Hullabaloo

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

 
Dana's Other Little Secret

by digby

Many long time readers, know that I've been writing about California Representative Dana Rohrabacher's ties to the Taliban (along with his pal Grover Norquist) for years and they may also remember this unsavory story, which I blogged about back in 2006. At the time, Rohrabacher's former close associate was denying that he was a pervert and the entire Republican hierarchy was circling the wagons to protect him.

I guess they gave up:

Jeffrey Ray Nielsen—the well-connected Orange County conservative activist who claimed the so-called liberal media, specifically the Weekly, was out to get him by publishing a series of exposés on his pedophile activities—is expected to finally admit tomorrow that he used two boys for sex since 1994, according to law-enforcement sources.

A legal representative for Nielsen, who has extensive personal ties to Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Orange County Republican Party boss Scott Baugh, told prosecutors early last week that Nielsen would plead guilty to two felony counts: committing lewd acts on a child under 15 years old and committing lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

In exchange, Nielsen, 37, is expected to receive a three-year prison sentence, which is mild considering he faced more than 30 years if convicted of all the sex-crime counts in two scheduled upcoming trials. He will also have to register as a sex offender for life.

Nielsen’s high-priced legal defense team of Paul S. Meyer and John Barnett had hoped to win Nielsen merely probation. A formal sentencing hearing isn’t expected until next year in Superior Court Judge David Thompson’s court; Nielsen is expected to be in court Wednesday to accept or reject the deal.

“Mr. Nielsen is pleading guilty and accepting responsibility for his actions,” said Susan Kang Schroeder, spokeswoman for District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “We think this is vindication for the two victims. We’re very sorry for what they’ve been through.”

The son of former Fountain Valley Republican Mayor Ben Nielsen, Jeff Nielsen was brought to Washington, D.C., in 1994 by Rohrabacher as his aide. During this period, Nielsen befriended a seventh-grade Virginia boy he met as a church youth counselor. For three years, Nielsen engaged in sexual conduct with the boy (including in public), tried to convince the boy he was homosexual, and wrote a series of love letters to the boy after he moved back to California to enter USC law school, according to court records. Rohrabacher, who nowadays claims amnesia about his ties to Nielsen, wrote a glowing personal letter of recommendation for Nielsen’s admittance into the school.

Perhaps we need to start asking ourselves not only why so many conservative Republicans are perverts and hypocrites, but why they are so drawn to politics as a profession? I had always thought that a good number of the pedophiles who joined the priesthood did because they knew it was safe. Who would ever suspect the moralistic and sexually conservative church? Is it possible that perverts and hypocrites are joining Republican politics for the same reason?




H/T to Mr Murder

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digby 12/05/2007 08:45:00 AM |