Tim Palchak Tim Palchak Tim Palchak

Oh maybe it's because of the Jackson story, or maybe if the gender of the victim was different? Had the offender been somehow associated with Christianity, oh yeah, you bet ya! But you must concede too Dave, the depravity of the story itself, makes it something unfit for the evening news.

Others can harrumph about why Frank Lombard's arrest isn't getting more airplay. There are after all, some who earn fortunes demonizing the media. But ya know Dave? Reinforcing opinions folk already hold, that's not journalism; it's pandering. Journalism is telling people what they don't know, or helping them see the mundane in a new light.

In an era when Bernie Madoff was stealing billions while dozens of elected and appointed officials looked the other way, it's important to think about who's awake at the switch. The FBI and Tim Palchak are still awake.

CSI makes crime fighting look exciting, clearcut and wrapped up in an hour. Catching child molesters on the internet isn't that way at all. TV shows depicting men arriving at a house where they thought to engage in sex with a teen, well those criminals are mostly amateurs. Besides, that's pederasty and its heterosexual equivalent. Pedophiles are in a different class.

A hardened, experienced pedophile is cunning, careful and patient. This is because their victims are pre-adolescent and don't have the least curiosity about sex. Even on the internet, with its pretense of anonymity, child molesters are skittish. It takes a lot of work to win their confidence and get evidence that will stand up in court. One false move and you've lost them for good. Then you have to go home, see your kids playing in the yard and know you let a creep get away. He'll continue to hurt children, and there's nothing you can do about it.

That's the kind of work Tim Palchak does, working with the FBI unit. Frank Lombard isn't even his first big bust so far this year. In the Lombard case it was a chain of busts that led to North Carolina. A pedophile was caught, then pressured for names and assistance.

The task of catching monsters goes like that. A man was molesting his adopted son, and invited others to do so. Now he's off the streets, thanks to Tim Palchak and his FBI colleagues.