Why I’m not so worried about Jack McClellan
Yes, the admitted pedophile has indeed made his way up to Portland, as some predicted (with a hat tip to former MB blogger Aaron, who’s started a new site. )
Yes, I’m the mother of a very outgoing and friendly young daughter.
Yes, I hate pedophiles, and will do whatever I can to keep my kid safe and away from them.
But I figure enough people will be keeping a laser eye on McClellan. It’s the people you can find here - on the Multnomah County Predatory Sex Offender notification webpage, that is - that I’m more concerned about, frankly. The ones that our local media people and vigilante justice folks won’t be stalking 24/7.
And you’d better believe that I’m a regular scanner over at Portland Maps to see if sexual predators have moved into my neighborhood. Been there, lived through that, banded together with neighbors to let the landlord know we weren’t big on having tenants like that in his building. And yep, the guy’d given a few of us reason enough to check him out before we raised a stink…
(To find them yourself, plug in your address, then select ‘Crime’ from the top right menu, then select ‘Sexual Offenders’ to see the Google Maps layout. When you see a red teardrop - mouse over it for a photo and pertinent information.)
Finally, I talk to my kid. I keep an eye on my kid. And she knows what to do if she’s ever in an uncomfortable situation - from either a stranger or an acquaintance or (god forbid) family friend.
So - yeah, I’m less than thrilled that McClellan’s moved to town. But he’s not the only one I need to keep an eye on, by a long shot.
And I’m doing just that…
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I think he was last living in his car. At the moment, I don’t think the media knows where he is.
The media found out tonight when Mr. McClellan heard the guys on KEX talking about him and drove over to the station for a surprise live interview.
Besides the little-girl thing, I think we have a publicity hound on our hands: John Mark Karr redux.
They’re everywhere. I’m in the West Hills and have a child predator living a block away. I don’t have kids, but if I did I wouldn’t want to live anywhere near by.
I was familiar with this guy in Seattle–he’d contact our paper whenever we’d comment about Michael Jackson’s suspected pedophilia, for example, to defend pedophiles. He listed his website under his signature. It was disturbing that he was so open about his thing for little girls.
That said, the guy certainly has an MO: Go to a big event (like a state fair, street carnival, etc) that’s sure to have lots of kids, hang out on the sidelines and look at girls, go home. Sometimes he’d take photos. He wasn’t preying on an individual child–he was more of a voyeur. Creepy, for sure–I certainly wouldn’t hire him to babysit. But I’m sure he’s not the only skeezy dude checking out little girls from the sidelines–he’s just the only one being so vocal about his ‘hobby’.
One more thing for the media to try to incessantly scare the public with while the real raping and pillaging goes on unnoticed.
Tough balance:
Constitutional issue- do convicts who have served their time, completed probation, have right to live in peace?
Clinical issue- Experts will say that in most cases, predatory urges cannot be “cured”- even with sterilization.
Gut issue- Deep urge to shield our children from even the smallest possbility of harm.
A public sex offender registry seems to me to offer the only practical balance of these factors. It is up to every parent to be familiar with the whereabouts of such risky people in their neighborood.
Whay are sex offenders released at all? Anybody that rapes little boys and girls should die…. None of this rehab and minimal jail time. I just love reading about a pedo that gets released and does the same thing again. It is time to start not only making the pedo accountable for his actions but whatever judge and other misc fringe nuts who decided a pedo was mentally sound to be released into the public. They too are just as responsible and they should be going to jail as well.
Every time I walk through Jamison Square in the Pearl, there’s fifty kids playing in the fountain, some of them naked. And at least two guys sitting on the benches on the edge of the park, who could not be more obviously checking out the kids. Most of the parents regularly lose sight of their children, and I’d say it’s only a matter of time before someone takes a risk and abducts a kid.
If I’m with visitors to town, we’ll play
“spot the pedophile” in the square. It never takes longer than 30 seconds. If I had kids, I’d never take them down there.
Matt, you’re so right about Jamison Square. That place is kid-central, and the parents seem blissfully ignorant of creepy onlookers on the periphery.
I don’t understand the attraction of that place, anyway. Most of those kids don’t live in the Pearl; they’re bussed in in SUVs. It’s just a glorified puddle. Aren’t there public or private pools in their neighborhoods? Or is it just that parents want to seem hip and edgy and urban and stuff?
Yeah, well, I often take my lunchtime walk and stop by Jamison Square, taking a break to sit on a bench for a minute and enjoy the sun. I guess I won’t be doing that any more, now that I know you all probably think I’m some kind of perv! :)
Seriously, I’ve felt the same thing, it’s really a disaster waiting to happen. Kids roaming all around, parents gabbing away not noticing. I do think some of those with kids are nannies, not parents though. I mean, it is The Pearl…
Memo to Hunter: you don’t have your facts straight. McClellan isn’t a convicted sex offender, he hasn’t been released from jail or prison or anything. He volunteered the information that he gets off on sex fantasies of little girls, but there’s been no allegation that he’s so much as touched one.
So, clear something up for me: are you advocating taking away this man’s civil rights because he’s a perv, but has broken no laws? Like him or not, that’s a dangerous path to go down.
As a member of the community who lives around Jamison Park I would ask that you not generalize that those of us who enjoy our park and are encouraged and pleased to see families there are perverts. Also, to generalize that parents do not watch their children with care is not warranted,unless you have specific data to back up that allegation.
Children play in many parks all across Portland. This is good.
Pedophiles exist in many neighborhoods and frequent many spots. This is bad.
How about we all consider the “It Takes a Village” concept and watch for child safety wherever we live without lobbing community directed insults at each other? Might that work?
Rabble Rabble Rabble…
FYI: here are links that post pictures of Jack McClellan:
http://rosedesrochers.todays-woman.net/2007/08/01/jack-mcclellan-pedophile-blogger-angers-parents/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/image/127255/index.html
His detriment to society seems to be his love for publicity and his online instructions to other pedophiles — ones who act on their criminal passions.