Man arrested for sending Craigslist sex party to neighbor’s house

[arely staircase]

Perpetrators of the worst practical joke on the Internet, be warned: If you pose as someone else on Craigslist and invite sex-hungry strangers to that person’s house, you will get charged with a felony.

Meet 30-year-old Jason T. Willis, of Waterford, Wis. who’s sitting in jail today on a $1,000 bond. Willis told police he was just “joking” when he posed as a neighbor and posted at least six sexually explicit Craigslist ads inviting men to her house. One of the hopeful, horny Craigslisters showed up in full flasher regalia, naked except for a coat. The neighbor was not amused and called the cops.

Willis has been charged with felony identity theft and is currently sitting in jail awaiting a May 28 court appearance. He’s not the first one to get busted for harassing someone with sex ads on Craigslist. In March, 61-year-old LIbrary of Congress Archivist Kenneth Kuban was charged with felony stalking after allegedly harassing his 64-year-old ex-girlfriend with phony ads for months


http://www.salon.com/2013/05/23/craigslist_practical_joker_arrested_for_inviting_strangers_to_neighbors_house_partner/

I sure am glad we didn't have the internet when I was a teenager - I would be unemployable now. Of course this guy is 33.

[Cali_Democrat]

1. "horny Craigslisters showed up in full flasher regalia, naked except for a coat."

OK I laughed, but I probably shouldn't have.

[arely staircase]

2. yeah, it was wrong.

funny but wrong

[BainsBane]

16. It was dangerous

Someone might have turned up and killed her.

[arely staircase]

17. that's the problem with all such jokes

even the ol flaiming bag of dog shit could burn down a house and kill people. i'm not defending it. I am glad the guy is being prosecuted.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. they're still trying to get poor Prince Albert out of that damned can.

[arely staircase]

20. and the refrigerator is still running. eom

[jberryhill]

64. And we won't even mention the bowling alley

[Aerows]

78. What's the bowling alley one?

I've never heard that one.

[jberryhill]

90. It's off color

"Hello, Jim's Bowling Alley."

"Hi, do you have twelve pound balls?"

"Yes, we do."

"How do you walk around with those?"

[Aerows]

91. That's funny

I've never heard that one. It is off color, but still, funny ;D

[Liberal_in_LA]

30. yep

[HiPointDem]

42. or she might have killed them. if that had been done to me, i would have been tempted.

because it would have scared me to death, actually. some stranger comes to my door and flashes me? it is frightening, not funny at all.

and after i found out *why* it happened, i'd want to get rid of that neighbor, for sure. i hope he goes to jail for a while.

[richmwill]

3. Not a funny joke.

Inviting perverts to a female neighbors house as a "joke"- what if one would have sexually assaulted her?

[arely staircase]

4. well it is and it isnt

like many practical jokes it could have hurt the mark badly. in this case the "prankster" is the one who will pay the price.

[HiPointDem]

43. if you're the woman, it's not funny at all. not one bit. if you're the creepy 'jokester' you might

find it funny. those boys who raped the drunk girl in that football town thought that was funny too.

BUT IT'S NOT.

[arely staircase]

88. and if you are a victim of rawandan genocide probably not much is funny at all

nt

[LanternWaste]

98. At least the ineffectual audience is entertained.

At least the ineffectual audience is entertained by the vulgarity of character at the expense of another, and I imagine that is quite enough for them to arrive at their less-than-clever conclusions.

[Hekate]

106. May one inquire what genocide could possibly have to do with the subject at hand?

You don't set up a woman for RAPE and possible MURDER and then say -- "Oh well, it's not as bad as Rwandan genocide."

Jesus Christ on a trailer hitch.

[arely staircase]

107. well it's not

and the point is....oh, nevermind

[Hekate]

110. Having read through this thread, I've learned there's such a thing as kink-shaming

Screw that. Screw it all you want, in fact. That's not what was going on for the woman who is the victim.

Here's what goes on for women: Before puberty, every girl learns to watch where she goes, who she goes with, and what she does. If there's a sex-crime against a 6 to 10 year old girl that hits the news, she learns this long before puberty. She learns to never accept a ride from a stranger. She learns never to let a stranger in the house. She learns to be careful about talking with strangers. When she walks down a city street, a young woman learns to look purposeful and never meet anyone's eyes for long.

