Pedophile removes web photo of Obama's daughters after legal threat

A self-admitted pedophile has removed from his Web site a family photo of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, his wife and two daughters after receiving a cease and desist order from the presidential candidate's attorney. Proud pedophile Lindsay Ashford, who runs Puellula Web site based in Panama, said despite the request from Obama attorney Robert F. Bauer, he is keeping up a link to the senator's presidential campaign site, in part because he considers it a tribute. "I have no intention of removing references to Senator Obama and his family from my website. Whatever anybody thinks of my opinions, they are not defamatory. If anything, my comments are laudatory. Furthermore, my right to express my opinion is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution," he wrote in a letter to Bauer. Ashford's response came after Bauer wrote on behalf of Obama ordering the family photo to be removed. [...]

Ashford, who is brazen enough to post his photo on his site along with a long biography that reveals he has a daughter, wrote Bauer to say that pedophilia itself is not the same as child molestation and is not illegal on its face. "Pedophilia, according to the definition of the American Psychiatric Association is a sexual attraction to children. It does not imply any action whatsoever upon that attraction. ... Whilst I agree that under the laws of many nations, sexual contact with children is illegal, my website does not encourage anybody to break the law. In fact, it clearly discourages illegal activity. It does support using democratic means to encourage dialogue and reconsider such statutes," Ashford wrote. [...]

Aside from the adoration of young girls, Ashford also uses the site to rail against the United States, which he calls "the Evil Empire," and post anti-Israel commentary, among other topics. [...] "I certainly hope that Senator Obama would agree that debate and public discourse are important facets of any democratic society, irrespective of how distasteful some may find particular issues," he said.

source: 'Pedophile Removes Web Photo of Obama's Daughters After Legal Threat'; www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256740,00.html; FOXNews.com; 5 March 2007