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Outrage: Pro-Pedophilia Guide For Sale On Amazon

NEW YORK (CBS 2/AP) -- Amazon.com is selling a self-published book defending pedophiles, sparking discussions about the retailer's obligation to vet items before they are sold in its online stores.

The book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover's Code of Conduct'' by Philip R. Greaves II, offers advice to pedophiles afraid of becoming the center of retaliation. It is an electronic book available for Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-reader.

It's a self-published e-book available at the touch of a button, and just as the name says, the book is a guide for pedophiles.

"It's horrible," Upper West Side resident Stephen Fredericks told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis. "It's unconscionable, isn't it?"

If you take a closer look at the pages, you get the idea of everything that's available for $4.79 on Amazon.com.

"Never attempt to exert any authority over your youthful lover."

"There are some forms of physical affection with minors...which are not illegal." 

Jennifer March-Joly is executive director of the New York-based Citizens Committee for Children, and she's outraged not only at the author but also at Amazon.

"Whoever is making decisions at Amazon really should think twice about what they allow people to download and distribute," March-Joly said. "Profits should not override the necessity of keeping children safe."

Even with the obvious outrage, the book is still available on Amazon's Web site. One argument that frequently surfaces is that of free speech.

"Amazon's an Internet company, and there is freedom of speech, and there's freedom to publish," Brooklyn resident Andrea Preziotti said.

Amazon issued the following statement: "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable…however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions."

Some wonder, though, if it's all for publicity.

"Usually the best way, if that's the case, is to not even give them press - then they lose their power," Bronx resident Kay Ashaolu said.

The book has triggered mounting outrage on Twitter and beyond. A chorus of Twitter users is calling for Amazon to pull the book, with a few threatening to boycott the Kindle store until it does. There are also several comments on Amazon's product page from outraged users.

The following is a product description on Amazon.com: "This is my attempt to make pedophile situations safer for those juveniles that find themselves involved in them, by establishing certian [sic] rules for these adults to follow. I hope to achieve this by appealing to the better nature of pedosexuals, with hope that their doing so will result in less hatred and perhaps liter [sic] sentences should they ever be caught."

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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