The fact that some girls as they grow up break free of these strictures for awhile -- well, in one way it's kind of sweet that they feel safe. But there's always someone male who will remind them, one way or another.

Some women are sure to tell me or you how they don't act so cautious -- I know some of them. But in all honesty, whether we show it or not, whether we talk about it or not, these lessons have been ground into us from very early on. I know a woman who was raped after letting her cat out of her apartment in the wee hours of the night -- she forgot to lock the door again. I was about 11 when a delivery man, realizing I was the oldest person in the house, came on to me, leaning against me, breathing on me while I signed the form for my parents.

The woman who was pranked didn't ask for random men to come unasked to her very door, to come to the place where she had a right to feel safe. I'm sorry the men who arrived there felt embarrassed -- but not as sorry as I am that this woman was made to feel totally unsafe. Her neighbor knew or should have known that she felt that rape was implied. Felonious? Let a jury of her peers decide.

You do whatever you want with a willing partner, okay? I no more care than I care whether my neighbors prefer the missionary position or do it from a trapeze.

But no one should ever, ever, do what that asshole did. It's the 21st century version of the old phone booth scrawl: "For a good time call Alice 898-2345," only he added her address as well.

[arely staircase]

111. my purpose in posting was that i did stooopid stuff as a teenager

and could see myself and my friends doing this when we were 16 - but we didn't have the internet and I am glad we didn't - because we probably would have gotten in a lot of trouble for just such dumbassery. also, this guy is thirty and had no excuse.

I think it is both ignorant and the guy should be punished but also kind of funny too.

[Dash87]

7. I forget where, but someone did a similar joke, and one of the guys went next door

and raped and killed an innocent girl. Yeah, I wouldn't get these creepy pervs anywhere near someone, even as a joke.

[Chan790]

12. Link or it didn't happen.

I hear stories like that all the time...and yet, nobody is ever able to verify any of them. It's the kink-shaming equivalent of "the guy with the hook-hand" ghost story.

[DCKit]

28. 'Scream' was a documentary, don't 'cha know? nt

[Ubik]

65. There's no line to use a search engine

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/11/nation/la-na-rape-craigslist11-2010jan11

[Chan790]

69. I'll admit when I'm called on them.

I did not see that one when it happened and I'm usually very on-top of these things. That is horrible and troubling. I'm very sorry that happened to her.

Now I have to put on my sex-educator hat because there is an important teaching point here:

I'm going to use this as a teaching moment, both here and in future classes. There's enough bad-practices there to throttle a horse...if people had been following good-practices and safety-measures this would not have happened to that poor woman. The big one: always meet a few days in advance of any sort of agreed-upon play with a new partner in an agreed-upon safe-space (coffee shop, diner, munch), especially when it comes to any sort of play-scene that pushes the boundaries of consent¹ or legality. Get the parameters of the scene in writing and both sign it, two copies. If the person you're communicating with to arrange this play-session is unwilling to do either of these things, that should raise red-flags.

1: While I'd advise people to not engage in this kind of play (It's not my thing at all) with strangers, it happens constantly. Somewhere between 500-1000 people a month in the US seek-and-find a stranger-partner to fulfill their rape-fantasy whether using kink-community message-boards, Craigslist, OKCupid, Yahoo, in-person meetings (at munches) or other means of meeting. (Worst and most-unsafe frequent-locale is in bars.) More than 1 in 4 individuals on OKCupid answer affirmatively to the question "Do you have rape fantasies?" and slightly less than a third say "yes" to "Would you consider roleplaying out a rape fantasy with partner who asked you to?"

[redqueen]

73. Source for the stats in your second paragraph?

Given the issues with MRAs citing rape fantasies as part of their rape apologia, I'm shocked a dating site would ask, let alone publish such info. I'm curious now about what other kinks they publish survey data on.

[yardwork]

75. We must have read a different article at the link.

The article I read was about a case where a man posed as his ex-girlfriend on the internet and sent a rapist to her home. The victim didn't know anything about it until the rapist showed up at her door, forced his way in and raped her at knife point.

