NE - Pedophile?? What Happened Here?

[Snick1946]

UPDATE: Charges declined in suspicion of child enticement case

I am posting this and wondering if anyone else smells something off on this thing. Local media has this guy all but convicted. It just seems a stretch to me; no one other than the kid heard what he said to the little girl nor did he apparently get out of the car or try to grab her. <modsnip>

I am all for vigilance and have no tolerance for people who mess with kids, i somehow have to wonder, this all just seems fishy. Anyone else think so?

 

[anonypotomous]

I agree with you 100%

 

[beccaraeee]

It doesn't sound right at all, and now his name and face have been plastered of the news and Internet. I understand people should be aware of dangerous or potentially dangerous people, BUT I feel they should go before a judge or even jury before they are blasted over the news or Internet.

OT: But a few years back an old high school coach of a surrounding school property and computers were searched under the suspicion of child porn. A few news channels ran this story, mug shot and all. Three months in they discovered it wasn't him, but his neighbor who was using his Internet... What does that neighbor look like? Or even his name? There was never a follow up story to clear the innocent man, aside from an apology, and to show the guilty. Now this guy is deemed a stalker/child milestone etc, when he did nothing wrong AND they found nothing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LinasK]

http://www.ketv.com/news/omaha-man-...nticement-a-naval-veteran-family-man/39148164

I am posting this and wondering if anyone else smells something off on this thing. Local media has this guy all but convicted. It just seems a stretch to me; no one other than the kid heard what he said to the little girl nor did he apparently get out of the car or try to grab her. Her mom has been all over local newscasts and seems liker a drama queen.

I am all for vigilance and have no tolerance for people who mess with kids, i somehow have to wonder, this all just seems fishy. Anyone else think so?

BBM.
And yet from the other perspective from having been an actual victim, predators don't want witnesses- so noone else hearing him whisper to her doesn't surprise me. They want a he said, she said situation where the she said is a child who won't be believed for that reason!! I also was approached by a guy in car who didn't get out or try to kidnap me, but offered to photograph me. I think he was a serial killer named William Richard Bradford who was in the area at the time.

 

[Snick1946]

http://www.kmtv.com/news/local-news/police-arrest-man-for-child-enticement-in-nw-omaha

Another story, much like the other. I posted a critical comment on the story linked to a couple hours ago. Someone at the station deleted it.

Seems like a feeding frenzy to me. People need to be aware of this stuff but I'm thinking some local media need to get a grip. As in, how do you spell 'defamation lawsuit'?

 

[JanetElaine]

http://www.kmtv.com/news/local-news/police-arrest-man-for-child-enticement-in-nw-omaha

Another story, much like the other. I posted a critical comment on the story linked to a couple hours ago. Someone at the station deleted it.

Seems like a feeding frenzy to me. People need to be aware of this stuff but I'm thinking some local media need to get a grip. As in, how do you spell 'defamation lawsuit'?

According to the article you linked:

An 8-year-old girl says she was riding her bike, waiting for a friend, when a man outside a turquoise pickup motioned her to come over and asked if she wanted to play "beat the kids" with him. The girl kept telling the man "no", sped home, and her parents called police.

It is a myth that most/many/a lot of (fill in your flavor) kids make up these kinds of accusations. Why would an 8 year old come up with a man motioning her over and asking her to play 'beat the kids'? Especially when the man as his defense says he was 'just trying to say hi' (clearly confirming he was trying to interact with the girl), and one of his friends calls it 'a misunderstanding'? That one especially makes the hair of my neck stand on end. If this guy was really trying to say hi, what is there to misunderstand? Why would the girl, an 8 year old, make up a story about a man trying to lure her if all he did was say hi?

All of these are well worth the read but myths 6 and 7 are most relevant to this thread.

http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/csa_myths.html

Also, I'm not seeing the 'feeding frenzy' in the news. I'm seeing quite the run of the mill reporting with interviews with anyone possible (including a friend of the suspect). Even if one could disagree about that, LE does not arrest people based on newspaper articles or comments on social media, nor do judges convict (possibly down the road in this case) based on such. LE is going to have a good reason to arrest him with felony charges.

