Counter-Strike Clan Manager Arrested for Soliciting Nude Pictures of Minors

[fitbabits]

Thanks to Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net) for the disturbing news (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=63171).

A 52 year old Canadian man has been arrested by police following allegations that he exploited his role as a Counter-Strike clan manager to solicit nude pictures of minors.

According to GotFrag.com, George "Spike" Finley of London, Ontario allegedly recruited boys aged between 10 and 13 to his clan, the Green Berets, telling them to lie about their ages to other gamers and the clan's leader, James O'Connor.

Finley is accused of asking the boys for nude pictures of themselves via the Ventrilo voice chat program. The boys allege that they were offered computer hardware, cash and clan leadership roles in return, and claim that on refusing Finley's requests, they were dropped from the clan.

"Those children would come to me with crazy accusations such as ‘Spike offered me $5000 for naked pictures,'" O’Connor told GamerTag.

“We knew George was poor, so this seemed far fetched. George went on to tell us that this person was just making up the meanest things possible to get back at him for being removed from the team. This whole thing about George possibly being a paedophile who likes children of the same sex seemed almost inconceivable. I didn't believe it at first.”

The boys began to record their conversations with Finley, and passed the recordings on to O'Connor. Finley was then dropped from the clan and reported to police.
This makes me sick to my stomach.

[GodFather]

The article also said "George, who's real last name will not be revealed also stated Duke Nukem Forever's release date will be when its done!"

[bean19]

Yick.

All the clans I've been a part of since reaching adulthood had a no minors policy. Not because we feared anything like this, but because we simply didn't want any parents to become angry when we exposed them to really rough swearing.

It just doesn't seem right to be cursing about missing a flag capture or geting headshotted when there are children "in the room".

As far as this story goes, well it's just one more pervert. At least the report doesn't indicate that the children gave the nude pictures or met the jerk in real life. This could have been a far worse story. My mother worked for Child Protective Services for years and I've heard far scarier and grotesque stuff than this.

[JediSanf]

Pointless legislation to be filed in 5, 4, 3....

[Heretic Machine]

Headshot!!! No scope!

Welcome to Ice World!

/insidejoke

[Blade]

All of my most recent clans have had a no-minors policy because frankly most of them are annoying pricks.

That, and we don't have a CounterStrike clan in my circles so the young'uns are fairly rare anyway. :)

[slink-jadranko]

I was baffled enough when playing BF2 the other night to discover our team commander sounded about 12. I mean, he was doing the job better than most adults I've seen playing the game, so it was nothing to complain about, but I did briefly wonder about how I accidentally hit the wrong comm channel while swearing profusely at times.

I guess the thing here is, he was making them lie about their age, so it was only him that could have caught them out in the first place.
If this brings about legislation it would be ridiculous. I mean, what could you bring in that would stop this happening? People lie about their age all the time and without ID there's no way to catch it.
Still, apparently wise youngsters, always refreshing to see. Kind of gives you hope for the next generation, occasionally. Maybe they'll do more in life than we ever did...

[RandomViolence]

Fucking disgusting...

[JediSanf]

If this brings about legislation it would be ridiculous. I mean, what could you bring in that would stop this happening? People lie about their age all the time and without ID there's no way to catch it.


That's why I called it pointless.

[AntB]

Rfid Tag Everyone.


Will Someone Please Think Of The Children!?

[51|RandoM]

Where there is a will, there is a way.

[The Continental]

You'd think they'd have known something was up when the map vote came up after each round and wedged in between "de_dust" and "de_aztec" was the option "submit nude photos of self".

[StoneGut]

Pointless legislation to be filed in 5, 4, 3....

Not in Canada... we're not crazy like that.

A pretty sick and disturbing story never the less.

[screwtape]

We should line up repeat child sex offenders and shoot them in the fucking head. And I'm not talking about Counter-Strike.

Put me in, Coach. Give me a gun and a smock. I've already got my righteous indignation.

[Parsifal]

Isn't it illegal to publish the guys name until he's been convicted? Maybe not on the wild internet frontier, heh...

Creepy story, but thankfully it sounded like luring young boys through Counter-Strike didn't work too well.

[Zulu107]

This is the reason I supervise my kids on the PC PERIOD! They have some real sick people on the internet, especially in games.

[fitbabits]

This is the reason I supervise my kids on the PC PERIOD! They have some real sick people on the internet, especially in games.
Especially in games? Yowza, that's a gross generalization, not to mention a misrepresentation of the facts. How many of these stories have you heard in relation to games? Now think about how many of these stories that are reported in relation to MySpace, AIM, etc.

