Comments on: D.C. police target gay men in online sting

By: Stacia Viche

Stacia Viche — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 18:23:24 +0000

I just read a similar article in a Georgia newspaper. http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x1951905332/Entrapment-or-crime-prevention

By: 413ron

413ron — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 14:10:05 +0000

What about the ones lying about HIV and using str8/married/curious to lure college kids to think they are clean and then get aids

it happened to me, and im very sick and h ate myself

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 01:59:10 +0000

D.C. is not the only place this is happening,a friend of mine was talking to a 35 y/o man he met on Manhunt, after several conversations the man started talking about having sex with his girlfriends children, a 12 y/o boy and was getting ready to {break in the 5 y/o ) My friend in disbelief continued to talk to him.The man kept insisting that they meet at a hotel and my friend refused. It was a Catoosa County Georgia detective that he was talking to. The exact same people that prosecuted Tanya Craft, The detective was relentless in his pursuit and was again told that he would not meet him at the hotel, the detective said bring wine coolers,condoms & lube.If he had brought the items mentioned it would have been 6 more charges against him. 2 children times 3 items. none of these items were in his car. With the only intentions of seeing if children were involved he agreed to meet at a Subway shop at lunch time 2 days after Christmas.The parking lot was full and children were playing close by when Catoosa county surrounded his car, with 2 guns on his head and other police pointing shotguns he was slammed to the ground and was told that he would be wearing stitches if he moved. This could have been a very dangerous situation in such a crowded area. Catoosa county has an entire wing set up just to house the people caught up in this sting. Please read Rhonda Cook’s article in the Atlanta Journal & Constitution from April 2011. This 27 y/o grad student is now facing life in prison.Any suggestions or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

By: Mork

Mork — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 01:33:46 +0000

Most meth users could be talked into assassinating the Queen for an 8 ball. This is bizarre in the extreme. Kudos to the judge who threw it out!

By: Janice

Janice — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:49:26 +0000

Part of the entrapment comes when explicit porn or pictures are sent by the CI or UC person. Even it they are not opened or viewed they count as having child porn on your computer. The next issues is the interstate travel. As many people in the Washington DC area work and live in different states, or live in the District, and work someplace else, interstate travel is not the same as it may be in other areas. Also some of the men were introduced to the Meth by the CI or UC. If this does not qualify for entrapment I don’t know what would. I realize that there should be some consequences for the behaviors, but to be looking at up to life is worng. The time that most of the men received is a long time for one mistake, if it wasn’t for the interstate travel it would be a lot less time.

A loving mother

By: Last, First

Last, First — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:15:27 +0000

Dating/hook-up sites have become self-segregated venues. The conclusion in the UC Davis link you provided states that gay/bi men are not more likely to be pedos; conversely, they’re not less likely either. That the UC used known gay-centric sites as his means of establishing contact isn’t surprising — it’s simply a different audience. It may feel like we’re being picked on, but I don’t that is the case*. (* Opinion may change if/when additional information is available.)

All of that said, don’t think I’m justifying the method described in this article. As stated in the comments above — at least in the case of Nitschke — the guy was lured more by access to drugs than pedo sex. Lanier is attempting to wash her hands of the situation and, honestly, standing up to the questionable approaches used is tough battle when the Feds are running the show. Not condoning her actions, but it begs the question of just how much detailed info she had/has regarding the operation. If my years of watching Law and Order have even a tiny nugget of truth, the turf battles between local and federal enforcement agencies would keep Det. Palchak’s actions shielded from view during the operation. MPD/Lanier isn’t drawing a line on this in the way I wish she would.

By: Adrian Salsgiver

Adrian Salsgiver — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:43:04 +0000

The is a problem here is not easily understood because everybody has been taught violence solves everything. Is there any doubt that police will next be killing innocent gay men and just saying the guy groped them and deserved to be killed? Dr. Ron Paul has explained if a person has a drug problem it would be better to treat them as a patient instead of a criminal. But instead of finding them help the government puts them in prison to be raped and beaten. Toss in a factious boy they are lying about to perpetrate an ultimate violent life of torture. Instead of just humanely gunning them down.

By: brian

brian — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:38:19 +0000

***
William Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office, said that since 2005, his office has prosecuted 68 cases “in which defendants were arrested in investigations in which an undercover officer poses as an adult pedophile who has access to a child (girl or boy).” He said that of the 68 cases, “about half involved defendants attempting to exploit boys and about half involved defendants attempting to exploit girls.”
…
The concerns raised by the Federal Public Defender about the possible targeting of gay men in a child-sex sting come at a time when LGBT activists have complained that the U.S. Attorney’s office has lowered charges in plea bargain arrangements for people arrested for committing violent crimes against LGBT people, especially transgender women, during the past several years.
***
–
The 50/50 ratio since 2005, cited above, renders MPD and USAO denials of gay-targeted entrapment not at all credible in this instance. Whatever the legal elements of entrapment, the LGBT community understands– clearly better than MPD and USAO… if it walks and quacks like a duck, it’s likely a duck. And this duck is not blind justice.

This appears to be another slippery slope of institutional homophobia at MPD and USAO. Appearance matters. What they apparently don’t yet get is that guarding against institutional anti-LGBT (and other) biases is an ongoing responsibility of theirs.

Justice not administered fairly– or thoughtlessly conducted with bias– has a long-term corrosive effect on police/ community cooperation to fight violent crimes.

Chief Lanier’s response is particularly disappointing. It amounts to a non-denial denial, ignoring the issues and questions raised by Judge Boasberg and the Public Defender for DC, while implying it’s just a matter of MPD cooperation with a DOJ program. It’s de facto ‘Trust MPD. Trust the feds.’

However, at a time when many of us are seeking to build trust and cooperation among our LGBT communities and MPD/USAO to effectively combat violent crime, this is a significant step backward in building MPD’s and USAO’s credibility.

Chief Lanier and US Attorney Machen ought to examine/ re-examine this issue and its likely adverse consequences more carefully.

(Great, thorough reporting, as usual.)

By: Ronster

Ronster — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:45:08 +0000

Intolerance of what? Men who are happy to look the other way while a (fictitious) 12-year-old boy is offered up to be sexually abused for a hit of meth?

Yeah, I’m intolerant of that.

By: Ronster

Ronster — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:36:33 +0000

Someone was claiming to be offering up a 12-year-old for bareback breeding. Are you SRSLY rising to defend someone who was willing to look the other way in exchange for a hit of meth?