Does it seem to anyone that pedophile incidents are getting even more common than in the past?

Even adjusting for under-reporting in the past, it seems like there's an increase in the actual number of these offenders out there.

Worried for my kids safety!!

I received the above email yesterday from both Catholic schools that my children attend. Does anyone have any details about these fake kidnappings?

from a list-serv...

Dear Parents,

At the direction of the Catholic schools office, we are forwarding this
important information. The Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of
Washington has become aware of a disturbing scam being conducted via
telephone recently. An unidentified individual has called parents, claimed
to have kidnapped a child of theirs, and demanded ransom. In both cases we
are aware of – one involving a parent at an archdiocesan school, and the
other a parent at a local private school – the claims have been false, with
the children safe and accounted for. In one of the cases, the caller
purported to put the kidnapped child on the phone and have her ask for
help. If you receive a call like this, please call the police immediately.

As with all matters involving children, we strive to always be diligent to
keep our schools safe and secure. As a follow-up to the incident today
involving one of our archdiocesan schools, the Office of Child and Youth
Protection responded immediately to support the parent and school
leadership in completing a police report on the occurrence.

As always, the safety of your children remains our highest priority.

Sincerely,

Cheri L. Wood

at the direction of:

*Kelly A. Branaman*
*Associate Superintendent*
Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Schools
Post Office Box 29260
Washington, D.C. 20017-0260

Phone 301.853.4553 | Fax 877.418.9135 | Email branamank@adw.org
<branamank@adw.org>

This WaPo commenter hit the nail on the head:


NoMaNats
5/2/2016 7:19 PM EDT
This reeks of parental over protectiveness.

Lots of studies on people seeing their worst nightmares in otherwise innocuous events. Lots of anecdotal cop stories about hyperventilating helicopters. Not the slightest bit unusual that these reports are all coming out of wealthy, whiter parts of town, while the research, statistics and individual incidents like Relisha Rudd demonstrate that poor minority children are far more likely to be abducted. Just for kicks, throw in the fact that fundamentally all abductions are committed by family members/people that know the child.

Get over the stranger danger, NW/MoCo. Noone is trying to snag your special snowflake. Unless your spouse, cousin, uncle or neighbor is.

I was at a park once where an older person was taking pictures, and it made my radar beep like crazy. It turned out to be a grandparent.

I'm a PP who said these abduction attempts are real BTW. We should be very careful -- but not crazy.

Anonymous wrote:For those of you not worried about the photos. Maybe they are taking them to help them remember the kid they want to snatch.

Or maybe they are taking them to submit to a photography contest. Or maybe they are an amateur photographer. Or maybe they are a journalist. Or maybe they are working for the NSA. Or maybe they are a scout for a movie agency. Or maybe they are a space alien from Planet X. Or maybe...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here... just saw this on the Chevy Chase neighborhood list-serv: sad the conversation devolved so quickly: hopefully folks are right and this is all somehow fabricated, but until then, I'm taking the reports seriously and keeping an extra eye out...

From: 'Gresham, Melvin (MPD)' melvin.gresham@dc.gov

Good morning,

The Second District was recently alerted to several incidents in which
unidentified male subjects were observed watching children.

While we have not had any reported abductions or attempted abductions, we
wanted to provide our community with a synopsis of each incident and a
description of each subject. We have documented each incident and ask that
you immediately report any suspicious person(s) or activity in the
community so that the person(s) are identified.

We have increased our visibility in the areas around schools and
playgrounds and ask that the community continue the great job of being
vigilant.

Melvin Gresham
Commander
Second District


Suspicious Person: 4-26-2016 / 7:30PM at 4404 Yuma St. NW. Older Male,
Grey hair, Medium Complexion. Driving a blue small SUV. (Subject drove
slowly towards a child) CCN# 16-065741

Suspicious Person: 4-29-2016 / 10:12 AM at 4121 Nebraska Ave. NW. Male
possibly Hispanic or Middle Eastern, Late 20s to early 30s, 6’0 tall,
athletic build. Driving a Maroon Nissan Sentra (Subject seen taking
pictures of children on the playground) CCN# 16-067198

Lieutenant Walter J. Fleming
Metropolitan Police Department
Patrol Services Bureau
Second District
3320 Idaho Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC. 20016
202-715-7300 Station
202-375-9584 Cell
walter.fleming@dc.gov

Absent any additional information, this seems like pure paranoia to me. One man driving a car slowly near a child, another man taking pictures of children on the playground. I mean, really.

