collaboration has taken into account pertinent variables in popular sex offender laws, "By adjusting parameters and variables, model users can see how adjustments in a law would influence the position and density of sex offenders in a community.

“Our model allows communities to more definitively state that the laws were passed earnestly and in a transparent fashion—taking into account the various costs and benefits associated with different distributions of sex offenders.” -IU Bloomington geographer, Tony Grubesic

Key differences? A pedophile is a pedophile, IS A PEDOPHILE. It's not so bad because one guy only looked at pictures of children involved in sexual acts as compared to a guy that actually physically sexually abused a kid? Yeah, there's a difference but in the end a pedophile is a pedophile, IS A PEDOPHILE. Forgive this guy again. Next time it'll be a 5 year old. Forgive him again, repeat process.

Here is a link to the NYS sex offender registry:

http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/nsor/

on the right click on "search level 2 & 3"

you can then search by county, zip code or name.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Jesus also said: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come; but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves."

Now I don't want to see this turn into a theological debate, and perhaps Kevin is a better Christian than I, but I believe that one can forgive somebody BUT also wish to see justice served and want to protect others from the same crime.

just saying.....

I am wondering if Howard is friends with the Nigro family and if his defense comes from being friends with the family and perhaps he knows Sam better than some of us do?

just saying.....

Research can and does cloud people's points of view. On paper things can seem pretty cut and dry. I'm not the type of person that sees something on paper and then says hey, it's on paper so that's how it is. Ask people in Vegas that bet the farm on the Saints against the Seahawks how that worked out for them. Do all the research you want Howard. I'm happy that the Bible and Jesus himself can forgive someone for banging a kid. That's great for them and you. Dexter said it best. Not everyone who commits a crime deserves to die, but a lot of them don't deserve to live. Level 1, 2, and 3 offenders... doesn't matter. The fact that different scales are put on them is retarded. Let a level 1 go and I'm sure he will graduate to a 2 and then eventually a 3 someday. At least there are goals. They're all scumbags. Whether god is involved or not I think it's a pretty grey world we live in that anyone can show forgiveness for these inept wastes of space. Wait for it to happen to your kid. You'll see the world a little differently.

Well Howard, if you would like, I will explain the "defending you" part of my story.

Pretty much everyone who knows me, knows how much i enjoy the batavian and enjoy posting on the batavian, therefore whenever there is an interesting story I am one the first people they want to discuss it with. Rewind to about a week ago when the NIGRO story hit the batavian. I of course wrote in and condemed the sicko for what he did, and you and quite a few others came to his defense. I felt 2 very different ways about this...On one hand i said to myself, wow what a good friend he is to the NIGRO's, but on the other hand i could not fathom anyone defending the actions of a monster. So you and I got into it a little bit in that thread :)

Next thing I knew I was flooded with Texts, emails, and face to face conversations with a ton of Family members, Friends, and co workers who seen the comments and were basically painting you and the other people who defended that sick kid with words MUCH worse than "pedophile advocate" believe it or not, that term was very watered down. :)

I have always thought alot of you Howard, always seen you as not only a nice person, but an intelligent one as well, which is why it was so difficult for me to believe that friend or not you would be so willing to defend someone so hanis.

Then it hit me...the name NIGRO. I knew I seen that name before from those wildlife blogs on the batavian, so I did some digging and after extensive research found out (i am not a journalist, but I have my sources too..lol) that Sam Nigro is the son of Jim Nigro, the guy that does all those wildlife blogs on the batavian, so then everything made perfect sense to me. You really have your hands tied.

Not only are the nigro's friends to you, but Jim is good for business too. I know alot of people who enjoy Jim's wildlife blogs. And I would bet some people might visit the batavian JUST to see those blogs. So one by one as I received all those texts, emails, and face to face coversations, I proceeded to explain to each and every person that you really are between a rock and hard place because Sam was the son of Jim, the wildlife blog guy. Well I can tell you that they still don't agree with your defense (or anyones defense of a dirty pedophile) but at least they understand that you are truly caught in the middle.

Hell people, lets let all these creeps loose on the streets, and lock all of our children in jail!!!!!

WOW! Howard, I didn't put 2 and 2 together with Sam Nigro. I just went back through your coverage of him. How come there is no mug shot of this guy? It seems that all the other "baby touchers" have their pic plastered on the front page.

