Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Man's Assertions Land Him in Jail in Sex Abuse Case
St.Petersburg Times ^ | 6/24/02 | Tamara Lush

Posted on 06/24/2002 10:30:45 AM PDT by marshmallow

TEMPLE TERRACE -- On his Web site, Steven Schurgard called himself "a full-fledged pedophile."

He hung out at a local roller skating rink with kids and kept photos of shirtless young boys in his home, police said.

The 33-year-old man also used the Internet to boldly defend his sexual preferences. "I am very proud of the fact that I was able to express myself so freely," he wrote on his Web site, which has since been shut down. "I had thoughts inside me that had to be released. . . . I hope I have entertained, educated and encouraged my fellow boy lovers."

And, detectives said, Schurgard knew the law.

"This guy is smart enough to know that he has freedom of speech," said agent Al Danna of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

But Schurgard's honesty may have led to his arrest.

On June 4, when Temple Terrace police tried to confront him about sending potentially threatening e-mails to his family in another state, Schurgard answered the door with a gun tucked in the waist of his pants. He threatened the officers and then informed them that he had child pornography on his computer, police said.

He wasn't lying, said Temple Terrace police Capt. Tracy Mishler. Officers found a computer, videotapes and photos of young boys posing in sexual situations, he said.

Schurgard, who had been living with his mother in Temple Terrace, was charged with three counts of possession of child pornography. The case was then turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which discovered that the children in the photos lived in Town 'N Country near Schurgard's old apartment.

The FDLE investigation led to the interviews of dozens of children, and seven more charges against Schurgard, including sexual battery of a child and use of a child in a sexual performance. He may face other charges because investigators aren't finished scrutinizing Schurgard's computer.

Agent Danna interviewed Schurgard in the Hillsborough County Jail, where he is being held without bail. Schurgard had no prior arrest record in Florida.

Schurgard said his Web site was "all a big joke," the agent said.

Danna said that interviews with children in Schurgard's former apartment complex revealed that he used to give boys gifts, hold sleepovers and ask older teenage boys to bring younger boys back to his apartment.

"It is not normal for a single, adult male to have children socializing with him all the time," said Danna.

The detective also talked to a young boy who said that Schurgard assaulted him. The boy's statement led to the sexual battery charge.

"He had children coming in and out of his place," said Danna. "Law enforcement never got a call complaining about him."

One national child advocacy group said it told the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the FBI about Schurgard's Web site a year and a half ago.

"This guy presented himself as a predator," said Wendell Krueth, the president of Predator Hunter, a national nonprofit organization that tracks suspected child molesters.

But Danna said that information never reached the FDLE. Temple Terrace police said the same. And even though Schurgard declared that he was a pedophile, there was little authorities could have done with just that information.

"Saying you're a pedophile . . . doesn't open the door for a search warrant," said Danna. "You need witnesses and victims."

Schurgard, who also posted numerous messages on electronic bulletin boards discussing pedophilia before he was arrested, once tried to explain his predilection for young boys.

"It's not as if I volunteered to be a weirdo," wrote Schurgard. "I've got no choice but to play the cards that God, Mother Nature, (or whoever) dealt me. No, I wasn't molested when I was a kid. I just guess I was given the gift of being able to see life in a different perspective than most. Am I normal and everyone else is sick? I doubt it."


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS:
"It is not normal for a single, adult male to have children socializing with him all the time," said Danna.

Michael Jackson, please call your office.

1 posted on 06/24/2002 10:30:46 AM PDT by marshmallow
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
On his Web site, Steven Schurgard called himself "a full-fledged pedophile."

Now, he can post on his website that he is his cellmate's b*tch.

2 posted on 06/24/2002 10:34:43 AM PDT by Paul Atreides
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
I've noticed that, whenever there is a man molesting young boys, the word homosexual is never used.
3 posted on 06/24/2002 10:36:04 AM PDT by Paul Atreides
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
"He threatened the officers and then informed them that he had child pornography on his computer, police said."

Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is he?

4 posted on 06/24/2002 10:38:37 AM PDT by TheBigB
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Paul Atreides
My son will always say about these perverts that he hopes he gets a BIG MEAN cellmate named Bubba McDick! Schurgard better not bend over in the shower! He isn't going to be the predator, he is going to be the victim in jail! That is his punishment, on earth, more in the afterlife.

Blaming God and nature for his sins, trespasses! Heck, I might like to rob a bank or run into an idiot on the freeway who cuts me off, but I DO NOT DO THAT! It is against the law and against my religion! Sometimes, Schurgard, you have to say "Satan get behind me!" And you have to will yourself to do the right thing.

5 posted on 06/24/2002 10:45:12 AM PDT by buffyt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
Schurgard, who had been living with his mother in Temple Terrace

Figures.

One wonders if he lived at the Bates Motel.

6 posted on 06/24/2002 10:51:35 AM PDT by moyden
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Paul Atreides
He's not a pedophile, he's a gay recruiter. Fags are the biggest child mollesters in the world.
7 posted on 06/24/2002 11:16:24 AM PDT by Thorondir
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Paul Atreides
I've noticed that, whenever there is a man molesting young boys, the word homosexual is never used.

Funny how that works out, isn't it? It's almost as if there's some sort of 'agenda' that purges any thought or mention of possible homosexuality.

8 posted on 06/24/2002 11:24:58 AM PDT by NativeSon
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: TheBigB
The cops probably let him prattle and smiled....it's a comfort to know Darwin award nominations are open year-round.
9 posted on 06/24/2002 11:54:04 AM PDT by Catspaw
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: buffyt
My son will always say about these perverts that he hopes he gets a BIG MEAN cellmate named Bubba McDick!

Sad thing is, he might actually enjoy that...

10 posted on 06/24/2002 11:59:18 AM PDT by FormerLurker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: NativeSon
Just take a look at the current homosexual priests/molestation scandal; everyone in the media wants to avoid the word homosexual and the homosexual priests (as well as the homosexual community) are whining that homosexuals will be blamed! Well, duh!
11 posted on 06/24/2002 12:03:31 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
They should check to see if he is a member of NAMBLA.
12 posted on 06/24/2002 12:04:27 PM PDT by Paul Atreides
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Thorondir
Man, talk about a happy ending!!
Hope he gets it so much he won't be able to walk.
No doubt he will contact AIDS for his perverted lifestyle.
13 posted on 06/24/2002 12:05:36 PM PDT by Warren
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
Anyone who harms children like this should never leave prison. I don't think he should sit in a cell watching TV all day either. Life at hard labor could reduce his evil thoughts a bit.

However, government sanctioned homosexual rape in prisons is wrong too. It seems to be the fashion now to joke about this, but I think President Bush should regain the moral high ground with a crackdown on prison rape.
14 posted on 06/24/2002 12:37:32 PM PDT by SupplySider
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
"It is not normal for a single, adult male to have children socializing with him all the time," said Danna.

Michael Jackson, please call your office.

Not just males, Agent Danna. There are all sorts of obsessed perverts out there:


15 posted on 06/24/2002 2:28:57 PM PDT by archy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson