Should I turn this person in?

I know a paedophile, who was a good friend of mine, is breaking some court orders about participation in online communities. If found out, he’s off to gaol.

On the other hand, he’s not breaking them to molest children, he’s breaking them to participate in some of the few communities that dont’ know what he did. In my judgement, he isn’t a risk.

My inclination is to do nothing about this at all (particularly since I’ve broken court orders in the past), but my SO disagrees. How do you feel? More detalis on request if you like…

Oh, well, as long as he’s only breaking the laws he doesn’t particularly like… :dubious:

I’d turn him in. I’m a parent.

I think you should tell him to stop at a minimum. Would he tell that he was using these communities for pederastic goals? I doubt it. If he doesn’t stop turn him in.

Even if he is participating in online communities that have no children, it would be too much of a temptation to go back to his old habits. Turn him in.

Why was he sentenced to this? If it’s unfair and bizarre paedo-hysteria (“the internet has TEH KIDS ON IT!!!”), I’d keep quiet.

No specifics needed but his offense was serious, right? He didn’t get busted for being 19 and shagging his 16 yo girlfriend or something like that, correct?

That would have an effect on what I would do. If it was a serious offense and he was still a friend I would tell him to stop first, then turn him in if he did not comply. Though if it was a serious offense I probably wouldn’t be friends with him anymore.

I would remind him that he’s breaking court orders and if he doesn’t stop report it. I would do the same in any similar situation, not just with a paedophile.

I wouldn’t just turn him in but let him know that he needs to stop right now or THEN I will turn him in. Or get a green light from the authorities of that community (and good luck with that)

A few questions for you Cryptoderk:

Did your friend tell you he was molesting children?
Did your friend tell you how he got access to the children?
Have you ever seen “to catch a predator”?

Why on earth would you think that a child molester would be honest about what he is doing on line, when it is so god damned easy to do something WRONG online. Remember, the lie that is closest to the truth (Hey, I am online, but not doing what I shouldn’t) is better than an absolute lie (What is a computer?)

I’d bet he is suckering you now, just as he did then. I’m guessing he didn’t tell you he was fucking with children and if he did and you didn’t turn him in, you suck. If he is in a position to access children in any way and you are not stopping it, you are wrong.

Even if he isn’t doing a damn thing wrong. The courts have proven he needs to be kept away from children, who the fuck do you think you are to know better than them? Do you check his online history? Log his chats? Check his cache?

Think about what you are asking dude. Really.

Turn him in. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. He goes directly to jail.

I have no sympathy for him. He was sentenced and told what he can and cannot do. He is violating his court orders. Period. Amen.

Do you really think he’s going to tell you, “Hey, Cryptoderk. I was on the Paedoluv community and someone said…”? He’d be an idiot to do that. The fact that he has admitted to you that he is still going to online communities despite the court order against him means that he might be testing the waters to see how far he can go with what he tells you before you freak.

Turn him in. If he’s sexually attracted to children, he’s sexually attracted to kids…he can’t change those feelings anymore than you can change who you are attracted to. He will eventually do something and you need to stop him before he does.

Are you prepared to live with the guilt if you don’t turn him in and he does do something?

TURN HIM IN.

Another for turn him in.

So wait, he was a good friend of yours? Friend or not, report his ass!

Cryptoderk, please respond.

How do you know he’s participating in online communities and which ones he’s in?

Even having little kids myself and believing that there is a special place in hell for paedophiles, I still feel that both the OP and his friend deserve the benefit of doubt. What type of communities is he frequenting? What are the court orders? If the court orders are some blanket “No online communities. Period” and he is now here on the SDMB, I would say that the orders are too broad and that he is doing no foul.

I still think he should reconsider and alert the managers of the specific community of his orders so they decide if they are ok with him on board.

And why would this guy openly admit to being back in business? Unless I had reason to doubt his every word, I would take his word at face value and believe that if he is saying he is not on the hunt, then he isn’t.

Ok, I find some flaws in your logic. If his court orders say “no online communities” then guess what? Even the SDMB is out for one simple reason. You are talking about someone who has placed themselves outside of reasonable behavior in one of the more reprehensible ways. HIS judgement is not to be trusted. He has already justified his behavior to act on his desires to inflict harm on another person. He has taken the leap, a small step is no big deal.

There is no proof of age here. There is nothing stopping a minor from joining. The fact is, children are very, very ignorant of what they should not reveal to strangers. While the board rules here state you have to be 13 (I think) it isn’t like they ask for and check ID every time we log on. Pedophiles are very, very good at getting to children. It is harder to avoid them entirely online, and even then you can not be certain.

Many boards are not moderated or even policed enough to be able to notify their users of a pedophile in their midst.

Not many folks walk around saying “Hey, I diddle kids for fun! Be my friend!” You do have every single reason in the world to doubt his intentions. He is already violating his court order, proving yet again that he is above the law.

My husband was a drug addict. He proved to me that he wasn’t using by submitting to random drug tests. I could test for drugs. You can’t test a pedophile. IMHO, he absolutely, without a doubt, should NOT be trusted.

We don’t know what you know, or how you know it. If you know that he isn’t (and wont) use internet communities to commit another crime, then I can’t in good conscience tell you to turn him in.

By the way, “I swear I wont use the internet to molest any more kids or download kiddie porn” isn’t good enough. Be objective here, and my bet is you’ll realize that you have no idea what he’s going to do, and that he should be stopped.

Sixteen is legal in England, Scotland, and Wales. It’s also legal in 30 U.S. states.

Sheesh, it ain’t hard. If you’re on parole, you should get off of parole. That means following both the letter and spirit. from Paris Hilton on down, there’s a long list of people that think parole doesn’t apply to them.

Even if the reasons for not letting him on line are pure bullshit, he’s on parole for a reason.

turn him in.