Gays involved with a group that conducts controversial online sting operations against adult men who solicit sex from underage teenagers of both sexes are calling on the gay community to take a more visible stand against the sexual exploitation of children and teens.

Perverted Justice, the group some have criticized as vigilante, participated in a Nov. 4 nationwide broadcast of the weekly program “Dateline NBC,” which used hidden cameras to show men arriving at a house in Fairfax County, Va., for that they believed were meetings with underage teens of both sexes for sexual encounters.

Instead, much to their shock and horror, they were greeted by “Dateline NBC” reporter Chris Hansen, who informed them that the “teens” between the ages of 12 and 15 with whom they thought they were about to have a sexual tryst were actually adults members of a group called Perverted Justice.

Members of this nationwide Internet group say they train for and carefully carry out online sting operations to expose men seeking out underage teens for sexual encounters. The group’s leaders said they avoid illegal entrapment by waiting for the adult men to initiate a sexual assignation. Perverted Justice refers successful stings to local law enforcement authorities, who often prosecute the men involved.

“I have been with Perverted Justice two and a half years, and I can say that I’m treated with respect and welcomed with open arms,” said gay Michigan resident Greg Brainer.

Xavier Von Erck, one of the group’s leaders, said Perverted Justice has no connection to religious right groups and considers itself non-sectarian. Von Erck, who is not gay, said the organization supports equal rights for all people, including gays, and welcomes all who supports its mission.

“We don’t consider men who solicit underage males to be part of the gay community,” Von Erck said. “If you go for a 13-year-old or a 12-year-old, it’s all the same,” he said.

Brainer called such predatory behavior “outrageous” and “just plain wrong,” and said he is hopeful that more gay men and lesbians will begin to speak out more openly against such behavior.

He said Perverted Justice members don’t link adults who solicit sex with underage teens with the gay community, and the gay community should “get over” its fears about being tarnished by the issue of pedophilia.

As of Nov. 12, the group had submitted information used to obtain 38 convictions since it began its online sting operations more than two years ago. It says 52 current cases are pending across the country, with many of the adults ensnared by the group awaiting trial.

Jack Drescher, a psychiatrist in private practice and president of the Association of Gay & Lesbian Psychiatrists, called the actions exposed by Perverted Justice as “predatory behavior” that occurs in men who are sexually attracted to teenagers of either sex, or both sexes.

Drescher noted that gays have historically been subjected to condemnation for sexual behavior between consenting adults. He said the condemnation is often politically motivated.

“So it’s not the way the gay community automatically thinks — to issue a response on this type of development,” he said.

Von Erck said about 75 percent of the adult men his group monitors on the Internet seek out female teenagers, with the remaining 25 percent soliciting sex from teen-age boys.

Brainer, 38, lesbian volunteer Del Harvey, 23, of California; and a 25-year-old gay male volunteer named Don, who declined to disclose his last name, each participated in the Fairfax sting operation recorded by Dateline NBC.

In what appears as a well-honed operation, the three gay volunteers and others who posed as teenagers created online profiles for chat rooms set up mostly for teenagers. In most cases, the chat rooms are on America Online and Yahoo, Brainer said.

In most cases, the adult “impersonators” obtain old photos of teenagers who are currently adults and who agree to contribute their photos for the cause, Brainer said. Once the adult impersonators enter a chat room, they remain passive and “wait” to see if anyone establishes contact with them.

In the case of the Fairfax operation, about 18 adult males made contact with the “teens” over a period of several days. Once the adults solicited the “teens” for sex, the impersonators expressed varying degrees of interest. Eventually, they told the adult suitors their parents were away from home and invited the adults to visit them.

In each case, according to NBC’s Hansen, the adult suitors specifically acknowledged the age of the “teen” they were pursuing, noting that they read the age in the “teen’s” online profile.

Among those ensnared the Fairfax sting was 55-year-old Rabbi David Kaye, who worked for a national youth group in Rockville, Md. Kaye, believing he was exchanging messages with a 13-year-old male, sent the “teen” a nude photo of himself, Hansen reported.

He also offered to perform oral sex on the youth. The adult who impersonated the teen accepted Kaye’s offer, according to transcripts of instant messages between Kaye and the fictitious minor.

The “teen” then invited Kaye to his house, saying his mother was deceased and his father was away on a trip. When Kaye arrived, he was greeted by Hansen, who began pressing him with questions about why he came to the house to have sex with a 13-year-old.

Several hidden television cameras recorded the encounter between Kaye and Hansen. “Dateline NBC” reported that even before the episode aired, Kaye resigned from his job at the Institute for Jewish Leaders & Values. He also reported finding online a photo of Kaye with two other rabbis later convicted of sexual misconduct.

Fairfax police spokesperson Rich Perez said police are investigating the information that Perverted Justice provided them in connection with the Fairfax sting operation. Perez said he could not comment on whether police plan to make any arrests.

According to a Fairfax police detective interviewed by Hansen on the “Dateline NBC” program, each of the adult men who solicited the underage teens for sex violated state laws pertaining to sexual solicitation of a minor. The law still applies even if the underage youths were fictitious creations of Perverted Justice, Hansen reported.

Bruce Weiss, executive director of D.C.’s Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, which provides programs for local gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, said he was not aware of SMYAL participants reporting attempts by adult males to solicit them for sex online.

Craig Bowman, SMYAL’s former executive director who currently heads the National Youth Advocacy Coalition, which advocates on behalf of gay youth, said his group seeks to educate young people about the potential dangers of the Internet.

James Cantor, a psychologist with the Clinical Sexology Services Unit of the Toronto-based Center for Addiction & Mental Health, said persons with sexual interests in children or underage teens can seek help from licensed mental health practitioners.

But he said those seeking help should discuss ahead of time whether state or national laws require mental health practitioners to report instances of sexual activity with minors to law enforcement agencies.

Assistant United States Attorney Pat Riley of D.C. said District law currently requires mandatory reporting of sexual abuse or exploitation of children or underage teens when it occurs within families.

However, Riley said an omnibus criminal justice bill pending before the D.C. Council would require that all health-related professions, including therapists, counselors, nurses, and psychiatrists, among others, report to the police clients or patients who admit to having engaged in sexual conduct with underage teens or children.

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