Issues in the Pete Townshend case

["L. Bird" <pkeets@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

In case anyone else is considering writing a round of letters on the issues 
that follow from Pete's case, here's what I've written up to send to the 
media.  I don't think it would be advisiable to copy it wholesale, but if 
anyone wants to use some of the ideas for their own letters, please feel 
free.

LB

I've been following the Pete Townshend case in the UK media with quite a bit 
of interest.  The hue and cry has died down after his arrest, because of a 
contempt of court restraint in the UK.  However, the media discussion has 
turned to issues that have been raised by the case.  Many of these issues 
are also pertinent to the US, since the US has similar problems with child 
porn and its investigation, and also because Pete Townshend and his music 
are widely followed in the US.  Please present these issues to the public.  
They are important.

First, Pete Townshend is known in the US as a musician, but most do not know 
that he is also an editor for Faber and Faber and owns a publishing company 
in the UK.  He has written both books and plays, and so has legitimate 
credentials as a writer.  Mr. Townshend says that he found this porn site 
while doing research for a book, and that he notified the police of what he 
was doing in entering the site for research.  Afterward he wrote and 
published an educational essay on the subject which detailed the wide 
availability of child porn and the ease of obtaining it.  If such acts are 
to be punished by arrest and prosecution, then perhaps we should look at US 
reporter Connie Chung and her recent show which featured pictures of child 
porn on the air.

There is no indication that Mr. Townshend used his credit card to download 
and store pictures, but he did use it to enter the site.  Therefore his name 
appeared on a list the FBI provided to UK authorities as a result of 
Operation Avalanche.  This fact was somehow leaked to the UK tabloids, which 
promptly pronounced Mr. Townshend a pedophile without any investigation of 
the the facts.  The accusation was picked up by other media, including that 
in the US, which has continued to perpetrate the destruction of Mr. 
Townshend's reputation. Even if he is cleared by the UK investigation, it 
will be impossible to completely remove this kind of stain.  Because of the 
media treatment, it will stick in people's minds forever.  This is an evil 
witch-hunt that should be exposed and reversed so that it does not contine 
to happen to other innocent victims.  Please take a public stand on it.

Not only is his reputation in shreads, but Mr. Townshend has had to hire a 
security company to guard his home and family because of the current 
treatment of pedophiles in the UK which encourages violence against 
suspects, as well as convicted violators of the law.  This points out 
problems with current treatment of sex offenders in general and pedophiles 
in particular, wherein shaming and imprisonment are expected to provide a 
deterrent.  Although opinions vary on this, some experts feel that pedophila 
is a sexual orientation that can not be changed in this way, and that 
pedophiles need treatment and counseling on how to control and channel their 
urges rather than threats and violence that make them more brutal.  In 
particular this trend to violence is a danger to innocent victims of 
suspicion, as Mr. Townshend seems to be.

Last, there is a question of how law enforcement and other resources should 
best be used for control and eradication of child porn.  Opinions are going 
to vary on this as well, but it might be considered questionable to sift 
through the 17,000 consumer names that have been provided to the UK police, 
rather than searching out and prosecuting suppliers and manufacturers.  Mr. 
Townshend was right in his essay that it is very easy to blunder into a 
child porn website or to receive it in unsolicited advertising.  Once the 
average citizen encounters it, there seems no easy way to report it to 
authorities without the possibility of coming under suspicion.  There should 
be some central phone numbers and email addresses established to anonymously 
report apparent manufacturers or suppliers so that the average citizen can 
participate in the effort to stamp out child porn.

Thank you for your consideration of these issues.  Please provide a public 
discussion of them, and some effort to repair Mr. Townshend's reputation.  
If you haven't had a chance to read his essay on the subject of child porn, 
it can be accessed at this link:

http://www.hecktow.com/pete.html


Lela Buis





_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. 
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail