Child Molestor Clown Wins Right to Perform...

[caribmon]

It's play & pay for molester clown

By ROBERT GEARTY and OWEN MORITZ
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Not only can a convicted child molester perform his clown act in a Westchester amusement park, the county owes him $2,500 for trying to keep him out, a federal judge ruled yesterday.

Richard Hobbs, 50, of Yonkers, can do his number in certain parts of the Rye Playland amusement park, Federal Judge John Martin ruled.

And the judge made Hobbs, who was convicted in 1978 and 1982 of sexually abusing children, out to be a victim, saying the county had violated his First Amendment rights.

Hobbs, who described himself as a street performer who uses balloons and solicits donations, told the court he earned up to $10,000 performing in Ocean City, Md., and $800 in Key West, Fla.

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/109074p-98460c.html

[gully]

1. OMG!

@!$$# Gimme a break!

[Heddi]

2. o.my.god

Okay.....

This guy wants to work around children.

this guy has a history of being a convicted pedophile.

this guy is not allowed to work in an area that would pretty much give him unfettered access to children on a daily basis.

this guy sues because he's being unfairly treated.

the judge says 'yes you are' and allows this convicted pedophile to work in an area that would pretty much give him unfettered access to children on a daily basis, AND he gets a monetary reward as well.

Am I missing something?

Is this not the most fucked up thing????

With his record, he wouldn't be able to be a teacher (and with good reason), yet he's allowed to be around children in a similar capacity but different setting?

I really really hope that parents are aware of this, and who this guy is. This is really horrible.

[Pert_UK]

3. Well.......if you follow the arguments on my story about racial abuse....

Everyone who stated that a man has the right to use threatening and racist language to intimidate someone because of their race, must also agree that this paedo-clown has an equal right to free speech and should be allowed to do his act in crowded playgrounds if he wants to.

It's all about freedom of speech isn't it?

Personally, I think they should only allow him to do his act if and only if he performs next to a massive sign that reads "CONVICTED CHILD MOLESTER". Let's see how much money he makes and how long he lasts....

P.

[salin]

6. I must have missed the story to which you refer

?? people were advocating in favor of racial intimidation? Is it a recent story/thread?

[Pert_UK]

10. Link....

I was being slightly facetious....But basically a guy in the UK was found guilty of threatening some Asian council staff using racist language, and was banned by the judge from using the word "Paki" again.

A few people started screaming "CENSORSHIP!" and "WHAT ABOUT FREEDOM OF SPEECH???" and it all descended into a flame war.

The basic problem being that apparently people don't think that "Paki" has racist overtones in the States and that you should be free to use it.

Other people made accusations of racist against those who refused to recognise that it was racist, and it all went on from there.

We ended up with a few posters seeming to suggest that the criminal had a right to racially abuse someone who was just doing his job, but I think that it was all a big misunderstanding.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=63818&mesg_id=63818

P.

[salin]

4. unbelievable. By the way caribmom

thanks for bringing the story to the LBN forum, but before the time limit is up, you may want to edit the story down to the first several paragraphs - so DU doesn't violate copywrite issues.

Back to the story. Hard to believe in this era of notification related to living situations of all registered sex offenders, without discrimination of the type of offense (apparently sometimes that is a very broad category) - that performing in a way that would attract children (handing out baloons) is a right - and he should be reimbursed? Wow this judge certainly is on a different page than many.

[roughsatori]

5. The Freepers will blame the libruls (sic) for this

It is really very disturbing, so much so that I am thinking something must be getting reported incorrectly. At this time there is not one shred of real evidence that child-molesters can be reformed.

Perhaps the convictions in his past were something like him being 19 and his girlfriend 17, and they had sex. I have heard of cases like that and the male is labeled a child molester for the rest of his life.

[Heddi]

8. well the story says

he was convicted of sexually abusing children on 2 different occasions---1978 and 1982 I believe.

I think that had he been 19 and his girlfriend 16, it would have been considered "statutory rape"----I don't think that, at least back then, they were so willing to tag someone as being a sexual predator for consentual, yet legally 'staturtory rape' type of incest.

