You Can Run, but You Can't Hide.

January 16, 2006 3:43 PM

Student Reporters Expose 'Royal' Sex OffenderCaspian James Crichton-Stuart IV
Student reporters at a Minnesota high school have exposed a prospective transfer who said he was a member of the British royal family as a fraud, a 22-year-old adult, and a registered sex offender. His outlandish claims raised immediate suspicion among the staff of Stillwater Area High School's "The Pony Express" student newspaper.

The student reporters used search engines and the web to unmask the fraud. Joshua Adam Gardner (aka Caspian James Crichton-Stuart IV, the Fifth Duke of Cleveland) now sits in Mower County Jail for violating the terms of his supervised release related to the sex-offender charges.
posted by ericb (55 comments total)

Ignore last hyperlink. My error -- it is a repeat of the second one.
posted by ericb at 3:54 PM on January 16, 2006

[more inside] is your friend
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:54 PM on January 16, 2006

Busted as an 18 yo banging a 15 yo.

OUTRAGEOUS!

KILL HIM!

BURN HIM ALIVE!!!

THE BEAST!!!!

RUIN THE ENTIRE REST OF HIS LIFE!!!

Salem LIVES!!!!
posted by HTuttle at 3:55 PM on January 16, 2006

Joshua Adam Gardner did it all for the (teenage) nookie! Now we can only hope his prison nickname IS "nookie".

And his fake name makes him sound incredibly lame, like someone I'd go out of my way to kick in the nuts.
posted by fenriq at 3:56 PM on January 16, 2006

HTuttle, I think he's doing a fine job of ruining the rest of his life on his own but I can't really fault the student newspaper for knocking his dumbass around some more.

I like that he misspelled the name of his family castle that doesn't exist.
posted by fenriq at 4:08 PM on January 16, 2006

Regardless of the prior conviction, impersonating a 17-year-old to get into high school is still pretty fucking creepy, isn't it? Especially with a lame-ass story like his was. It's like he didn't get his ass kicked enough the first time through school or something.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:10 PM on January 16, 2006

HTuttle writes "Busted as an 18 yo banging a 15 yo"

The offense is coercing a minor into sex.
posted by orthogonality at 4:12 PM on January 16, 2006

Here's what he was convicted of. Assuming the articles were accurate about the age difference (his girlfriend was 15 and he was 18) , he could not have been convicted under 1(a) or 1(b); the age difference was not great enough. So he wasn't convicted of so-called statutory rape. He must have been convicted under 1(c): using force or coersion to accomplish sexual contact.
posted by mr_roboto at 4:12 PM on January 16, 2006

wackjob exposed by looking at myspace and wikipedia. wtf is this doing in the news?
posted by quonsar at 4:14 PM on January 16, 2006

It just shows that you can't pull the wool over the eyes of Stillwater's crack squad of student reporters.
posted by Astro Zombie at 4:16 PM on January 16, 2006

The relevant Wikipedia pages. And according to this, the girl was 14.
posted by Gator at 4:16 PM on January 16, 2006

Did they take down the article about the Duke that was supposedly up? Also, the articles don't say wether he put them up (with his name accosiated with it) or someone else did.
posted by Suparnova at 4:52 PM on January 16, 2006

"I was convinced at first but something did not add up."

How did Encyclopedia Brown know the student was lying? Turn to page 124 for the answer.
posted by bullitt 5 at 5:04 PM on January 16, 2006

Duke of Cleveland..?

That's interesting because I went to school with a guy named Caspian who was the Eight Duke of Cincinnati...

Wait a minute. You don't suppose...

nah...
posted by WhipSmart at 5:10 PM on January 16, 2006

It's like an 80's movie... only with child molesters.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 5:34 PM on January 16, 2006

So it's Clownhouse?
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:42 PM on January 16, 2006

“We took what we found to the administration, which was also looking into him, and he was arrested 18 hours later, Murphy said.”

And school officials missed at first this because....
posted by Smedleyman at 5:56 PM on January 16, 2006

His current behavior not withstanding, crap like what this guy did should not be on any 'sex offender' list. The article I read earlier today said it was his girlfriend and that he had no idea that it was illegal (he is from England).

Everyone assumes that ANYONE on a sex offender list is a child molester, but you can get on it for soliciting a prostitute in some states. They should reserve a list like that to people who are actually dangerous to children. WTF are all these other people doing on it?
posted by UseyurBrain at 6:01 PM on January 16, 2006

(he is from England)

Actually, no he is not. He was interviewed by NBC Nightly News this evening and admitted the ruse and the fake accent. He was happy to demonstrate the fake British accent at the end of the interview.
posted by ericb at 6:21 PM on January 16, 2006

"Gardner who is really from Austin, Minnesota had business cards made with his fancy British title and adopted an accent to go with them." [source]
posted by ericb at 6:29 PM on January 16, 2006

Dang, missed that part. Here is a good CNN article:

"Becoming 'Caspian,' I was given respect," Gardner said in a jailhouse interview broadcast Monday on NBC. "And people ... don't look at you in that way that they would look at a sex offender."

