Walter Breen

Walter Breen was an author, a fan, and a convicted serial child molester. 
Breen was the author of "Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins." "Breen numbers", from his encyclopedia, are widely used to attribute varieties of coins. 
He is also known for activity in the science fiction fan community and for his writings in defense of pederasty. 
 
Breen wrote the book "Greek Love" under the name of John Eglinton. from Marion Zimmer Bradley's deposition in 1997:EXCERPTS FROM MZB'S DEPOSITIONS This book was published in 1971 in London, by Neville Spearman. (ISBN: 0854354506) Gay sexuality in ancient Greece and Rome explored." Breen dedicates this book "to my beloved wife." His wife at the time was Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Breen was active in Bradley's Darkover fandom. He was the co-editor of Starstone, Darkover Newsletter (earlier issues), and Day*Star. He wrote the Darkovan Language Review, The Gemini Problem, and The Darkover Concordance. 
In Star Trek fandom, he and Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote "A Vulcan Valentine" which was published in The Other Side of Paradise and reprinted in Computer Playback. Breen also wrote Spock: The Archetype that Would Not Die.
Breen died on April 27, 1993. He had been in prison serving a 12-year sentence regarding eight felony counts of child molestation involving a 13-year-old boy. See Breendoggle.
==Breen, "A Green Monkey"==
In 1977, Walter Breen talked about his journey as a fan, addresses a then-current critic's assertion that Darkover fans were all "fat 13-year olds in capes.": 
==Breen and Bradley==
Walter Breen was married to Marion Zimmer Bradley from 1964 to 1990 (they separated in 1979), and until 1989, Bradley, Breen, and Lisa Waters lived on the same block in Berkeley, California.
In 1978, Bradley wrote:
 
While Bradley conveys disdain for her ex-husband in 1989 in this statement in Darkover Newsletter #47, they were still in close enough collaboration for him to have been working on an update for her Darkover Concordance Later, in the same newsletter to fans, Bradley wrote that Breen was preparing an updated Darkover Concordance with character biographies.: 
==Convicted Child Molester==
Breen was a serial child molester. This fact was known to many but not all fans in the early 1960s. His actions and behavior with young children, at SF conventions in particular, were criminal. In 1954, he had been convicted of child molestation in Atlantic City and put on probation.Walter Breen: Enigmatic Numismatist, 2008-07-19 by Santa Clarita Valley History.Stephen Goldin, Marion Zimmer Bradley: In Her Own Words. 
In 1963, there was debate in the Berkeley, California fan community over whether or not to permanently ban Breen from Worldcon.The first child abuse law in California had passed that same year, but required only that physicians report evidence to law enforcement. However, Breen could have been charged with statutory rape had any of the numerous witnesses spoken up. Part of the reason for the dispute had to do with controversy over whether science fiction/fantasy conventions could or should ban anyone at all, for any reason, reasoning that these were meant to be inclusive gatherings of people who were different from the mainstream. See The Great Breen Boondoggle, Or All Berkeley Is Plunged Into War. 
From more about Breen's crimes, see Breendoggle.
A similar topic, see Ed Kramer.
===Involvement in Occult Studies===
In a discussion about the Ordo Templi Orientis lodge, ceremonial magick, and English occultist Aleister Crowley as a child molester, longtime fantasy/SF artist/editor/publisher Cat Yronwode revealed her experience with Breen as well as with other child molesters in Bay Area science fiction fandom:
==Photos==
* at Fanac.org (photo of Walter Breen and Marion Zimmer Bradley)
==Interviews==
* An Interview With Walter Breen, by Mark Van Winkle, NLG (1988) -- (it is mostly about coins, but mentions Darkover Concordance)
==Further Reading==
* (2012)
* Alec Nevala-Lee, The Bad Pennies, 2018-12-03 to 12-05-2018. Delves into the sociological and anthropological aspects of Breen's background in science fiction and numismatics, and his connection with eugenicist William Herbert Sheldon as well as with Bradley.
==Also See==
* Ed Kramer and Free Ed!
==References==
Category:DeceasedCategory:Fanartists
Category:Fanwriters