Tuesday, July 10, 2007

We Called Him Peanut

He was a good guy.

His oldest son is Cody's age, so I've known him for a long time. The boys are in band together. They played ball together, and they were in Cub Scouts together. Peanut's wife was the den leader, and later cubmaster. I've been to their house many times.

It seemed so odd to me that someone as laid back and mellow as Peanut would marry a hyperactive, type AAA woman like he did. They seemed to have a good relationship, though. He pretty much let her spaz, while he quietly did what needed to be done. He was very much involved in his two sons' lives.

On Cub Scout camp outs, Peanut and I were usually the first ones awake in the morning. He would make the coffee while I stirred up the campfire. And let me tell you, he could fry some fish! I don't know what his secret was, but it was some good fish. Peanut was real good with the kids--very patient and easygoing. He was a very likable guy, every body's buddy.

That's why I was stunned, stunned, to find out Peanut wasn't such a good guy after all:

Internet sting nabs Grenada suspect

By KARIS POPE, Staff Writer

A Grenada man was arrested last week in Oxford, where he had travelled to meet what he thought would be a 14-year-old girl, authorities said.

Investigators with the Oxford Police Department arrested a man they identified as [Name with held to protect his children] , 45, of Grenada after he allegedly drove to Oxford to meet the underage girl.

Investigator Paul Garner said, officers chatted with ****online before asking him to come of Oxford.

Upon arrival at the planned meeting place, **** was arrested at 12:45 p.m. Thursday.

****is the ninth in a line of suspected child predators caught through an ongoing investigation by the department since June of last year.

****is being held on a $50,000 bond for the charges that carry a minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

The stings are necessary to keep children from meeting online with real and very dangerous predators, according to Garner.

"If it is not me that they're meeting online, it would be an actual child," said Garner. "We are trying to prevent that."

7 comments:

Perpetual Beginner said...

Unfortunately the most successful child predators are past masters of being charming, relaxed people. Exactly the sort of people you would trust with your kids without a second thought. That's why they're so successful at it.

Don't ask me how I know.

Bag Blog said...

My senior year in high school I found out that my best friend's father had been molesting her and her sister. This was a man I had known for years. He was a young boys boxing coach at the Boys Club and helped with other acivities with children. You are right - it is a big shocker.

Buck said...

I agree with Perpetual Beginner, and the thought that pedophiles are seriously good at projecting trustworthiness is pretty scary. This fact also tends to make parents paranoid, and this, too, is not a good thing.

A couple of weeks ago an old friend sent me an e-mail with an article from the local paper about a former co-worker who had been busted for child porn. Same story: extreme shock, because he was, well..."such a good guy."

frotoe said...

what a CREEP!! that is so disturbing.

Becky G said...

I am still in denial, I think. I don't really want to believe it, because he seemed so nice. Cody said it's scary, because we knew him.

Bag Blog said...

It is scary, but it may be a good lesson for Cody. If ever you get an "odd feeling" about someone, it is better to be leary and on guard than not.

Becky G said...

Yeah, but Cody never had an odd feeling about this guy. No one did. That's why this is such a shocker. I have tried to use this incident to stress to him that if anyone, and I mean anyone does something to him that feels strange or not right, he should come tell me immediately.