Flier alerts to "sex offender" - but isn't true

WBBH-TV (Fla) ^ | May 9, 2003 | Margaret Carlo

[Monk Dimittis]

CAPE CORAL, May 9, 2003- A Cape Coral man is trying to clear his name after bogus fliers were circulated in his neighborhood accusing him of being a child molester. For Michael Wheeler, it's a living nightmare.

***

Imagine what it would feel like to find out your neighbors think you're a sex offender.

Read the flier (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - free download)

"The first thought that went through my head is how could I be accused of something I think is the worst crime anybody could commit," said Wheeler.

Wheeler is living in a nightmare.

"None of the neighbors wave at us or smile at us anymore," said Wheeler.

Officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed Michael Wheeler is not a sex offender, even though dozens of fliers went to his neighbors saying he was.

Wheeler now believes the first fliers probably went out a year ago. The same time he said his neighbors started to act funny.

"The kids won't play with my son anymore," said Wheeler.

Some neighbors said they were fooled by the letter that looked legitimate

"It seemed like an official thing," said Chris Wilson.

Cape Coral Police say the flier is totally bogus for several reasons.

* The logo on the top is not the Cape Coral Police Department's logo.
* The next line that reads "child molester alert" is unofficial terminology that wouldn't be used.
* The words "lewd" and "lascivious" are spelled wrong.
* The state case number is fake.

"He and his wife have always been good neighbors I don't know why anyone would do something so horrible," said Janette L'Heureux.

Wheeler and his family would like to know too. They also want their old life back.

"Play with my son, stop giving us dirty looks and be our neighbors again," said Wheeler.

Dozens if not hundreds of people in wheeler's Cape Coral neighborhood got the flier.

Wheeler has called the police about the flier. Police said the letter is a first-degree felony punishable up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine.

Wheeler is circulating his own letter to try and clear his name.

[Monk Dimittis]

What a nasty thing to do to someone...

[Monk Dimittis]

Police said the letter is a first-degree felony punishable up to one year in jail and $1,000 fine.

And a whopping big civil suit too, one would hope.

[CroftonFreeper]

What a great idea. I've been wondering what to do to the homeowner who lets his dog dump in my yard. I'll have to think about it.

[Pyrion]

Crimes like this should be punished by more than a low fine and only a year of jailtime.

[Jeff Gordon]

What did this guy do to deserve this?

There are two sides to every story.

[em2vn]

How about nothing.There are simply mean and vicious people who take great joy from the suffering of innocent people. Why would you think there is another side to the story? What you say is almost like asking what a woman did to cause a man to rape her. Evil is just evil.

[Pikachu_Dad]

You are correct. There are two sides to every story.

From the Bible, we know God's side of the story.

So why don't you go to h___ and get us the other side of the story.

[doug from upland]

It was an innocent spelling error. The name should have been spelled S-C-0-T-T R-I-T-T-E-R.

[TankerKC]

This most likely is not a random crime. Somebody has it in for this guy, and he probably knows why.

[Jeff Gordon]

Evil is just evil.

I can buy that.

[TankerKC]

Why would you think there is another side to the story?

Because there almost always is.

[Jeff Gordon]

So why don't you go to h___ and get us the other side of the story.

Say what you mean.

[TankerKC]

So why don't you go to h___ and get us the other side of the story.

Peace be with you, too.

[SSN558]

"What a nasty thing to do to someone..."

...and because of false accusations, some guilty child molestor is going to get off on a technicality.

[CommandoFrank]

"There you go, bringing in the liberals again. Everytime something looks bad for you conservatives, you try to blame a liberal. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. I deeply resent it and am offended by your remarks."

Signed,

Alan Colmes

[DBrow]

This is straight out of one of those "Hayduke" revenge books.

Hope they catch the author.