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Posted on Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 4 p.m.

Boy Scout leader who worked at EPA lab in Ann Arbor faces child porn charges

By Cindy Heflin

A Boy Scout leader and chemist who worked for the Environmental Protection Agency laboratory in Ann Arbor faces child pornography charges after police alleged he used his work computer to access pornographic websites, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Frank Bertam, a chemist at the EPA lab on Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor, used his computer to access pornography and “boy lover” Web sites, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, the Free Press reported. A search of Bertram's home also found pornography, the affidavit said.

Comments

swcornell

Sun, Jun 12, 2011 : 1:42 p.m.

Andrew, remember "innocent until proven guilty" is a legal distinction only. It's for the courts. However, "Freedom of Speech" not only allows but requires each of us to decide for ourselves how we feel about this based on the evidence at hand and then to voice that belief! It also allows us to change our minds after ALL the evidence is presented!

andrew

Thu, Jun 9, 2011 : 1:42 p.m.

You people sicken me. Everyone is using this story for their own agenda. You see commets about people taking stabs at the boy scouts, you see people using this as an opportunity to get up on their soap box about the Patriot Act, and you see people calling Frank the worst person ever. Let us keep in mind that these are allegations at this point and we immediately jump to imagining the worst case scenario when the words child pornography come up. Let the man stand trial before you all bash him publicly from behind your keyboards. Is there any possible chance that this is out of context. Could you imagine your 65+ year old father typing "boy lover" into a google search hoping to get results for the Alan Rekers story? Maybe that is what Frank did. Could you see a government/corporate employee trying to sabotage a coworker. And another thing, the Scouts did the right thing in this situation. They immediately removed Bertram's scouting license and removed him from the troop for the duration of the investigation. It is my hope that the man is acquitted and that the Scout troop will be happy for him. They probably can't let him back in even under these circumstances because the safety of the boys comes first. So stop taking shots at the Scouts. Any time you get troops of 25 - 30 young boys together, you are going to attract the attention of a few creeps. That is the nature of the situation. Scouts don't try to market themselves to this but because they are a widely recognized organization, repeated cases will attract a lot more attention that isolated cases at community pools, move theaters, etc. After this trial, if he is found guilty, I will retract my defense because, like everyone else here, want to protect the rights and protection of minors. Until then, everyone needs to act like respectful human beings.

Wolf's Bane

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 6:41 p.m.

Be prepared...

Dot

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 1:43 a.m.

Being gay and being a pedophile are not one in the same. Note the difference between a male pedophile and a gay man here. He can't be gay. The Boy Scouts do not allow gays into the organization. Maybe pedophiles are a bigger threat to their young members, just maybe. "Boy Lover" child porn site viewer + Boy Scout Leader = Not gay, therefore allowed to be a member & leader of the Boy Scouts Of America. That's my point.

Ricebrnr

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 12:36 p.m.

Completely agree with you BUT your argument "He can't be gay. The Boy Scouts do not allow gays into the organization" doesn't work because I believe they don't allow pedophiles either. Another example of how rules only keep the ones you didn't have to worry about in the first place in line...

RJA

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 12:31 a.m.

What can I say? God is so busy these days trying to fix everything and everybody.

trespass

Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 8:41 p.m.

It's interesting that the police used a provision of the Patriot Act in this case to do a sneak and peek search warrant. I thought we were promised that those would only be used for terrorism cases. Not that I excuse him if he was doing what they say he was doing but it seems like a bait and switch when they pass all these laws for terrorism then use them for regular criminal cases.

Ricebrnr

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 12:34 p.m.

All entities with power seek power, this is why we always have to very carefully consider granting more powers to the state/agencies and limiting them to people. Things passed in the heat of the moment, that seem like a good idea at the time...well the road to hell...starts with good intentions and progresses with mission creep.

Dot

Wed, Jun 8, 2011 : 1:28 a.m.

I'm all for adding a provision for child porn. use all tools possible to fight this horrible crime against children. whatever it takes. there's nothing "regular" about this criminal.

diagbum

Tue, Jun 7, 2011 : 8:44 p.m.

That's a good point. I made a similar comment about security to a sheriffs deputy while walking into the police courts building recently, and was told "Welcome to the New World Order."