Just another reason for amex to be my favorite card - this guy is a loser.

"We're not lawyers, but we're pretty sure convicted felons lose their right to moral indignation or the right to vote or something."

Best line ever.

"We're not lawyers, but we're pretty sure convicted felons lose their right to moral indignation or the right to vote or something."

Brilliant...

Surely there are laws that allow businesses to report illegal activity to the police, regardless of any privacy contract that may be in place. Doesn't this also apply to doctors?

I certainly hope the mom was also thrown in jail for prostituting out her children.

This is why you go to places that don't take American Express.

Visa. It's everywhere you want to be.

@Eyebrows McGee: I prefer the following line:

Anyway, the moral of the story is that if you're an indicted pedaphile on the run, don't use American Express.

The guy is not a pedophile. 13 and 15 is not a children in the biological sense. Still the guy being a lawyer you would think knows about age of consent laws you think huum ?

@Human947:

Can we at least call him a creep?

Also, let's say you had two daughters aged 13 and 15, would it not ruin your day for them to be propositioned by a much older man, or is anything goes good enough?

This guy's argument falls apart quickly in his first statement:

You're not a fugitive if you sign into a major chain hotel using your driver's license and your American Express card

Umm, yes you are a fugitive if the police are looking for you, regardless of whether you use your Amex card or not.

@Human947: Sick! 13 is FAR too young, and even the law states that statutory age is 16. If 13 year olds are having sex, and they are, I hope it's at least with other 13 year olds, and not creepy grown men.

I did not say i approve of pimping them out only that the term used was misleading.

@Human947: As the aunt of a 13 and 15 year old nieces, I can tell you that they are children. Sure the 15 year old is crossing over into adulthood, with all the fun, fun confusion that entails but she is in NO way an adult.

Also, I've personally never met a 13-15 year old who could deal with the emotional trauma of being pimped out by a parent.

@Human947: Ew. They are children in the eyes of the law in matters of consent. So, yes, he is a pedophile.

"You're not a fugitive if you sign into a major chain hotel using your driver's license and your American Express card," he said.

Well obviously the only reason you used the card is because you thought you were proctected by some expectation of privacy

Colliton says Canadian authorities would never have "falsely arrested" or "unlawfully detained" him on immigration charges if American Express hadn't revealed when and where he had used his credit card.

proof-

Yeah, um, good luck with that lawsuit, Colliton.

@Human947: Wait, so it's only the pimping that you disapprove of?

So you would be OK with the situation if there hadn't been a middle man?

@Human947: 13 isn't a child? Have you never visited a middle school?

@Imaginary_Friend: No, the term has a specific meaning. In the eyes of the law it's rape, not pedofilia. Pedofilia specifica refers to attraction to pre-pubescent children.

Regarding the rest, was he actually convicted before he was arrested in Canada? If not, then the claim that convicted felons lose their rights is simply bullshit. Of course, it only takes a court order for the credit card company to release information to the police.

On the other hand, do you people really want the credit card companies to release information without court orders?

From a legal perspective this is an interesting case. He was a fugitive in that a warrant had been issued for his arrest at the time of check-in. However, the question of whether that information should be handed over to the police is an entirely different situation. A credit card issues money, it is not an instrument of the state nor does it possess any moral qualifications to use. He was wanted by the law and so they simply told the police where he was using the card and their defense is going to be that they have an obligation to comply with the court order that said they have to turn over the records. I have worked on a case before where AOL had to turn over information on a user including IP addresses based on a harassment case. Full disclosure, I am not a lawyer, but I have worked for several and I am attending law school in the fall.

As for the sexual activity of 13 and 15 year olds, there isn't a civilized country in the world that condones that to my knowledge. Its disgusting to even consider. Remember though that this is a man who has now lost everything and probably sees this fight as a last-ditch effort to redeem himself.

@Imaginary_Friend: Pedophiles are interested in pre-pubescent children. So, no, he's not a pedophile.

[en.wikipedia.org]

From a NY Times article about his arrest:

Prosecutors said that if he had gone to trial and been convicted, Mr. Colliton could have faced a combined sentence of up to 11 years in prison on the two counts of rape to which he pleaded guilty yesterday. His lawyer, Howard Greenberg, said he would have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all 43 counts in the indictment.

Mr. Colliton, whose wife and children live in Poughkeepsie, fled to Canada in February 2006. He was arrested later that month in a motel in Grimsby, Ontario, but mistakenly released. The police took him into custody after finding him in an East Village hotel room in March 2006, after a clerk who had seen his picture in the newspaper called the police.

Anyway if American Express actually violated its agreement to keep customer information confidential then he deserves compensation, pedophile or not.

@henrygates: your comment about doctors is not entirely true, in most of the states in the US, what is said to your doctor, can not be used against you in court, doctor-patient transcends the law (not all states however).

And for those arguing the age of consent issue, you may find this an interesting read ([www.haworthpress.com] link to article abstract)

@Human947:
The term for attraction to adolescents is ephebophilia. This is a different attraction the pedophilia. They are both generally against the law, but it is nice to be accurate. Age of consent varies. Here in Oregon it is 18, but in many states, it is 16. Kudos to Amex, but I am sure they were encouraged by the police to cooperate.

@matdevdug: Unless your definition of "civilized" specifically excludes that, I can think of at least two in whcih the 15-year-old is legal (including that huge chunk of land to your north), and one (Spain) where the 13-year-old was legal last I saw.

