| What
is Perverted-Justice.com? Perverted-Justice.com
(henceforth referred to as "PJ") is a publicly accessible website, accessed
via the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) http://www.perverted-justice.com. PJ
is a "cyber-vigilante" organization whose members trawl Internet chat
rooms pretending to be teenage girls in the hopes of enticing men into sexually
graphic chats. Once targeted, their members begin a campaign to obtain and publicly
display every possible shred of personal information regarding the target, his
family (including children), neighbors, employer, etc. Once the information is
published on their website, notwithstanding the site owner's contentions that
they do not condone harassment, their members are encouraged to begin a campaign
of harassment and public humiliation by contacting anyone associated with the
target with anonymous accusations of pedophilia. Unfortunately, in many cases
the information gathered by their "amateur Internet detectives" is incorrect,
resulting in the harassment of innocent people. PJ
consists primarily of two "areas", the website proper, and the "forums".
Perverted
Justice Website Overview The
initial website is an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) web page containing links
to various other web pages within PJ. The
primary purpose of the main page is to display links to a list of "busts"
carried out by PJ contributors. The "bust" links, when clicked, display
a separate page devoted to each individual bust, usually including a "chat
log", a photograph of the "bust" if available, and comments added
by the contributor throughout the chat log. Generally,
the links to the individual "bust" pages are listed in chronological
order by the date of the "bust". A
number of links to "bust" pages are displayed under the PJ logo on the
main page. The determination of which chat log links are displayed in this area
are determined on the basis of a public voting system within the site. Users of
the site are invited to read the logs and electronically vote for the "Most
Slimy" based on the content of the chat, the "Right of Reply" if
submitted, the target's reaction to being "busted", etc. The five with
the highest number of "most slimy" votes are displayed on the main page.
Previous
"bust" details are available from the "Archived Busts" link.
General
links to site information, Frequently Asked Questions, Support Info, etc. are
displayed across the top of the page. Each link leads to another page with further
information about PJ, their methods, alledged motivations, etc. Further
links to various PJ information, as well as links to the "PJ Store"
where T-shirts, Coffee Mugs, etc. bearing the PJ logo and various "witty
one-liners" may be purchased, are displayed down the right side of the main
page. 
Website
Ownership
The website is hosted on servers belonging to a privately owned company, Softlayer
Technologies Inc. (http://www.softlayer.com)
Their corporate headquarters are located at SoftLayer Technologies
Inc. 1950 N Stemmons Freeway Dallas, TX 75207
The
domain name, www.perverted-justice.com is registered through an anonymous registrar
in Canada via Register.com.
Register.com, Inc 575 8th Avenue New York NY 10018 Although
all necessary domain registration information for PJ is readily available, all
registration details for the domain name are false, in violation of ICANN (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) "Registrar Advisory Concerning
Whois Data Accuracy" (See http://www.icann.org/announcements/advisory-10may02.htm) Recent
news articles (see our "links" section) have
determined that ownership and control of the site is held by a Phillip John
Eide, an unemployed 26 year-old self-confessed computer gamer and wrestling
affectionado from Portland, Oregon. Further investigation into Mr. Eide's background
reveals his plans to run for the 2016 presidency of the United States as a Libertarian
candidate, assisted by his room-mate and website "technician", Nicholas
Wilkins. Eide
is well-known on various websites and blogs by his many pseudonyms, most popular
of which are "Angry German", "Ombudsman", and "Xavier
Von Erck" (his most recent). His long-winded and often arrogant diatribes
are displayed on many blogs and websites, usually written to justify his political
views or with an "argumentative for the sake of arguing" style.
Like
many cult leaders or self-styled "revolutionaries", Eide appears to
surround himself primarily with uneducated and socially maladjusted individuals,
many (more than 40% of his "followers" according to Eide himself) of
which are former sexual abuse victims themselves. His complete control of his
site forums ensure that any dissenting opinions of PJ, or any forum postings which
question their member's qualifications or authority are immediately removed and
the poster "banned" so as to ensure his followers are not inclined to
question Eide's authority. His efforts to ensure that no negative opinions are
publicly voiced regarding his cyber-vigilante group have recently extended to
attempts to libel and threaten legitimate journalists and other online activists
for speaking out about perverted-justice.com. 