[IagoTheHunted]

*shrug* this is still 1 in a million. Of course creepy child molesters are going to be attracted to any forum where kids hang out. I mean... duh... how could that not happen right? They have to go somewhere.

Good news is, he got caught. easily. So yay!

[Dr Quincy]

As I mentioned in the EuroGamer comments for this article, this is only going to get worse when Microsoft introduce webcam chat to the 360.

[IagoTheHunted]

As I mentioned in the EuroGamer comments for this article, this is only going to get worse when Microsoft introduce webcam chat to the 360.

Sounds like a great way to find all the perverts without actually putting anyone at risk for abuse. Not that I actively endorse useing naked little kids as bait, but, why not. Round 'em all up. There should be a little "i'm talking to a child molester" button on the interface for the webcam.

[TrackZero]

Not in Canada... we're not crazy like that.

A pretty sick and disturbing story never the less.

Yeah. If it's anything like our normal legal process for this kind of crap, he'll be back in a neighbourhood full of kids in about 5 years (anonymously at that). *shudder*

[phantomhitman]

I am almost positive you have to register as a sex offender. There are reports ont he news all the time saying to log into the website and check out the area for offenders. All you do is type in your city, state, or area code and you get a list with a picture of the fuckers that do this.

[Serapth]

There is something strange about this story... London, Ontario is my home town, so TV and paper wise, this would be major local news. Either this is really old news or it happened this morning ( or it would have made todays paper, which it didnt ). If you google for "george finley" site:canoe.ca (canoe is the London Free presses parent company ) you will find one article from June of last year.

Also, London is like two hours away from Toronto so this news would have been posted to either The Star ( http://www.thestar.ca ) or the Globe And Mail ( http://www.globeandmail.com ). Its posted to neither. Child Molestation is consider evil here to the point I gaurantee this would be close to front page news... and hell, we dont have that much crime to start with... single car car accidents can make front page news... Yet, its posted nowhere.

So, it looks like this is either really old news, or somehow a European gaming site got the scoop faster then the local media. All in all, something kinda fishy here.

That said, their are a bunch of sick fucks in the world :(

[TrackZero]

I am almost positive you have to register as a sex offender. There are reports ont he news all the time saying to log into the website and check out the area for offenders. All you do is type in your city, state, or area code and you get a list with a picture of the fuckers that do this.

Yeah, maybe you didn't notice how we're discussing Canada here. It's not like the states.

[JediSanf]

I am almost positive you have to register as a sex offender. There are reports ont he news all the time saying to log into the website and check out the area for offenders. All you do is type in your city, state, or area code and you get a list with a picture of the fuckers that do this.

It's not just online. When an offender moves into an area down here every home in a two mile radius is notified with a picture and a list of convictions.

[bean19]

We should line up repeat child sex offenders and shoot them in the fucking head. And I'm not talking about Counter-Strike.

Put me in, Coach. Give me a gun and a smock. I've already got my righteous indignation.

The courts have to try to be objective about this stuff.

I'm not minimizing the effects of molestation or even attempted molestation, but studies show that recidivism for child molesters who are caught AND treated are much lower than every other type of violent criminal.

Repeat sex offenders should totally be sent to jail for a very long time, and then should have to register with law enforcement, but the same should be true of every other type of repeat offender. I'd like to know if the person living next to me was a crack dealer or beat his wife too. These two types of offenders are MUCH more likely to repeat their offense than a child molester.

However, because we find the targetting of defenseless children so repgunant, the U.S. punishes these offenders above and beyond other types of criminals by requiring them to register as sex offenders.

I'm all for this if it is a repeat offense, but I've heard all kinds of bad stories about people who are not true paedophiles having to register as sex offenders. The 18 year old with a 12-year old girlfriend should be made to pay for his sick behavior, but I don't think that this offender should be required to be placed on the same list as a 40 y/o man who has molested his two sons for over ten years.

A lot of us have done something terrible in our past and have learned from it and become better people. In High School and early college, I smoked pot and went to raves where I used the drug ecstacy over and over. If I had been caught for everything illegal I've ever done. . . even at my fairly young age, I'd be in jail forever.

This is true for most people, and I've found it to be most especially true for people who are the most obnoxious in their desire to punish others for their crimes.

Then again, I'm a bleeding heart liberal who still believes that most people change and become better as they learn and grow. The studies about criminal recidivism indicate that people who are properly corrected, like sex offenders, have among the lowest recidivism rates among all violent offenders. . . so I'm also a correct bleeding-heart liberal.

