[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

::a timeline of Pete Townshend and the Internet:: part V



::2003::
January: On January 11th, the morning editions of UK
newspapers The Daily Mail and The Sun reported that a
rock star, a household name both sides of the
Atlantic, was implicated in accessing online child
pornography.  His name, according to unnamed police
sources, appeared on the Operation Ore list of credit
card subscribers to Landslide Productions.  Shortly
before noon Pete stood on the porch of his Richmond
home and told reporters that he was the one in the
reports.  I am not a paedophile and I want to clear
my name, he said.  I toured with Gary Glitter in the
past but Im not him.  I think paedophilia is
appalling.  He continued that he had done a lot of
work on the problem and highlighted it on his website.
 He had investigated the abuse of children from
Chechnya and Kosovo and its portrayal on the Internet:
It appalls me.  A campaign he hoped to mount against
it on the Internet had fizzled out.  To fight against
paedophiles you have to know whats out there.  Pete
had worried that this might happen and that it could
ruin his career.  He had contacted Scotland Yard to
tell them that he was doing research for a book but
had not heard back from them.  I have not been
charged with anything.  Im hoping this will go away. 
But I think Im fucked.  Before leaving in a car,
Pete said he was interested in adult pornography,
adding, I've always been into pornography and I have
used it all my life.  Im going to talk to my lawyers
to see what happens next.

Later that afternoon, Pete issued a written statement:


I am not a paedophile. I have never entered chat rooms
on the internet to converse with children. I have, to
the contrary, been shocked, angry and vocal
(especially on my website) about the explosion of
advertised paedophilic images on the internet.
I have been writing my childhood autobiography for the
past seven years. I believe I was sexually abused
between the age of five and six and a half when in the
care of my maternal grandmother who was mentally ill
at the time. I cannot remember clearly what happened,
but my creative work tends to throw up nasty shadows -
particularly in Tommy.
Some of the things I have seen on the net have
informed my book which I hope will be published later
this year, and which will make clear that if I have
any compulsions in this area, they are to face what is
happening to young children in the world today and to
try to deal openly with my anger and vengeance towards
the mentally ill people who find paedophilic
pornography attractive.
I predicted many years ago that what has become the
internet would be used to subvert, pervert and destroy
the lives of decent people. I have felt for a long
time that it is part of my duty, knowing what I know,
to act as a vigilante to help support organisations
like the Internet Watch Foundation, the NSPCC and
Scotland Yard to build up a powerful, well-informed
voice to speak loudly about the millions being made by
US banks and credit card companies for the pornography
industry. That industry deliberately blurs what is
legal and what is illegal, and different countries
have different laws and moral values about this. I do
not. I do not want child pornography to be available
on the internet anywhere at any time.
On one occasion I used a credit card to enter a site
advertising child porn. I did this purely to see what
was there. I spoke informally to a friend who was a
lawyer and reported what I'd seen.
I have enclosed my website article about my friend
Jenny who commit [sic] suicide because of sexual abuse
she suffered as [a] child. [A Different Bomb]
I hope you will be able to see I am sincerely
disturbed by the sexual abuse of children, and I am
very active trying to help individuals who have
suffered, and to prevent further abuse.
       
On the evening of January 11th, Pete spoke to show
business editor Dominic Mohan of The Sun, trying to
account for his actions and saying that he was deeply
wounded at the inference he was a paedophile.  He
stressed again that he had come across the first image
by accident, remembering it having occurred in the
winter of 1996-1997.  It repelled me and shocked me
to my very core.  Since then, he had visited child
pornography sites three or four times, entering one
time with his credit card.  He repeated that he had
never downloaded any images and had visited the sites
only to see what kind of material was available and
how accessible it was.  It was intended as research
for a book he was writing. With hindsight it was very
foolish but I felt so angered about what was going on
it blurred my judgement. He wanted to police to
examine his computers and corroborate his story.  He
had assumed that they would not have targeted him
because of his record of speaking out against abuse. 
He wanted to regain their trust and that of
authorities involved in helping children and to assist
them in bringing more light to the problem. We must
try to stop it but if we cant do that we should
invest our energy in helping victims of abuse.  He
was waiting to hear from police.  Pete ended by saying
that he wanted to get back to his life, his family,
and his work.  But if all I can do from now on is
fight the sexual abuse of children, and to help those
who become victims, well that wouldnt be too bad a
way of living the rest of my life.