You state "if people had been following good-practices and safety-measures this would not have happened to that poor woman." WTF? She wasn't engaged in role playing. Her ex-boyfriend sent a rapist to her house without her knowledge.

Were you reading a different article?

[Chan790]

77. No...I'm saying if the rapist had demanded a "pre-meeting"...

he'd have known that the person he was actually raping was not the person he had been communicating with about simulated-rape.

Of course, we do have to consider the possibility that he did know and didn't care.

[geek tragedy]

80. What the fuck are you talking about? The guy arranged for his ex

to get raped and you're talking about 'best practices?'

Here's a best practice: Don't rape.

Both men belong in prison.

[hrmjustin]

76. Welcome to DU my friend!

[Ubik]

83. thank you very much your majesty and hell yes on marriage equality!

[hrmjustin]

84. Your welcome and we are glad to have you here on DU!

Marriage Equality Forever!

[LanternWaste]

67. I often demand that of my friends who tell me about the wonderful dinner they recently had

"Link or it didn't happen..."

I often demand that of my friends who tell me about the wonderful dinner they recently had. "Link, or it didn't happen."

Of course, it makes me look both lazy and idiotic... and it is a wee bit lazy and idiotic, but we must march on in solidarity and always verify these most important and critical of circumstances lest we purchase a bridge in Brooklyn or find out that the deliciously seasoned pork chops were simply a Big Mac.

[Chan790]

11. As a pervert...I take great offense.

I have never sexually-assaulted anybody in my life and neither has most anybody I know involved in any sort of alternative-lifestyle or sexuality. (It is a concern and one that people are aware of and on the lookout for in the alt-sex community.)

Your comment is par for the course...attempted shaming, marginalization and even criminalization of people who engage in types of consensual sex-play and kink that makes you uncomfortable. While this incident was uncomfortable for the woman who had to deal with her neighbor's prank, I'm sure it was just as uncomfortable for the flasher caught in the middle of that prank. He's not less of a victim here than she is. You have no basis to accuse the people responding to the ad of being likely to sexually-assault her, nor do you have any basis to assume she was in any greater danger of being sexually-assaulted by one of them than by any random member of the public. We're not criminals...we're just people who want to be free to express our sexuality, with willing partners, in ways that we find fulfilling without being shamed or discriminated against for it.

The rule, regardless what your kink is, is SSC...Safe, Sane and Consensual. Sexual-assault is by definition non-consensual.

Perhaps before you post shite on DU, you might know what you're talking about.

[hootinholler]

18. Us pervs who embrace our pervosity...

Would never harm without permission, as I'm sure you are aware. The post you respond to also promotes the stereotype that rape is about sex.

You said it so well!

[BainsBane]

29. It wasn't consensual

She didn't invite the men over.

[Chan790]

49. No. She did not.

He also didn't sexually assault her. All he did was show up to the address he was invited to naked because some dipshit decided it was a good idea for a prank. Naked interloper also a victim, not a criminal. The criminal is the guy that decided to post the Craigslist ad.

If having someone show up in stages of undress or naked on my doorstep is sexual assault...I've been assaulted every time one of my idiot fraternity brothers decided to send me a male strippergram for my birthday....which would be every year since I turned 19.

[BainsBane]

51. the person charged

is not the guy who turned up naked but the one who exposed his neighbor to attack. In a similar situation, a woman was raped. Predators lurk on places like Facebook. The man knowingly exposed his neighbor to danger. The charge is entirely warranted.

[Chan790]

54. Again...link or it didn't happen.

In a similar situation, a woman was raped.

It's the same challenge I made to dash87...you want to assert the unverified tale of someone being raped in the same situation as proof of someone being raped in the same situation and legitimize your perceived threat, then the onus lies on you to provide collaboration of your assertions.

Until then, it's just another person spouting a kink-shaming fairy-tale as fact.

[BainsBane]

57. You've already seen the link

Redqueen gave it to you. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/09/08/what-are-the-legal-penalties-for-using-craigslist-to-crowd-source-revenge/
You evidently paid no more attention to that than the article in the OP.

[Chan790]

70. I just responded to Ubik who actually posted the exact link to the news story in question.

Here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2895166

[BainsBane]

82. Your comments are completely irrelevant

They assume two consensual parties. That was not the case here. Women do not put their addresses on to Craigslist. The only people who do that are someone seeking revenge against another person. No woman lives past age 30 without learning how to take precautions. The woman here didn't have that opportunity because someone sought to harm her as a vendetta. There are very basic concepts concerning consent that haven't sunk into your head. That you respond to learning about a rape with some survey about rape fantasies is disgusting.

[hrmjustin]

93. Welcome to DU my friend!

[BainsBane]

95. What a terrible thing for you to have to go through

I hope your neighbor is punished for the crime. Welcome to DU!

[dballance]

100. There have been a lot of "insiders" sign up for DU lately. All with insider info on crimes, etc.

I see this one got nuked. Like the others.

There has been a spate of new members signing up on DU that claim to be the one of the parties, a family member or close friends of people in prominent news stories. More sign up than one would think is statistically possible for them to all end up on DU.

It appears that they're being nuked as trolls. It's probably the same person and they probably are a troll.

If that's the case it's kind of sad that someone has to do that to get something out of their life.

[BainsBane]

101. How do you know it wasn't her?

I don't think they can know.

[dballance]

104. Of Course, You are Correct. I Can't Know for 100% Certain.

I can't know for 100% certain and neither can the admins, hosts or MIRT.

However, as I mentioned, the statistical likelihood of all these people (who are either involved in or so closely related to news stories across the country) all of a sudden signing up for DU in the last 30 days is rather low. Not to mention, why would DU be one's go-to place to post on their troubles in the first place? You can't even start a thread out of the gate. You have to post multiple times before you're allowed to start a thread. There are many other sites where one could go, sign up, and start posting new blogs/threads right away. Why not go to Reddit, Facebook or Twitter instead? Why go to a site that is a political discussion site?

The admins do have ways of checking to see if a member is posting from the same place with multiple names. Given the nature of the internet and mobile devices that is not 100% fool-proof. But it's a good start to narrow things down.

Would I be sad if a person who was really involved got nuked by accident? Yes. But I'm also one to be more pissed at people who take advantage of other peoples' tragedies and difficulties for their own devices. Sorry, but on the internet the latter is far more likely these days than the former.

[BainsBane]

105. Yeah, I suppose I'm gullible

I tend to believe people.

[dballance]

108. It just points out what a cynical SOB I am. And I am.

[morningfog]

22. WHat if didn't happen. This is no felony. Police state run amok.

[bluestate10]

31. The Craiglist poster's ass should be left to rot in jail. Fuck a police state,

what that moron did was exceptionally dangerous to his neighbor.

[morningfog]

35. Rot in jail? Wow.

Do you realize what you are saying? Get some perspective.

[Egalitarian Thug]

39. There is no perspective anymore.

We're surrounded by people conditioned to be terrified of everything and everybody.

[geek tragedy]

97. Maliciously exposing a woman to unwanted sexual contact

and possibly rape is criminal, yes.

Those who think it's funny or harmless are the ones who lack perspective.

[LanternWaste]

99. Idiots indeed.

I imagine many people feel that those who recoil at unwarranted and unwanted sexual advances do indeed lack perspective. They're idiots for believing that, of course, but it's a delicious idiocy made all the more ironic because they are guilty themselves of what they indict others for; and yet further rationalize unwanted sexual advances as little more than "being conditioned".

Idiots indeed. Idiots who believe everyone else shares their same narcissism and vulgarity-- else lack perspective.

[HiPointDem]

44. rot in jail. perspective my ass. a man sends men he doesn't even know, who are looking for sex,

to an unsuspecting woman's house? there is no 'perspective'.

[morningfog]

47. Rot in jail? How long do you think that deserves?

[HiPointDem]

48. i thought i put you on ignore. apparently not, so i will now.

[morningfog]

53. Thank you very much.

[Exultant Democracy]

55. Still you should answer the question, how long does it take to rot jail?

10 years 20 year the rest of his life?

[HiPointDem]

60. 1) Fraud 2) Harrassment 3) Assault

[Exultant Democracy]

61. And your suggested jail time for the alleged crime in question? Excluding assult which he wasn't

charged with of course.

