November 25, 2005

Gays help expose online predators

WASHINGTON (DC)
Washington Blade

By LOU CHIBBARO, JR.
Friday, November 25, 2005

Gays involved with a group that conducts controversial online sting operations against adult men who solicit sex from underage teenagers of both sexes are calling on the gay community to take a more visible stand against the sexual exploitation of children and teens.

Perverted Justice, the group some have criticized as vigilante, participated in a Nov. 4 nationwide broadcast of the weekly program “Dateline NBC,” which used hidden cameras to show men arriving at a house in Fairfax County, Va., for that they believed were meetings with underage teens of both sexes for sexual encounters.

Instead, much to their shock and horror, they were greeted by “Dateline NBC” reporter Chris Hansen, who informed them that the “teens” between the ages of 12 and 15 with whom they thought they were about to have a sexual tryst were actually adults members of a group called Perverted Justice. ...

Among those ensnared the Fairfax sting was 55-year-old Rabbi David Kaye, who worked for a national youth group in Rockville, Md. Kaye, believing he was exchanging messages with a 13-year-old male, sent the “teen” a nude photo of himself, Hansen reported.

He also offered to perform oral sex on the youth. The adult who impersonated the teen accepted Kaye’s offer, according to transcripts of instant messages between Kaye and the fictitious minor.

The “teen” then invited Kaye to his house, saying his mother was deceased and his father was away on a trip. When Kaye arrived, he was greeted by Hansen, who began pressing him with questions about why he came to the house to have sex with a 13-year-old.

Several hidden television cameras recorded the encounter between Kaye and Hansen. “Dateline NBC” reported that even before the episode aired, Kaye resigned from his job at the Institute for Jewish Leaders & Values. He also reported finding online a photo of Kaye with two other rabbis later convicted of sexual misconduct.

Posted by kshaw at November 25, 2005 08:12 AM