...if you're going to form a meaningful opinion. you really have to have a look at the site and read a few cases in order to have a real idea of what they're doing here.

the site i'm talking about is www.perverted-justice.com -- called PEEJ for short.

people seem to have passionate feelings about these folks, either positive or negative.

i'm curious: what do you think of this group, what they're doing, how they're doing it, etc.?

basically, PEEJ is a group of adult volunteers who hang out in local chatrooms (all across the USA and in the UK as well i think) and pretend to be underage (15 or younger). when an adult "pervert" contacts them to chat, and when that chat turns into an attempt at that "perv" meeting the "child" for the purpose of having SEX with said "child," the "perv" finds himself and the whole damning, embarrassing log of that chat plastered on the front page of the PeeJ site -- with photo when possible (and it often is) -- for all the world to see.

the goal of this all-volunteer group is to put an end to adult "perverts" preying on children online -- setting up dates to have sex with them, often offering them alcohol and drugs as well.

you can read more about their mission and the particulars on the site, but that's the gist of it.

here are a few quick facts about the group, though:

PEEJ volunteers NEVER contact a perv first; the perv contacts them first.

PEEJ's (female and young-sounding) vols call up the pervs to confirm their dates, intentions, etc.; this is called voice verification, as many guys (and all but one has been male) later try to say that it wasn't them talking online, taking the call, etc.

PEEJ wants to stop *ALL* pervs from trying to molest kids that they ensnare online. there are straight and gay PEEJ volunteers, all with the same goal. there has (to my knowledge) been only one woman "perv" who tried to initiate a date with a "child" (peej volunteer), but PEEJ does not ignore pervs based on their sex or sexual orientation. if you're out to mess with a kid, you're fair game.

PEEJ does *NOT* take chat logs from other people. the volunteers are the ONLY ones whose chat logs appear on the page -- it's just too easy to set someone up; the volunteers are few but dedicated, well-versed in what they do, and are chosen to be chatroom "bait" after proving themselves for a long period of time as a lesser volunteer.

PEEJ is very willing to work with law enforcement, but they will not initiate contact with cops or the media.

PEEJ allows the accused perv the "right of reply" -- that is, the perv is allowed to write out a statement about his actions, and this is posted to the page as well.

so there's the story. i'm curious to know what you folks think of it all. would you ever consider being a PEEJ volunteer yourself? what do you think PEEJ should do with the info they collect, if anything? do you think PEEJ is positive or negative?

Yo Cav: Allow me to play devils advocate. Suppose I go into a chat room and use someone elses name and picture ( say I use for sake of argument Rickamaven ) and do my dirty deed. Then someone tells Rick that he is on PEEJs website. Rick goes to PEEJs website and under his picture it says " Pedophile Pervert ". Don't you think Rick would have one hell of a lawsuit againt the website. Remember, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. JonR

I think this could be good but they should check yhe suspect thouroghly before they try to set him up.

Jon, they said in what Cavallo posted (I haven't gone to the site yet) that the PEEJ volunteers get a phone number for "voice verification" before dropping the hammer on the would-be molesters. This is to eliminate the set-up scenario.

I think some preditors can only be caught by "bait". A minor whose been raped and left in a patch of woods dead, is a poor witness. If the pediphiles go after an online decoy, without entrapment on the part of the decoy, then it is a legitimate sting in my opinion. I think any pediphiles caught in a legitimate sting should be charged with child endangerment, corruption of a minor (even if a minor insn't actually involved, intent HAS been established), and if applicable violation of the Mann Act, and any applicable interstate mail fraud statutes. Enought grains of sand and you'll sink them! Give a judge and jury enough ammo, and they can put them away!

I am a pervert. But aren't most men?

I am NOT a pedophile.

I think if they catch sick f**ks like that and can prove it was them, GREAT! The less twisted jerks we have surfing, the safer our children will be. Nothing compares to talking with your kids first and preparing them for a$$e$ like that.

I believe in retribution type punishment. You rape someone... you should be raped. You kill someone... POW! One shot, no appeals, no tax dollars wasted. And for all the bleeding hearts out there that say "What if they were innocent" I say if so, they're in a better place then aren't they?

And if you want to know how I REALLY feel, there it was.

wow. strong opinions!

i want to say, too, that the people PEEJ gets run the gamut -- college students, professionals, construction workers -- we even nailed a JR. HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHER! 😛

i worked for PEEJ for a few months -- no biggie, a little research, a few faxes sent, etc. the PEEJ founders have an attorney -- they've been threatened with a few lawsuits; all crumbled to nothing -- never even went to trial.

most guys try that "it was someone else" thing for about a minute when they're confronted, and then they finally say "okay. how do i fix this thing?" they're guided through the Right Of Reply process, getting counseling, and so forth.

there IS no entrapment. the "child" in the chatroom NEVER contacts anyone first. the "wannabe perv" (as they're called) ALWAYS initiates, period.

anyway, i got burned out and took a break from PEEJ (most vols end up doing so after 2-3 months); i'm amazed at the women who have stuck with this for YEARS now -- talking to these scumbags on the phone, listening to them um... "handle" things and dirt talk them, etc.; these are some dedicated chicas. i just went back to see what's up today, and one of the cases i worked on -- a nebraska guy claiming to be a doctor -- was recently busted by the local police due to PEEJ's efforts and evidence. you can read about that one here:

http://www.lincolnjournalstar.com/articles/2004/03/04/local/10046208.txt 

one of the saddest cases, personally, was that of a soldier in his early 20's. clean-cut guy, very active in his church and its military outreach program. i ended up calling up his mil. outreach pastor and explaining why this guy's face, name, phone number and chat log was now on the front page of the site.

luckily he had the support of his MO pastor and last i heard was getting counseling both from a psychologist as well as from his church's counseling program.

this guy faced getting booted out of the army -- he may have been; i didn't do the follow-up on this one. it just boggled my mind the risks that some of these guys would take.

oh -- and quite a few of these guys end up being VISUALLY verified, too. the PEEJer who "runs the bust" will give an address near his/her home and then look outside to see if the dude shows up for the "date" he made with who he thought was a child -- MOST of them DO SHOW UP. scary.

anyway, looking forward to more thoughts on the whole thing -- pro OR con. i support PEEJ, but i still have cracks of doubt from time to time about whether this is a "good" thing or not.

Yo CW: Have you not heard of identity theft. Once you steal someones identity you go to Radio Shack and purchase a cheap cell phone and a thirty minute call card using a credit card in his name, so much for phone recognition. Two people get together they could set up that website for a major law suit. Once you post someones picture on your website and call him a pedophile pervert you better damn well be able to prove it. JonR

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