Baiters
·The "bust" contributors are the members of PJ who personally
participate in the "baiting" of PJ Targets in internet chat rooms by
pretending to be 12 - 16 year old girls. ·
There
are usually anywhere from 24-35 contributors listed on PJ (URL: http://www.perverted-justice.com/?profile=PJ%20Staff)
Many of these people have been identified by our organization. This information
can be provided to attorneys or investigators on request. In
many cases, as evidenced by the posted "chat logs" of these conversations,
the sexual content and innuendo is specifically begun or "forced" by
the PJ contributor rather than the PJ Target. The
contention that PJers never initiate a chat cannot be proven, as there is no archived
record of any conversation that may have occurred in the public room prior to
the private chats that are posted. A number of "busts" contend that
in conversations with the baiter in the public areas, the baiter enticed the target
into private chat by initially stating their age as older. The
contributor asks as many leading questions as possible throughout the conversation
in an attempt to ascertain as much personal information about the PJ Target as
possible in the course of the chat, such as "So, what do you do for a living?",
"Where do you live?", "Are you married?", "What kind
of car do you drive?", etc. This is generally done in an innocuous manner
so as not to alarm the PJ Target. Once
a "bust" has been completed, the contributor modifies the chat log locally
by adding short comments, usually of an inflammatory nature designed to inflame
the readers of the log. The log is then posted publicly on the site. During
the course of a "bust", contributors will contact, by phone or private
internet messages, a "phone verifier" to make an initial phone call
to the PJ Target. (For further information about the phone verifiers, please see
below) In
many cases, the "bust" contributor is also heavily involved in the subsequent
information seeking and harassment of the PJ Target. Newer
contributors are apparently given "training" in their techniques by
more experienced contributors. The format and content of this "training"
is a closely guarded secret among PJ contributors. Recently,
information has come to light regarding the age of some of their contributors,
in particular, one called "Satine" who began "baiting" for
PJ when she was 15 years of age. In addition, PJ has employed children as young
as 13 and 14 to contact and harass their targets and become involved in the "follow-up"
activities. (More information is available on this topic in our Editorials
and Articles section). Other specifics can be provided on request) 
Phone
Verifiers The
purpose of the phone verifier is to confirm the stated telephone number of the
PJ Target, usually given to the contributor in the course of the Internet chat.
Phone
verifiers are generally people with young-sounding voices, virtually always female.
During
the course of a chat, the baiter will contact a phone verifier, passing the necessary
details as required. At
the appropriate time, the phone verifier will telephone the PJ Target and assume
the identity of the baiter. The conversations are generally short, with the phone
verifier usually ending the conversation with an excuse such as "My phone
battery is about to die." In
some cases, the phone verifier will attempt to elicit more personal information
from the PJ Target during the phone call. The
phone verifier then contacts the baiter to confirm the telephone number and pass
on any further details extracted during the phone call. Many
of the phone verifiers are also "Baiters" 
Forum
Moderators
Each message area or "Forum" at PJ has one or more people who are responsible
for maintaining order in the forum. Forum
moderators are responsible for moving messages to appropriate areas, deleting
messages they find objectionable, and editing the contents of posted messages
where they deem it necessary. In
many cases, forum moderators are also PJ "Contributors". Phillip
Eide generally chooses moderators personally after they have been involved with
PJ for a considerable period, and have proven through their message postings that
they share his beliefs and enthusiasm regarding the task. Moderators,
in many cases, have the privilege of either suggesting the "banning"
of particular users to Eide, or, in some cases, have been given the ability to
directly ban those they feel are counter to PJ's purpose. On
PJ, the moderator's primary task is to delete messages that appear to be uncomplimentary
towards PJ, or any messages providing links to any external site not specifically
and personally approved by Eide. (Primarily links to anti-PJ sites mentioned in
the course of a message) 
Personal
Information Searchers Once
a "bust" has been posted publicly on PJ, all general members of the
site are encouraged to begin searching for all possible personal information about
the PJ Target using the details given during the chat and subsequent phone verification.
The
PJ member list now numbers over 10,000 individual users. While the list is quite
large, it does not accurately reflect the number of people actually involved in
searching for information or "active" PJ members. Usernames are never
removed from the list, therefore usernames of simple curiosity seekers, those
who have been banned from the site, and those who no longer have any interest
in the site remain on the list. That actual number of "active" general
members appears to be around 100 - 200 or less. Searchers
use any means possible to attempt to ascertain more information about the PJ Target,
including but not limited to: - Reverse
telephone lookups
- Reverse
address lookups
- Telephoning
and e-mailing the PJ Target's possible places of employment
- Telephoning
and personally questioning neighbors residing in the PJ Target's neighborhood
- Contacting
possible acquaintances
- Use
of "social engineering" so obtain last names from employers
- Posing
as law enforcement / private-eyes / child social services
- Searching
of school yearbooks and reunion sites.
