Pete News, but no news really.

["Sigel, James J" <james.sigel@xxxxxx>]

This from LAUNCH news... I think an affiliate of Yahoo.


NEWS - Pete Townshend Staying Silent On Child Porn Issues

(6/25/03, 10 a.m. ET) -- Pete Townshend
<http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/default.asp?artistID=1027361>  has once
again commented on his arrest earlier this year on child pornography
charges--but it's not what you might have expected.
Under the heading "Shut Up Pete!", the Who
<http://launch.yahoo.com/artist/default.asp?artistID=1029091>  leader
posted this message on his petetownshend.com website: "I know a lot of
people must be wondering why I have not made any kind of statement since
the resolution of my case with the police...Without my help, work is
being done today by good people who are fighting hard to combat both the
spread of sewage on the Internet and the terrible psychological effect
that could have on the minds of the children of the future.
"Every time it occurs to me to say something about what is going on, I
remember what happened to me: I was arrested, suspected of wallowing in
the very sh-t that most upset me. It sends a clear and loud message.
What is clear is that I must learn to keep silent and focus my energies
elsewhere."
He adds that he plans to "quietly continue to do my work funding
treatment for the surviving victims of childhood sexual abuse and other
worthy causes."
Just about a month ago, Townshend said he was going to be more public
and forthcoming about his work in this area. He sent an e-mail to
Rolling Stone magazine which read, in part, "I've decided to greatly
formalize the structure of my charity (Double-O) and the way I work with
'survivors,' so that in the future my work is more well-known to
everyone. I've kept my profile low in this area out of modesty I
suppose, and it has worked against me."
The Double O Charity assists abused children, as well as people with
drug and alcohol addictions.
In the new message, Townshend says the people where he lives have
generally been nice to him. "I feel very good, supported by so much love
from all around me. I am free to get out and about in my hometown and
most people greet me warmly. In any case, in the background I have a
very cool and experienced bodyguard."
Townshend was arrested at his London home in January by British police
investigating Internet child pornography. He admitted to having visited
several child pornography websites and even told investigators that he
used his credit card to enter one site. Townshend said he was doing
research for his autobiography, in which he'll talk about his own sexual
abuse as a child when he lived with his maternal grandmother. Townshend
hopes to finish the book, which he's calling Pete Townshend (Who He?),
by the end of this year and to release it next year.
Last month, he was cleared of the child pornography charges, but he was
given a formal warning and will now be listed on Britain's national sex
offenders register for five years "as a routine part of the cautioning
process."