As horrible as it is if someone would be innocent as in the case of the high school coach mentioned upthread, that happens far, far less than children not being believed about being abused. Which is exactly what the real perps bank on. I'm not saying this guy is a real perp. I don't know the evidence. But nobody has anything to gain from lying about this. Fifteen minutes of fame? Hardly. Victims of these crimes are looked down upon in society whether society wants to admit it or not. It takes a ton of courage to speak out against these kind of things. Especially since the adult can always say "I was just saying hi" and the child will be dismissed... or so they hope.

IMO :cow: MOO

 

[JanetElaine]

BBM.
And yet from the other perspective from having been an actual victim, predators don't want witnesses- so noone else hearing him whisper to her doesn't surprise me. They want a he said, she said situation where the she said is a child who won't be believed for that reason!! I also was approached by a guy in car who didn't get out or try to kidnap me, but offered to photograph me. I think he was a serial killer named William Richard Bradford who was in the area at the time.

bbm

Completely agree.

Levy's buddy Ben's statements have my eyebrows raised, too. From the link in the OP:

"He was in the driveway having a smoke break, and he waved to a girl, or I think he said maybe she waved first and said, &#8220;Hello.&#8221; He said &#8220;Hi&#8221; back, and that was the end of it," Ben said.

"or I think he said" means Levy spoke about the incident with Ben before police showed up at his house to arrest Levy. Ben was present for the arrest, not during the interaction with the girl (according to both articles linked in this thread). Ben is relaying information Levy gave him before the police even showed up (because the police are not going to let the two guys chat for a minute before they arrest the guy). Why would Levy tell Ben about him having said 'hi' to a girl riding her bike past the house? To cover his behind, of course. Levy saw the girl race home and feared she might tell someone, so he had to create his 'alibi'. I don't know if Ben just can't believe his long time friend, or if he is actively helping Levy cover up. It doesn't matter anyway, because I'm just pointing it out to emphasize Levy's odd behavior.

This exact same 'alibi creating' has happened to me personally. The perp randomly went over to a neighbor after he thought I might be on to him and started telling stories about things I had done wrong according to him. The neighbor was very uncomfortable and found it odd. Later (that same day) it turned out the perp had committed a crime that involved aspects of his accusations against me (and then some). By trying to make me out to be a bad person, the perp tried to make himself look better and in his eyes innocent (or whatever he even thought he was doing). In his case however there was plenty of evidence and he was sent away to the big house for quite a few years.

The story of Levy sounds much more fishy to me than the mother's story.

Again JMO :cow: MOO

 

[Snick1946]

Janet, I respect where you are coming from, especially after your own experience. I learned a long time ago to trust my hunches on things and my gut is telling me this is a load of doo doo. Just taking the word of an eight year old for something no one saw going down just seems a bit of a stretch. I would tend to maybe give her more credence if the guy had a prior history- he doesn't. He probably showed poor judgement in saying anything to this kid- I just do not do that. If i am out walking and some kid says hi, I say hi back and keep moving.

Levy did have a legitimate reason for being in the area. It was not like he just cruised in looking for something. IMO if they do not come up with better than this, he needs to be released. His name is all over the media here today. That is just wrong.

 

[bluedivergirl]

Long time lurker, since Lacy Rocha.

What I find troubling is the phrase 'beat the kids'. I googled several slang dictionaries, and it means to masturbate. I don't think an eight-year-old would know that phrase to make up the story. I think he said it to her, and she would have taken it literally. It would scare her half to death.

 

[Snick1946]

Long time lurker, since Lacy Rocha.

What I find troubling is the phrase 'beat the kids'. I googled several slang dictionaries, and it means to masturbate. I don't think an eight-year-old would know that phrase to make up the story. I think he said it to her, and she would have taken it literally. It would scare her half to death.

OK! I Googled that term and couldn't find it. I was wondering if this kid made it up. Your post may put this in a different light for me. It's possible he was arrested because the cops realized the significance of that too.

I know that molesters try to discredit their victims and to do their thing out of sight and earshot of anyone who can corroborate what happened. It just seems a bit much to send some guy to prison on the basis of what some kid says happened. Show me some better evidence or reluctantly let him go- and hope if he did it that he got the hell scared out of him and won't do it again.