Just sayin'

I understand why people have issues on certain matters, including what is posted here on The Batavian. But the reality is that Howard owns this site and how and why he does things is up to him. I find him to be a very good reporter and fair in his comments.

Remember that your alternative is The Daily News, and that if Howard were to pick up and go elsewhere, that's what we'd be left with. No live discussions, and any comments would be very heavily moderated. People should remember that The Batavian is the best source of news we've EVER had here in Batavia, and I appreciate Howard and Billie's work to stay on top of things. Calm down with the negative remarks about Howard, please! I don't want to lose this site!

The mug shot of the AZ shooter is all over the news. That would be the Feds, no?

It took me all of 2 seconds to find this guys pic on Facebook.

Public info.....

You see Howie, i think the worst thing you said and continue to say in the Nigro case is your positive outlook on him COMING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY. At least in my circle of friends, family and co workers THAT is the statement that angered everyone the most.

A pedophile is a pedophile, whether he supposedly "just" sticks to his computer or physically takes action he has proven himself to be a danger to his community, and to innocent children who cannot fight back. People like this don't just change thier minds overnight as to what they consider to be right or wrong after a pathetically short prison sentence. Plus, lets face it we can all scour the internet for "facts" on any crime, and spin those "facts" anyway we please to prove a point. Like you tried to pawn off on us back in the nigro thread about most of these monsters not being repeat offenders and about the ones that just do the internet kiddie porn not actually physically acting on it with a real child is really weak.

I would say close to 100% of these sicko's start out either on the internet or pornography of some sort, but eventually after being constantly slammed with this garbage in thier head, they will have the desire to go out and actually physically harm and scar an innocent child for life, we all know this. Plus if there were no victims involved in the nigro case, why did he have to pay 2000.00 to two victims as written in your story?

And as far as the repeat offender stuff, I love how a repeat offender story popped up on here just a day or so ago.. Nuff said there :)

As long as we continue to have such a liberal court system who will not punish these sicko's for life sentences and insist on dangering communities by slapping them on the wrists and releasing them after short prison terms, then I think there should be a law simular to shopliffting in these cases.

Correct me if i am wrong but in shoplifting cases, after you are found guilty, does'nt the store tell the person that they can never shop there again? Basically banning them from that store for life? Why not do that with cases like this? Now granted none of these monsters should ever see the light of day again as a free citizen, but until our lawmakers start to do their jobs and protect thier communities, why not have a law that states that any pedophile that is found guilty can never come back and "shop" for children in that county again after time served, EVER, under any circumstances?

To put the discussion in context of current statistics...

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape:

From 1990 through 2004, substantiated child sexual abuse was down 49%.
Finkelhor, David and Jones, Lisa. Why Have Child Maltreatment and Child Victimization Declined? Journal of Social Issues. Vol 62, No. 4, 2006, pp 685-716.

Possible explanations for the decline in child sexual abuse cases include a real underlying decline in the incidence of child sexual abuse or changes in attitudes, policies, and standards that have reduced the amount of child sexual abuse being reported and substantiated. It is possible that both of these processes are affecting trends in child sexual abuse.
Jones, Lisa and Finkelhor, David. "The Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases", Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, January 2001.

Child sexual abuse constitutes approximately 10% of officially substantiated child maltreatment cases, numbering approximately 88,000 in 2000.
Putnam, Frank, "Ten Year Research Update Review: Child Sexual Abuse," Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(3) March 2003.

Substantiated cases of child sexual abuse decreased from a national estimated peak of 149,800 cases in 1992 to 103,600 cases in 1998, a decline of 31%.
Jones, Lisa and Finkelhor, David. "The Decline in Child Sexual Abuse Cases", Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, January 2001.

1 of every 7 victims (or 14% of all victims) of sexual assault reported to law enforcement agencies were under the age of 6.
Snyder, Howard, Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. July 2000.

One in three victims of sexual assault is under age 12.
http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/toc.html
Snyder, H. and Sickmund, M., 1999. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Center for Juvenile Justice.

Persons under 18 years of age account for 67% of all sexual assault victimizations reported to law enforcement agencies. Children under 12-years-old account for 34% of the cases, and children under six years old account for 1 of every 7 victims (14%) of the cases.
Snyder, Howard. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. July 2000.

