It's time for an update on Jack McClellan, the self-described pedophile blogger. Earlier this month, we wrote about how he was thrown in jail for violating an order to stay away from minors. Then, on Friday, a Los Angeles judge issued a new and permanent order for McClellan to stay more than 30 feet away from all places where children gather, like schools and playgrounds. The new injunction also restricts him from "contacting, videotaping or photographing children or publishing their photographs without written consent from a guardian or parent," reports the Associated Press.
McClellan has had enough, it seems. He announced today that he's leaving California, where he's been camping out in his car for the past few months; he didn't say where he's going. "I have to leave the state, really, I can't live here under this Orwellian protocol," he said. "It's nightmarish."
Of course, this also marks the end of a nightmare for many Southern California parents who have campaigned to raise awareness about McClellan and his blog, which was recently shut down; he was very open about his taste for "LGs" (little girls) and posted lists and photos of ideal public places for watching them play.
There was an overwhelming reader response last time we wrote about McClellan (we got a whopping 214 letters). Some felt McClellan had operated well within the law and was unfairly targeted, others argued there was plenty of evidence to prosecute him, and still others were torn between condemning him for being a supreme creep and defending his constitutional right to freedom of expression. My questions, now: Does this ruling, which simply seems to be pushing him out of the state, do any good? Is there a better way to deal with someone like McClellan, who so publicly declares his pedophilia and says his blog was a form of therapy?
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