The Shiitake Awards Nominees Blog is back and I have some catching up to do.
On Saturday, September 30, 2023, Charlotte Sena went missing from a New York State park. At some point in the search for the missing person, WNYT 13 reported that, “Investigators are now interviewing sex offenders in three counties.” Internet “sleuths” also joined in the fray, with a private investigator named Bill Warner took to Reddit (the subreddit "r/CharlotteSena") to push the theory that a person listed on the sex offense registry was responsible, without any evidence to the contrary. Guess which state he's from? Hint, the last syllable is -DUH.
On the Reddit post entitled, “18 Violent Sex Offenders Live Just 6 Miles from Moreau Lake State Park where Charlotte Sena went missing”, Warner posted, “Some of these sex offender goons living near Moreau State Park where Charlotte Sena was abducted are 'Risk level: 3 - High Risk of Re-offense' this NY State classification is equal to a Predator classification for sex offenders in Florida, bad news guys who did hard time in prison, worst of the worst!” Warner then proceeded to stir up an Internet mob:
After posting the names and the registry information of Registrants living within a few miles of the park on his (poorly designed) Google blog, Warner added, “THIS A BAD BUNCH OF DUDES LIVING RIGHT NEXT TO THE STATE PARK, YOU JUST KNOW THEY ARE OVER THERE TO THE PARK EVERY DAY THAT THEY CAN.” On Warner’s personal blog, he posts the names, personal information, and photos of Registrants in the area and includes statements like “Sex offenders never cured (sic).”
Charlotte Sena was found alive after police raided the home of a suspect. Despite early reports from the news media that the suspected kidnapper had a “sexual abuse criminal history,” the suspect was NOT on the sex offense registry and the media had to update their reporting. The Times-Union later reported that while the suspect had been questioned about a familial offense, he was never charged with a sex offense. The suspect had what was described as a “minor criminal history,” including a DWI, assault-related offense and harassment.
Some people seemed disappointed that a person on the registry. On Bill Warner’s aforementioned blog post, Warner noted, “Nine year old Charlotte Sena has been found safe but violent sex offenders are out there and your children are at risk.”
