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SALT LAKE CITY -- An apparent "how-to" book for pedophiles has been seeing a widespread backlash after it showed up for sale on Amazon.com. "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover's Code of Conduct" has since been pulled from the site.
The listing had received thousands of comments before it disappeared. Many of the comments called for a boycott of Amazon.
On the streets of Salt Lake City, most people KSL interviewed expressed outrage or even disbelief.
"I can't believe it wound up on Amazon, but the guy's got some issues I'm pretty sure," Gordon Light said, referring to the author. "I haven't bought anything off of Amazon, but it's not encouraging me to."
Charlotte Quebbeman's eyes bulged when she saw some of the comments from author Phillip R. Greaves II of Pueblo, Co., who said he wrote the electronic book because pedophiles were being unfairly portrayed in the media.
"Pedophile ... it's just not cool," Quebbeman said. "Kind of saying that it's OK -- that even a little part of that is OK -- is just not OK with me."
Phil Page called the book "weird," but also pondered free-speech issues.
"Agree with it or not from the other side, they're going to have an opinion," Page said. "So naturally they're going to want to write books about it, I guess. Should it be published? That's another question entirely."
In an interview with local media in Colorado, Greaves said, "Every time you see [pedophiles] they're either murderers, rapists or kidnappers."
"That's just not an accurate presentation," he said.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