On January 12th, Petes troubles were headline news
across the world.  Most reports stayed with the facts
but some sources, including the Associated Press,
stated that he had actually downloaded child
pornography.  Mark Stephens, a board member of the
Internet Watch Foundation, was widely quoted
condemning Townshends account.  The Associated Press
later corrected its error but the IWF cited its
confidentiality policy when refusing to publicly
corroborate his claim of having reported to them the
previous fall.  Within a matter of hours family,
friends, and others who know Pete well, including his
mother, brother Paul, Jerry Hall, Elton John, Brian
May, and Roger Daltrey all made public statements in
his support.

Pete was very angry about how easy it was to get hold
of child pornography on the Internet, said Daltrey.
My gut instinct is that he is not a pedophile and I
know him better than most.

On January 13th Petes solicitor John Cohen told
reporters that they had contacted the police that
morning and mutually agreed to allow a police search
of his house.  At approximately 3:00 PM police
officers from Scotland Yard, Operation Ore, and the
Child Protection Center, including computer forensics
experts arrived and entered the house.  About four
hours later they emerged carrying several computers
and other material.  Pete left by a side entrance and
went directly to nearby Twickenham police station. 
There, in the words of a police spokesman, he was
arrested under the Protection of Children Act 1978 on
suspicion of possessing indecent images of children,
suspicion of making indecent images of children and on
suspicion of incitement to distribute indecent images
of children.  After being questioned by police for an
hour and a half, Pete was released on bail.   He was
not charged with any crime and was scheduled to visit
with police again later in the month. 

It should be noted that courts in the UK have
interpreted the simple act of downloading an image on
a computer the same thing as making it, since the
image is electronically written to a drive on the end
users computer after it is transferred from a server.
 

January 15: reports emerged that Pete had hired a team
of ex-SAS soldiers to protect him from vigilantes. 
The team was seen patrolling his house and setting up
equipment.  Petes mother and wife were also said to
be under protection.

January 19:  The Sunday Herald reported that senior
sources in British intelligence confirmed that
high-profile former and current Labour Cabinet
ministers and politicians were among Operation Ore
suspects.  A rolling Cabinet committee had been set
up to deal with the ruinous fallout to the Blair
government if arrests followed.  Since the 13th other
reputable news sources, including Reuters and The
Guardian, had carried reports that UK politicians
including members of Parliament had been implicated. 
On the 27th published accounts in the Sunday Times and
Birmingham Post stated that the entire Operation Ore
suspect list had been leaked.  One senior police
source said that if the prominent names on the list
were divulged in full, The Sun would be guaranteed a
front page every day for the next year.   No names
were printed, however, and since then no further
reports about highly-place suspects have appeared.

January 28: Pete was scheduled to be questioned
further by police.  A spokesman from Scotland Yard
announced on January 30th that the interview had been
deferred until February.

January 29: Pete updated his website with an
announcement that the IWF had provided him with copies
of the emails that he had sent them in 2002.  Pete
stated that they had acknowledged that he had been in
contact with them, contradicting statements he said
they made to press earlier.  His lawyers had also
requested an explanation from Mark Stephens, IWF board
member, as to why he denied having heard from Pete. 
The IWF has not, as of late-February, publicly
acknowledged contact with him.

In an online report for CounterPunch.Org appearing the
same day, independent journalist Mike James reported
that the Blair government had imposed a press blackout
to prevent the publication of Operation Ore suspects
serving in government.  The UK papers would not
discuss the media blackout.   According to Brian Cady,
the report was originally titled Smear Pete
Townshend, Cover Up Blair's Cabinet: Alleged
Pedophiles in Britain's War Room.

February: On the 11th and 27th Roger spoke out again
in Petes defense, saying Pete was arrogant and stupid
but was no pedophile.  He decried the unfairness of
the press turning the matter into a witch-hunt while
Pete was unable to defend himself.  I'm fine about it
because I know he's innocent, he told BBC2.  Pete
would be exonerated and the Who would return: He
wont let you down. 

Compiled by Ken Hawkins ) 2003 

This chronology records Pete Townshends statements
about the Internet and against the child pornography
widely available on it.  His statements are presented
along with the concurrent timelines of his music and
performances, the Whos activities, the Gary Glitter
case, and the investigations of U.S. and U.K.
authorities.  It is intended to shed light on the
when and what if not the how and why. 
Endnotes document the quotes and sources.  Corrections
or additions are welcome. 





=====
UNCONDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR PETE TOWNSHEND. 
NO 'What Ifs' NECESSARY.
.
.
.
.
Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more
http://taxes.yahoo.com/