For generations parents have warned children to 'beware of stranger.' However, recently researchers have suggested that sexual assault by strangers is a relatively rare occurrence. For example, in the clinical sample described by Conte and Schuerman (1987), only 4% of child victims were abused by adults unrelated and not previously known by the child or family. Children are more like to be sexually abused by members of their own families and by acquaintances than by strangers.
Conte, Jon., "The Incest Offender: An Overview and Introduction," The Incest Perpetrator: A Family Member No One Wants to Treat. Anne Horton, et. al. eds. 1990 Sage Publications.

Less than 3 percent (2.7%) of parents committed sexual abuse; however, 29.9 percent of other relatives, 26.8 percent of other professionals, 23.0 percent of daycare providers, and 11.5 percent of residential facility staff committed sexual abuse. More than three-quarters (75.9%) of perpetrators who were friends or neighbors committed sexual abuse.
Child Maltreatment 2003. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. 2005.

In cases of child sexual assault involving kids six and under, almost half of the offenders were family members. (Most of the other offenders knew the children; strangers were involved in only 3% of the cases) Most of the victims are girls, but a third in the under-6 age group are boys.

Almost all of the offenders - 96% - are male, regardless of whether the crime is committed against girls or boys. Assault against the youngest victims were the "least likely of juvenile victimization to result in arrest."
Snyder, Howard, Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

Men who have sex with children usually start that behavior before they are 18. Men who have sex with children usually have 3 victims before they are 18.
About ASI & Gene G. Abel, M.D
In 90% of the rapes of children younger than 12, the child knew the offender.
Greenfeld, Lawrence, A., 1997 Sex Offenses and Offenders: An Analysis of Data on Rape and Sexual Assault, Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Juveniles are responsible for victimizing 40% of the child sexual assault victims under six years of age.
Snyder, Howard. Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, July 2000.

Of surveyed violent sex offenders, 40% reported their victim had been a child, and 80% reported their victim was less than 18 years old.
Greenfeld, Lawrence. Sex Offenses and Offenders. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, February 1997

Male offenders are responsible for 92% of sexual assaults by parents and caretakers against children.
Finkelhor, David, Ormrod, Richard. (2001). Child Abuse Reported to the Police. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

7 in 10 offenders with child victims reported that they were imprisoned for a rape or sexual assault.
Greenfeld, Lawrence, March 1996. "Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and their Victims" Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

For the vast majority of child victimizers in state prisons, the victim was someone they knew before the crime. A third had committed their crime against their own child.
Greenfeld, Lawrence A.,. 1996 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims. Washington D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice: 24.

Based upon the reports of offenders in a survey of inmates of state correctional facilities, 2/3rds of all prisoners convicted of rape or sexual assault committed their crime against a child.
Greenfeld, Lawrence A.,. 1996 Child Victimizers: Violent Offenders and Their Victims. Washington D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice: 24.

57.2% of children who were reported as victims of maltreatment in Pennsylvania were victims of sexual abuse. According to the U.S, Department of Health and Human Services data, this was the highest percentage of all states reporting. Vermont was 2nd with 42.1% and Wisconsin was 3rd with 41.4%. The national average was 9.9% (meaning 9% of all identified maltreated children were victims of sexual abuse).
Child Maltreatment 2003. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. 2005.

In Pennsylvania, sexual injuries constituted 60% of total injuries to children. Sexual injuries include rape, incest, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, prostitution, and sexually explicit conduct for visual depiction. Of sexual injuries, sexual assault comprised 63 %.
2003 Child Abuse Annual Report Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.
http://www.ncf.ca/ip/social.services/rape.crisis/porno.txt

A national survey of Canadians' use of pornography indicates that:
-young people aged 12 to 17 years are the primary consumers of
pornography
-35 per cent of these young people expressed an interest in watching
sexually violent scenes (rape, torture, bondage etc.)
Check, J., "Curriculum Development Research Needs Assessment: Attitudes and Behaviour Regarding Pornography and Sexual Coercion in Metropolitan
Toronto High School Students." York University: Department of Psychology, February 24, 1986.

More stats. All these stats need to go away. Try showing these stats as a tool of comfort to the parents of any of these victims. No one cares about who may do it again. No one cares if it was internet or physical. A crime was committed, pedophiles deserve to burn in hell. Plain and simple. End of story. Anyone who says differently probably has or has had child flavored fingers. Stop advocating it.

