Proud to be a Hamster

BREAKING NEWS Mar. 29, 2007
PUBLIC SAFETY
Pedophile Web site shut down
HOW IT HAPPENED


BELLINGHAM -- A Web site catering to pedophiles and listing family events in Whatcom County has been shut down.

Internet service provider Network Solutions, which hosted the site, had its legal department review the site and decided it went against the company’s standards, a spokeswoman said.

The man who runs the “Seattle-Tacoma-Everett Girl Love” site said earlier this week it had been shut down before. He apparently moved it to a new service provider.

It was not immediately clear if he would against move the site to a new provider.

A story on the Web site appeared in Tuesday’s Bellingham Herald.

The Snohomish County man behind the site has been investigated by several police agencies. While the site contained photos of young girls at public events, lists of area events they might attend, and information on the law, there was nothing illegal on it, police said.

However, the site had drawn the attention of Perverted Justice, an online watchdog group that exposes pedophiles and alerts police about them. Its founder called the site “one of the most disturbing we’ve seen.”

A phone call from Opinion Editor Scott Ayers alerted the ISP that hosted the pedophile Web site. This was his blog from yesterday..

Phone call leads to suspension of pedophile’s Web site
SCOTT AYERS
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Network Solutions, a Virginia-based Internet Service Provider, has suspended the Web site of a Northwest Washington man who promotes pedophilia.

The man’s site, at www.stegl.org, was run through Network Solutions until I phoned them Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Susan Wade told me the company’s legal department first contacted the man and demanded he give them a real name, and not the alias he had used to sign up for service.

The man told them his name is Jack McClellan. Wade said the department is still reviewing to make sure that also is not an alias, though the person did provide them with a driver's license or other identification. Local officials have since confirmed that is the Web site owner's name.

The legal department then reviewed the content of the site and suspended it for “going against our acceptable use policy,” Wade said.

The Web site called itself “Seattle-Tacoma-Everett girl love” and featured stories about pedophilia, links to other pedophilia sites and photos of local girls taken in public places.

Local police were monitoring the site, but said there was nothing illegal on it that they had found.

Whatcom County residents have been outraged since our news department broke the story of the site in Tuesday’s paper. Some who checked out the site found photos of their daughters or their daughters’ friends taken at public events in Whatcom County.

I was able to find the name of the ISP through a search tool known as Whois, which is available to anyone online. I contacted Wade as part of research I was doing for an editorial for this Sunday’s paper. Wade immediately told the company’s investigative office of the site and they took it down early Thursday morning.

Some people might argue that by doing so I have promoted censorship. I believe strongly that everyone has the right to free speech. But that doesn’t mean that businesses such as Network Solutions have to support that speech. They have the right to refuse service, and have done everyone a favor by shutting down this disgusting site.

QOATIP’S COMMENTS

I did go to the Stegl site yesterday. It gave me chills. The comments this person made in reference to the children was stomach churning. While I didn’t recognize any of the children photographed, I did attend some of those events. Now there is some what of a witch hunt for ANYONE photographing children….I guess you’ll be writing to me in jail soon…These People are sick sick sick….I don’t even know what to say about that. Except they are out there.....