Your comments: Sex offenders and scams
- 23 Jun 06, 06:03 PM
We're talking about paedophiles. It's a large talking point in the UK, with the tabloid newspapers spearheading a campaign to implement a form of Megan's Law, a law in the US that allows parents to know if paedophiles had moved into their neighbourhoods.
In the second half of the programme, we'll talk about scams. Have you been a victim? We have a former scammer coming on the programme.
Bilal in London said that if Megan's law was implemented in the UK it might cause a violent backlash against offenders. He said that most offenders were relatives of abused children. In the UK, "people don't know the difference between paedophiles and paedatricians," he said, and added that some paedatricians, doctors for children, had been attacked by vigilantes.
Abdelilah Boukili in Marrakesh Morocco said that parents needed to take some responsibility for their children.
Roberta, Arizona, USA echoed his sentiment that parents need to be vigilant and educate their chidren:
The internet has become a meeting house for pedophiles. My husband and I have had many frank conversations with our kids about bad things some people will do to children. We have a rule that the computer is not a toy. Our computer is kept in a high-traffic room in the house. Vigilance on the part of parents is just so important.
Many of the comments that received were quite angry. Kathryn in Atlanta sent us this text message:
Child predators cannot b rehabilitated, no more than they should be allowed to roam our streets. they should b put down like the dogs they r.
Roberta called from Arizona. She is selling her home, and she said that they had to put on the seller's form whether a convicted sex offender lived in the area. It was something new to her. She attributed it to high-profile cases in the media. She has two daughters, aged 8 and 3. Using government run websites, she can see the location of sex offenders in her area.
Patrick in Luxembourg left a comment on the blog. He included his phone number so we called him. We won't publish your phone number, but we will try to call you. Patrick worked with a UN group in Laos to counter sex tourism, men coming to the country to take advantage of lax child protection laws.
While many developing countries have signed on to UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child, many countries still need support to put this into domestic legislation.
That's where developed countries need to support developing countries, also in terms of signing legal agreements for perpetrators to be able to be prosecuted in the country of origin. It's important, too, to prevent these crimes from happening, for instance by monitoring the internet regarding pornography - ideas that often start crimes such as these.
And we got this text message from Idrissa from Yuma:
I have had enough of west talking about sex abuse when they them self created it with de naked girls in magazins & porn ln de computers. May god save us!
Have you been scammed?
Ascot Larry living in the Ivory Coast used to run several scams. He ran several internet scams. It works he says. The most important thing he says is to ignore strange e-mails. He says that if you contact the e-mailer, you'll pay the price.
Peter Franklin, the Gabby Cabby from New York, tried to sell Anu the Brooklyn Bridge. A steal at $25.
He says that New York had foreign scammers and a fair number of domestic scammers as well. In New York, scammers willl rent the same apartment to seven people, collecting deposits from all seven.
Derek runs a site that gives tips on scam baiting. About three years ago, he set up a website to expose scammers. He turns the tables giving tips on how to waste the time and money of scammers. But as they say on many of these sites, it may seem like fun. But remember, these scammers are criminals. But here is one such site giving tips on scam baiting.
A lot of text messages on this subject. Susan sent us this text:
London is a con capital and the conmen are NIGERIAN. I know. I lived in London for 4 years.
But Nonso Ezenwa in Nigeria defended his country:
How come the West sees Lagos as a degenerate city of forgers? Con men are everywhere, even in the West. Pls spare my country.
Sandowah Asankrangwa in Ghana sent us this message:
Sex offenders and paedophiles shd be given a special universally accepted tatoo on the forehead so that they can be easily identified.
Azeem in Malaysia talked about how he was conned out of the equivalent of two and a half months of his own salary. He was told that he had won a lot of money, but first he had to pay a large fee. He is taking his case to the consumer complaints tribunal.
Joel, in London, has written a book on con artists. He said that all of these 419, a section of the Nigerian legal code, and advance fee scams are similar. Be careful if something seems too good to be true. If you get an e-mail or a letter saying that you had won a lottery you never entered, beware.
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Dear BBC team,
I have been working with a UN agency in Laos for the past two years. We could notice an increase on male tourists coming to the country exploiting its non-existing legislation on child abuse. While many developing countries have signed on to UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child, many countries still need support to put this into domestic legislation.
That's where developed countries need to support developing countries, also in terms of signing legal agreements for perpetrators to be able to be prosecuted in the country of origin. It's important, too, to prevent these crimes from happening, for instance by monitoring the internet regarding pornography - ideas that often start crimes such as these.
