"Oh Singer, and secret drinker/Of the deepest hidden stones, cradling the dreamy reptile/Who tossed his reveries to Eve"--Paul Valéry, "Silhouette of a Serpent"

The Serpent and the Christmas Tree/Downtown/Fri Nov 28/5:50 pm: Officer Tovar writes, "I was standing at the southeast corner of Fifth Ave and Pine St when a [41-year-old Bothell woman] contacted me. [The Bothell woman] immediately began to tell me that she was standing at the 400 block of Pine St waiting for the lighting of the Christmas tree at Westlake Park. [The Bothell woman] indicated that she could feel someone bumping into her from the back, but did not think much of it due to the large number of people present at the event. [The Bothell woman] indicated that after feeling the same push at her backside, she turned and observed an [Asian male in his early 20s] masturbating. The young man wore a blue hooded sweatshirt and dark pants, and had 'a few days' facial growth.' [The monster] moved away from the Bothell woman, who pulled her family out of the crowd. Several officers and I searched the area, but were unable to locate the suspect."

The World Wide Web/Columbia City/Tues Nov 25/11:47 pm: Officer Arnold writes, "I was dispatched to investigate a report of a sexual nature involving the Internet at a house on 30th Ave S. Upon arrival, I made contact with the complainant in the basement level of her residence, where she was still online with the suspect. She said she had logged on to the Internet and was browsing when she received an instant message from the suspect. She had never contacted the suspect, nor was she familiar with him. The suspect had sent her the instant message in response to her profile listed on Yahoo!. The suspect began sending the complainant responses of a sexual nature, to which she initially responded in kind. When the suspect was asked about his children, he informed the complainant that he was interested in involving them in his sexual fantasies. The complainant immediately felt awkward but was unsure if the suspect was serious or not, so she continued to discuss it with him while she contemplated calling the police.

"She asked the suspect several questions about his children and he began to elaborate on his fantasies involving them. At this point the complainant called the police. The suspect at one point admitted to rubbing his older daughter between the legs while she was sleeping. Suddenly, the conversation got cut off due to an inadvertent logoff, but was reestablished quickly. However, by that point the suspect diverted to just talking about himself, no longer referring to his children. The complainant still attempted to keep him online until the police arrived. I advised the complainant to avoid any further contact with the suspect. She stated that she would comply but would save his information on her computer for follow-up.

"After interviewing the complainant I was able to obtain a copy of the conversation with [the suspect's] e-mail address listed. I returned to the precinct and obtained a copy of his profile through Yahoo! and submitted it for evidence."