RSS bad news

I have the local daily paper RSS'd into Bloglines, because I refuse to pay for the pleasure of having its ink all over my hands (I used to deliver it, over 10 years ago...long story there). It's pretty unusual to find anything in the feeds that applies to me, and I've missed virtually nothing of value (near as I can tell) in the year or so I've been doing this.

Tonight, a late-breaking feed came in just before I left work:

Police have arrested a 62-year-old ... man [from the town where I live] who ... may have molested up to six boys from his [MY!] neighborhood over [several years].

[name], [address], was arrested Wednesday ... for aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

[The] police began investigating [the suspect] after a victim came forward ... this week.

Although [the suspect] has only been charged with molesting one boy ... police said they expect more charges ....

Police said they have talked to three victims [aged] 9 to 12 years old. [The suspect] molested the boys numerous times, police said.

"He was befriending them and then having them come over," [police] said. "It is ... isolated" to [the suspect]’s subdivision .... [which, ohbytheway, is MY ^#@$% SUBDIVISION!!!!!]

...

If convicted, [the suspect] ... could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.
....

So, yeah. Google map says his house is exactly one mile from mine, by road. I pass within 100 yards of it at least twice a day. Sparky rides his bike in that area. In the block where I live, there are approximately 12 boys ranging from age 3 to 11 (and Sparky, who is 14).

This comes just a week or so after my neighbor and I were talking about one of her son's soccer coaches. Here's the "brief" on him from last month:

A ... man is expected in ... [c]ourt ... on felony charges of attempted ... criminal sexual abuse and ... solicitation of a child.

[name], of [address, which has a horribly ironic word in it] was ... indicted on charges ... [and if] convicted, ... could be sentenced to up to five years in prison.

According to the indictment, [the suspect] knowingly solicited a child [under] 17 for an act of sexual penetration....

[Suburb] police arrested [the suspect] ... after he allegedly [had] an Internet [chat] with an undercover police officer posing as a minor. [The suspect] allegedly traveled to [the suburb where he was arrested--which is also where my niece and nephew live] [planning to meet] the presumed child, and was arrested at the [designated] meeting place.

...

The case still is ongoing, [the spokesperson] said. [The suspect] remained at the ... [j]ail ... in lieu of [four TIMES the above suspect's] bond.

...

Pulling his address up in Google tells me that his house is, oh let's see, approximately 400 yards from mine as the crow flies (or the kid walks), though it would take almost 10 minutes to drive there because of the psycho roads around here. So, yeah, he was coaching boys' U-10 soccer--his own son was on the team--and while his wife and family were out of state on vacation he decided to have his own private vacation. Except he ended up in jail. According to my neighbor, the wife never came home; she just stayed on vacation (her family lives in that area). Presumably, she won't be coming back.

There will be a LOT of phone calls to neighbors tomorrow about the first guy. There will be some hard questions asked of Sparky as well. I'm pretty sure he was not approached by the dude in our subdivision, and rumor has it the second guy was looking for girls. Still, I'll ask.

Ick. That deserted island I've been pining for all week is REALLY starting to look like a realistic possibility!

{edited substantially 8/17/07 by siteowner}