[HiPointDem]

63. sending someone to someone else's house to have sex = attempted assault.

it's not a fucking joke.

i see the charge is felony identity theft. the max considering this particular identity theft was an attempted assault would be great, plus a nice lifetime felon label for the asshole in question.

if he owns his house, hopefully he'll lose it.

[Exultant Democracy]

74. So he should lose his house and never be able to get a job again after being released from

a considerable amount of time in prison? That is the American way, I'm not going to argue with you about that. However it is also important to point out that if you get your way... the American way, there is a greater then 70% we will have manufacture a hardened criminal whose next crimes probably will end up hurting someone.

[Exultant Democracy]

52. But but but our jails need more people, how else will we stay number one?

Good the people so excited to toss non-violent offenders in jail if pretty fucking revolting. Plenty of jack boots on our side. Maybe we should ban the guy from using the internet for a while and make him do some community service. Ruin his life for a piss poor joke... if we are going to do that we should execute Bradly Manning for treason to while we are at it. Just-US the Amerikan way.

[Orrex]

94. What makes you think that they're perverts? Or that they'd have assaulted her?

Sounds like they thought that it was a consensual event. No indication that they showed up with hostile intent.

[Blue_Tires]

5. dumb...

[geek tragedy]

6. pathetic loser, deserves the jail time he'll get nt

[morningfog]

23. Deserves a felony? No one was hurt here. Come on.

[Sheldon Cooper]

27. Attempting to hire a hit man is also a felony.

Do you think it shouldn't be? I mean, no one was actually killed, were they?

[morningfog]

33. I don't see how those are remotely related.

Maybe you do?

[Sheldon Cooper]

36. Sure! No one was actually killed, so what's the problem??

That's your logic, not mine.

[morningfog]

37. No, not my logic, the reality.

No one was hired to kill or hurt anyone. No one had any intention of hurting or killing anyone. There is a huge expanse between hiring someone to kill another and inviting people to an address for a consensual sex party.

[winter is coming]

38. The reality is that the faux sex party was set up to harass the neighbor.

And if the neighbor had been trigger-happy, she might well have shot the guy who showed up. That would have been hilarious.

[geek tragedy]

50. Sure, just like no one is hurt in an attempted murder.

He placed that woman in real danger. Lock him up.

[morningfog]

56. Think this trough.

In an attempted murder, someone intends harm, intends to kill. This case lacks any intention to harm. That doesn't excuse stupidity, but doesn't reach a felony, in my opinion.

Lock him up for how long, says you?

[geek tragedy]

58. 2 years seems right. nt

[marions ghost]

71. +++

agree

[Quantess]

8. He's old enough to know better.

I can easily picture a teenager thinking it was hilarious. What a dumb thing to do.

[arely staircase]

21. yeh, that is why i am glad i didn't have the internet as a teenager

at 33 I would have never pulled such a stunt.

[morningfog]

24. No doubt it was stupid. But, a felony? Let's keep perspective.

[Sheldon Cooper]

34. Perspective?

He sent complete strangers to his neighbor's house, with the promise of free consensual sex with her, and you think it's a matter of perspective? Are you fucking kidding me? She could have been raped and/or killed, and you think it was just a joke, so what's the harm? You cannot be serious.

[richmwill]

40. Oh, now you've done it...

I said the same logical points in an earlier post on this thread and was accused of trying to "shame perverts" or some such nonsense, and told that we should really have sympathy for the true victim here- the poor, embarrassed flasher who showed up. Apparently he's every bit as much a victim as she was. According to some here.

[winter is coming]

41. If he went there looking for consensual sex, he is a victim.

That doesn't mean the prank didn't endanger the woman... the neighbor who set her up could just as easily invited a predator posing as someone interested in consensual sex.

[HiPointDem]

45. troll or freak. either way, he's on ignore now. beyond the pale.

[ieoeja]

81. If someone someday tricks you into showing up at a midnight church function ...

... only to have you awaken the poor priest who has no idea what it is you are talking about ... then everyone at DU can respond.

"Inviting perverts to a church as a 'joke' ...."


Unless you think that you would be "every bit as much a victim" as the priest was. According to some here, perhaps?

[morningfog]

59. There is a great deal of space between

"just a joke" and a felony. I never claimed it the former, but don't think it the latter either.