[phantomhitman]

Yeah, maybe you didn't notice how we're discussing Canada here. It's not like the states.

sorry all knowing one

[Nath5000]

I am almost positive you have to register as a sex offender. There are reports ont he news all the time saying to log into the website and check out the area for offenders. All you do is type in your city, state, or area code and you get a list with a picture of the fuckers that do this.

I did some research into this when I was taking a law class in my last year of high school. I'm not sure if it works the same way in canada. This guy will definetly be prosecuted but Ive never heard of canada having a sex offender database and labeling people sex offenders on neighbourhood streets similar to how its done in the united states. Maybe im wrong but living in a border region between canada and the united states I see US news stories on tv about "registered sex offenders" all the time whereas in canada it seems as if these types of crimes are treated as any other crime would be treated. I'm not sure if canada would have a database like this because we dont even allow tv cameras in any court rooms right?

http://www.ageofconsent.com/canada.htm

This may come as a shock to many americans I think. Child pornography is illegal in Canada to distribute pictures of a child under the age 18. However I believe the "age of consent" is 14, meaning that anyone even a 50 year old can have "consensual" sex with someone 14 years old or more unless they are in a role model or guardian or authoritative position over that person, BUT the age of consent for anal(grossness) is 18 unless the two people are married. In this case the guy was 1) An authority figure who in a sense was forcing the children to do this sort of thing with his power as a "clan leader". 2) Asked for pictures. According to http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/landslide/laws.html canada has some of the "harshest" child pornography laws in the world and anyone just in posession of sexual pictures of children can get five years in prison per picture(I think). It is also illegal in canada to use the internet to lure children into this sort of thing, so this guy is going to get canned for sure.

I find this stuff really screwy. Why the hell can someone who is 50 have consensual sex with someone who is 14 and get away with it? These child porn laws then punish people for using the internet and exploiting children under the age of 18 which makes more sense. I just cant believe the age of consent if 14 regarding that law when the child porn law is 18.
Plus according to those links especially the first one, there seems to be no registered sex offender database in canada or at least doesnt seem to mention it.

Either way, this is one case in a million but I think that when a parent lets their child not only play a mature rated game, but lets them play online with adults and frankly any type of person out there, they are exposing their children to the possibility of this sort of thing happening.

[Serapth]

I tend to agree with what Bean19 said. The classification of pedofile/child pornographer is WAAAAYYYY to broad. Everybody associates it with the sexual deviant bastards taking pictures of or abusing small kids. Problem is, the way the laws are structured a 18 year old taking pictures of his 18 year old girlfriend is legal, but the same guy taking pictures of his 17 year old girlfriend is guilty under the same law as a sexual predator taking pictures of 8 year olds.

That kinda stuff needs to be clarified bigtime. Normally you would sit back and *assume* the courts would judge properly, but in the end, these days, how much faith do you have in the court system? Plus, with our media obsessed world, being accussed in the same thing as being guilty... even if your innocent.

[*Legion*]

The boys began to record their conversations with Finley, and passed the recordings on to O'Connor. Finley was then dropped from the clan and reported to police.

It should not be overlooked that the kids did a great job of protecting themselves here. Although one would hope that they could turn to parents first and foremost, the sad fact is that they could just end up with a panicky parent that yanks the Internet connection and bans games from the house, and doesn't deal with the problem itself. The kids did a good job in gathering PROOF in the form of a recording, and then gave them to someone who could act on them.

[jwbxx]

In cali if you are a registered sex offender you have to go door to door with a cop to any house in your vicinity and tell them you are a sex offender.

Hi my name is (Insert loser pedophile's name here) I tried to have sex with a 8 year old, nice to meet you.

[GrinR]

http://www.brules.org/images/funny/pedoalert.gif

zomg this never happens

[screwtape]

*snip*
For the most part, I agree with what you said. I was simply too lazy to expound on my post and the reasons behind my knee-jerk reaction and rage. I would prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt and give them the opportunity to change, but for the ones that can't ...

[Dirty Harry]

The article also said "George, who's real last name will not be revealed also stated Duke Nukem Forever's release date will be when its done!"
Shut the fuck up...........

[Grimmjow]

wow wtf where have things gone

[fitbabits]

Shut the fuck up...........
Heh! In swoops DirtyHarry to layeth the smacketh down. :)

[Dirty Harry]

Heh! In swoops DirtyHarry to layeth the smacketh down. :)
Hahha, ill give georgie a shout and tell him some noob on the internets is calling him a pedo. We all know that george really gets hot for everquest themed porn\technology.

[Viking+]

Hey kids, Congratulations on standing up for yourself and realizing what bad situation you were in. Not many people would give 10 - 13 years olds credibility over an adult. AND you used the technology this guy was exploiting to bust him.

