Re: Ohio School Computer Technician accused of buying kids for sexual torture
I will use Glenn's argument against this point.
There were no children. The officer sold nothing.
Sarcasm aside, the reason the officer is "above the law" is because he is acting as an agent of the law. The man provided reasonable suspicion that he would participate in a criminal act; this grants law enforcement more power over this one specific person in an attempt to avoid a situation where he finds a real child broker.
It's pretty much social contract; we sacrifice rights in return for services from the government. Personally, I have no issues with granting the police the right to have heightened power over those who have proven intent.
Re: Ohio School Computer Technician accused of buying kids for sexual torture
Seriously, that does have to be taken into account. How did this guy end up in contact with these undercover cops in the first place? I seriously doubt that these cops just showed up in a random chatroom and said "Hey, anyone want to strangle my children for his sexual gratification?" I'm guessing this guy did something to attract the attention of these cops. Of course, that's just idle speculation, because we'll never know what went on, but I don't think the cops are in the habit of soliciting every person who enters a chatroom for sex with children.
Re: Ohio School Computer Technician accused of buying kids for sexual torture
I am sure if this was a real situation they would not go around saying 'hey want to strangle my children for sexual gratification?' rather, saying 'hey, ill let you take the children for sexual gratification whatsoever' And, i'm sure one or more undercover cops actually do go around chatrooms and find places where that type of person may hang out. It's like going to a bad part of town to look for crack dealers. Same deal. But, most people only accept the crack dealer situation, and dismiss the fact that cops also check chatrooms and other online enviornments to see if any potential illegal activity is going on.