KANSAS CITY, MO -
A local television legend is back in the spotlight, but for "Uncle Ed" Muscare it was for all the wrong reasons after law enforcement officials raided his South Carolina home following a story from a Kansas City area blogger.
"Uncle Ed" hosted a children's show and a late-night creature feature show in the 1970's and 80's. But he was convicted in 1986 in Florida of sexual battery on a 14-year-old boy, which earned him prison time and a spot on Florida's sex offender list. He's also on the sex offender registry in South Carolina, where he now lives.
"As a kid, I watched Uncle Ed, stayed up all night watching the creature feature," said Mark Smith, who runs a local blog called Midtown Miscreant. Smith says that he started blogging about Muscare about a year ago, but it was a recent blog post that attracted the attention of law enforcement, and that may have led to a raid on Muscare's South Carolina home.
Smith says he discovered Muscare's YouTube site, and after some popular websites picked up on Smith's blog, Muscare's YouTube site boomed to around 8,000 subscribers.
"Some (of the videos) were whimsical, you're favorite-crazy-uncle-type videos, and some of them are creepy," said Smith. "And I noticed a lot of comments were coming from younger kids - 'I wish you were my grandfather' or 'I wish I had a grandfather like you.'"
Smith complained to YouTube and to the Orangeburg County Sheriff in South Carolina where Muscare lives. Shortly afterward, probation officers paid Muscare a visit.
According to a website that claims to be Muscare's autobiography, Muscare says that the officers told him he wasn't supposed to have a computer, and they took it. The blog says that Muscare has served his time, and calls the raid "grossly unfair."
But law enforcement consultant Jeff Lanza told FOX 4 that it's the law in many states.
"With sexual offenders, we look at that differently, because in many cases sexual offenders are never cured of their problem that lead to their problem in the first place," said Lanza. "So just being on probation isn't the answer. They have to answer to life-long scrutiny in many situations."
Attempts by FOX 4 to reach Muscare were unsuccessful - his phone number has been disconnected. But the website claiming to be his autobiography says that when probation officers raided his home they found nothing illegal.
Mark Smith says that his problem with Muscare isn't that he's a pedophile, but it's that Muscare is a pedophile with a computer and an audience.
"If he's on there he's a threat," said Smith. "It doesn't matter what the odds are - one in a million is too many."
"Uncle Ed" hosted a children's show and a late-night creature feature show in the 1970's and 80's. But he was convicted in 1986 in Florida of sexual battery on a 14-year-old boy, which earned him prison time and a spot on Florida's sex offender list. He's also on the sex offender registry in South Carolina, where he now lives.
"As a kid, I watched Uncle Ed, stayed up all night watching the creature feature," said Mark Smith, who runs a local blog called Midtown Miscreant. Smith says that he started blogging about Muscare about a year ago, but it was a recent blog post that attracted the attention of law enforcement, and that may have led to a raid on Muscare's South Carolina home.
Smith says he discovered Muscare's YouTube site, and after some popular websites picked up on Smith's blog, Muscare's YouTube site boomed to around 8,000 subscribers.
"Some (of the videos) were whimsical, you're favorite-crazy-uncle-type videos, and some of them are creepy," said Smith. "And I noticed a lot of comments were coming from younger kids - 'I wish you were my grandfather' or 'I wish I had a grandfather like you.'"
Smith complained to YouTube and to the Orangeburg County Sheriff in South Carolina where Muscare lives. Shortly afterward, probation officers paid Muscare a visit.
According to a website that claims to be Muscare's autobiography, Muscare says that the officers told him he wasn't supposed to have a computer, and they took it. The blog says that Muscare has served his time, and calls the raid "grossly unfair."
But law enforcement consultant Jeff Lanza told FOX 4 that it's the law in many states.
"With sexual offenders, we look at that differently, because in many cases sexual offenders are never cured of their problem that lead to their problem in the first place," said Lanza. "So just being on probation isn't the answer. They have to answer to life-long scrutiny in many situations."
Attempts by FOX 4 to reach Muscare were unsuccessful - his phone number has been disconnected. But the website claiming to be his autobiography says that when probation officers raided his home they found nothing illegal.
Mark Smith says that his problem with Muscare isn't that he's a pedophile, but it's that Muscare is a pedophile with a computer and an audience.
"If he's on there he's a threat," said Smith. "It doesn't matter what the odds are - one in a million is too many."