Once again.... great job!

[easi]

Why is a thread about childraping rated 5 stars.

[Dr Quincy]

Why is a thread about childraping rated 5 stars.

Welcome to the internet.

[captainspankypants]

I think the real problem with child molestation crimes is that they are treated as a normal crime and not a mental illness. Someone who lusts after ten-year-old boys and girls has a psychological problem that should be treated like the disease that it is, not like someone who got caught stealing their neighbor's car. If you take someone with severely crippled social skills and put them in prison for a while, you're not fixing the problem. If you put them with the regular prison population, they will be raped, beaten, and abused in every way imaginable, which would turn ANYONE into a social deviant. If you isolate them with other sex offenders, you're only going to reinforce their behavior because everyone else they are around is hardly a role model.

These people should be put in a mental institution, not a prison, unless it's for life and there's no pretense of trying to rehabilitate them. The whole idea of a five- or ten-year jail sentence for this kind of thing is just ridiculous.

[fitbabits]

Why is a thread about childraping rated 5 stars.
Firstly, there was no 'child raping'. Secondly, it's rated five stars because it's an awareness issue. Nobody is praising the alleged perpetrator. Rather, they are praising the actions of the kids involved - one could say their actions warranted five stars.

[Liquidize105]

No way, I was just there. It's one of those quiet little towns that not much happens, besides having Canada's top university there.

David Lynch moment?

[Serapth]

No way, I was just there. It's one of those quiet little towns that not much happens, besides having Canada's top university there.

David Lynch moment?


Hey now... we arent that small! :) We are bigger then St Louis I think... not huge, but 350K is nothing to sneeze as. You LA people think every one else is tiny! :)

Second, UWO, is maybe our 14th best school, although the UWO people wouldnt say much.

[Liquidize105]

I think the real problem with child molestation crimes is that they are treated as a normal crime and not a mental illness. Someone who lusts after ten-year-old boys and girls has a psychological problem that should be treated like the disease that it is, not like someone who got caught stealing their neighbor's car. If you take someone with severely crippled social skills and put them in prison for a while, you're not fixing the problem. If you put them with the regular prison population, they will be raped, beaten, and abused in every way imaginable, which would turn ANYONE into a social deviant. If you isolate them with other sex offenders, you're only going to reinforce their behavior because everyone else they are around is hardly a role model.

These people should be put in a mental institution, not a prison, unless it's for life and there's no pretense of trying to rehabilitate them. The whole idea of a five- or ten-year jail sentence for this kind of thing is just ridiculous.
That's bull. So the gays and lesbians are all mentals? 50 years ago they were conveniently thought of as the same.

Besides, wasn't the 70s movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest made precisely because many of the so-called "crazy folks" aren't actually crazy, but that they're burden on a society that demands conformate behavior and that they're outcasted for our convenience?

I can't explain why some people find small children stimulating while it's about as exciting as staring at a fire hydrant for me, but it's definitely a whole other shabang, most likely an emotional problem that this society will have to deal with.

[Crono]

Fucking disgusting...

Says it best.

[TrackZero]

Why is a thread about childraping rated 5 stars.

Probably because no children were actually raped, then the kids outsmarted the fucker and caught him red-handed, and I'm a relevant gaming related story and an interesting discussion. Duh.

[TrackZero]

No way, I was just there. It's one of those quiet little towns that not much happens, besides having Canada's top university there.

David Lynch moment?

Top university? No, that'd be U of Waterloo (and no, I didn't go there, but I wish I had).

[captainspankypants]

That's bull. So the gays and lesbians are all mentals? 50 years ago they were conveniently thought of as the same.

Besides, wasn't the 70s movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest made precisely because many of the so-called "crazy folks" aren't actually crazy, but that they're burden on a society that demands conformate behavior and that they're outcasted for our convenience?

I can't explain why some people find small children stimulating while it's about as exciting as staring at a fire hydrant for me, but it's definitely a whole other shabang, most likely an emotional problem that this society will have to deal with.

This is quite possibly the single most offensive thing I've ever read. Congratulations.

Not only are you defending the actions of child molesters and pedophiles, saying that their behavior is simply an alternate lifestyle choice, but then you compare them favorably to homosexuals.

People who prey on children for sexual gratification are NOT NORMAL, you twisted fucking duchebag. A child is not mature emotionally, mentally, or physically, so using them as objects for sexual purposes can only be considered abuse of the worst kind. In order for your statement to have any merit at all, a child would have to have some sort of control over its sex life (normal sex is mutual, you know?), and its simply not developed enough to do that.