Shit---with my experience in life, back then, judges were pretty lenient about labeling REAL child molestors as child molestors.....

The really distasteful thing (as if there's just one) about this is that the guys' not working at a ticket counter, or selling t-shirts. He's a clown. And adults aren't usually a clown's target audience. He's a clown, which is by its NATURE aimed at children, handing out balloons (which means he's making SOME contact with children).

Also, because he's a clown, he most likely will be more easily approached by children---clowns are friendly, right? (well, except for me....I hate clowns!!) He's in a position, much like someone who is a coach, a "fun adult"---one who can kid around with the kid and has an easier repoire than, say, just a normal guy walking down the street.

He is LURING children in with his costume and his act. He's preying upon their naturally 'low-guard' approach to certain types of people.

This is fucking sick.

BTW--John Wayne Gacy was a clown.

[roughsatori]

18. I hate clowns too

But a child molester dressing as a clown frightens me even as an adult.

[Heddi]

19. yeah. That's double bad

one of those is enough to make my hair stand on end. The both of them combined....:shudder:

I think I need a vallium now :)

[FredScuttle]

14. I'd like to see some Freeper try to pin this on "libruls"

and then watch his brain melt when I tell him that Judge Handjob here was appointed to the bench by Poppy Bush!

(see my post below for the link to the article on this)

[roughsatori]

17. Thanks for the link

I will use it.

[bambo53]

7. So,,, Catholic priests are still walking around,

Doing their particular "thing" with young boys.

[Judi Lynn]

9. Did a quick google

found this:

"Best Quote: Richard Hobbs, a Right to Life Party candidate running for a seat on the Westchester County Board of Legislators, had some explaining to do when it was revealed that he was twice convicted of child molestation. Defending his candidacy, he said, "Regardless of the fact of whether I'm guilty or unguilty, there are no children at the county legislature."

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/123001/30reisman.html

(snip) Creating rights for child molesters
2002-12-28 New York Post

Judges hate it when they're accused of living in an ivory tower for issuing rulings completely at odds with common sense and the public good.
So this should wreck U.S. District Court Judge John Martin's whole day: How else can you fairly describe his bizarre - and dangerous - decision overriding Rye Playland's refusal to let a serial pedophile "perform" at the Westchester County-owned park?

According to Martin, Richard Hobbs' constitutional right to free expression - he's a balloon-bender who performs wherever children can be found - outweighs the right of parents to protect their kids from being preyed upon.

Hobbs, you see, has a long and sordid history of child molestation.

He claims he's been the victim of false accusations. But in 1978, he pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual abuse after New Rochelle police said he lured an 11-year-old boy into his office and fondled him.

And in 1982, he was sentenced in Pennsylvania to nine months in prison for molesting a 14-year-old boy while driving him to church.

Hobbs also reportedly molested the boy in the church itself, where he performed as "Saturday the Clown." (snip/...)

http://www.sexcriminals.com/news/14004/

Apparently he's a right-to-lifer as he sees abortions as depriving him of future victems!

[Democat]

12. The "Child Molester Clown" is a right wing politician?

Who would have guessed?

[bambo53]

13. Are we talking about "clowns" or Cathloic priests?

"According to Martin, Richard Hobbs' constitutional right to free expression - he's a balloon-bender who performs wherever children can be found - outweighs the right of parents to protect their kids from being preyed upon."

[CBGLuthier]

33. for christsakes give the catholic bashing

a rest would ya. We all know about the problems the church has without you trying to bend this thread into a reminder.

[FredScuttle]

11. Well, well....looky here

Turns out our Judge John Martin, friend to pedophile clowns everywhere, was appointed to the federal district court by none other than Poppy (5th paragraph):

http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0708/p02s01-usju.html

Thankfully, this doorknob is retiring before he can set some more serial sex offenders loose on the children of the tri-state area.

[Peregrine]

15. What legal grounds do they have to deny the license?

1. Is he on probation?
2. If so, is staying away from areas where children are located part of his probation?
3. Does the county or state have a law prohibiting licenses to convicted child sex offenders?

If the answers are no, then what legal grounds did the county have to deny him a performance license, especially when they were going to permit it in other areas.

