Bond set in Fla. for author of pedophile guide
Phillip Ray Greaves II.
BARTOW, Fla. -- A judge set bail at $15,000 Wednesday for a Colorado man who wrote a how-to guide for pedophiles. Phillip Greaves of Pueblo is charged with violating the state's obscenity law, a third-degree felony that could land him in prison for five years.
The 47-year-old was arrested Monday in Colorado, but Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd claims jurisdiction in the case because Greaves sold and mailed a copy of his book to undercover deputies in Florida who had requested a copy.
Court-appointed public defender Francis Solorzano, assigned because Greaves could not afford an attorney, first asked Judge John Kirkland to drop the case.
"Any finding of probable cause would tend to have a chilling effect on free speech," Solorzano said. "What we're dealing here is mere words. There are no images in the book."
But Kirkland said the judge who signed the arrest warrant had already found probable cause and he could not override that decision.
The self-published book - "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" - caused a flap when it showed up on Amazon in November. It was later removed from the site.
Greaves, who has no criminal record, writes in the book that pedophiles are misunderstood, as the word literally means to love a child. He adds it is only a crime to act on sexual impulses toward children, and offers advice that purportedly allows pedophiles to abide by the law.
Judd said he was incensed when he heard about the book and that no one had arrested Greaves for selling it. The book, Judd said, included first-person descriptions of sexual encounters, purportedly written from a child's point of view.
During the hearing Wednesday, Greaves' attorney asked Kirkland to reduce or eliminate the $15,000 bond.
"It is 15 times the standard bond schedule for a third-degree felony," Solorzano said. "That should be considered excessive."
But prosecutor Brad Copley said the state believes the $15,000 bond "is on the low side."
Kirkland decided to keep the bond at $15,000. If Greaves does post it, he must stay in the state of Florida, not use a computer and not have contact with anyone under 18.
Solorzano said it is unlikely Greaves will be able to raise the bail money. He is being held at the Polk County Jail and told local media on Tuesday that he "only has sex with grown-ups" and that writing and selling his book falls under his constitutional right to free speech.
He is charged under Florida's obscenity law, which prohibits the "distribution of obscene material depicting minors engaged in conduct harmful to minors."
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Pope, Gedolim reflect on the 70's
Pope Benedict used his annual speech to Rome's cardinals and bishops on Monday (Dec. 20) to ask them to reflect on the church's responsibility in the child sex abuse scandals.
Benedict qualified his mea culpa by stating that the scandal (in which priests who sexually abused children were often ignored or protected by the Catholic Church) was partly justified by the broader social context. Benedict said that while the church accepted some responsibility, he could not be silent about ''the context of these times.... There is a market in child pornography that seems in some way to be considered more and more normal by society." [History of Pornography No More Prudent Than Present]
Benedict claimed that as recently as the 1970s, "pedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children." In this climate, the Catholic Church's actions were merely reflecting the moral relativism of the times: "It was maintained — even within the realm of Catholic theology — that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself," Benedict said. That is, church leaders weren't sure if child sexual abuse was wrong, since secular society seemed to accept it.
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He died early Tuesday, and his daughter says the family is relieved.
"The world is that much safer because he is not here," said Martha Juchnowski, his daughter and one of his victims. "I think I can speak for my family: There is a sense of relief. This has been a horrible thing that has been hanging over our heads all our lives."
Sypnier, the oldest inmate imprisoned by the state, died of natural causes at 12:23 a.m. Tuesday in a prison medical unit, according to Linda M. Foglia, spokeswoman for the Department of Correctional Services.
Before he was sent back to prison in April on a parole violation, Sypnier, weeping, told The Buffalo News, "I don't want to go back. I'd rather die."
As word spread of his death, no tears were being shed for the man who authorities said sexually attacked children for decades in Buffalo and later in the Town of Tonawanda.
"I hope this brings a little bit of comfort to his family and those he hurt so deeply. You can't go back and change things," said the Rev. Terry J. King, whose organization, Saving Grace Ministries, assists ex-convicts.
Sypnier had received temporary shelter in King's East Side halfway house after he was released on parole in the fall of 2009.
"We did not want him to hurt again or victimize anyone. Certainly he had hurt enough people through his lifetime," King said. "It is sad all the way around."
Last Wednesday, Sypnier's health began to fail, and he was transferred from Groveland Correctional Facility in Livingston County to the Coxsackie Correctional Facility's regional medical unit in Greene County, south of Albany.
A prison chaplain spoke with Sypnier in his final days, but Juchnowski said she was not aware that he had expressed any remorse.
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Male Survivor
10 Daily Affirmations for Male Survivors
Howard Fradkin, Ph.D., LICDC, Co-Chairperson, MaleSurvivor Weekends of Recovery - Recovery is absolutely possible and achievable for me.
- I will practice being disloyal to dysfunction and loyal to functionality.
- I give myself permission to connect to loving, affirmative, strong, sensitive, accepting men and women in my community.
- I release and forgive myself for any responsibility I have accepted in the past for my abuse.
- The abuser (s) from the past chose to hurt me; I will stop repeating the lie that it just happened to me.
- Offering myself daily compassion is necessary for my healing and growth.
- I commit to connecting to the boy inside me today so we can play, laugh and experience joy together, even if just for a minute or two.
- I believe deep inside me I possess the ability to face the truth of my abuse and to learn to use new tools for healing.
- I have the right and the ability to speak the truth of my abuse and deserve to be heard, understood, believed and supported.
- Feeling is healing; as I heal, I develop the ability to experience a wider range of emotions to enhance my health and connections to others.
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