All the best,
Patrick Ackermann
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the internet has become the biggest medium for child sex. the problem is more acute in countries like india where there is poverty and laws are not followed at all. people feel that they can easily get away from the crime.
only very stringent laws and tougher international laws can bar these people to indulge in child sex.
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This is a good suggestion to all internet police/censorhip authorities. Why not focus all your energy on these lewd sites, a cheap and easy source of pornographic materials, live acts where children could easily access and participate. It doesn't end there, most of them meet personally, when it's too late. Perhaps we can save more lives.
In a related story, there was news on a certain game where both players could have virtual sex. It's frightening how these games are evolving. Any thoughts on this? I read this is the next big thing in gaming, they're tired of the console alone huh?
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Hello BBC teams!
The parents or the real guardians of the children are more responsible to care and monitor the doings and goings of their children.
So, shouldn't they (the parents etc.) be made well informed with the most modern technique of governing them (the children) properly through modern and sound education and training so that they can keep their youngsters safe out of the evil hands of the sex offender?
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Dear BBC teams,
The astonishing part of our life now besides others is the excess uses of Internet that is easy for access to obscene nature of sex scenes and activities. The youngsters being quite fresh in this world having very little knowledge of merits and demerits of such shameful things and their after effects they come into the grip of undue sex indulgence.
Its only the enders/parents/guardians who are almost solely responsible for their (children’s') growing as decent or indecent personalities in future.
So they (the guardians) should keep monitoring eyes on their (children’s) movements and actions of each and every moment.
Thanks!
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Tough Laws and Prison Sentences are better.
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I think the child sex abuses by foreign tourist comming to africa aren't enough highlight by foreign media. There're many molestor male/female come to offer food or money againt sex. The parent feel powerless and couldn't support their children and somehow the question is still tabou there.
Kejeiri-- Barcelona
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The crime of child sex abuses is less in my country.the paedophile is considered like a patient of psychopathy.although they could set free from prison,they can't accept with social.
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More work needs to be done to define the definite differences between paedophilia, which is a sexual attraction towards children, child porn, which is a form of support for child abuse, and child abuse and rape itself, which is a sickening crime.
My concern is that there are people who have ill feelings towards children, but won't come forward and get help with their feelings due to the media-led witch hunt against child abusers where they use the word paedophile as a by-word for child abuser or rapist. They are scared of coming forward because they would never dream of abusing or raping a child, but believe that they will be branded as a child abuser/rapist.
Also, there needs to be more done to make people with child porn problems realise that the children in the pictures are real, that they are being abused, that by looking at it they are supporting more children being abused, and that they have a problem that they need to deal with.
A child abuser/rapist may be a paedophile, but a paedophile is not always a child abuser/rapist. This NEEDS to be very clearly defined, along with the taboo surrounding it, and then we can start doing something about the problem of child porn and child abuse.
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My eldest son was accused of touching 2 young girls inappropriately. One of the girls took the allegation back. Unfortunately one carried it on, even lying and changing her story on the day it was in court.
The court date was a couple of weeks after the Ian Huntely verdict.
Unfortunately the judge chose to believe the child, even though my son never once faltered and told exactly the same version of facts everytime.
He was given 4 months suspended sentence over 2 years and 7 years on the register. Nobody explains anything to you as a family. We were alienated by locals, and forced to move house. We are visited every 3 months at home by risk management officers. Even though he has followed every bit of advice and done everything they have asked of him he is still hounded by ths stigma.
Nothing will ever take this away, I just find it disgusting that the child involved was able to lie from start to finish and we are left to pick up the pieces.
He still has 4 years to go, and is now trying to rebuild his life, he finds it hard to trust people as do the rest of the family. He is hoping to move out of the family home soon, but wil be forced to tell his freind he is going to share with everything that happened. Which is wrong in my eyes as he is trying to start again.
I am not a vindictive person in anyway, but I truthfully hope that one day the young child involved wakes up and realises what she did was wrong, and hope she is haunted by it for the rest of her life.
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My favourite sentence in the news today.
Communities across the country are working with sex offenders and trying to ensure a safe, happy Halloween.
Of course this is not quite what they meant.
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I think every1 in the sorrounding areas of where a known peadofile resides should be notified by letter and email. their address should be public knowledge and a photo of them displayed. I also feel they should be tatoo'd on the face and hands so that parents know that they are sex ofenders. May seem a bit extreme but if every one of them was tattood, it makes them easier to identify. My children have never been the victim of this, but a young gitl i used to babysit was, and i have seen the effect it had on her. her attacker was never caught as the little gir could notidentify him. If he had had a distiguisghing tatoo he may have been caught!
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Isolating those families is killing them both spiritually and physically.
Who are the terror=2above
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