 

[Bohemian]

Why would any responsible parent/grandparent/guardian/carer take the side of a potential child sex offender (or, worse, killer) over that of their own child? Let alone LE doing the same? I seriously doubt it.

#1 Rule: Always believe the child. Always.

Children 'feel' (or intuit) interactions between themselves and others. They don't intellectualise events as do most adults/parents. If a child has a 'gut feeling' that interaction with someone 'in authority' is suspect; then more than likely it is. (That's the problem for many adults - we've forgotten to listen to our warning bells - much to our detriment).

#2 Rule: Never give people the 'benefit of the doubt' and never suggest, encourage or force children to the same. Never.

Perpetrators (be they domestic violence or sex offenders) will 'test the waters' to gauge their intended victim's reaction. Start as you mean to continue and 'blow the whistle' on them - firmly. You'll be not only protecting yourself and/or your loved one but their subsequent potential victims.
__________

FYI 'beat the kids' definition:

http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/beat-the-kids

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Beat+the+kids

 

[JanetElaine]

Why would any responsible parent/grandparent/guardian/carer take the side of a potential child sex offender (or, worse, killer) over that of their own child?

rsbm

One would hope they wouldn't. A child only has adults to defend them. The suspect can hire a lawyer to do so. Not nearly enough children are believed and they are being victimized on a daily basis. Perps make darn sure there's only the child around when they act. They count on people saying "it's just some kid saying it happened, he was the mailman/neighbor/father/Sunday school teacher and had a legitimate reason to be in the neighborhood".

As for it seeming a bit much to send someone to prison for something 'a kid said' - here is a (short) article about a guy who was put in jail exactly because a child had the extreme courage to stand up and speak out.

http://www.wfmj.com/story/31790213/nineteen-count-indictment-accuses-youngstown-man-of-raping-child

 

[LinasK]

OK! I Googled that term and couldn't find it. I was wondering if this kid made it up. Your post may put this in a different light for me. It's possible he was arrested because the cops realized the significance of that too.

I know that molesters try to discredit their victims and to do their thing out of sight and earshot of anyone who can corroborate what happened. It just seems a bit much to send some guy to prison on the basis of what some kid says happened. Show me some better evidence or reluctantly let him go- and hope if he did it that he got the hell scared out of him and won't do it again.

BBM. Snick did you read my post??? That's exactly what predators do without witnesses knowing darned well the child victim won't be believed. Children don't make this kind of stuff up. My gut tells me it did happen just the way the little girl said it did. What motive would she have for sending him to prison??? This guy needs to be investigated or at least talked to. Bad judgement on his part at minimum. Why would he be befriending a child for innocent motives? Noone claimed there was enough evidence to convict, but my guess is that a very bad crime was prevented.

 

[LinasK]

Why would any responsible parent/grandparent/guardian/carer take the side of a potential child sex offender (or, worse, killer) over that of their own child? Let alone LE doing the same? I seriously doubt it.

#1 Rule: Always believe the child. Always.

Children 'feel' (or intuit) interactions between themselves and others. They don't intellectualise events as do most adults/parents. If a child has a 'gut feeling' that interaction with someone 'in authority' is suspect; then more than likely it is. (That's the problem for many adults - we've forgotten to listen to our warning bells - much to our detriment).

#2 Rule: Never give people the 'benefit of the doubt' and never suggest, encourage or force children to the same. Never.

Perpetrators (be they domestic violence or sex offenders) will 'test the waters' to gauge their intended victim's reaction. Start as you mean to continue and 'blow the whistle' on them - firmly. You'll be not only protecting yourself and/or your loved one but their subsequent potential victims.
__________

FYI 'beat the kids' definition:

http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/beat-the-kids

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Beat+the+kids

From a former child victim, can't thank you enough for this post!!!:clap::clap::clap: :goodpost:I was molested by my uncle with noone else around and my own family refused to believe me.

 

[Snick1946]

I will no longer be posting on this thread.

Thanks to all replying. I believe some on here have misunderstood where I am coming from and to explain and clarify further would serve no real purpose.

 

[bflocket]

I will no longer be posting on this thread.

Thanks to all replying. I believe some on here have misunderstood where I am coming from and to explain and clarify further would serve no real purpose.

