February 16

Events

1931 - Where "ethnographic studies of young natives of the island of Sicily" meets "hot boy pix." - Wilhelm von Gloeden was a prolific homo-erotic photographer who achieved a high level of fame and status in the artistic community. From the early 1880s on, he specialized in photographs of naked boys in bucolic settings, becoming a pioneer of open air photography. In the years between 1878 and 1914 he created more than 7,000 nude studies. von Gloeden died on this date at the age of 75. His work was somewhat controversial in his time for being pictures of nudes. In more recent times, it is the age of his subjects that has been the new focus of those less accepting of his art. It's always something!^[1]

1998 - Never too young to start - Al Lance, The Attorney General of Iowa, issued a press release on this date to express his delight at the Iowa Senate for deciding to create a special sex offender registry to track only juveniles - kids from 14 to 18 - who have been convicted of sex offences. The proposal passed by a vote of 33 to 1. Lance said, "The Senate vote recognizes the concern throughout Idaho with the growing problem of children being abused by other children. I am confident the House of Representatives will give this bill the same thorough and thoughtful consideration." Well, whether they were "thoughtful" or not, they did pass the bill as well. The law allowed for the state to keep any juvenile offenders on the registry even after their 21st birthday if the county prosecuting attorney proves to a court that the individual continues to pose a threat. The legislation also required that the Superintendent of Public Instruction notify local school districts of juvenile sex offenders attending school within the district.^[1]

2000 - Living up to his pseudonym - The Los Angeles U.S. Marshal’s office and the New York Secret Service, among other law enforcement agencies, asked Howard Stern on this date to release information about a recent guest on his radio show, a man who was convicted of molesting a 10 year old boy. The guest, known as "Randy," admitted to Stern on the air that he failed to register with local law enforcement as required under Megan’s Law and that he was still taking showers with his 9 year old stepson. Randy also said that he was spending a lot of time with his son’s Little League baseball team, which he said excites him sexually. He also talked of the baseball team spending time in his swimming pool. Randy, who said he was a member of NAMBLA, thanked Stern during the show for helping him turn his life around. Just how he had turned his life around and what Stern had to do with it was unclear.^[1]

February 16, 1931 - Wilhelm von Gloeden was a German photographer and boylover.

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Author unknown. "This Day In Pedo History: February 16", 2003. Retrieved on 3-10-15.