- Hacking
of personal and commercial computer systems and servers
- Use
of protected information databases at member's places of employment
Information
posted in the follow-up forum is generally represented as "Confirmed"
or "Unconfirmed", based on how accurate the contributors, Forum Moderators,
and general members feel the information is. All
details are publicly viewable by anyone in the "Follow-up Forums" on
the site. Information
posted in the follow-up forums usually includes: - The
PJ Target's real name, both first and last
- Personal
information regarding completely innocent people who merely share the same or
a similar name with the target
- PJ
Target's e-mail addresses
- All
known online ID's for chat services
- Names
of family members, both in the PJ Target's home and around the world including
the PJ Target's children, spouse, parents, siblings, etc.
- Their
phone number(s), both home and cell
- Their
full street address
- Image
maps of the entire neighborhood surrounding the PJ Target
- Their
criminal history, previous arrest records, convictions, driving offenses, etc.
- Their
place of employment, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses
of colleagues, employers and subordinates.
- Photos
of the PJ Target's car, license plates, front yards (sometimes with children playing
outside - Photos are taken by drive-by volunteers)
- Names,
addresses and phone numbers of neighbors residing in the vicinity of the PJ Target's
home address
- Names,
phone numbers and e-mail addresses of anyone who may have been associated with
the PJ Target through acquaintance, work, professional association, etc. (In many
cases, this information is gained by searching for web sites where the PJ Target's
name has been found, then attempting to contact any other persons mentioned on
the same site, both to "warn them about the pervert" and to attempt
to obtain further personal information about the PJ Target.)
- There
have been confirmed instances of members attempting to gain access to PJ Target's
personal information via confidential employment databases and files. (In one
specific case, a PJ member had volunteered to search a confidential military database
at his place of employment, but was convinced otherwise by one of OUR members.)
- There
has been at least one incident of a PJ member accessing the legal databases LexisNexis
& WestLaw. (Member was caught.)
- In
some cases, volunteers access information via "pay-for-use" services
such as reverse cell-phone lookups and DMV databases. The searcher usually personally
pays for the searches. (In a number of cases, searchers have publicly asked for
donations to assist with a pay-for-use search)

Harassers
Notwithstanding
the statement posted in the PJ FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) that "We
do not support any type of violence of any kind used against anyone we have posted
here, nor do we support harassment of any kind", general members are encouraged
to continuously contact and harass their victims. Considerable evidence of this
fact has been archived and is available throughout our website, or details can
be forwarded on request. Once
enough of the PJ Target's "confirmed" personal information has been
posted in the Follow-up Forums, ALL PJ members are encouraged to attempt to contact
the "bust" using any means possible, including telephoning at all hours
of the day or night, death threats, sending of continuous derogatory IMs (internet
messages) to the PJ Target's computer, ordering pizza delivery to the PJ Target's
address in the middle of the night, etc. Members
are encouraged to contact family members, neighbors, acquaintances, work colleagues,
employers, etc. to "warn" them about the "pervert" in their
midst. The
majority of the harassment appears to be carried out by a relative few (less than
50) of the more outspoken members. Details
of the harassment efforts are posted in the "Reactions" forum, where
they are lauded and encouraged by other members. To
circumvent current harassment laws, PJ harassers are taught to stop calling the
target if the target requests it. The harasser then posts the the fact that they
were asked to stop calling publicly in the forums, "passing off" the
responsibility for further harassing phone calls to the next available harasser.
