Patterico's Pontifications has been reporting this angle for days, first with "Evidence That Weiner Was Talking Dirty to Underage Girls? Part 2," Then yesterday with Part 3, but now news reports are coming out the the police are investigating Anthony Weiner's online communication with an underage girl.
NEW CASTLE, Del. -- Police on Friday afternoon came to the home of a 17-year-old high school junior to ask her about direct online communications she has had with Rep. Anthony Weiner.
Two officers from the New Castle County Police Department arrived at the girl's home around 4:30 p.m. and asked to speak with the girl's mother about the daughter's contact with Weiner. Another officer appeared at the home a short time later. A FoxNews.com reporter was at the home when the police arrived.
The girl, whose name is being withheld because she is a minor, told FoxNews.com, "I'm doing OK.
While the pathetic major media outlets are busy focusing on emails from Sarah Palin, some news organizations are reporting actual news involving a sitting Democratic New York Congressman.
[Update 6/11/11] Weiner admits to messages with the underage girl in question, but reports say nothing in those messages were criminal in nature. (In other words, no sexual content in those private messages)
“According to Congressman Weiner, his communications with this person were neither explicit nor indecent,” said the statement.
On Saturday morning, the New York Post and the New York Daily News reported that the New Castle cops had not found anything wrong in Weiner’s exchanges with the teen-ager.
“They were made aware of an alleged contact between Congressman Anthony Weiner and an area teen,” said New Castle County police spokeswoman Officer Tracey Duffy, according to the Post. “The teen has been interviewed and disclosed no information regarding any criminal activity.”
The parents were aware of the communications but assumed they were via the public Twitter messages and say they were unaware of the private ones.
This brings us to the question of whether private messaging with an underage girl is appropriate or inappropriate and if there are any more underage girls he was sending private communications to.
It comes down to perception in the end.
Had his online sexual escapades not become public or better yet had they not occurred at all, would anyone even blink over a Congressman sending an innocent note or two to a 17 year old who seemed to have a crush on him?
Perhaps.
I keep thinking about the time before Internet was a huge communication hub.
If an underage girl sent a communication to an older public official and the official wanted to encourage their interest in politics, would they meet with the kid in public to be "nice" or would they suggest a private setting for a meeting?
The perception of the public meeting would be the official was interactive with constituents and encouraging to minors that would perhaps someday choose to go into politics or become politically active.
The perception of a private meeting could be it was inappropriate as the girl in question's parents seem to think.
.