Jackson Jambalaya

So, atttempted kidnapping isn't a crime ... or verbally enticing a child to become one's victim doesn't count?

Note to Legislature: there's a hole needs fixin'.

Or... The unsubstantiated claim of a 13-year old, in and of itself, is not sufficient to put someone in jail.

Note to @3:22: Due process survives another day.

Uh what? I thought juries decided such things. The guy wasn't accused of treason!

The wild goose chase regarding pornography is one thing; however, I'm almost certain the sheriff's investigative team asked "Why did you attempt to get this young female child to get in your vehicle and leave the premises with you at 6:20 on the morning of ..... ?"

Maybe JJ's next update will ask that important question of the S.O.

I suspect the family doesn't want to put their girl through a prosecution. Short sighted but I'm not in their shoes.

The family didn't even call law enforcement to report this. JJ asked the Sheriff's Office about the email, and the Sheriff's office then contacted the family.So again I ask, if it was that threatening to the girl, why didn't they report it? Surely, they would have done so to avoid having another child approached if they truly felt it was an attempted kidnapping by a pedophile.

Sorry, this just sounds like something that has gotten embellished as it traveled through the neighborhood.

@ 10:48....Columbo, is that you?

3:22 so you want a law that a grown man cannot speak to a child? what is REPORTED is suspicious behavior, but is not and should not be deemed a crime. this has been completely blown out of proportion by JJ's "report".

7:09, the report was that he asked her to get in his car. Don't be dense.

12:27 not "dense". I understand that charging a crime requires proof. And there wasn't any; if there were even a shred, I'll bet Rankin SO would have arrested him. Statutory crimes have to be specific as to what conduct is to be deemed illegal. It would be very difficult, probably impossible to draft a statute that would criminalize what was REPORTED [unproven]

So, if I understand 3:12, he/she thinks it's totally harmless for a middle aged man to ask a little girl to get into his car at daylight? And the reason it's totally harmless is because there is no specific law against it?

3:12- "a man who was either delivering or pretending to deliver the Rankin Ledger newspaper drove up to her and engaged her in conversation. He attempted to lure her into his car."

JJ on May 8. If this has been shown false, let KF retract it.

Is your last name "Franklin" 3:12?

Is it harmless? Absolutely not, which is why I don't understand the parents not reporting it to law enforcement. Particularly in light of the little girl who has been missing for over a month now.

Is it a crime? Based on the facts established by the Rankin County Sheriff's investigation, it is not. This all leads me to believe that perhaps the details as publicly discussed are not the same as the details revealed by the investigation.

The statement released by the RC detective was fairly specific. 3:12, you can't talk your way out of this one.

The guy admitted to his former employer he asked the girl to get in his car. He also admitted it to the detective. Apparently, asking kids to get in your car isn't illegal.

But stop with the unproven mess. It was proven. He admitted it. Is that clear enough for you?

And yes the parents in the area have every right to be upset, both at the mother for not immediately reporting it and at law enforcement for sitting on it for a few days. Thankfully (I guess?) we are just dealing with a garden-variety nutcase instead of a real perv. We may not be so lucky next time.

Thank you, Kingfish, for staying on this and posting about it. Without your and Rez News' efforts this probably would've been swept under the rug.

I ain't thru hammerin' on 3:12 yet. He/she suggests now that because the immediate action of the parents did not mirror what he/she thinks might have been his/her own actions, then the whole thing is bogus. I think 3:12 is a 25 watt bulb that came packaged in a box of 100s.

@ 9:22 pm and 9:06 am, if what you say is true, why was he not arrested for those actions instead of some totally unrelated charge? I'll give you a hint - because no one could prove he broke any law.

Not every middle aged guy is a rapist you bunch of jackles.

I know this guy...he'd talk to a wall. Hes not a pedophile...has no history of any such conduct..and is now soon to be jobless and homeless because people have over reacted.

I recognize that fellow - he used to work at the old Amoco on the corner of North State and Poplar, across from the Baptist Hospital. The above poster is right - he chatters incessantly to anyone and everyone. My impression was he was a hardworking guy who had come down in life and worked a number of jobs just to keep body and soul together. I'm sorry to hear he's in trouble.

How about this folks, as a form of compromise:

The next time some random guy is questioned about soliciting our kids to get in a vehicle, why don't we post about it here and get your opinion before he's detained or arrested? Will that work?

Warms my heart that you're willing to play fast and loose with my kids' safety.