Former Arizona Mayoral Candidate Gets Six Years Probation for Attempted Rape

The Associated Press

P H O E N I X, Oct. 21  A former mayoral candidate in Arizona caught in a Washington cybersex sting was sentenced to six years probation for the attempted rape of a child.

Scott Berger, 40, was running for mayor in the Phoenix suburb of Queen Creek when he was arrested in a Tacoma, Wash., police sting set up to catch adults who prey on children through Internet chat rooms. Using the name Scooter, Berger sent more than a dozen sexual e-mail messages from his computer at Intel in Chandler, Ariz., to an undercover Tacoma officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.

The former Queen Creek Councilman then went to a Tacoma mall on Feb. 23 to meet his chat room partner, who turned out to be a male police detective. Berger was fired from Intel and dropped out of the mayors race after the arrest.

As a condition of probation, Berger is banned from using a home computer and must undergo three years of therapy for sex addiction.

Berger, who admitted the crime and his addiction Thursday, will have to register as a felony sex offender wherever he goes until 2015. He also must pay $610 in fines and court costs.

-- cin (cin@=0.)), October 21, 2000

Answers

I presume that this is Washington-style justice. In Arizona we prefer to lynch preverts.

NAMBLA types are advised to stay in Kalifornia!

-- Out For Justice (Clint@hang.em.high), October 21, 2000.

It does sound like he's getting off rather easy.

-- cin (cin@=0.)), October 21, 2000.

Denutt the bast!!!s

-- denutter (f@j.k), October 21, 2000.

What does NAMBLA have to do with it? This guy's clearly a heterosexual pedophile!

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), October 22, 2000.

Tarzan,

The message is simply that any type of prevert had best confine their activities to the big cities and states like the PRK. Us country folk ainn't so tolerant. As a result, our children are safer and happier.

-- Judge Dredd (JDredd@country.justice), October 22, 2000.

Berger--is he Republicreep or Democreep?

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), October 22, 2000.

BS Judge Dread. Small towns and rural areas which lack oversight tend to cover up cases of molestation and abuse.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), October 22, 2000.

Lars,

Does it really matter?

-- Does It (-@really.matter), October 22, 2000.

Tarzan,

No doubt this sometimes happens. However, when we catch them they will be worse off than they would have been in more liberal metropolitan areas. Sometimes they just accidentally "expire" while "resisting arrest". No normal person, even a convicted felon, tolerates child molesters.

-- JD (jd@four.for.justice), October 22, 2000.

Sure Judge Dread.

Everyone knows that the first person arrested for a crime is ALWAYS the guilty party, just as everyone knows that the person executed for a crime is always guilty and is never executed by mistake, leaving the guilty party free to commit more crimes.

Moreover, we know no one has ever lied about being the victim of a crime and children have never been susceptible to prosecutorial suggestion.

-- Tarzan the Ape Man (tarzan@swingingthroughthejunglewithouta.net), October 22, 2000.

Tarzan,

I think you are missing my point. I'm all for supporting the legal system when it works. Nowadays it often doesn't, particularly if the guilty party is weatlthy or otherwise well connected. If you want your children to be free from pedophiles, you will need to live in an area where sentences harsh enough to deter such acts are the norm. The sentence referenced in the above post doesn't appear to be much of a deterrent. I only advocate "street justice" when more society fails to do its job properly.

P.S. I'll bet the "real" Tarzan would hold views similar to mine. BTW do you have kids?

-- JD (justice@or.else), October 22, 2000.