Also, the crime: "The student reporters learned that Gardner was convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual conduct in Winona County, in southeastern Minnesota, for having sex with his underage girlfriend two years earlier. The girl was 14 and Gardner was 18....Gardner said he didn't know that their age difference made having sex with the girl illegal."
posted by UseyurBrain at 6:31 PM on January 16, 2006

Duke of Cleveland?

He could have gotten away with it if he hadn't had such an outlandish story.

On the other hand, 22 really doesn't seem that old to me at this point, and I'm only 25, but. Is there really that much difference between a 22 year old and an 18 year old?
--
Also, is an 18 year old having sex with a 14 year old really that bad? In many states, and Japan, it would not be illegal. Here's the archetypal age of consent site.

Oh well, the guy is a complete idiot. Duke of Cleveland? Really? Did he not know that was a well-known US city? I mean, WTF? IF there had been a real British locale with that name the U.S. version would have been New Cleveland. (or is there really a Cleveland England and I've just outed myself as an idiot? Ah well, I'd rather appear an idiot then do research on this)
posted by delmoi at 7:00 PM on January 16, 2006

Everyone assumes that ANYONE on a sex offender list is a child molester, but you can get on it for soliciting a prostitute in some states.

I agree. F.L. has difference between "sex offenders" and "sexual predators" and some states have different "levels" but the laws are totally messed up, and end up ruining normal people's lives for things like mooning people.
posted by delmoi at 7:01 PM on January 16, 2006

Also, is an 18 year old having sex with a 14 year old really that bad?

Yes, if it's forced.
posted by Gator at 7:04 PM on January 16, 2006

what he did would have been legal here in good 'ole iowa (sex with 14 years old is OK if you're under 20, and sex with 15 year olds is legal if you're under 21). It also would have been legal in missouri.
posted by delmoi at 7:06 PM on January 16, 2006

Other Web sites listed "Caspian" as the "Earl of Scooby."

um, scooby? Bolt.com profile

I was so easily able to walk into that school. I could have been some psycho, a baby killer out to pick off kids.

And I would have gotten away with it ... if it weren't for those MEDDLING KIDS!
posted by swell at 7:07 PM on January 16, 2006

Okay, so she claimed he raped her. Why was he put on probation? I didn't know you could get probation for rape. How bizzare.
posted by delmoi at 7:07 PM on January 16, 2006

is there really a Cleveland England

Yes -- there is.
posted by ericb at 7:08 PM on January 16, 2006

And there is a lineage/peerage of Dukes of Cleveland.
posted by ericb at 7:10 PM on January 16, 2006

Duke of Cleveland? Really?

Since 1670.
posted by jack_mo at 7:10 PM on January 16, 2006

jack-mo, jinx ... you owe me a Coke!
posted by ericb at 7:11 PM on January 16, 2006

Well, this guy obviously has the mental capacity of a high school student. That's the other thing... why is it wrong for someone with the mental capacity of a teenager not be allowed to have consensual sex with a real teenager? This is a serious question. Does the extra 3 years on earth, or whatever, somehow make it wrong?
posted by delmoi at 7:13 PM on January 16, 2006

Cleveland is a region on the East coast of England, delmoi.
posted by normy at 7:13 PM on January 16, 2006

On not enough preview: ...oops.
posted by normy at 7:14 PM on January 16, 2006

Well, since we've already had the Encyclopedia Brown and the Scooby Doo Mystery Gang summoned, let's make it a trifecta:

Oh - just one more thing, ma'am...
posted by NorthernSky at 7:24 PM on January 16, 2006

Cleveland, Ohio was named after a gentleman named Cleaveland; there's no connection. It was shortened so that it would fit on a newspaper masthead -- or so local lore has it.

If this guy was trying to scam his way into high school as an adult ... it makes the charges of sexual assault seem more credible.

I mean, usually when they're 40 and their dreams haven't worked out, people think that high school was the best time 0of their lives. At 22, though? You're glad it's fucking over. So he must have had another motivation.
posted by dhartung at 7:33 PM on January 16, 2006

Also, is an 18 year old having sex with a 14 year old really that bad?

Yes, if it's forced.

And if it's not.
posted by youarenothere at 7:39 PM on January 16, 2006

Did they take down the article about the Duke that was supposedly up? Also, the articles don't say wether he put them up (with his name accosiated with it) or someone else did.