That said, I still think it's seriously wrong and kind of disturbing, and I wonder what exactly possessed the lawmakers in these nations to set the bar so low.

@Human947: Whoo boy, you need to take a good long look your dating habits. You might want to bring that up with a therapist. Or a police officer.

The only way I can see this guy having a case is if there wasn't a warrant for his arrest.

Man, he just looks like a pedophile, doesn't he?

He might as well have called his local pharmacy and said;
"Well, I'm in danger (or already have been)on being convicted of statutory rape, so I think a trip up north is in order". The pharmacy is then required to disclose this information upon police request. Did this ass-clown believe there was some sort of HIPPA contract between the credit card company and himself?

The story made a line from the Blues Brothers pop into my head. "The little girl, your daughters... sell them to me. Sell me your children."

What a creep. Police usually say people stupid enough or egotistic enough to do things like this are stupid or egotistic enough to screw up and get caught.

@agb2000: Privacy laws are very limited - I've been doing research on internet privacy in the US lately, and private parties can turn over almost anything they want to the police. There would have to be something in the AmEx user agreement stating that they would not give information to law enforcement without a warrant or subpoena, which I don't know (think?) that there is.

This guys actually is complaining about someone violating his privacy, when he is the butt munch that violates these young girls privacy. What an idiot.

@Human947: Nope, boinking a 13 year old makes you a pedo.

He'd have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those darn kids

/oh, wait...

@RickinStHelen: I'm glad someone finally pointed out the difference between pedophilia and ephebophilia, but can we get something else straight here? He may be a convicted child molester and rapist, but as far as I know simply being interested in adolescents isn't (and shouldn't be) illegal. Saying he is a "convicted pedophile" isn't altogether accurate.

-If the police submitted a court order for the credit card records, then AmEx is perfectly allowed to surrender that info.
I think there would have had to be a court order or subpoena of some sort... the police would have had to contact AmEx, not the other way around.

-If there was no court order or subpoena or proper paperwork, then sue away.

Indicted, convicted, felon, pedophile or regular average citizen, the rules apply evenly and equally to everybody. He's no less of a cretin for his behavior, but that doesn't give AmEx the excuse to hand over transaction info without proper authorization.

This is the same kind of thing that's happening to regular people all the time, and when we complain about it, the government says "Yeah, but look it helps us catch pedophiles!" and that's what makes it ok for them to violate everyone's rights on a blanket scale. Well, it's not ok. If that means that the cops have to work harder to catch the pedos, or make sure their I's are dotted and T's crossed on all their paperwork, then so be it.

@henrygates: Yes, those are called mandated reporter laws. I don't feel bad for this guy. "I'm bitter because I got caught so I'm taking it out on AmEx." So this guy was on the run, and authorities looking for him, and he uses a credit card, and then whines when they find him. Another tool.

That Mother is a bigger pig than he is IMHO. Throw HER in jail.

@DeeJayQueue: "Prosecutors say James Colliton fled to Canada after being indicted on charges of having sex with underage girls." He was on the run. He was on the run. Finding someone via where they charge their credit cards is one of the easiest ways.

@humphrmi: That was a poor choice of words indeed. He made it sound like charging a credit card eliminates his status as a fugitive.

Ahahaha! If his case is actually successful... Dear lord, felons will get their guns.
What about the mother? She deserves to pay!

@sodden: Source?

@ameyer: Forgive me if I don't take Wikipedia's opinion on the matter seriously:
[valleywag.com]

It's mind-boggling that Colliton had the gall to say, ""That's not why I gave them 20 years of fees and thousands of dollars in profits," he said. "They spied on me."

What can he mean? That because his use of Amex generated income, the company should protect him while he skips the country and rapes children? This guy is beyond vile.

From the article in the Canadian Press, "He said he had fled to Canada because he thought Canadian courts and prisons were more lenient than those in the U.S."

He was a lawyer, and he didn't understand what extradition is?

@matdevdug: I retain really weird triva so do not hold this against me but I know in Japan 13 is legal (depending on local prefecture law) and it goes all the way down to like 9 somewhere like Yemen or sumin but they have to be married (not 100% sure which but it is an arab state). those are the only ones i know off the top of my head but i recall that the colored map i saw had 15 as a number for A LOT of countries. However I am sure pimping those children is not legal.

Really an interesting point on the CC thing. On one hand the guy is caught and I am sure numerous others are/would be by the same thing. On the other hand any argument for more privacy rights is not a bad thing, just hope the guys doesn't get off because of it.

Check out the linked article and the other lawsuits he's filed. Certified wack job.

Cops tracking people using their credit card transactions isn't a surprise. They do it all the time on TV. ;) So if you're on the run and use a credit card you're just stupid. I'm not sure he had any realistic expectation of privacy here.

What ever happened to not blaming the victim?!?!

Also, Did he actually have sex with these girls, or did he just ask? And if he did have sex with them, did the mom actually pimp them out!?

Lawyer...figures.

@sodden: ANOTHER EXPERT!!!

@Human947: Well a 15 year old who agreed to it isn't a child, but a 13 year old who was forced into it by her mom is a child. The difference between child and adult has a lot less to do with age and a lot more to do with maturity and the situation.
And regardless this guy is a creepy, fucked up, loser. He has no right to sue over this and has no chance at winning because even if Amex did do something wrong, the whole fact that he is a pedophile probably wont sit very well with a jury.