December 2009

Rape suspects remain in jail:

In a case that bears a striking resemblance to the one that happened near me in Kannapolis, NC two men have been arrested for the rape of woman that was set up through craigslist.

27-year-old Jebidiah James Stipe of Twentynine Palms, California has been arrested for allegedly setting up the rape of a woman in Natrona County, Wyoming through craigslist. 26-year-old Ty Oliver McDowell of Casper has been arrested for the rape itself. The rape is said to have taken place on December 11th.

What is unclear at this time is Stipe’s relationship to the victim and what the ad that solicited the rape said.

Of course the EFF is quick to defend craigslist…

Matt Zimmerman, senior staff attorney at Electronic Frontier Foundation in California, said Craigslist is protected from liability for posting ads requesting illegal activity under the 1996 Federal Communications Act.

“The law is pretty clearly on the side of Craigslist and (other similar sites),” Zimmerman said.

“To give Craigslist a little credit, they negotiated an agreement with attorneys general across the country where they basically said, ‘We’re not obligated to do this, but we’ll do a number of things to alleviate your concerns,’” he said.

“That’s above and beyond what they’re required to do by law,” Zimmerman said.

You would think that being such an allegedly socially conscious organization that craigslist would do more than just the bare minimum of what the law requires.

Much like the ACLU the EFF is choosing the wrong battles and giving itself a credibility problem.

Considering that McDowell is also accused of violating the victim with a foreign object I don’t see how the EFF and craigslist can say that they’re doing enough.

Graphic post on CraigsList lands Cedarburg native in jail:

Man arrested at Cedarburg McDonald’s on computer sex sting:

Man Busted in Sex Sting:

39-year-old Micah Stern (pictured) is from New York City. He was in Cedarburg, Wisconsin for a funeral. He must have been so grief stricken in his mourning that he allegedly posted a graphic ad on craigslist.

The ad was entitled ‘Coach Seeking Boys’ and went on to read “I am into younger guys who like aggressive men”

The ad also contained a cartoon, which I bet was some form of anime, of a man and boy having sex.

A 14-year-old boy responded to an ad and Stern allegedly set up a meeting in the men’s room of a McDonalds in Cedarburg. Luckily the 14-year-old boy was actually an undercover state agent.

Now Stern’s alleged ad wasn’t placed in the adult services section or even the casual encounters section. It was posted in the Men seeking Men section. Where was the self policing on this one that craigslist and the EFF are so fond to flout about? Most gay men that I know are as equally as repulsed by child molestation as I am. Why wasn’t this ad flagged especially in such a small town setting?

How many ads like this go unflagged with children being molested?

Men charged in hotel robbery:

Roommates from Austin, Texas, Christopher Monk, 36, and Jaime Javier Jimenez, 17, so there’s a creep factor right there, have been charged with trying to assault a craigslist hooker. The pair arranged to meet the woman at her hotel room. When they got there Jimenez allegedly pulled a knife on the woman and let in Monk who came in with a video camera. Jimenez was trying to knock out the woman with a sock soaked in chemicals. It seems that one of them found a website that tells you how to make homemade chloroform.

What Monk and Jimenez probaly didn’t know is that a lot of escorts have drivers/bodyguards. So did the victim. When he came out of the bathroom Jimenez and Monk took off.

First off why is a 36-year-old man living with a 17-year-old boy? Reminds me of the DC Sniper and Lee Boyd Malvo. Secondly why were they videotaping it? Were these two trying to become serial killers but were obviously too inept to pull it off?

This one is for the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot files.