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T.O. police arrest man in sexual abuse case
Teen met Agoura Hills resident at camp where he was an instructor
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McEnnan
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More from Conejo ValleyAn Agoura Hills man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of continuous sexual abuse of a child, Thousand Oaks police said.
James McEnnan, 29, was taken into custody after officers served a search warrant at his Agoura Hills home.
McEnnan met the 14-year-old girl, who is in eighth grade, last year at the camp she attended and where he worked as a camp instructor, Detective Eric Buschow of the Thousand Oaks Police Department said.
McEnnan and the girl began a sexual relationship in November 2007, when she was 13, Buschow said.
During the relationship, McEnnan sent sexually explicit videos via the Internet of himself to the girl, who lives in the Conejo Valley, police said.
"This is one of those situations where parents need to be aware of and monitor their children closely when they are online," Buschow said. "To allow a child to have private, exclusive access to the Internet is like letting them walk through a red light district."
McEnnan also works as a tutor for children in the entertainment industry.
He was booked into East Valley Jail and was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
The Agoura man was also arrested on suspicion of oral copulation with a person under 14, oral copulation with a person under 16 and sending harmful matter via the Internet.
Police collected various items of evidence at McEnnan's home but would not say what they were because the investigation is continuing.
Posted by Pogmothoin on May 7, 2008 at 7:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ouch. Game over for this loser.
Posted by try_mee_76 on May 7, 2008 at 7:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Busted. 13 year olds having sex makes me feel sick!!
Posted by sokol_kiev on May 7, 2008 at 7:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great work, T.O. Police! Thank you!!!
Posted by vcsexplorer11 on May 7, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I see pregnant 16 year olds in Oxnard all the time. Why would this be a surprise except that in this case the suspect was arrested?
Posted by TheVeracious1 on May 7, 2008 at 10:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
C'mon people, all together now . . . "Do an adult crime, do the adult time!!" Right?
14 year-olds know the difference between right and wrong. As soon as she made the "adult decision" to have an ongoing sexual relationship with this 29 year-old man, she gave up her right to be a victim.
Since they are not charging this 29 year-old man with rape, and we all know it takes two to tango, this was obviously a series of well thought out decisions that she made over a long period of time. She made a decision to have an ongoing sexual relationship with this 29 year old man knowing full well it was illegal.
It's really quite simple. Kids need learn from this so they will finally stop having sex with adults. We need to send a strong message to the rest of the kids in the community and punish this 14 year-old as an adult. How else are kids going to learn that it's not ok to have sex with adults? If we don't punish this 14-year old to the full extent of the law, kids will just keep getting further out of control and before we know it they are ALL going to want to have sex with adults.
Charge this 14 year-old girl with having an ongoing sexual relationship with an adult, and for receiving and watching pornography over the Internet that was supplied by an adult. If she showed anyone the vidoes, charge her with distibution. C'mon, this 14 year-old girl knew full well what she was doing was wrong.
And don't give me any psycho-babble excuses about how this girl was tricked, or lured, or just wanted attention, or was manipulated. It doesn't matter whatsoever if she did come from a dysfuctional family. And please don't tell me about how her brain isn't developed and matured. None of it changes the simple fact that she knows right from wrong.
We really get this figured out so we can make responsible, well thought out decisions. If we can't make rational and responsible decisions, how can we ever expect our kids to?
Ok, here's my theory . . .
Those who justify prosecuting Brandon McInerney for his "adult decision" because "14 year-olds are old enough to know right from wrong" will be the SAME people who will say that THIS 14 year old girl is a "victim" because she doesn't possess the level of maturity needed to take responsibility for her decisions that resulted in her ongoing sexual relationship with a 29 year old.
Let the hypocrisy begin!
Posted by damary on May 7, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The veracious one wrote..."Charge this 14 year-old girl with having an ongoing sexual relationship with an adult, and for receiving and watching pornography over the Internet that was supplied by an adult. If she showed anyone the vidoes, charge her with distibution. C'mon, this 14 year-old girl knew full well what she was doing was wrong."
I think someone is living in an alternate reality. There is no crime in having a sexual relationship with an adult. There is nothing to charge her with. The crime is in having a sexual relationship, even a consensual one, with a *13* year old girl.