Suparnova, there is a legitimate article on the historical Dukes of Cleveland. He edited them to say that the title, which had become defunct, was created anew and pointed to an article on himself that he did create himself. The edits were swiftly removed and his vanity article deleted.
posted by dhartung at 7:41 PM on January 16, 2006

Also, is an 18 year old having sex with a 14 year old really that bad?
--
Yes, if it's forced.
--
And if it's not.
--
Thanks, captan certanty.
posted by delmoi at 8:13 PM on January 16, 2006

what he did would have been legal here in good 'ole iowa (sex with 14 years old is OK if you're under 20, and sex with 15 year olds is legal if you're under 21). It also would have been legal in missouri.

But is 22 with 16 acceptable? Or do you need to admit it was all about the sex and break up by then?
posted by nickerbocker at 8:47 PM on January 16, 2006

In the future, everyone will falsify their pasts for 15 minutes.
posted by soyjoy at 8:47 PM on January 16, 2006

Duke of Cleveland is obviously a cheeky reference to this.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 8:59 PM on January 16, 2006

Oh yeah, NSFW (text only).
posted by uncanny hengeman at 9:01 PM on January 16, 2006

Theres something weird about seeing not one, but two obscure stories covered on the 10:00 news, later featured on the blue.
posted by rubin at 9:49 PM on January 16, 2006

Gahd. 14 is legal in Canada except when one partner is an authority figure for the other.

The teens that I know are all hyper-aware of their ability to choose to have sex, ability to choose to have safe sex, and especially aware of their right to say no.

I'm pretty comfortable with the idea that they can control the situation as regards sex with anyone outside their peer group. (It's the peer group pressures that worry me.)
posted by five fresh fish at 11:10 PM on January 16, 2006

It was the teeth
posted by fullerine at 11:15 PM on January 16, 2006

Ha Ha! Delmoi's an idiot!

Er, what was the story about again?
posted by salmacis at 1:02 AM on January 17, 2006

IF there had been a real British locale with that name the U.S. version would have been New Cleveland.

Yeah, and that's why we call it New Boston.
posted by Hildegarde at 5:25 AM on January 17, 2006

Man, that kid's definitely got some talent. Hollywood better make sure it has high school newspapers before Josh "As Seen on the BIG SCREEN" Gardner crosses their path. Someone might just prove to those masters of artifice that, as Shakespeare probably said (it was Shakespeare, right?), "All the world's a stage".
posted by Gnatcho at 6:37 AM on January 17, 2006

Okay, so she claimed he raped her. Why was he put on probation? I didn't know you could get probation for rape. How bizzare.

Because she didn't want to be dragged through the mud in his trial, the same reason lots of rape victims don't want to testify?

Gahd. 14 is legal in Canada except when one partner is an authority figure for the other.

And, presumably, when one person is forcing intercourse upon another, as is the accusation here. The allegation is not that he had sex with the girl, but that he raped her. How many times do people need to point this out?
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:50 AM on January 17, 2006

And, indeed, when the sex is non-consensual. And on that point, you'd have to be a lunatic to believe that a young teenager isn't capable of deciding that she really regrets her decision and should make a rape claim.

Shame there are so many senior-teen/young-adult men out there who are such losers that they can't find a partner who is age-appropriate. Icky.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:54 AM on January 17, 2006

So if the original sex offender charge was so totally wrong and consentual...what's this guy doing using an elaborate ruse to spend his time (rather than working or some such) in a high school...the one place on earth filled with 15 year old girls?

Maybe he's a sex offender with a fixation on 15 year olds?
posted by Dunvegan at 11:31 AM on January 17, 2006

Along similar lines: "...being Spielberg's "nephew" is what got him admitted to Paul VI, a small, tony* Catholic prep school in Fairfax City."

* I dispute the use of "tony" in this context as the school is neither elegant or exclusive.

posted by redsnare at 12:35 PM on January 17, 2006

From redsnare's link:

"The Post reported that the school's principal believed Fakhran's story (he claimed to be researching a film role) and graciously waived tuition. The young man was even allowed to park his blue BMW with the vanity plate 'SPLBERG' in the principal's assigned spot. Fakhran, who's free on bail, faces charges that he defrauded Paul VI."

What an idiot of a principal.
posted by ericb at 1:17 PM on January 17, 2006

"What an idiot of a principal."

No offense but "asshat" is much more fitting.

Really, though, that guy Fakhran was dating a freshman (14, maybe 15?) while at the school. I'm not sure what kind of "action" he was getting but judging by his extracurricular endeavors into the world of soft-core transvestite porn I'd take a wild guess and say he probably broke the Virginia age-of-consent law.

posted by redsnare at 2:02 PM on January 17, 2006