Pete Townshend, Official Sex Offender

[Tanager]

Ah, a sad day in rock...Pete Townshend officially a registered sex offender in the UK.

(FWIW, Townshend is either dishonest or incredibly stupid, IMHO)

Article in the NY Times (free registration required)

Townshend of the Who Placed on Register of Sex Offenders
By WARREN HOGE


ONDON, May 7 — Pete Townshend, the rock guitarist and co-founder of the Who, was given a formal police caution and placed on an official register of sex offenders today for having gained access to a pedophile Web site.

Mr. Townshend, 57, was cleared of the more serious charge of being in possession of indecent pictures downloaded from the Internet, and the police said his name would be removed from the watch list after five years, barring any new incident.

At his arrest in January, Mr. Townshend admitted he had used his credit card to enter a Web site advertising child pornography but claimed he had done so in connection with research for an autobiography that would chronicle his suspected abuse when he was a child.

The musician issued a statement today saying he was wrong to connect to the Web site and acknowledging that he broke the law and deserved the caution. He said the police "unconditionally accepted" the fact that his motive was research to help his "campaign to counter damage done by all kinds of pornography on the Internet."

He added, "There was no other nefarious purpose, and as a result they have decided not to charge me."

Scotland Yard, in a statement, said: "It is not a defense to access these images for research or out of curiosity. The access and payment for child-abuse images is an offense and inciting others to distribute these images leads to young children being seriously sexually assaulted to meet the growing demands of the Internet customer."

Police said Mr. Townshend had "fully cooperated" with the four-month investigation, which also involved examining the files on computers confiscated from his home at the time of his arrest.

Mr. Townshend's name was on a list of 7,200 people in Britain, including police officers, dentists, judges, politicians, lawyers, teachers, civil servants and social workers, whose identities were passed on to British authorities last year by American investigators of a pay-per-view service in the United States that operated from 1997 to 1999. The British police have arrested more than 1,600 suspects as part of the sweep.

Mr. Townshend, who is married and has children, has said that in the course of researching his life he had discovered evidence that he had been sexually abused when he was 6 while in the care of his maternal grandmother, who was mentally ill.

The title character in "Tommy," Mr. Townshend's 1969 rock opera, is a "deaf, dumb and blind" pinball wizard who is sexually abused by an uncle.

Mr. Townshend was one of the Who's founding members in the early 1960's, along with the bassist John Entwhistle, who died last year, the drummer Keith Moon, who died in 1978, and Roger Daltry, the lead singer. Mr. Daltry defended Mr. Townshend when he was arrested, saying he thought Mr. Townshend was the victim of a "witch hunt."

But Jennifer Bernard, from the children's charity NSPCC, said today that the Townshend case should serve as a warning to anyone considering looking at child pornography on the Internet.

"Every child seen on an Internet pornography site is a real child who is likely to have been abused time and again," she said. "People who pay to access these sites are injecting cash into a criminal and manipulative industry that sexually exploits and seriously damages children."

A spokesman for Phoenix Survivors, a group representing child-abuse victims, had harsh words for the police decision.

"We are appalled at the leniency of the punishment Townshend has received," he said. "He gave money to child molesters, which doubtless paid for the next child rape photo session. He still insists that curiosity is a fair excuse for the sexual exploitation of children. If we found the actual victim his money has paid for, would he feel any different?"

[Chris D]

That's a negative spin on a report that basically says Townshend was cleared.

[Tanager]

Hrm...doesn't read like he was cleared, since he was put on an official registry of sex offenders. Insufficient evidence to charge him sounds like a more accurate reading to me.

[Monte Smith]

Everywhere I have read about this, the headline is TOWNSEND CLEARED OF CHARGES; REMAINS ON SEX OFFENDER LIST.

He got off.

So to speak.

[Gentle Giant]

He's cleared. No need to perpetuate this unfortunate story. No one got hurt. He's still a brilliant songwriter and musician.

[moneyp]

Originally posted by Tanager
Hrm...doesn't read like he was cleared, since he was put on an official registry of sex offenders. Insufficient evidence to charge him sounds like a more accurate reading to me.

I think they had sufficient evidence. Porn found on his hard drive is all you need. They didn't charge him because they didn't want to, which says nothing about his reasoning for downloading said porn (which sounds really weak to me).

But hell, he didn't kill anyone.

[Tanager]

Originally posted by Gentle Giant
He's cleared. No need to perpetuate this unfortunate story. No one got hurt. He's still a brilliant songwriter and musician.

I'm just curious - had he been a politician, would you still feel so forgiving?

[Clay Fink]

Originally posted by Tanager
I'm just curious - had he been a politician, would you still feel so forgiving?

Maybe if wasn't a pompous moralistic poser like...

Either way the guy's situation makes me very sad. Eventhough what the goverment does in cases like this borders on policing a persons "wants and desires", someone who's interested in sexual images involving kids is pretty ill in my book. The jump from someone like Pete to someone who preys on children may be pretty far, however. From what I can tell, most pedophiles seem to have a need for control, and an underlying agression, that has little to do with sexuality. Some of these men who have been chemically castrated still have the compulsion to assault children. This points to a deeper underlying brain disfunction.

