Applause is like stupidity. It's contagious and people will end up doing it for no real reason.

I'll explain the situation and relevant back-history and then ask for appropriate input.

First off, I met a guy about eight years ago and took him under my wing. intelligent, personable, but socially awkward. I schooled and educated him on (what I considered to be) common sense, and beat his insecurities out with a stick. I moved away and let him grow on his own.

four years later I hear that he has a job, a girlfriend, and a kid on the way. I feel proud that I was able to kick-start him from zero to hero. I'm also happy for him because he made this happiness with his own hands.

Two years ago I start working at Dell. He's down on his luck and lost his job. His girlfriend is threatening to leave him, etc. I get him a job at Dell, albeit not in my department. I sit in a lab and play with systems that haven't been released to public market, he does tech support. A few months down the line I hear rumors that he's not doing his job. He's spending all of his time on social networking sites and chat rooms and a few months later he gets fired.

I was cool with a large number of staff there; we frequented the same bars and played pool and went to each others' barbecues. After some probing I found out that yes, he had been spending all his time on internet chat rooms. A year later (2008) it's finally revealed what it was that he was doing: he was talking to little girls over the internet and trying to get them to take their clothes off on webcam for him. This sets me off, but at the same time I'm wary of rumor and I understand how water-cooler talk blows things out of proportion.

I go to the source and tell him that he was keylogged. I tell him I've seen the screen captures. I didn't, because they don't exist, but he doesn't know this, and he admits to everything. I tell him I can't associate with a pedophile and I cut my ties.

His girlfriend is this emotionally broken and psychologically cowed thing, but I tell her, feeling like she has a right to know- after all they have a two year old daughter. It's like I'm the last one to know- everyone knows he's like this, no one feels socially obligated.

Here in Utah Child Protective Services is a curious beast. They'll react pretty quickly, but at the same time, they're quick to let things go as "crying wolf" unless there's irrefutable conclusive evidence. I kick myself in the ass all the time because I didn't save the conversation between him and I, it might've been enough to at least get the ball rolling.

In the time since I've outed him as a pedophile, he's lost every job he's tried to hold onto, he's moved from state to state because he can't rent anymore, and he can't pay child support. My problem is this: some of my friends still associate with him. Defend him, even. they put him up in their homes, they feed him, help him to look for jobs (knowing full well he'll lose it a few days or weeks later) and they put up with his bullshit. It's bizarre listening to them castigate him as a pedophile when he's not around and when he's around it's "hey, let me help you out." I also notice how they do their very best to keep him and I apart- they know full well I'll swing on him, or if I happen to be carrying that day, I'd draw on him. I mean, I know that it's edgy and cool to pretend you like to fuck little kids on the internet or whatever, I guess that's cool in some eyes, but frankly, the real deal is disgusting and I would feel justified. (this is also why I refuse to meet Link. I would probably swing on him. I'd also swing on anyone that defended him.)

Am I wrong in thinking he should be left to swing for himself? that he should be outed, castigated, flayed with whips, cast into the streets and pissed upon?

tl;dr: Am I really the bad guy?

As a pre-emptive strike, all entries will be "friends only" because Roxy has decided to target me for trolling and I've no desire to give her ammunition. Kinda stupid I know, but I don't play with kids.