Two Ohio Mayors Head For Jerusalem: Dayton's McLin and Cincy's Mallory

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin is on the six-member delegation of U.S. mayors headed to Jerusalem for an international conference about improving urban life that begins tomorrow. Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory is also in the delegation. Both are Democrats.

The conference also gives the mayors a "fresh and open look at Jerusalem, and a new understanding of Israel and its achievements," says Jack Rosen, who heads an organization that helps cover the mayors' expenses. Israel is America's closest ally in the Middle East, so the diplomatic layer of the trip is probably as important as all other aspects put together.

Costs are paid by the American Jewish Congress-Council for World Jewry, and the sessions are hosted by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski. About 60 others mayors from around the world are coming for the annual conference, whose theme this year is the urban center as the heart of a metropolitan area's economic, governmental, cultural, and administrative influence and importance. The announcement says:

"During the October 14-18 event, the mayors are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. They will participate in round-table sessions that will explore topics such and intercultural and economic challenges facing cities and the role of mayors in the international arena. The mayors will tour both historic and modern sites in Jersualem and visit Yad Vahsem, the holocaust memorial; the Hadassah Hospital; a high-tech business incubator; and Yad Sarah, a social services facility in Jerusalem."

Ohio Pervert Shows Naked Baby On Webcam While He Masturbates

DAYTON (TDB) -- Federal prosecutor Greg Lockhart says an Ohio man who stripped an infant, held it up before a camera and then masturbated "while broadcasting it over the 'webcam' to other unknown indviduals watching over their computers" is headed to the slammer for 10 years. The 52-year-old sexual offender used the screen name CuriousDayton and apparently prowled the 'net trying to get people to show him pictures of children.

That seems horrifying, right? But it gets worse. The baby's parents left it in child care where a predator gained access.

Lockhart is the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. His jurisdiction includes the cities of Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. The perpetrator lived in the Dayton suburb of Kettering and was sentenced March 12.

The masturbation incident took place in March 2004. The infant who appeared in the Webcam broadcast was staying with a relative of the offender who ran a family day care operation. Lockhart said the criminal is headed to a federal prison that provides treatment for sexual offenders.

''Who is more vulnerable of a victim than an infant. We must continued every effort toward providing a safe childhood for every child from infancy through adolescence."

The Justice Department press release is HERE, and it says federal agents arrested the perp at his home last May. The Internet is a great advance in communications, and a great tool. But it has a dark side. The episode in Dayton illustrates just how much the 'net can be abused.