Due to the number of PJ members willing to engage in anonymous phone harassment,
this can result in the target receiving hundreds of phone calls and death threats,
even after he has requested that the initial harasser stop calling. Recent
information indicates that a number of their "harassers" are actually
underage children themselves. One particular case was that of "Geris",
a 14-year-old boy who was being used by PJ to phone and e-mail busts. Note:
It should be noted that the PJ forums have an automated feature whereby any use
of the word "harass" in any posted message is automatically replaced
by the word "contact", along with a statement to the effect that PJ
does not condone harassment. In
many cases, PJ harassers act in the guise of "friends" who state that
their intention is to "help" the PJ Target. Recently, PJ members have
been illegally assuming the identities of our staff in order to attempt
to gain the trust of the target and ascertain and confirm even more personal details
about the target. The
target is told that their information will be removed from the site if they immediately
submit a convincing "Right of Reply" (RoR) via e-mail to admin@perverted-justice.com
or ror@perverted-justice.com. They
are told that the RoR must include an honest confession of what they have done,
and proof that they are seeking counseling or psychiatric assistance for their
alleged problem by forcing the target under duress to authorize the release of
proof of counseling. To
date, while many PJ Targets have been convinced of the necessity to write a RoR,
our evidence shows that not a single PJ Target's personal information has ever
been removed from the site as a result of their RoR. All follow-up information,
chat logs, and all personal information (as listed above) remains posted publicly
forever. Once
an RoR has been submitted by a PJ Target, it is publicly posted with the rest
of his personal information, and then routinely ridiculed by the general members
in the public "reactions" forum. In most cases, its "believability"
is voted on by the members. In
most cases, the RoR is seen as either an admission of guilt or a denial of responsibility,
and is used as a catalyst to further inflame the general members into increasing
their harassment tactics. The
posts in the follow-up forums are ordered chronologically by the date of the latest
added message. When a member feels that a particular PJ Target is "slipping
off the radar", new messages are posted in the PJ Target's specific forum
topic to ensure it is moved back to the top of the list, thereby ensuring the
harassment will continue. All
harassing is done completely anonymously to ensure the members cannot be held
accountable for their actions. Specific techniques to avoid revealing their identities
during harassment campaigns are provided to the members by senior members and
the site owner. Members are told to refrain from referring to PJ during their
harassment attempts. 
General
Members The
majority of visitors to PJ are "General Members" In
order to access any of the forums on the site, users must first register using
a simple online registration form. A
unique "screen name" is entered by the user, and a password and a valid
e-mail address is submitted. The
site software automatically sends a "Registration Confirmation" e-mail
to the supplied e-mail address containing an HTML link. Once clicked, the e-mail
address is considered "confirmed" and the user is allowed access to
the public forum areas. All
users, including general members, have the ability to read messages in any forum,
post new messages in any forum, and generally participate in all areas. All
users are encouraged to become active in the forums, and are rewarded by attaining
varying "ranks" based on the number of messages they have posted.
All
users are actively encouraged to become involved with the searching of PJ Target's
personal information and any harassment tactics that they see fit. Once
a user has shown to be an active harasser or contributor to the forums, they may
be invited to become an official "PJ Contributor" by the current PJ
Contributors or Xavier Von Erck himself. 
Human
Shields December
2004 saw the creation of a new section of the PJ site, called the "Human
Shield" area. A long-time PJ contributor, Tobi Schweitzer (Red Baroness)
was selected to administer this area. In
this area, all users are encouraged to involve themselves in their own "baiting"
in Internet chat rooms, then posting their own chats in the area strictly for
the purpose of entertainment and self-indulgence in the "PJ power-trip".
While
the site owner Phillip Eide has decreed that those participating in this area
are not to reference PJ proper, and are not to suggest that they are representing
PJ, a brief glance through some of the chats shows that most participants delight
in telling their targets that they "have been nailed by PJ" and that
"… they are going to prison thanks to PJ." Eide
has stated that participants in this area must edit out identifying details before
posting the chat. They
have been told that they must not make any suggestion to meet the target or contact
anyone associated with the target, but it appears these directives are being ignored,
as a number of family members of those targeted by "Human Shield" volunteers
have contacted us recently regarding harassment from PJers. 
The
"Info First" program
The site owner claims to have begun an "Info First" program as a method
whereby proactive law enforcement would "partner" with PJ, allowing
PJ to bait their targets, then turn the sting over to the police without posting
them to the site. Eide keeps all information regarding the "Info First"
program under very tightly controlled secrecy. He has claimed on numerous occasions
that PJ is working closely with numerous law enforcement agencies via the program,
but to date has provided absolutely no evidence of any law enforcement agency
actually partaking in such a program, or that any such program actually exists.
To date, not one law enforcement spokesman has publicly endorsed PJ. (A large
number have spoken out against PJ's vigilante tactics - Further info can be found
on the "Editorials and Articles" page of
this site.)   
|