March 7

Events

1999 - He who lives in plastic houses ... or something like that .... - The Los Angeles Times printed a story on this date on the Adult Baby (AB) Diaper Club, also known as Diaper Pail Friends (DPF), a Web-based organization that's been around for almost 20 years with some 15,000 participants worldwide. What makes an adult want to wear diapers? "I think everybody has different reasons. Some were abused, some were loved to death, some of us were bed wetters, some of us were pants wetters," said Mike, DPF's Southern California Regional Director. "With me there's a bit of a sexual gratification in there, too. Masturbation in the diapers; I started doing that when I was 13 years old. There are a lot of people out there who enjoy doing that. In the AB community we're very accepting of each other, which is unique." It would seem, however, that the diaper-boys are not so tolerant of others. "There is a very, very thick line between this and pedophilia," Mike said. "If DPF finds out there's a pedophile in the organization, they'll kick them out. We want to have absolutely nothing to do with that. This is just about nurturing your little self; pedophilia is damaging."

2001 - The way many in "the other half" live - UNICEF issued a report on this date in which they said that child marriages are common in Asia and Africa, with extreme cases occurring in central and south Asia. They called for an end to the practice, saying that it generally affects young girls, who often suffer a physical and emotional toll from early marriage and motherhood. UNICEF said the extreme cases of child marriages were in Afghanistan and Bangladesh, where 54 percent and 51 percent of girls respectively were married by the time they were 18. In Nepal, where the average age to get married was 19 years, seven percent of girls were married before they reached the age of 10, while four among ten were married by the time they were 15. In Mali, 72% of girls 15-19 were married and in 8 other African countries the numbers ranged from one-third to two-thirds of teen girls being married. When a teenage girl gets married in Africa, her husband's status is seen as being just under God. The world "pedophile" does not exist in any African language. UNICEF called for governments and grassroots groups to discourage child marriages by educating parents and young people about the implications of the practice on girls. It said early marriage constitutes a violation of a girl's human rights - primarily because it can deprive her of the right to give full and free consent to marry.

2002 - Talk about room service! - In Colorado, the Sheriff's department transferred 34-year-old Gerald Lewis from Denver County Jail to face three counts of sexual assault on young girls. Several hours later, county deputies mistakenly placed a 16-year-old girl in the jail cell with the accused pedo. As a result of that ... and what happened next ... Lewis was additionally charged with another count of third-degree sexual assault after molesting the 16-year-old. According to jail officials, Lewis had crawled under his bunk to escape the light in the jail cell. Thinking the cell was empty, deputies escorted the teenage girl inside at about 9:15 a.m. to await an appearance in juvenile court. The girl spent about 40 minutes in the cell with Lewis who allegedly fondled her buttocks over her clothing. The two deputies staffing the holding cell were investigated as a result of the screw-up. "This was a very unfortunate error," said Undersheriff Grayson Robinson. "I hope all jails are like this one," said Lewis.

2002 - Boys will do boys! - Five fourth-grade boys performed oral sex on one another during class at least twice at a Texas Elementary School. A child in the class told the teacher about the BJs on this date, and the next day they were suspended. In interviews with police, the boys - all ages 9 and 10 - admitted the acts took place the fall of 2001 and again in February, 2002. School officials confirmed that the incidents took place. "It was a dare," Superintendent Dana Marable said. Marable said the acts took place during a free reading time, when everyone in the classroom, including the teacher, is supposed to be reading. The boys had retreated to beanbag chairs in the back of the classroom and were using their coats to hide from the teacher. "The little boys didn't do it in front of the teacher," Marable said. "They hid." The school reacted by suspending the boys for a day and, putting them in alternative classes, and giving them counseling.