And in somewhat surreal crime news:

Despite his efforts to feign girlishness and his use of the name Madison, Mr Alec Ray Craig, aged 27, found himself in the care of the Albany Police Department and Linn County Court, where fabulist pronouns are scrupulously observed by all parties:

Because in matters of this kind, what you need is more confusion. Further departure from reality.

At which point, readers may wonder whether jail might serve the not insignificant purpose of keeping a deranged paedophile away from his prey.

And local parents will doubtless sleep soundly. What with Mr Craig’s track record of observing boundaries. As when, in 2023, following his abuse of a minor, Mr Craig was given similar instructions, months before his attempt to once again mingle with schoolchildren.

And then of course there’s the assumption that one can rely on the promise of a 27-year-old man who is convinced he’ll be perceived as an adolescent girl.

Mr Craig, a participant in online fetish communities, refers to himself as a “femboi,” a “furry,” and a “therian,” the latter term denoting his supposedly non-human status:

Ah, that would explain it. It all makes sense now.

Lest anyone get the, er, wrong idea.

One might note the selectivity of the police, court and media in terms of which pretences are to be indulged with great diligence. Such that claiming to be a child, when you’re actually 27, to thereby gain sexual access to minors, is referred to as “pretending,” while claiming to be female, all physical reality to the contrary, is not.

Update, via the comments:

Regarding the curious leniency of the court, Dicentra adds,

That would at least explain why the go-to solution is the thing tried last time and which clearly didn’t work.

In turn, commenter Aitch cites this,

Adding,

While Rafi quotes the linked article,

And offers a summary:

And so, when local parents discover that a determined paedophile has once again been stalking children, and even trying to enrol in schools – supposedly as a girl, despite him being a 27-year-old man with facial hair – then none of those concerned parents must be allowed to know what the man in question looks like, or to know about his previous crimes – even though he’ll be loose again within days – and they must not be allowed to pass comment on his somewhat bizarre appearance.

Because that would be hateful, it seems. The very stuff of wickedness.

What a strange place we’ve arrived at.

Consider this an open thread. Share ye links and bicker.