Of course any images he downloaded relied on the exploitation of real children at some point in time (that raises the question of whether computer generated images or artwork are as objectionable as photographs are). That in and of iself makes him responsible for that exploitation. Given that he really did come away from this with a slap on the wrist.

I haven't been able to listen to any Who music since this started.

[Gentle Giant]

Personally, while I think it was naive of him to actually explore such a site, I do buy his story. Over the years, he has been very outspoken about the evils of child pornography on his website and given support to events and organizations on that issue. He included a sexual abuse scene in Tommy 34 years ago; his prior book, Horse's Neck, with veiled autobiographical content, shows some examination of confused sexual feelings; there's the alleged homosexual content on the Empty Glass content. Townshend is someone who throughout his career has been self-questioning and self-analytical. I never doubted that he had long-standing issues he's been trying to address in his art. With no prior offenses, I see no reason to assume he's a lecherous creep.

That said, I would react differently to a politician viewing child pornography than a musician. A politician is elected by citizens to serve and protect them. There is a trust and an obligation with a politican that does not - and should not - apply to a musician who enters the public arena through his own talent and ambition, and not through the will and/or mandate of the citizenry.

If anything, I think this unfortunate episode serves as an advantageous view into a closer analysis of - and appreciation for - the man's work, particularly his lyrics. Like many generations of artists before him, Townshend has explored his own demons as a means of enlightening his audience about the eternal mysteries of what it is to be human.

[Chris D]

I agree, GG.
Townshend has always had the most unforgiving eye for himself; think of his figurative scab picking on a record like "The Who By Numbers."
The fac t that "Tommy" has resonated with many abuse victims through the years gives a ray of light that its abuse content was indeed fueled by abuse Townshend suffered, as sublimated as it may have been.
There's also the identity issues he explored in "Quadrophenia," which suggest a tumultuous youth from a relationship standpoint.
I believe he's been upfront. His actions may have been misguided, but I think his instincts were honorable.
Maybe I'm a gullible fool.

[Tanager]

Originally posted by Chris D
Maybe I'm a gullible fool.

Could be...or maybe I'm a mean-spirited cynical bastard.

[Gary Sisco]

You guys have heard "Tommy," right?

The kids are alright, babeez...

[Tanager]

Originally posted by Gary Sisco
You guys have heard "Tommy," right?

Yeah, it's been brought up several times in the thread, Gary.

You have read the thread, right?

[jazzy mary]

Can someone explain to me the difference? If he charged his credit card and "looked" at a child porn site (grotesque and isn't that just pro forma against the law? I don't know, is it against the law, regardless, just to "look" at underage porn images anyway?) well then that's bad but what does it mean he "downloaded"? If he took pics off the computer and saved them or whatever the computer word is) into his computer then that's REALLY HORRIBLE! What did he do, exactly w/ the images?

[Gentle Giant]

From what I've read, he "viewed," he did not "download." That may merely be the difference between puffing and inhaling, but given that possession is 9/10 of the law, the authorities found that no images were saved on his computer. The credit card may have bought him access to the site, but he didn't actually purchase and retain possession of images. To me, that's sufficient proof that he was merely curious and not beating off to them. Further, it was Townshend who proactively went to the police to say that he had visited the site for research purposes. Frankly, any legitimate journalist researching this issue would likely have done the same thing Townshend did.

[jazzy mary]

Thank, Gentle Giant. I understand better now. But does anyone have an answer to my question if it's against the law to "look" at child porn?

[patricia]

As far as I know, it's not against the law to "look" at anything that's available on the net, or anywhere else. Producing child porn and distributing it is a criminal offence, and Townsend was not accused of that. Usually the viewing of child-porn is part of a larger investigation, when a pedophile is apprehended and their possession of the material is used as part of evidence of their depravity.

[moneyp]

Originally posted by Clay Fink
Of course any images he downloaded relied on the exploitation of real children at some point in time (that raises the question of whether computer generated images or artwork are as objectionable as photographs are).

Legally at least, they aren't. The Supreme Court ruled that computer-generated images didn't qualify as child pornography.

[Clay Fink]

Are the Olsen twins computer generated?

[Gordon B]

401 days, 14 hours, 48 minutes, and 41 seconds

We have all sat and waited patiently for these two golden wonders to reach the age of eligibility. For some of us...it was Two of a Kind, for others....Full House. No matter how you found them, you're hooked. Well now you can put your calculators and calendars away, Broken Newz has used advanced technology to assure you will not miss the day these two turn 18. Gentlemen, start your engines and get out your best booze. The countdown has begun. The Olsen Twins are waiting for you!

[bluenoter]

Originally posted by Chris D
I believe he's been upfront. His actions may have been misguided, but I think his instincts were honorable.
Maybe I'm a gullible fool.

If so, I'm a gullible fool too.