[Muddleoftheroad]

20. Easy solution

Is to lock up pedophiles and never let them out.

[roughsatori]

23. You are right

Child molesters have been known to continue molestation even after castration. We as a society need to face that it is NOT curable at this time and lock them up.

[Voltaire99]

25. Expensive solution?

As it happens NPR was discussing this very point today with a woman who has written several books on the subject of child abusers and other predators.

She contended that the lock 'em up forever idea would be fantastically expensive, requiring (and I paraphrase) a new prison to be built every day for a year to handle capacity.

Mind, costly or not, surely the "defense" of the nation would be better achieved by diverting a significant amount of the pentagon budget to protect Americans from their own home-grown predators.

[Muddleoftheroad]

27. I'll pay

And gladly. Or we let these animals continue to prey on our children. Let's lock them up and let them molest one another.

Actually, we spend too much on our prisons as it is. I would love to see minor drug offenders out on the streets and these creatures locked up.

THEN, if we run out of space, let's build a few quonset huts out in the dessert. Surround them with barbed wire, landmines and guards. That should work.

[zekeson]

29. I have a solution

We needn't build all those prisons. Just let all the folks out of prison now who are in on overblown drug charges. Fill 'em up with child molesters. The research on sexual predator reformation does not look promising - folks in prison for drug charges, particularly when the crime is victimless (ie simple possession) have a much better prognosis and present virtually no risk to society.

I know that large scale release of the non-violent drug user would create a crippling effect to the US prison industry - but here, for pols willing to put their GOP child molesting friends in jail, is a solution to keeping those prisons filled.

[Guaranteed]

16. I didn't know Michael Jackson wasn't being allowed to perform n/t

[Rich Hunt]

30. Michael Jackson is very likely innocent

http://www.angelfire.com/music4/invinciblemj/FACTFROMFICTION/framed.htm

[Cocoa]

21. this story is so slanted, it's difficult to discuss

I guess according to this story, the judges had absolutely no reason for their action, it makes it sound like the judges don't care about children getting molested.

There's no perspective here, no discussion of other cases, or how unusual this decision is.

[salin]

22. It does seem woefully

incomplete.

[yankeeinlouisiana]

24. How is bending balloons freedom of speech?

Kids are attracted to clowns. Kids love balloons, especially in those neat shapes. So if he wants to give his little speeches about the government, tell he can do it without the clown suit and without the balloons!!

There's always a clown with balloons down in the French Quarter and my kids always want balloons. Guys like these always look for jobs where they might be by children. They'll even take security guard positions.

This is sick.

[whirlygigspin]

26. I'd hate to see him do a magic trick

"he pulled what out of his hat???"

uugh

[-..__...]

28. One can only imagine what sort of creations

he makes with the balloons.

[CO Liberal]

31. Is This "Child Molestor Clown" a GOP Politician?????

They've had a few thrown behind bars in recent months........

[Judi Lynn]

34. You rang?

Phillip Giordano, Republican mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut is one of the Republican great success stories!



(snip) Former Waterbury Mayor Philip Giordano has been moved to a federal prison in California.

Giordano, who is serving 37 years on federal child sex charges, is at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atwater, Calif., north of Sacramento.

Most of the 1,400 Atwater inmates live with at least one cellmate, but a U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman told WTIC-AM that specific living conditions for Giordano would not be released.

Until recently, Giordano had been living alone. He was kept under lockdown for his protection, his attorney said in court, because he cooperated in a federal probe into the Mafia's influence in Waterbury.

Giordano was convicted of violating the civil rights of two preteen girls by sexually abusing them. (snip/...)

http://www.ctnow.com/news/specials/hc-giordano0715.artjul15,0,2965436.story?coll=hc-headlines-specials

You're right. There have been more Republicans getting into truly creepy mischief than you can shake a stick at in the years since they gang tackled Bill Clinton.

You tend to notice these articles now more than you normally would, considering how long and hard they harrassed him.

[QuietStorm]

32. Let them all out.

They can work closely with the male activist groups that go after all the nazi feminists.

[Undemcided]

35. Let him perform ...

... in here. He can do two shows a night and three times on Saturdays.