Even if you don't believe that she is an innocent victim, in the real world that we actually live in, at most she is subject to being grounded and having some priveleges taken away from her. Hopefully her parents will also be getting her some counseling.
Adults need to be adults. Shifting the blame to the child does not excuse the immoral and illegal behavior of the adult in this situation.
Posted by BeaHappi on May 7, 2008 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
TheVeracious1...obviously we don't know all of the details in this one but a 14-year old who agrees to have sex with an adult is an entirely different situation then a 14-year old killing a classmate.
However, I do think that the underage kids who willingly and knowingly enter into relationships with adults should be held accountable in some way. And it's not just older men with younger women; we've seen plenty of stories about older women with younger guys.
The thing is for the adults is that they know this crap is illegal and it's just plain stupid. No matter how attractive or willingly the underage person is...it's still wrong. As ADULTS we are responsible to think with our brains and not with our...well, you know.
I do wonder in these cases though, what the parents do after all of this is discovered. As a parent myself, I hope that I never have to find out.
Posted by lilmamma on May 7, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Someone knew they were having sex all this time and he is just now being arrested?? What camp does he work at so I don't send my daughter there.
Posted by Ms_California on May 7, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Again, it comes down to the parents not knowing what their children are doing. I just can't understand it? How can you not know? Com'on people monitor your kids, be involved in their lives and ask questions. I am sure this was consensual between the 14 yro girl and the 29 yro male but it still isn't right. I mean what could they possibly have in common other than sex? This guy is sick! Truth be known, he is brain maturity is probably that of a 14 yro! Should we try his as an adult? chuckle
Posted by Ms_California on May 7, 2008 at noon (Suggest removal)
OK I couldn't speak during my last commented post.. let me correct my last sentence so it makes sense .. haha
" Truth be known, he's brain maturity is probably that of a 14 yro! Should we try him as an adult? chuckle" adding another chuckle for my lazy typing!
Posted by Adam_Monroe on May 7, 2008 at 12:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Deport him!!! Oh wait....
Good work TO Police!!
Posted by vcsexplorer11 on May 7, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My guess is that the 14 year, who is just as guilty as the adult, got pissed off at him about something (maybe she wanted him to buy her something and he refused) and she ratted him out.
Not to say what either of them did was right but I have a feeling these kind of hidden affairs go one more then we know. Again, I see many 16 year old (or younger) girls pregnant walking around at local malls. I am sure that it wasn't immaculate conception and even if it wasn't a adult it is still rape.
Posted by TheVeracious1 on May 7, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
damary -
Alternate reality? Real world? The reality of this real world is that this guy will end up in prison, she will get her iPod taken away for a week, and her parents will continue to dodge their responsibilities.
The truth is that they BOTH knew right from wrong. But the REAL crime is that our judicial system refuses to exercise common sense and discretion, and EVERY parent already knows that ignoring their children is what sets the stage for this and many other bad things to happen to their children.
Let's not forget that since 14 year-olds are now expected to be held accountable to adult standards for their actions. Based on the fact that they know right from wrong, I think we need to add some laws to the books so her actions will be considered criminal as well.
Sounds like we've got a young girl who was probably desperate for attention and validation from ANY adult because her parents were obviously ignoring her.
BeaHappi -
I was only trying to point out the hypocrisy. I agree that a 29 year old has no business having sex with a 14 year old.
However, when we see 14, 15, 16, and 17 year-olds that have clearly made bad decisions, it shouldn't matter whether it's is a decision to have sex with a 29 year old, or a decision to kill someone, or a decision to take drugs.
Are we going to create and enforce laws that hold 14-17 year olds responsible for their decisions, or are we going to keep flip flopping turning some kids into victims while treating others as criminals?
Posted by BeaHappi on May 7, 2008 at 3:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I knew what you were trying to point out, but I don't think you're comparing apples to apples.
In any case, they could have arrested this guy for complete stupidity! And Ms_California - you made me laugh! Ha ha...maybe he should be tried in the 'not mature brain' category!
Posted by sparks240 on May 7, 2008 at 6:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Parents should install key logger programs on their kids computers. You can check every site they visited and everything they have done.
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