[van-announce] URGENT! Community Alert

[apc at resist.ca]

PLEASE FORWARD!!!  DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!!!

WARNING: STALKER/RAPIST

It has come to our attention that a man, James Bird who has recently been
attending APC meetings, MAWO meetings, Sun Peaks events, and other
political events is on the BAD DATE LIST as a serial rapist.  He was
confronted at the APC meeting on September 28th.  The BAD DATE LIST warns
that he is very dangerous man.

This is the text from the BAD DATE LIST:
September 21, 2004

BIRD IS BACK: Long time bad date James Bird is back in town.  Native male.
 Approx. 6 ft.  Now said to be thin.  Brown/grey hair.  Moustache.  Brown
eyes.  Driving a white motorhome with California plates.  (When last in
town, had California plate #3PCM*95) Known for badly beating and raping
women.  He is a stalker and has been around off and on for 11 years.  Has
also been known to pick up women at AA dances.  This guy is very
dangerous!

Further description:
Big nose, big eyes, skinny face, pitted skin. Short mustache.  Ponytail in
back.  Very polite but a little odd.  Lives in his motorhome.  Dual
citizen.  James has been travelling up and down the west coast since 1985
and has been spending most of his time in Vancouver and Santa Barbara, CA
for the last 10 years.

James has been told that we are aware of this listing on the bad date list
and that he is no longer welcome in our community.  The police have
notified us that there are no charges pending against James, and that
although they are fully aware of his presence in Vancouver and on the
bad date list, they cannot take him into custody.  They have also made it
clear that if  anything happened to him, charges would be laid.  Again,
the Vancouver Police Department are full participants in the violence
against sex trade workers that is so commonplace in this city.  They are
more interested in persecuting sex trade workers than protecting them.
Their complicity is reprehensible and indefensible, but far from
surprising.

When confronted, James denied the allegations.  He was not physically
aggressive or threatening, but was definitely aggravated at being expelled
from the group and banned from meetings and events based on what he
considers to be rumours.  We made it clear that we were going to alert
others as well.

If anyone does see James or confront him, we do advise that you not do
this alone.  Although he was not violent when confronted, the charges
against him are.

Please forward this message to everyone on your organizational and
personal lists.  In particular, if people have contacts with
organizations of women and/or sex trade workers in or outside of
Vancouver, please pass this information on to them.  Thanks for your help.
Although this will not bring James to justice, hopefully we can alert
enough people that no one else will be hurt.

In solidarity,

the Anti-Poverty Committee