Your daily reminder that humanity sucks

[Cain]

Well, I wasn't going to go to sleep anyway, but I'm certainly not after reading this:

The men came from different walks of life on two continents: a children's puppeteer in Florida, a hotel manager in Massachusetts, an emergency medical technician in Kansas, a day care worker in the Netherlands. In all, 43 men have been arrested over the past two years in a horrific, far-flung child porn network that unraveled like a sweater with a single loose thread.

In this case, the thread was a stuffed toy bunny.

The bunny, seen in a photo of a half-naked, distraught 18-month-old boy, was used to painstakingly trace a molester to Amsterdam. From there, investigators made one arrest after another of men accused of sexually abusing children, exchanging explicit photos of the attacks and even chatting online about abducting, cooking and eating youngsters.

Authorities have identified more than 140 young victims so far and say there is no end in sight as they pore through hundreds of thousands of images found on the suspects' computers. They are also trying to determine whether the men who talked about murder and cannibalism actually committed such acts or were just sharing twisted fantasies.

In May, authorities arrested Michael Arnett of Roeland Park, Kan., after finding pornographic photos he allegedly produced. Agents discovered the pictures when they searched the computer of a Wisconsin man who had been chatting online with Mikelsons.

What they found on Arnett's computer was unlike anything some of the investigators had ever come across: long, graphic, online chats about his desire to abduct, kill and eat children. They said he had also made photos of a naked 2-year-old boy in a roasting pan inside his oven. The child and two other boys Arnett allegedly abused and photographed were later identified and found alive.

In July, authorities arrested four men they say had online discussions with Arnett about kidnapping and eating children. Those arrested included Ronald Brown, a children's puppeteer from Largo, Fla. (A YouTube video shows Brown during an appearance on a Christian TV kids show in the 1980s. In the video, he tells a child puppet that he did the right thing by refusing to look at "dirty pictures" some other youngsters tried to show him.)

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'd read a bit about this regarding the puppeteer, but fuck, man.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

There's nothing that triggers my "KILL THEM ALL" reflex the way shit like this does.

[The Johnny]

Disclosing the methods by which they caught them is just going to make them harder to catch in the future.

I mean, adding novel details surely adds to the "entertainment" value in news generally speaking, its creepy how these same methods to bolster the "entertainment value" of a news is applied to a news that should be meant to inform.

[the last yatto]

Humans collect the most fucked up things, this makes teeth in a jar seem like an afternoon walk, excuse me while I use some rum to scrub my brain, while I fight the urge to go beat up some catholics

[The Johnny]

I started reading the 2nd page, and just...

where is the line drawn between a news story and morbid entertainment?

Now the line seems to be drawn at showing direct transcripts of nefarious plans, and im thinking that if it wasnt prohibited, they would show actual pictures of the crime scene.

This makes me think of a local (metropolitan) newspaper called "Metro" in which every single frontpage everyday is a gored up body with a "witty" or "funny" remark about it.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Fuck. This thing is HUGE. 

[standvast]

There's nothing that triggers my "KILL THEM ALL" reflex the way shit like this does.

YES. That.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

There's nothing that triggers my "KILL THEM ALL" reflex the way shit like this does.

thirded

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Disclosing the methods by which they caught them is just going to make them harder to catch in the future.

I mean, adding novel details surely adds to the "entertainment" value in news generally speaking, its creepy how these same methods to bolster the "entertainment value" of a news is applied to a news that should be meant to inform.

Assuming the details given to the press were correct.