And is that guidance directed only towards the member that had the incriminating chat with the pedophile, or is it directed towards anyone reading the forum?
Anyone. The rules specifically state to not post “unconfirmed” phone numbers–doing so is grounds for immediate banning–so they must be aware that it’s not just those involved in the chat who are calling.
I don’t care who’s doing the calling. If you witness a crime, you call the police. Not the criminal’s neighbors. That’s harassment, whether it fits the legal definition or not. It’s wrong. There is no check these individuals, like there is with a government agency. Suppose the number is only posted for the benefit of the person who had the chat? So what’s to stop the rest of the members from doing whatever the hell they like with it?
IIRC the only people who contact the suspected perv, law enforcement, or the press is the administration of the board. Confirmed family, friends, neighbors, employers, etc are hit by the followup team.
The followup team does not kick in until the admins open it up, so the PJ admins are the one calling the hits, not just random board members.
PJ can never send someone to jail, the court system still handles that. PJ seems pretty heavily moderated, and they are hyperaware of their legal grey areas. They lock down threads and edit posts pretty quickly.
But that’s by their choice. There’s no commitment to do that aside from their assurances. And of course they can’t send someone to jail. That’s why they need to contact the proper authorities, and not contact other people’s bosses, friends family or neighbors.
Here are quotes from their FAQ.
Very evasive and shady. It doesn’t answer the question, a very simple one. Clearly they do not want to say if they have ever made an error and they do not feel the need to address the question of what they would do if they made an error. If they have never made a false accusation, (or covered up for a perp who does something for PJ) why will they not answer this question?
It’s obvious that if they make a mistake they do not care. The question is not of whether the person should be on the site, only of what he will do to make PJ happy. They say a good “ROR” will gain a person better treatment. If they are simply informing communities, nor harassing people, then this would not be relevant. The person would not be worried about his “treatment” from site readers. Either they are harassing people, or they are offering to NEGLECT to tell a community and the police about a predator if the predator does what “Peej” wants. This is a clear statement that they are after their own power rather than convicting criminals in a court of law or protecting others from criminals. VERY CLEAR STATEMENT. The person has to do what PJ says or they will be subject to “treatment” by PJ site readers. This is vigilantism, harrassment and extortion.
They claim their logs are infallible because they have a proxy server in another state. They don’t explain if this server is monitored by any third parties or how anyone is supposed to know that what’s on the server is what’s on the forums. They claim they make phone calls to verify. However, apparently they don’t record them yet:
And they don’t explain how they connect a phone number to the rest of a person’s identity.
So maybe if you satisfy them they won’t put you up, and they won’t have you condemned or arrested. Is is not wrong or illegal for them to be making arrangements with criminals to have their crimes hushed up so they aren’t arrested? Can I tell a criminal I will not report him to the police if he does me a favor?
PJ confirms they used to have a rule against contacting the police. Cite. I think someone asked about this at some point.
One thing they do is a reverse-phone lookup, then call that number to see who answers. Really.
Lute Skywatcher These days, Pravda is a tabloid. I tend to disbelieve anything they print unless it is confirmed by another source.
In this case, confirmation is easy. Just register on the PJ forums.
There have been several cases here , of seriously sick pedophiles trying to arrange trysts with what they thought were children. One such creep was a state police sergeant-Sgt. Brian O’Hare-he thought that he was going to meet a 14 year old boy! Now, in such a case, we have to assume:
-as a law enforcement officer, O’Hare knew what he was doing was WRONG
-Sgt. O’Hare entered into a conversation VOLUNTARILY
-Sgt. O’Hare has no defense-his actions are repugnant to any decent human being
But of course, he is innocent until a court finds him guilty. I have no sympathy for people like this.
I haven’t followed this thread since mid-page 2, but I remember people picking on Perverted-Justice for arranging stings without engaging local law enforcement. I haven’t read enough about what PJ nor their detractors do or don’t do right, and I have no opinion either way. However, I did notice this in today’s Newsay:
Seems that PJ will sometimes work with the proper authorities and not just Dateline.
I’ve been poking around their forums a bit. Someone called Eve (no relation to the Doper, I hope) asks if flyers have been posted in the neighborhood of an alleged pervert in Ashburn, VA, then offers to “help”.
I walked into the police station here in my quaint little town. A few blocks away, a Level 2 Sex Offender is living. With his girlfriend. And her teenage daughter. :rolleyes:
His crime? He kidnapped a girl the same age as his girlfriend’s daughter. He locked her in the closet of a house under renovation. He kept her there for a month, raping her over and over again, starving her for days on end. She was found by workmen who showed up one day. There is no reason to believe he would have let her go after a month. He did jail time, and now lives nearby. All of these facts were published in the local paper, along with his name and photograph.
Having said that, the police made it very clear that posting handbills with his likeness or going door to door to show is face to the neighborhood constituted a violation of his civil rights and would be prosecuted. I fail to understand how a newspaper can publish the pertinent info and disseminate it ( in one days’ printing ) to hundreds of thousands of readers and yet posting handbills is against the law.
So, if this Eve in Ashburn, VA wants to put up signs, she might want to talk to her local police first. She is likely buying herself an arrest.
Cartooniverse
The operative portion being:
I have no problem with a group that wants to help the police. I have a problem with a group that identifies pedophiles and then does not contact the police. Or a group that harasses someone they identify as a pedophile. If they have a valid reason to think this person is dangerous, they should call the cops. If not, they shouldn’t go around harassing them.