Rob, that is exactly why I posted the stats- to comfort parents. If one were to go by recent headlines, parents might lock their kids up and not let them out until adulthood. I didn't post the stats to comfort molesters! Maybe you should have read them instead of jumping to conclusions.

"Child flavored fingers" is a particularly callous (or frivolous- you pick) choice of alliteration to describe a crime against children.

Rob you need to explain, then, the decision-making process for living without insight into behavior in the world around us while waiting for hell-fire to intercede.

Insight into behavior? I have insight. I'm an informed person. Being a person also means I have my opinion. Being human means you should be smart enough to know a molester is a molester is a molester. I wasn't discounting anything you said. I said stats don't matter. Howard has done his research into the matter and his mind is made up. Your stats will not matter to him. He will come back with more stats that wont matter. There are stats to prove that stats mean nothing sometimes. We don't need paperwork to know these guys are scumbags and that they may do it again upon release. We know this. I have enough insight into behavior to know that the book you pasted on here won't be completely read by more than 5 people because the majority of everyday Joe's get bored too fast. Another reason that it won't matter.

Rob, I posted a comment the other day that described a trend in sex offender clusters. Today I posted a comment that notes sex offenses against children are overwhelmingly committed by either a relative or someone known to the victim.

Most of what I'm trying to get across is that laws regulating WHERE an offender can (or can't) live are abetting trends that negatively impact our communities. Secondly, fear on the heels of multiple stories regarding sex offenses against children is inevitable. The similarities AND differences in these reports need to be clarified and put in context so parents can arrive at a safe course of action to guard their children.

I don't think debates over redemption and hell-fire arrive at a reasonable destination.

We have before us three unique situations. Not one clearly spelled out. Each is abbreviated, being sourced from police reports which are necessarily incomplete. Essentially (my limited analysis) we have an adult who allegedly possessed sexual images of children, we have a convicted sex offender who allegedly victimized a child under 11 and an 18 year old who allegedly videotaped his 17 year old girlfriend during a sexual situation (which she acknowledges as consensual despite her legal inability to offer consent). Aside from the sexual context, these are unrelated events.

Yet we tie them together in a bundle labeled 'child molester' and panic sets in. It's time to turn off the alarms and reason a response.

And being a politician dictates what you say and how you say it. I get it. Everyone gets it.

Politician? That's amusing.

I got an email from the Democrats inviting me to a dinner meeting in LeRoy. Minutes later I received an update: Email was intended for Genesee County Democrats... Please disregard if you received it by mistake.

For some reason I kept hearing Charlie Mallow last September, "Regardless, if you run as a Democrat, you are a Democrat. You will always be called 'The Democrat.'" Then in October he charged, "CM, ... you are not a Democrat."

Where is my buddy Charlie? Does he only come out to bite the ankles of challengers?

C.M., just to clarify that email a bit further. The meeting was for the Genesee Co. Democratic Committee.
The person who sent it out, hit the wrong address group and it was broadcasted to many not on the commitee.
The second email expressed an apology for spamming the mailing list and explained that the invitation was extended only to the committee members.
Judging from the number on the first email list, a hall would be required to hold everyone if they came.
It was an honest mistake which was immediately corrected.

I appreciate your thoughtful explanation, Bea. I wasn't offended. The coincidence, though unintended, was too convenient to avoid.

C.M. I find it real hard to believe the Dems would ask you to leave a meeting if you showed up. I was also sent the same email by mistake and I didn't take offense.

My prior comment was taken a bit out of context as well. If you won, while you served, you would have been referred to as a Democrat.

You seem to miss your involvement in the committee, maybe you should join up. Let go of the election, results and banter that came with it. It was an up hill climb and you did your best. You should feel pride in your run, you done good.

Good to hear from you Charlie. As I noted, it was sheer coincidence that connected Rob's remark to the email. ...Hence the word-choice: 'amusing.' I concur; the Dems likely would not have ejected me. I welcome your post-election assessment.

The email mistake was mine. I hit my entire address group -- relatives from Michigan, cousins from Ireland and Manchester, England, old classmates and friends that live far away. Republican friends, Conservative friends, non political workmates. It even went to my doctor. Probably 600 random people on my email list received that meeting announcement.

CM, you are always and forever welcome in our meeting rooms -- in fact I just added you to the democratic list and I know you are also a facebook member of our group where meetings are posted. :) Charlie is also always welcome.

No exclusion meant toward anyone. It would have taken me three days to respond to everyone individually and I apologize to those that got just the general explanation and felt any slight. We want people to come to our meetings. In fact the email mistake had one response stating she wanted to get involved, so maybe it wasn't such a mistake to blast it to hundreds.

Just want to point out a few things after watching this thread for a while yesterday while sick in bed....

One: Howard's point that while uncomfortable he did report Sam's charges first on here without a doubt, something whaich was uncomfortable for him. As for his statements about Sam, you people need to get into your heads that opionions are just that....opinions, they are neither right or wrong they just are, and to hold pin someone down and watch them agonize over expressing their opinion is the worst kind of cowardice, especially since you use the majority opinion to your advantage to do so.....

Now Julie.... the reason Howard gave for not posting a "mug shot" is that one wasnt released, your search on facebook is very commendable but again not a source that is reliable in the procedures Howard uses, how many facebook pictures of people accused in crimes has Howard put in here.....NONE so lay off. By the way the reason the feds released the arizona shooters mug shot is sooooo obvious that I cant believe it was held up in comparison tho this.

Rob Wolfey....

Your a pedophile is a pedophile is a pedophile is certainly a correct statement, however to be a pedophile by the law's definition you have to commit that particular action.....actually touch a child. I'm sorry but looking at pictures of these types are in my opinion a precursor to possibly acting. It isnt. If that was the case then there are 100's of artists who's work on sex, violence and eroticism in photography and flirt with and even cross the line on the law's definition of obscene or indecent, yet people look at this and even appreciate and buy it.

Do we lock up and define the people who look at this art as sick and twisted.

or even a gentler look... are guys that look at playboy all chauvanistic pigs, or peeping toms or use whatever definition you like.

Viewing is not doing. As far as my online research goes, child porn is pictures that show children in a sexually suggestive manner. In my eyes that makes the pictures taken of 4 to 6 year old beauty pagent contestants child porn as well....... Until you sit on the jury and view what was taken off that computer you just dont have all the info.

Tim I commend you for hold to your own opinions and engaging Howard in a civil manner on this, it show great character and wisdom on your part as well as awareness that things might not always be what they seem.

As for the stats and especially the one about child abuse and child sexual abuse coming down dramatically

In my "opinion" it's because we as a community and a country are recognizing the threat that these types of violators pose, and with them coming from everyone, clergy, teachers, next door neighbors etc. It reached its apex, now we educate children earlier and earlier on this stuff with bad touch talks and such. Combine this with the fact that todays children are less innocent per se than we were at that age or then our parent were at that age. I mean I watched a 5 year old show an adult how to program a vcr and hook up thie gaming system to a tv. The children also see this stuff on their phones, the internet and talk about it amongst themselves in ways we never did as children just beacuse the tools werent there. Not their fault, we grew up with TV our parents grew up with electricity, our grandparents grew up with motor vehicles and so on. Every step forward really haws significant impact.

So please people open your eyes, take the blinders off, and instead of just jumping on the bandwagon and become a victim of herd mentality look at things, think then speak YOUR mind, not what you think everyone else will want you to say or judge you for saying.

Lorie, the suggestion that ANYONE might have been unwelcome at that meeting came NOT from me. The suggestion that ANYONE was offended came NOT from me.

I will clarify for the record- Rob's assertion that politics influence the opinions I express on this site was coincidental with the (innocent) email gaff, and I juxtaposed the two intending to light-heartedly discredit his assertion.

Adding the distraction of introducing a third element was admittedly ill-conceived.

Kyle, you reminded me of something after reading the second to last paragraph of your post.

I got together this saturday with one of my friends, grabbed a pizza and did a movie night. Before the pizza and in between movies we talked about this subject. He came up with one really good point I never thought of before, and you reminded me of it. He said we spend WAY MORE money on the criminal/pedophile(court, prison, post prison tracking, ect, ect) and very little on the victims. (counciling, proactive protection, ect ect)

Now dont get me wrong, i certainly dont disagree with how we handle the criminal aspect of it, but it does make you wonder why the victim do not get more care and attention, be it pre or post crime.

And this could really be said about ANY crime, not just the one in question.

Wow Howard thats actually very refreshing to hear. What about the country as a whole though? I believe my friend was saying "in general" not just locally, but that is very good to know though.