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FBI Yet to Find Evidence of Foley-Page Sexual Contact
October 18, 2006 10:15 AM
After interviewing some 40 former congressional pages, FBI agents have yet to turn up any evidence of direct sexual contact between underage pages and former Congressman Mark Foley.
Instead, according to law enforcement officials and several former pages, a pattern is emerging of seduction by Foley that began when the boys were 16 and 17. In cases where actual sex followed, it was not until the boys were at the legal age of 18.
"He spotted me when I was a page and set the hook while I was still in high school," one former page told ABC News. "He didn't reel me in until he showed up at my college campus on a congressional visit. We had sex," said the page, who has been interviewed by the FBI.
THE BLOTTER RECOMMENDS
"As someone who wrote many of the laws, he presumably knew exactly what he could get away with," said one law enforcement official.
As the former co-chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, he helped enact laws that toughened penalties on Internet predators and resulted in more FBI agents assigned to Internet sex crimes.
Throughout the lurid instant messages Foley sent to current and former pages, there are repeated references to waiting until the young men are 18.
Teen: im not 18 till feb 23
Maf54: i know.
Maf54: nothing will happen
Maf54: just dreaming
Maf54: don't worry
Teen: ya im still 17 till feb 23
Maf54: see you feb 24th
Former prosecutors and FBI agents who have worked on similar cases say, depending on the prosecutor, the instant messages contain more than enough material to bring a charge of soliciting sex over the Internet.
"I know some that would have him arrested tomorrow, and there are others who would seek actual contact," said former FBI agent Brad Garrett, now an ABC News consultant.
FBI agents are seeking to interview every male congressional page during the 12 years Foley served in Washington, according to officials and pages who have been interviewed.
"Then we plan to start questioning the female pages," said one senior law enforcement official.
Read the Blotter's Full Coverage on the Foley Internet Scandal.
October 18, 2006 in Mark Foley Internet Scandal | Permalink | User Comments (157)
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Well they just HAVE to keep looking. There MUST be something there, otherwise how will the Democrats and the ratings based news media keep this story afloat?
Posted by: dave | Oct 18, 2006 12:16:18 PM
What happened to "it's just sex?" - ...goalposts moving...
Posted by: Linda | Oct 18, 2006 12:18:48 PM
If Foley had a D after his name this wouldn't have made a ripple. Democrats are hypocrits in that they sweep their scandles under the rug,strongly defend it and applaud their behavior.
Posted by: C. Hallford | Oct 18, 2006 12:25:13 PM
The headline is misleading.....Your article is full of evidence of Foley-page sexual contact.
Another case of biased news coverage.
Posted by: Chris | Oct 18, 2006 12:33:59 PM
Mr. Ross,
Are you expanding your investigation to include former Congressman Stubbs and the treatment he received from the same Democrats who show "shock" to Foley's antics?
Just curious how fair you will be.
Posted by: GL Black | Oct 18, 2006 12:34:24 PM
Hey Brian, the story is over.
He did nothing illegal.
He did what Bill Clinton and many gay and straight men and women do: found some hot young thing to have consenting sexual relations with.
Same goes for the guy that went camping with legal aged _former_ pages. Nothing illegal. What's next somebody has sex with a "formerly underaged person" and that's a scandal?
Move on to something imporant like Harry Reid covering up his land deals with false financial reports.
Posted by: tj | Oct 18, 2006 12:36:45 PM
That's funny! No comments once you find out he didn't break the law. People are pitiful.
Posted by: Jason | Oct 18, 2006 12:39:59 PM
what idiots...there is nothing there. yet they waste valuable time and manpower...and wonder what happened the next time some terrorist hits us.
Posted by: dan | Oct 18, 2006 12:46:41 PM
If an average citizen made those same text messages, everyone would be clammoring to have them locked up and the key thrown in the drink! If they don't set the standard by making an example of him and treating him like the civilian he now is, then everyone else that wants or is doing the same thing, will continue to do so!
