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Flier alerts to "sex offender" - but isn't true
WBBH-TV (Fla) ^
| May 9, 2003
| Margaret Carlo
Posted on 05/11/2003 5:11:20 PM PDT by Monk Dimittis
CAPE CORAL, May 9, 2003- A Cape Coral man is trying to clear his name after bogus fliers were circulated in his neighborhood accusing him of being a child molester. For Michael Wheeler, it's a living nightmare.
***
Imagine what it would feel like to find out your neighbors think you're a sex offender.
Read the flier (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - free download)
"The first thought that went through my head is how could I be accused of something I think is the worst crime anybody could commit," said Wheeler.
Wheeler is living in a nightmare.
"None of the neighbors wave at us or smile at us anymore," said Wheeler.
Officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed Michael Wheeler is not a sex offender, even though dozens of fliers went to his neighbors saying he was.
Wheeler now believes the first fliers probably went out a year ago. The same time he said his neighbors started to act funny.
"The kids won't play with my son anymore," said Wheeler.
Some neighbors said they were fooled by the letter that looked legitimate
"It seemed like an official thing," said Chris Wilson.
Cape Coral Police say the flier is totally bogus for several reasons.
* The logo on the top is not the Cape Coral Police Department's logo.
* The next line that reads "child molester alert" is unofficial terminology that wouldn't be used.
* The words "lewd" and "lascivious" are spelled wrong.
* The state case number is fake.
"He and his wife have always been good neighbors I don't know why anyone would do something so horrible," said Janette L'Heureux.
Wheeler and his family would like to know too. They also want their old life back.
"Play with my son, stop giving us dirty looks and be our neighbors again," said Wheeler.
Dozens if not hundreds of people in wheeler's Cape Coral neighborhood got the flier.
Wheeler has called the police about the flier. Police said the letter is a first-degree felony punishable up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine.
Wheeler is circulating his own letter to try and clear his name.
TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: leaflets; offender; sex; sexoffender
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What a nasty thing to do to someone...
To: Monk Dimittis
Police said the letter is a first-degree felony punishable up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine. And a whopping big civil suit too, one would hope.
To: Monk Dimittis
What a great idea. I've been wondering what to do to the homeowner who lets his dog dump in my yard. I'll have to think about it.
3
posted on
05/11/2003 5:18:17 PM PDT
by
CroftonFreeper
(Britan needs parking. Pave France.)
To: Monk Dimittis
Crimes like this should be punished by more than a low fine and only a year of jailtime.
4
posted on
05/11/2003 5:18:51 PM PDT
by
Pyrion
To: Monk Dimittis
What did this guy do to deserve this?
There are two sides to every story.
To: Jeff Gordon
How about nothing.There are simply mean and vicious people who take great joy from the suffering of innocent people. Why would you think there is another side to the story? What you say is almost like asking what a woman did to cause a man to rape her. Evil is just evil.
6
posted on
05/11/2003 5:25:55 PM PDT
by
em2vn
Comment #7 Removed by Moderator
Comment #8 Removed by Moderator
To: Jeff Gordon
You are correct. There are two sides to every story.
From the Bible, we know God's side of the story.
So why don't you go to h___ and get us the other side of the story.
Comment #10 Removed by Moderator
Comment #11 Removed by Moderator
To: Monk Dimittis
It was an innocent spelling error. The name should have been spelled S-C-0-T-T R-I-T-T-E-R.
12
posted on
05/11/2003 6:27:16 PM PDT
by
doug from upland
(my dogs ran from the room when they heard Hillary shrieking on the radio)
To: Monk Dimittis; Jeff Gordon
This most likely is not a random crime. Somebody has it in for this guy, and he probably knows why.
13
posted on
05/11/2003 6:35:54 PM PDT
by
TankerKC
(If we blame our parents, will our kids blame us?)
To: em2vn
Evil is just evil. I can buy that.
To: em2vn
Why would you think there is another side to the story?Because there almost always is.
15
posted on
05/11/2003 6:39:16 PM PDT
by
TankerKC
(If we blame our parents, will our kids blame us?)
To: Pikachu_Dad
So why don't you go to h___ and get us the other side of the story. Say what you mean.
To: Pikachu_Dad
So why don't you go to h___ and get us the other side of the story.Peace be with you, too.
17
posted on
05/11/2003 6:40:37 PM PDT
by
TankerKC
(If we blame our parents, will our kids blame us?)
To: Monk Dimittis
"What a nasty thing to do to someone..."
...and because of false accusations, some guilty child molestor is going to get off on a technicality.
18
posted on
05/11/2003 6:43:39 PM PDT
by
SSN558
(Be on the lookout for Black White-Supremists)
To: em2vn
"There you go, bringing in the liberals again. Everytime something looks bad for you conservatives, you try to blame a liberal. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. I deeply resent it and am offended by your remarks."
Signed,
Alan Colmes
19
posted on
05/11/2003 6:46:34 PM PDT
by
CommandoFrank
(Peer into the depths of hell and there is the face of Islam!)
To: Monk Dimittis
This is straight out of one of those "Hayduke" revenge books.
Hope they catch the author.
20
posted on
05/11/2003 6:57:29 PM PDT
by
DBrow
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