Child molesters, like those who practice bestiality, let loose their sexual urges on something that cannot reciprocate in any meaningful way, and in the case of pedophiles they are irreparably damaging a child's development at the same time.

Gayness actually is simply a matter of preference, because it is between two consenting adults. If people are into licking each other's feet, tying each other up and tickling each other, or putting vegetables in their ass, it doesn't mean shit, because they are doing it as two consenting adults.

Sorry to go ballistic, but I'm not going to sit here and let you defend a bunch of perverts and say they're the same thing as homosexuals. Over the years people have thought that blacks were a different species, epileptics were possessed by demons, and women's uteruses caused irrational behavior, but I'm not talking about banning kiddie sex because Jesus says it ain't right, I'm talking about dealing with mental illness in a way that the field of psychology says is effective.

[Nath5000]

I knew a girl who was like 15 and dating a guy in his 40s. How f-ed up is that. But in all reality an 18 year old dating a 50 year old is just as f-ed up in my opinion. I thought it was illegal but in our province(ontario) the age of consent is 14, so this girl I know and her "boyfriend" were legal, however if he took, posessed or distributed photographs of her it wouldve been illegal. How screwed up is that????

[bean19]

This is quite possibly the single most offensive thing I've ever read. Congratulations.

Not only are you defending the actions of child molesters and pedophiles, saying that their behavior is simply an alternate lifestyle choice, but then you compare them favorably to homosexuals.

I don't think this was his intention, but yeah, it was a horrible example.

His point was that sexuality isn't a mental illness even when it is found to be disgusting by some of the population (homosexuality) or most of the population (pedophilia).

However, the reason that pedophilia is illegal is that the THOUGHT is not illegal, only the action is illegal. I'm studying psychology right now and it is NORMAL for adults to find teenagers attractive, but it is abnormal to act upon it. There are a lot of pedophiles who never, ever do anything to hurt a child because they realize that it is sick, illegal, and would hurt the child in question.

The thought isn't illegal, and people having the thoughts should get treatment to help them try to change their attractions (extremely difficult - they'll never change their attraction to children, but can minimize it's effect - for example, if you really tried not to be attracted to beautiful women, you would probably fail, but you could and probably have learned not to take it anywhere by not undressing them with your eyes or fantasizing about them, etc.) and to reinforce their behavior of not hurting them (comparitively easy - Most people can change their behavior through psychological methods. . . the whole learning bit with Pavlov's dogs, etc. Basically, this means avoiding places where children go and giving negative feedback in response to sexual attraction to children like snapping a rubberband on your arm, and giving positive feedback to adult relationships by pursuing them).

Anyway, I'm not a psychologist. . . just taking a few courses in it, but I discussed this with my professor today.

[IagoTheHunted]

However, the reason that pedophilia is illegal is that the THOUGHT is not illegal, only the action is illegal. I'm studying psychology right now and it is NORMAL for adults to find teenagers attractive, but it is abnormal to act upon it. There are a lot of pedophiles who never, ever do anything to hurt a child because they realize that it is sick, illegal, and would hurt the child in question.

Anyway, I'm not a psychologist. . . just taking a few courses in it, but I discussed this with my professor today.

Yeah I'd have to agree here. I don't think there's any point demonizing people for something they can't help (if their brains are wired to think of children in a sexual way cause they were abused when they were young or whatever other reasons) VS holding people accountable for their actions.
Like I remember when I was younger a girl I dated had found out her father was a pedophile and her monther divorced him and they both agreed he was a horrible demon and they both hated him. What I didn't get was that he never DID anything, he was just wired that way. I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for the guy.

Sooooooo...
pedophiles who act on it = dangerous, need to be locked up.
pedophiles who don't = people.

[bean19]

Btw, finding teenagers attractive. . . older teenagers like 15+ is normal for all adult males and females. Perfectly normal adults with healthy attractions to their age peer group will still find older teenagers attractive. Pedophiles are different. They will find older teenagers or even younger kids MORE attractive than their age peer group.

This really doesn't have much to do with the discussion, but when I reread myself in your quote, I think this sounded unclear.

The point was that even normal healthy adults have an attraction to a group that is illegal and immoral to have sex with, but that we do not act on that attraction. The same thing can be said for most pedophiles. . . most of them do not act on their attraction to children the same way that normal adults do not act on their attraction to older teenagers.

That's really why recidivism after treatment is so low among child molesters. After they are given counseling that shows them clearly the effects of child abuse and provides them with tools to change their behavior, most of them will not commit the crimes again because they know that the crimes are wrong and repugnant. That is a far better deterant than simply not wanting to go to jail again. . . though that is helpful too.

[HALO 32]

what a sick bastard