You don't think it's weird that someone would take pix of kids on a school playground?

Agree with this PP- I was at a public park with a splash water with my kids (then ages 6 and 4) who were running through- really no one there (in this area - way further down there were a few more kids in a different zone). Some older man was there and was taking pictures. I went up and asked him to stop taking pictures (most people usually ask before taking pictures of your kids). The man grumbled and said he could do whatever and then KEPT taking pictures- roamed around the area away from me but was still taking pictures of my kids. I wish DH had the "this is a most likely pedophile" alert as I did since he didn't react. I ended up grabbing both kids and got out of there. SICK people out there!

Always be ready to take pictures of HIM.
That'll make him go away REAL fast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of these stories are true. No one posting here has first hand knowledge of any attempted abduction. At most, you read about one on a DCUM thread and now think it happened.

You are the only one who doesn't know what you're talking about. Just because you didn't hear about it doesn't mean it didn't happen. The smithsonian was widely reported. There was one in the news yesterday in Arlington too.

Yes, I understand all of this nonsense is being reported on list serves and the Smithsonian story was on the news. Ever wonder why none of these stories are actual kidnappings? It's always "someone tried to lure me into a car." We keep hearing the same story over and over again. If this were happening this often, don't you think at least one time, the kidnapper would have forcibly taken a kid? Keep believing this nonsense.

There's video of the Smithsonian. You are either 1. Not a parent 2. Extremely naive or 3. A child predator

NP. I vote for #3.

For those of you not worried about the photos. Maybe they are taking them to help them remember the kid they want to snatch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None of these stories are true. No one posting here has first hand knowledge of any attempted abduction. At most, you read about one on a DCUM thread and now think it happened.

You are the only one who doesn't know what you're talking about. Just because you didn't hear about it doesn't mean it didn't happen. The smithsonian was widely reported. There was one in the news yesterday in Arlington too.

Yes, I understand all of this nonsense is being reported on list serves and the Smithsonian story was on the news. Ever wonder why none of these stories are actual kidnappings? It's always "someone tried to lure me into a car." We keep hearing the same story over and over again. If this were happening this often, don't you think at least one time, the kidnapper would have forcibly taken a kid? Keep believing this nonsense.

Um, better safe than sorry. Why do you think kids are making this shit up? Someone tried to lure me as a kid into a car so I totally believe it. Do I know they were going to kidnap me? No. Maybe they were just a weirdo. But in this day and age it isn't normal. And let's not forget some of these have been witnessed and caught on video. You're a very weird, naive, or possibly predatory person.

That's the second time you've called me a predator. Why don't you call the police.

Post your name. Once Jeff confirms a match I volunteer to call the police.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:death penalty for pedos

First castrate with a rusty, dull knife.

And then let them grab their ankles for the 5 years of appeals. And then zap 'em.

And yes, random dudes photographing kids is freaky. You really want one of those old shriveled up dudes jerking off to a photo of your daughter on the swing?

I have enough actual things to worry about. I don't have time or energy to worry about the possibility of people I don't know doing things I don't know about.

I'm the PP about the pedophile at the public park- I feel for your children with a parent who doesn't have that shield. I do know pedophiles frequent this forum- perhaps that's who you are and that's why you defend taking pictures of children all wet in bathing suits or whatever- nope, not an issue). if not, I feel for your kids (if you are a parent).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:death penalty for pedos

First castrate with a rusty, dull knife.

And then let them grab their ankles for the 5 years of appeals. And then zap 'em.

And yes, random dudes photographing kids is freaky. You really want one of those old shriveled up dudes jerking off to a photo of your daughter on the swing?

I have enough actual things to worry about. I don't have time or energy to worry about the possibility of people I don't know doing things I don't know about.