Her mom has been all over local newscasts and seems like a drama queen.

Some people do somehow channel Nancy Grace and try to find a "predator" in every bad (or even non-"bad") situation that occurs in life.

Your 10-y/o kid, who doesn't know how to swim, goes to a pool party at a friends house.
Your kid has some kind of accident and drowns.
Who's responsible? The parents of their friend.
Why? Because they turned their eyes for &#8539;-second away from the kids and something bad happened.

Your kid gets kidnapped while walking home from school.
Who's responsible? The school system (for letting them walk home), along with everyone that lives along their route home.
Why? They COULD have have somehow known something was up and done something to stop it from happening.

Those are a couple of truly bad things that would happen to a kid that I could think up.

The kid in question was not harmed in any way/shape/form. Other than acting like she was scared of somebody that she didn't know.
When I was little, the intro to the PBS show Wonderworks scared me. Did my family sue PBS? No. That would be stupid.

The man was not a relative or close family acquaintance that could have been able to be abusing them over and over again and getting away with it because of such.

"KELLY MICHAELS" RITUAL ABUSE CASES IN MAPLEWOOD, NJ

"The interviews with the children in the Michaels case are some of the worst I have ever heard. The children were undoubtedly abused, but probably not until they met the investigators."

Margaret Kelly Michaels, 25, an employee of the Wee Care Day Nursery of Maplewood NJ, was charged with 235 counts of sexual assault against 20 of her students. The charges were laid in 1985 and were related to incidences which were supposed to have occurred three years earlier. The children accused Ms. Michaels of:
-----licking peanut butter off of their genitals.
-----playing a piano while naked.
-----forced the children to drink urine and eat feces. (None of the parents noticed odors of urine or feces on their children when they picked them up from school)
-----assaulting them with silverware, a sword and Lego blocks.
-----forcing them to play the "cat game" where they all got naked and licked each other.
-----amputating children's penises. "Joey" said: "We chopped our penises off." (Not one penis was found to be missing).
-----sucking one child's penis.
-----scraping a boy's nipples with a fork.
-----putting a real car and tree on top of one of them.
-----inserted forks, knives and spoons in a boy's private parts.
-----changing one child into a mouse.

Youths' 'Tainted' Testimony Is Barred in Day Care Retrial
The New York Times (New York, NY)
6/13/1998

Handing a major victory to the defense in one of the country's longest-running day-care sexual abuse cases, a Massachusetts judge ruled today that the children in the case had been so manipulated in interviews with investigators that their testimony was ''forever tainted.''

Ms. LaFave and her mother, Violet Amirault, were convicted in 1987 and sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison. But they were released in 1995 when another judge ordered a new trial, finding that the court's seating arrangement had kept them from confronting their accusers.

James L. Sultan, Ms. LeFave's lawyer, said that when the Amirault case was tried, ''it was really the dark ages of child sex abuse investigations, and people didn't know how to question children properly.''

''And at the time,'' he said, ''the prevailing wisdom was that you really had to push and prod, and 'Don't take no for an answer' was the mantra of the investigator at the time.''

This fellow's crime?
He purportedly asked her if she wanted to play a "beat up kids" game. He also tried to "scoop her up" off of her bike while driving a van. Both of which are unrealistic in the very least.

 

[wendybtn]

http://www.kmtv.com/news/local-news/police-arrest-man-for-child-enticement-in-nw-omaha

Another story, much like the other. I posted a critical comment on the story linked to a couple hours ago. Someone at the station deleted it.

Seems like a feeding frenzy to me. People need to be aware of this stuff but I'm thinking some local media need to get a grip. As in, how do you spell 'defamation lawsuit'?

I know what you mean. I have a SIL who has never seen a male she can't turn into Lester the Molester at the drop of a hat. Except her brothers, husband, and son. It is to the point I just ignore her now.
But this little girl?? Not enough info to know for me. Maybe she wants more of Mom's attention and knew this would get it? Kids tell a lot of stories for weird reasons adults would never think of. If this man was trying to lure her, where was he going to go? He was not at home, he was not alone, and he was supposed to be moving furniture. I notice my almost 80 year old parents have as lot of trouble following my kids in conversations. They (ages 10-19) just talk too fast and use too many words and terms my parents aren't familar with. And the kids don't understand what the old folks are saying, either. I feel like an UN interpreter when we are all together!

