SEATTLE — Jack McClellan, the self-labeled pedophile who was hounded out of Southern California last month, has eluded criminal prosecution, but he has not been able to shake off the public's watchful eye.
A nationwide web of bloggers who have been tracking his movements told police this week that McClellan had moved to the Portland, Ore., area. The 45-year-old is a native of Arlington, Wash.
"Most of us thought he was going to end up in the Northwest," said Jo Roy, who runs her blog Southern Sass on Crime (southernsassoncrime.com) out of her Michigan home. Roy has been exchanging information with at least a dozen other anti-pedophilia bloggers, who get tips via the phone and Internet. Some infiltrate pedophile chat rooms.
"We want people to know he's out there," said Robert Bush of Southern California, whose blog is called American and Proud (americanandproud.net).
Another California blog, Warriors for Innocence (www .warriorsforinnocence.org), first alerted police and the media of McClellan's move to Portland.
The website operator cited Anthony Zinnanti as the source of the information. Zinnanti, one of two Santa Clarita attorneys who went to court to keep McClellan away from children, has reportedly been in contact with McClellan's parents, but he would not disclose details. He did confirm the Warriors for Innocence information.
According to Portland's daily newspaper, the Oregonian, which contacted McClellan, McClellan said he would no longer photograph children because he now saw it "from the parents' side." McClellan said he chose Portland because of its reputation as a "haven for offbeat people," the paper reported.
Portland police said they hadn't confirmed McClellan's whereabouts. Even if they had, officers wouldn't be able to do anything because McClellan hasn't broken any laws. He is not a registered sex offender and has no obligation to check in with police.
"We don't keep an eye on people just because they're eccentric," said Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz. "If we did, we'd be keeping an eye on half the citizens of Portland."
McClellan came to the attention of authorities this year because of Portland-based Perverted-Justice.com.
That group had been monitoring a website McClellan created on which he posted photographs of children in public places and discussed the best local places to watch "LGs" -- little girls. He called himself a "GL," or girl lover.
