1)With regard to Kangas's communication received on July 8, 2017, a copy of which I include below, it has no legitimacy whatsoever. He also manages to make several errors. For example, he makes a mistake in reference to 'Cease and Desist', by referring to his communication as 'an order', when a Cease and Desist order' is actually 'an official order handed down by a government agency or court', which he (obviously) cannot issue. Moreover, 'Cease and Desist' applies to illegal activity, whereas the website is not illegal: it is composed of facts or 'fair comment'. The only feature of illegal behaviour on it relates to Kangas. The salient point is that it seems 'wrong' to him as it highlights the appalling manner in which he behaves and the deception he has undertaken. The website is of course the inevitable and logical outcome of his abominable behaviour, and if he had not behaved as he did, it would not have become necessary.
Obviously, if Kangas believed there were any errors in what was stated on the website, he only needed to show what these were. But he didn't. Furthermore, I sent him a detailed letter on June 22, 2017, advising him of what I had found in his Facebook account and how I believed this showed that he was guilty. Again, if he considered anything stated therein was incorrect, all that was required from him were the relevant details. But, again, he failed to supply these. However, all I received from him was the following protest relating to how I had publicized my experience: even though his statement is lengthy, it offers no information whatsoever to support his repeated assertion that he is innocent of the serious crimes for which he was convicted - the core factor of the website.
2)Furthermore, as I had already advised him, he does not and cannot have copyright to his name: indeed, for example, it already appears in the Public Registers of Sex Offenders, to warn people of his convictions, and continued after his release from prison (Worryingly, I gained the impression this was the reason why he wanted to try and control its use). I do not understand why he cannot grasp this simple fact: two examples (my italics):
"Titles and Names. Copyright protection does not extend to titles, names, slogans or short phrases, the Copyright Office has made that much very clear. You cannot copyright your name, the title of your post or any short phrase that you use to identify a work"
Source: https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2010/01/08/5-things-that-cant-be-copyrighted/
And
"Can you copyright your name and thus sue anyone who prints your name in any publication without paying you a royalty?"
" U.S. perspective: No, one may not copyright one’s name, because (a) generally, one is not the author of one’s own name (unless one legally changed his or her name at some point) and (b) in any event, a name lacks authorship sufficient to merit copyright protection."
Source: https://www.quora.com/Can-you-copyright-your-name
3)Bewildered at his letter I asked two attorneys who know about Kangas and his deceptions and they kindly replied as follows:
(i)"Hello David,
I'm so sorry to hear about this...
1. This is not an "Order." It is not signed by a court of law. And Keegan doesn't have the authority to order anyone to do anything.
2. I simply think he is trying to manipulate you into taking down the website. I'm not sure I've look at the website since you found out that he was lying to you, so I'm not sure what he is claiming is bullying. But, the reality is it is probably preventing him from being able sell his sob story to others, and he doesn't like it.
3. His conviction is public record. The court transcripts and all of the facts within are public record. He cannot prevent you or anyone else from disseminating public information. And whether he likes it or not, his name and photo will be listed on the Sex Offender Registry once he is released from prison, if it isn't on there already.
4. I must say again that I have never seen the website, so I'm not sure what information it contains. But, what I can say is that based on his letter to you, it appears to me that he thinks that he has a civil claim for defamation. Defamation is an area of law that provides a civil remedy when someone's words (in this case, your words) end up causing harm to one's (here, Keegan's) reputation or livelihood. Libel is a written or published defamatory statement, while slander is defamation that is spoken.
HOWEVER, if the statements on the website that Keegan is claiming are defamatory are in fact TRUE statements, then as a matter of law they are NOT defamatory and cannot be the basis for libel or slander. I'm not sure if he is just trying to scare you into taking it down or if he simply doesn't know what he's talking about. But either way, he is wrong - you have the incriminating facebook posts as proof that what you said about him is true. (If you posted these on your website, you may want to redact the victims' names though just out of courtesy to them.) Furthermore, you are entitled to your opinion.
And, from my understanding it is your opinion that Keegan took advantage of you by lying to you, misleading you, and manipulating you into sending him money and doing other things to benefit him. There is nothing wrong with you writing about this either, especially because you were vouching for him and his innocence before uncovering the new incriminating information about Kegan. I would because I wouldn't want anyone else to fall victim to his tactics, especially if my previous comments about him or his innocence were the bases of why others were interested in helping him.
5. The biggest problem I see with his threats of civil and or criminal action is that you are in England. Even if what you were doing is illegal (which it's not as far as I can tell), the courts in the state of Michigan and the U.S. federal courts DO NOT HAVE JURISDICTION over you. And, if a court doesn't have jurisdiction over you, it can't order you to do anything.
So, in short, this letter is total garbage...I agree with you that this is his attempt to silence legitimate comment. There is no way I would sign and return anything to him. And I don't think I would have removed the website, unless I wanted to do so. If anything, I would consider contacting the prison and letting them know he is sending harassing letters, and you do not want him to contact you.
Aside from this bull crap, I hope all else is well with you. Feel free to contact me any time, or if you have any more questions. Take care". And
(ii)"Personally, I would not be concerned about Kangas' demands.
In the Michigan the truth of matters stated is an absolute to any claim of libel or slander (collectively called defamation.) The statements you sent me appear to be merely repeating his own words. Plus, statements of opinion (in Michigan) are generally not defamatory.
This appears to be just internet nonsense."
4)I also sent a copy of Kangas's letter to someone who had tried to help Kangas, spent money on him, wrote to lawyers on his behalf (as I did) for five months, but came to the conclusion that he was lying about his case: he contacted me, saying:
"9 Jul 2017
Thank you for copying me, David.
Nicely done--you outed his little con game and he's furious, as evidenced by that hollow threat of a letter."