 

[wendybtn]

Some people do somehow channel Nancy Grace and try to find a "predator" in every bad (or even non-"bad") situation that occurs in life.

Your 10-y/o kid, who doesn't know how to swim, goes to a pool party at a friends house.
Your kid has some kind of accident and drowns.
Who's responsible? The parents of their friend.
Why? Because they turned their eyes for &#8539;-second away from the kids and something bad happened.

Your kid gets kidnapped while walking home from school.
Who's responsible? The school system (for letting them walk home), along with everyone that lives along their route home.
Why? They COULD have have somehow known something was up and done something to stop it from happening.

Those are a couple of truly bad things that would happen to a kid that I could think up.

The kid in question was not harmed in any way/shape/form. Other than acting like she was scared of somebody that she didn't know.
When I was little, the intro to the PBS show Wonderworks scared me. Did my family sue PBS? No. That would be stupid.

The man was not a relative or close family acquaintance that could have been able to be abusing them over and over again and getting away with it because of such.

"KELLY MICHAELS" RITUAL ABUSE CASES IN MAPLEWOOD, NJ



Youths' 'Tainted' Testimony Is Barred in Day Care Retrial
The New York Times (New York, NY)
6/13/1998





This fellow's crime?
He purportedly asked her if she wanted to play a "beat up kids" game. He also tried to "scoop her up" off of her bike while driving a van. Both of which are unrealistic in the very least.

Some of these people are still in prison.

 

[wendybtn]

According to the article you linked:



It is a myth that most/many/a lot of (fill in your flavor) kids make up these kinds of accusations. Why would an 8 year old come up with a man motioning her over and asking her to play 'beat the kids'? Especially when the man as his defense says he was 'just trying to say hi' (clearly confirming he was trying to interact with the girl), and one of his friends calls it 'a misunderstanding'? That one especially makes the hair of my neck stand on end. If this guy was really trying to say hi, what is there to misunderstand? Why would the girl, an 8 year old, make up a story about a man trying to lure her if all he did was say hi?

All of these are well worth the read but myths 6 and 7 are most relevant to this thread.

http://www.leadershipcouncil.org/1/res/csa_myths.html

Also, I'm not seeing the 'feeding frenzy' in the news. I'm seeing quite the run of the mill reporting with interviews with anyone possible (including a friend of the suspect). Even if one could disagree about that, LE does not arrest people based on newspaper articles or comments on social media, nor do judges convict (possibly down the road in this case) based on such. LE is going to have a good reason to arrest him with felony charges.

As horrible as it is if someone would be innocent as in the case of the high school coach mentioned upthread, that happens far, far less than children not being believed about being abused. Which is exactly what the real perps bank on. I'm not saying this guy is a real perp. I don't know the evidence. But nobody has anything to gain from lying about this. Fifteen minutes of fame? Hardly. Victims of these crimes are looked down upon in society whether society wants to admit it or not. It takes a ton of courage to speak out against these kind of things. Especially since the adult can always say "I was just saying hi" and the child will be dismissed... or so they hope.

IMO :cow: MOO

Because that was the only mean-named game she could come up with on the fly? Kids do and say a lot of things adults don't understand. After raising 3 1/2 kids, nothing surprises me anymore. What did she have to gain by making this up? Mommy's love and attention perhaps, instead of Facebook and boyfriends? I am not saying this applies in these people's lives, but I see plenty where it does. Even I am guilty of it at times. Not the boyfriend, but I can lose track of time on here or many other sites as well.

 

[JanetElaine]

Because that was the only mean-named game she could come up with on the fly? Kids do and say a lot of things adults don't understand. After raising 3 1/2 kids, nothing surprises me anymore.

If all he did was say hi from the driveway, how would she have been able to describe his truck? How would she even have thought of doing that - it would have been more logical (IF she had made something up) that he was trying to lure her into the home. And that on top of making up a mean-named game that happens to be slang for masturbation? WHY would she do any of that in the first place if a friendly guy just said 'hi'? I've posted links before - kids are not routinely making up stories like this. I'm sticking with my thoughts.