Paedophile survivors say Pete deserved second chance

[Brian Cady <brianinatlanta2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

>From Pete's website at:
http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/diary/display.cfm?id=42&zone=pr

2 June 2003 
Phoenix survivors issue new statement regarding Pete 

The Phoenix survivors are a group representing victims
of paedophiles. They issued a statement when Pete was
arrested and have now, after reviewing the situation,
issued a new statement saying that Pete, in their
view, should never have been placed on the sex
offenders register. Here is the full statement taken
from their website at
http://www.phoenixsurvivors.com/Welcomex.html

Re: Mr Pete Townshend Re: Maybe we need a stupid
register? Phoenix survivors press release 31/05/03

Background/About us.
Phoenix survivors was set up in the wake of the
successful (UK) Merseyside police, multi agency
criminal investigation, into a known and unchallenged,
historical paedophile network that was still active in
2000 the investigation was called 'Operation Phoenix'.
In 2002 some of our abusers went to jail for a very
long time, we are the Phoenix survivors, victims of
paedophiles who work to protect children from the same
fate. We have a web based support, information and
advice network- www.Phoenixsurvivors.com/ with an
appointed spokesperson (PS1) Shy Keenan. On our behalf
Shy will make a statement regaurding Operations
Landslide/Ore & Pete Townshend. 

PS1
Throughout my own childhood I have suffered at the
hands of most kinds of paedophiles from "thinks it's
love" to "show it hurts". After having suffered the
entire gambit of unspeakable abuses at their hands, it
was necessary, to my own survival to understand them
in a way that is impossible to learn in any academic
medium, what is more, as their victims, we were never
allowed the luxury of delusion, so the reality of who
they are and what damage they do, has always been
crystal clear to us. This incredibly unwelcome
insight, this clarity, gives us a formidable grasp of
what really needs to happen in the fight against
paedophilia, haebophillia and underage teenophillia. 

Our position re: child porn 
We do accept that there is a case for those people
"officially charged" with child protection, to visit
child porn sites and even pay for and download child
porn, we accept that some of us will need to suffer
for a "greater good" to allow authorities to make
criminal cases against our abusers. For this and no
other reason, should this ever happen. 
Not for research, not for trying to find your abuser,
not for trying to find yourself, not for curiosity,
not out of some self appointed child protection
crusade, not for any reason. We can 100% guarantee
that we can provide you with all the help and
assistance you need without giving a single child
rapist money or support. 
If you do, make no mistake, you are, in some ways, as
bad as any other paedophile, in as much as, if I
throttled you, I would be a murderer, if I paid
someone else to throttle you, I would be no less
responsible. It makes little difference to the child
victims if the abuser is behind the monitor, the lens
or the blanket, for them the suffering is the same
whether "you" are doing it to them or paying someone
else to do it. 
It is reasonable to say that the "curious" and the
"misguided" are not as "responsible" as the physical
paedophiles, it is also fair to say that there are
indeed "degrees of responsibility". For example: is a
person, who, out of ignorance, curiosity or misguided
but with innocent intent, as bad as those who seek and
pay for child porn for sexual gratification? The
reasoned answer is no, however, is an otherwise good
and decent man, who, for the first time ever, got
drunk, drove his car and killed a child, a child
killer? He never meant to do this and he will never do
it again, but, it makes the child no less dead. The
answer is we must all take the responsibility of
educating ourselves so that we don't hurt or exploit
children through ignorance. 
Punishment for those who seek child porn for sexual
gratification should be appropriately severe along
with being placed on the sex offenders register (or
'the sieve' as we like to call it) for those who have
been found to have sought it for reasons 'other' than
sexual gratification, they should also be punished, as
ignorance is no defence, but, not then placed on the
sex offenders register. 

Our new position re: Pete Townshend
When this story first broke, we were given certain
'confirmed information' regarding this matter and was
asked for our comment. Based on those details, we
released various robust statements regarding Mr
Townshend's part in the 'Landslide' child porn web
site case, known here in the UK as 'Operation Ore'. We
then, as is our remit, took up for the victims. 

Since then, we have received a great deal of
correspondence, all polite and respectful, offering
further (known) information that was not made widely
available at the time and asking us 'in the name of
fairness' to reconsider our position re: Mr Townshend.
We have since worked to confirm this information
through Mr Townshend's solicitors and as a result we
do indeed wish to make a further statement :

Phoenix survivors Re: Pete Townshend 31/05/03
Maybe we need a stupid register. 

Based on the evidence secured by the police and the
facts, as we now know them, it is our humble opinion
that Mr Townshend should never have been placed on the
Sex Offenders Register, it is a gross injustice and a
complete waste of tax payers money, let alone an
unnecessary drain on the sex offender management teams
woefully inadequate and precious resources. We have
enough problems with actual sex offenders without
stuffing it full of 'the stupid', punish 'the stupid',
use the sex offenders register to manage the actual
sex offenders. 

We now feel, that considering everything, Mr Townshend
should have been 'less publicly cautioned' and allowed
a second chance. It seems that Roger Daltry's
assertions of a 'witch hunt' may indeed have real
substance, the law definitely needs changing in this
regard. We do not believe that Mr Townshend is either
a pervert or a paedophile, indeed he shows many signs
of being a victim and certainly falls under the
category of the 'misguided with innocent intent'. We
do not think that Mr Townshend should have paid such a
price for 'stupidity' and we now regret that we didn't
stand up for him sooner and offer him our support.
Ends 

Matt


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
http://www.thewho.net/News

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