Posted by: Artgirl777 | Oct 18, 2006 12:48:09 PM
Brian,
If you concerned about the alleged victims, you would have run the story sooner. It clearly that you have chosen sides in your reporting.
Posted by: Bret | Oct 18, 2006 1:18:05 PM
"Then we plan to start questioning the female pages," said one senior law enforcement official.
-then things will get interesting-
Posted by: Big | Oct 18, 2006 1:28:36 PM
Do what? Have sex with people that are of age? News flash. Everyone's doing that already!
Posted by: John | Oct 18, 2006 1:29:03 PM
Yet to find sexual contact ? Obviously this was written by a right wing Republican sympathizer.
Any sane person of any political persuasion clearly sees the sexual nature of Foleys contact with underage boys . He should have already been arrested
Clearly Foley understood not only his perversion but also that he was illegally acting on his perversion with his sexual natureed contact with underage boys , otherwise he would have stayed and fought.. talk about cut and run ..
Posted by: Dan | Oct 18, 2006 1:31:04 PM
Funny how these people that are pleading for the discussion on Foley to end are the same people that couldn't stop talking about Monica Lewinsky, MONTHS after the scandal had broken. If soliciting sex with 16 year old boys is not that big of an issue to you, you should never in a million years consider yourself a 'value' voter, and I feel bad for your own kids.
Posted by: Brad | Oct 18, 2006 1:38:15 PM
witch hunt gone to know where
Posted by: mable | Oct 18, 2006 1:42:59 PM
ALL YOU "CHRISTIANS" just can't seem to handle the truth.
rove/bush taught you well, deny and divert.
Posted by: JOAN | Oct 18, 2006 1:43:46 PM
Just as I thought! As soon and the gay angle got out, people would start with ALL gays are after their children to "turn them". Fact: Pedophiles are OVERWHELMINGLY HETEROSEXUAL. I wonder if this would have been such an issue if it were females he was after. Yes, it is a witch hunt. I remember, it was not too long ago, that ALL African American's were thought of as second class citizens who have too many babies in order to stay on social programs to avoid working. How off were those ideas. Let's leave the sexual orientation out of it and deal with it for what i truly is: Pedophilia. Who cares if they are Democrats or Republicans
Posted by: kevin | Oct 18, 2006 1:45:22 PM
Where is the Crime. Why didn't ABC investigate this side of the story instead of "inadvertently" spotlighting a "scandal" six weeks out from an election?
Posted by: eric | Oct 18, 2006 1:52:51 PM
This isn't a Republican or Democrat problem... It is a human problem and these people are sick. Clinton abused his posistion to go after younger women, Foley did the same for younger men. It is a problem with sexually inappropriate acts and I think the laws are strict enough to nip this stuff in the bud.
We need tougher laws against Child Pornography, laws to protect kids from porn on the internet, and certainly tougher laws against sexual predators period.
Let's bring back castration?
Posted by: Travis from Edmond, OK | Oct 18, 2006 1:53:29 PM
The fact of the matter is -- regardless of whether or not this man had sex with them after they were 18 -- he was committing a crime by soliciting sex from a minor. Anyone who can defend that -- Democrat or Republican -- is full of crap! He broke the law, had lurid conversations with youths, and he should be held accountable. Anyone trying to say, "if he wasn't a Republican" or "if he was a Democrat," or any other such nonsense should have their head examined. This man is a sexual predator. Period.
If this was a normal everyday Joe -- like the majority of people posting here now -- we'd have already been locked up. We would not be able to run from our crimes by saying, "Oh, it was the alcohol, the priest that molested me... I've checked into rehabilitation." Our congress people are supposed to stand as examples for what upstanding citizens are, and when they break the law they should be held absolutely accountable to the full extent of the law.
Posted by: JB | Oct 18, 2006 1:53:58 PM
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