More sex scandal down in Washington – and this time it’s a Democratic senate aide!
The FBI arrested James Michael McHaney – a 28-year old aide for Senator Maria Cantwell – for arranging a sexual tryst with a 13-year old boy. From The Smoking Gun:
James McHaney, 28, was nabbed by FBI agents after he arranged the afternoon liaison via a “cooperating witness” working with investigators.
According to the below felony complaint and an accompanying statement of facts filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the CW and McHaney were conversing online Friday afternoon when the CW asked whether McHaney was interested in engaging in anal sex with a 13-year-old boy. “I’ll be there,” McHaney allegedly replied. He later asked for a photo of the child with whom he and the CW would have sex and whether the boy had “any pubes.” When told no, McHaney allegedly replied, “That’s hot.”
McHaney was nabbed in the lobby of an unnamed “predetermined location,” where he had arranged to meet CW. Until his arrest Friday, McHaney had worked as the D.C. scheduler for Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell. A caller to Cantwell’s office was told late today that, as of last Friday, McHaney no longer worked for the Washington state politician.
We’ve included the “statement of facts” in thumbnail form.
McHaney, who’s previously worked for John Kerry and Dick Gephardt, appeared in court on Saturday and is being held without bond. He’ll appear again tomorrow and, we’re sure, many more times in the near future.
How about we take this to the next level?
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NG
Irony, huh? McHaney gets arrested for a sex crime that didn’t happen with a minor that doesn’t exist and yet people are salivating at the opportunity to take their turn at driving the bus and run him over.
Meanwhile, a woman’s online actions contribute to the death of a teen and everyone on their’s tippy toes.
Geez.
hells kitchen guy
Yeah, he’s a perv, but 13 is not a “child.” It’s a “young adult” or a “teen-ager” or even the long side of a “tween.” But not a child anymore.
jbran
13 is still a kid. Go find an old picture of yourself at 13 and you’ll remember.
Matt
13 is hardly a “young adult” even by current standards. And this was hardly a marginally-defensible relationship between an adult and an emotionally advanced youngster–it was a lunchtime fuck. The fact that the event didn’t happen or that the victim didn’t exist is legally irrelevant: McHaney expressed clear interest in engaging in an illegal act, and got nabbed in a sting operation that didn’t constitute entrapment–his actions were totally voluntary in response to his perception of an opportunity to act illegally. Under the bus he goes!
DM Johnson
I can agree that 13 may be “approaching” young adulthood, but 13 is still a kid. 15 or 16: that might be a whole other story (to my knowledge 15 is the youngest age of homosexual consent in any modern country), but if the story about the absence of pubic hair is correct, then that’s disgusting. There’s nothing “hot” about it! If that’s a turn-on to him, then 13, 12, 11, 10 would probably be o.k.
He deserves his time in court, but I agree that this doesn’t rise to the height of malfeasance by a sitting government representative. It’s sort of a non-story if you ask me. Some poor slob that got caught letting his dick rule his head happens every day. It’s just a convenient coincidence that he’s some sort of political operative/hack.
DM Johnson
P.S. Don’t get me wrong . . . I still think the overall tactic used by the FBI is entrapment. There was no 13 year old child. No sex occurred. It was all a “set-up”. What exactly is the crime? Admitting to a fantasy? I mean, really?
WWH
I agree with HKG. 13 is no biggie. I was 14 when I lost it to a flight attendant and was not emotionally scarred. Quite the opposite, actually!! Ah, the beauty of growing up in Manhattan with an 18 drinking age. I digress. Albeit illegal, 13 is fine.
WWH
p.s. my favorite part is about the pubes. HA!
Dawster
i can’t agree with WWH. 13 is not fine. and maybe it is fine, but with other 13-14 year olds… not someone who’s 28.
i can’t say that EVERY person i know who has fucked around at age 13 has issues… but the vast majority of them do (including myself). i had to cut off one friendship because he wouldn’t stop cheating on his boyfriend. another is addicted to tattoos. another is a severe alcoholic with control issues. another has intimacy issues. hardly any of them have a proper perception of their own self worth. every one treats themselves so badly… including myself!
a few people may come out ok… nothing is 100%, but the vast majority are not mentally or psychologically ready at age 13 – and their coping mechanisms/recovery time is limited at best – and a 28 year old should know better.
13 is a child. hell, after i turned 30, i felt that 18 was still a child.
i have to whole-heartedly agree with post #1, this was a typical “to catch a predator” scenario… nothing that different. good, i’m glad it happened, but……..
a young girl and her mother are getting away with murder (yes, they murdered that poor teen), and no one seems to care. the legal system of South Carolina is making a mockery out of Sean Kennedy’s death at the hands of a homophobic murderer, and not a single person seemed to care.
Dawster
DM Johnson: that’s my issue with “to catch a predator”. how can a person get arrested for not doing anything? they were chatting with a person over the age of 18, they committed no crime.
but at the point of getting into their car and driving to the “underage person’s” place they show “intent” (usually verified if they brought condoms or alcohol – which is usually requested). same goes with prostitution stings, drug busts, etc.
whereas in THIS case, i agree that intent alone is enough, and these people should be put away – i have to admit that it’s a very VERY fine line that everyone is dancing on and i KNOW it will get the FBI/etc. in trouble one of these days. (it’s oddly related to one of the main themes of “Minority Report”)
Eric
Don’t forget that McHaney worked as Joe Solonese’s (HRC) personal aide as well, before taking the job with Cantwell.
tiqueboy
13 is under age no matter how you cut it. However, I was having sex at 12 but with friends the same age, not 28.
Now the article said, finally a dem has a sex scandle. Well just because hs IS a dem is not noteworthy and is NOT an elected official.
hells kitchen guy
Whoa whoa, I never said 13 was OK! I merely said that 13 was not a child. This makes him not a pedophile, but an ephebophile. It’s still a nasty business. I was just saying that there IS a difference between someone who is in his early teens and a child, that’s all. It’s still icky!!!
HL
Wow, proud to be a Washington state resident. Yeesh.
Karen Ebert
I don’t think that anyone can define a “child” by their subjective maturity level or perceived youth. I think we are talking about the legal definition of “child” only.
Would any of us really like our maturity level to be scrutinized as to whether we were fit to have sex? There has to be some objective measure, like the measurable number of years a person has been alive.
–Karen