Moral dilema - sort of

[Panorama]

A few years ago I met a guy through mutual interest in classic video games -- It's not like we were good friends, but he seemed like a decent guy -- I had met him twice (once at a large video arcade and once at another friends house who has about 15 full size games), and then he visited my house once to play some video games (at my house with the same friend that we had gone to play video games at with the 15 games -- he was good friends with this guy)

...well apparently not many people knew him very well as he was convicted of a crime (he was having sex with his daughter for years -- she turned 15 last year, so you do the math) this year and sentenced to 20 years -- release date is 2035. I confirmed it today by looking at the AZ Dept. of Corrections web site. He is eligible for early release Aug. 17, 2012. (7 years from now) It's pretty sad that you can be convicted for 20 years and get out in 8 with good behavior -- he should be locked up for the full 20 years.

Anyway, he use to post on a forum involved in video gaming that I also post to -- he got caught and arrested in Jan 2004 and has not posted since then, and now several people have posted asking what happened to him. The administrators that run the site obviously know why he is no longer posting to the site, but they have chosen to say he is "no longer be able to maintain his responsibilities as...".

Since I know now what happened now, should I post the information, or just let it go? It's not my goal to ruin his reputation in the gaming community, regardless of what he did in his personal life (and it's pretty horrible what he did).

So the "sort of" moral dilema is, should I post the url of the AZ Dept. of Corrections information to the video gaming community?

I know this may not seem like a big deal to some people, but thanks for reading.

[ edited for spelling ]

[MARV]

I say do it. Child molesters, especially incestuous ones, should be outed and publicly humilated for their crimes. Why should you protect him? This information is public anyway. Child molesters just keep on doing it over and over even after being jailed. It's like they're addicted to it. I say it's your resposibility to do everything in your power to make sure he never does it again. I would.

[waukena]

I'd tell the admins on the site exactly what you just told us, tell them your concerns for recidivist behavior when this creep gets out, let them know you'd like THEM to post it to protect the children on the site by posting the truth...tell them you're concerned for their legal rights since they now know what you know...and then see if they have the balls to do it...

If you do it with no guidance from them you're opening yourself up to various things, not the least of which could be getting kicked...

If they refuse, then you have to decide, but I'd do it through the proper channels to start with...

good luck

[WolverineSyr]

I agree with Wauk 100%.
Pedophiles cannot be "cured." Once you are a pedophile you always will be, whether you want to be or not.
Prison doesn't take it away, drugs might dull it, castration might take away the ability, but the urge is still there and it never goes away...
Tell the admins what you know, and want to do.
When he gets out of prison, there will be another girl.

We can never forget who these people are.

[Panorama]

Well the Admins of the gaming site already know what he did -- they removed him from the position of responsibility he held on the site within a month of his arrest -- since he's been arrested and convicted he has not posted, though I don't know if inmates have access to computers and or the internet.

[phillyidol]

I'm with you guys. Tell! He gave up his rights as a human when he took away his own kids innoscense.
I also agree 100% with the harder laws. Many politicians are now pushing for pedophiles to be tagged with tracking devices and monitored. Finally someone is doing something. These people have no rights. Wolverine is right. This is an incurable thing. It is proven that they do it again. Why should this guy have a safe haven? Why should he be safe on a game site where KIDS go? Don't give him the chance.

[WolverineSyr]

I'm pretty sure they have access to computers but not the internet.

[phillyidol]

this makes me crazy. They ruin a young persons life. An entire life for a sick persons craving. They should get no mercy.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

I'm tellin' ya - shitbags like this deserve whatever they get. Any time a person is convicted of a sex crime involving a child, the court should have an auction. Winning bidder(s) get(s) 10 unsupervised minutes alone with the guilty party with no repercussions. All proceeds collected go to victim's groups. I doubt we'd have any repeat offenders. [:D][8D][}:)]

[WolverineSyr]

I've said it before - dump them in a swamp & let the crocodiles sort it out.

[Bitter Almonds]

Just tell those who asked in a private message or an e-mail, if his "reputation" on the internet is of concern. Plus, the admins. might delete a post divulging the details. Personally, I'd just post it. I have no qualms with telling others the truth, esp. over the internet. Quick and to the point:

[i]"Guy's doing 20 years in prison for molesting his daughter."[/i]

[MARV]

You know what Marvy says: GET RID OF 'EM!

[waukena]

Yeah, I agree with XXX...if the admins are such pussies that they think they might hurt their rep in the board communities (ugh) or some lame shit like that then email it to the board members...hell, open a hotmail account called (board name)_info@hotmail.com or something and send it to everyone...then they'll ALL post asking for details and the admins will have to come clean...well, you'd hope...like I said, if it were me I'd try and exhaust reasonable channels and then post it myself...

[MARV]

Yeah, Waukena's right.

[Shoyrtt]

Post it if you can. There is a chance that he might also hurt other children who may be reluctant to come forward if they think they were the only victim. If there are other victims, he can be chraged as the statute of limitations is extended in most states regarding crimes against children. Another thing to consider is the fact that when he gets released, the "Megan's Law" web site in your state may not list him. In our recent discussions regarding techers who had sex with their students, I mentioned a woman who I went to high school with who was convicted and sent to prison three years ago. She has been released, but her name is not listed on CA's web site.[:(!]