Your could have been's are all conjecture and didn't happen. This is not is the same realm as a rape, kidnapping, assault or murder. It is an insult to victims of those crimes to suggest that it is.

[galileoreloaded]

85. why woould ANYONE assume she would have been raped or killed?

dude show up INVITED, the exact opposite of non-consent. what pathology assumes he wouldn't leave the same way UNLESS you assume that men just cant control themselves.

the reality is that men have to deal with testosterone and impulse control from a young age and are by and large quite good at it.

this is sexist and disgusting!

shame on you AND the damned Matriarchy!

[Sheldon Cooper]

86. lol

[geek tragedy]

96. Definitely an act/gag/schtick.

Wonder what the agenda is.

[LisaL]

103. She didn't invite him.

[redqueen]

9. 30 and 60 year old men pulling this shit.

Puts the lie to that 'it's just stupid teenagers' crap.

I wonder what motivated these assholes ...

[arely staircase]

10. inmature dumbassedness eom

[Chan790]

13. They're immature to an extent that "immaturity" just doesn't cover it.

I see them a lot...they're grown-up man-children (and women-children too. It's not gender-or-sex-specific), the sort that think they're being funny committing acts of cruelty, picking on children, sexually-harassing women and abusing animals for fun. They also typically appreciate butt-chugs, Tucker Max and rape-jokes.

[redqueen]

14. Not 100% gender specific. I wouldn't agree that the scales are balanced.

Check these other stories out. There's a female perpetrator on this list, too.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/09/08/what-are-the-legal-penalties-for-using-craigslist-to-crowd-source-revenge/


This is not a joke. It is not funny.

[Chan790]

15. I don't believe I suggested the scales were balanced...

if I somehow gave that impression, I apologize for the non-clarity.

I think we're in agreement here that there is nothing funny about these people.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. This is not funny.

Also, craigslist is a fucking mess. I gave up on it years ago. Too many 419 scammers, for one.

[SidDithers]

68. You ever come across 419eater.com, Warren?...

http://www.419eater.com/

They turn the tables on the scammers, promising large sums of (fictitious) money if only the scammers will jump through increasingly outrageous hoops. Often, they get the scammers to spend money, but usually, they're manage to gt the scammers to pose for a really cool picture, like this:



Yes, that's a 419 scammer with a fish on his head.

Sid

[Warren DeMontague]

79. Not that one, but scamorama.com has some funny shit, too.

http://www.scamorama.com/

[tabbycat31]

26. Well I'm glad I was miles away when my ex dumped me

Because I could have done this to him.

[Initech]

32. Prank FAIL

[dembotoz]

46. waterford wisconsin is fairly near by--very conservative area

I pity the fool his day in court

[MrSlayer]

62. My bandmates and crew talk about that all the time.

If we had cell cameras and the Internet back in the day we'd all probably be in prison.

What this guy did was stupid and possibly dangerous but isn't felonious. A stiff fine is in order.

[YeahSureRight]

66. WTF this actually worked and people showed up??????

Hell if I put if an CL ad offering free weed to nymphomaniac women, a million guys pretending to be women would respond but not a single nymphomaniac women would.

[shawn703]

72. Yeah it's a funny prank

Until someone gets raped or murdered because they didn't get the joke.

This scumbag deserves what he gets.

[Gravitycollapse]

87. Not gonna lie. I laughed.

[arely staircase]

89. you are worse than hitler

eom

[brewens]

102. I've recently use the "Mike Hunt" gag. I'm on my cell phone looking in the

window of my buddies cafe. His cook answers the phone and falls for it. "Has anyone seen Mike Hunt!" She's looking around wondering what's so funny when it hits her, and then she hears me laughing and sees me through the window! I took off sort of running but I'm faster than her. Good thing too, she was pissed!

I'm 52 and I don't care who ya are. That there's funny! The dude in the story though. I can see thinking that would be funny when I was in high school maybe. If I actually did something like that to some girl, I would have felt pretty bad about it. Like having no clue actual perverts would show up and do something like the flasher guy did.

[99th_Monkey]

109. I'm glad the jerk was held accountable.

That is reassuring. What an ass-hat.

btw - the article says the guy was 30, not 33. Not that I care either way,
just sayin'