Breendoggle

Walter Breen, a science fiction BNF, famous numismatist, and husband to Marion Zimmer Bradley, was a serial child molester. 
In 1961, organizers of the 19th World Science Fiction Convention tried to ban Breen from attending due to his "unsavory" activities with children. Many in the science fiction community, however, felt that the accusations against Breen were unfounded and that while Breen was an eccentric and unusual character, he was being accused without proof. 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. This controversy was known as Breendoggle; the expression "-gate" to denote a scandal, based on the 1973-4 Watergate incident, didn't yet exist.
In 1963, the same accusations were brought up again: should Breen be be banned from Worldcon because of his molestation of children? That debate was, and now, referred to as Breenagain or more commonly its original title, Breendoggle. Breendoggle at Fancyclopedia. and is documented in detail at the Breendoggle Wiki. 
While his actions and behavior with young children, at SF conventions in particular, were criminal, fans likely had no idea that in 1954, Breen 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. His wife, Marion Zimmer Bradley, however was well aware of them but chose not to report him. 
For more on 1963 debate, see The Great Breen Boondoggle, Or All Berkeley Is Plunged Into War. 
Ultimately, Breen was banned from Worldcon for 1964 (Pacificon II), and briefly blackballed from the Fantasy Amateur Press Association after allegations of further pedophilic acts surfaced. Nevertheless, many prominent fans of the era (including big-name fans Bjo Trimble and John Boardman), perhaps unaware of Breen's prior conviction, dismissed the allegations as hearsay and "character assassination," and the scandal blew over. 
==This Was Not the End==
But his crimes and activities did not stop in his 1964 ban from Worldcon.
In 1985, Breen began grooming the eight-year-old stepson of author Stephen Goldin, having met the child at a science fiction convention. He continued to molest him for five years. He was arrested for it in 1989, accepted a plea bargain and was put on probation. That same year, he met another boy at another convention and began molesting him. He was arrested for this on October 3, 1991. He was charged with eight felony counts of child molestation and was sentenced to ten years in prison. Rare Coins Expert Charged With Child Molestation and Wikipedia page on Walter Breen Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, Confronting Breen. CoinWorld, November 3, 2015.
Again, some prominent members of the numismatic community dismissed or minimized the seriousness of Breen's actions, and did not think they warranted expulsion from the American Numismatic Association. He is still a controversial figure in the coin collecting world.
Some of his legal troubles are discussed in Darkover Newsletter.
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:
Those defending Breen did so for a variety of reasons. One of those was that while while Breen's behavior was known to some, many, if not most, fans were unaware of them. Other fans defended his actions, fearing that turning on one of their own did not honor the science fiction community's tolerance for "odd" or things that were not mainstream. There was much discussion 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.
Other fans were concerned that by revealing Breen's activities, the harsh light of the mundane, non-fannish world would be shone upon them. It is also important to note that when the 1960s discussions were taking place, it had been only ten years after Senator Joseph McCarthy's political fervor and accusations, including against gays and Jews; and as a result, it was likely that fannish tolerance for unsubstantiated accusations was very low. 
Moreover, attitudes in the 1960s regarding consent, minors, sex were different enough than they are now. This mean that while some fans were shocked and disgusted by the allegations against Breen, others thought that objecting to consensual relations between adults and children was “square." Some seemed to take it for granted that since many children are molested and grow up to live apparently normal lives, it must not be very harmful. Many of these attitudes can be found in statements in the zine The Loyal Opposition.
Breen died in prison in 1994, two years into his ten year sentence. Rare Coins Expert Charged With Child Molestation and Wikipedia page on Walter Breen Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker, Confronting Breen. CoinWorld, November 3, 2015.
In 2014, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Breen's then ex-wife, was also accused of sexual and physical abuse of children..
==Further Reading==
===Not Dated===
* Breendoggle at Fancyclopedia
* 
* WorldCons of the 1960s, chapter 8b; WebCite.
===1964===
* to a pdf (February 8, 1964)
* The Loyal Opposition (March 1964)
===1965===
* the text of International Journal of Greek Love, first volume, published January 1965. Breen is a contributor (as "J.Z. Eglington"), Marion Zimmer Bradley is also a contributor.
===1974===
* by Redd Boggs, written in autumn 1964 and published in Bete Noire #10, 1974
===1997-98===
* (August 10, 1998), This site presents material compiled in the course of a legal action against MZB by the parents of one of Breen's victims. 
* (August 10, 1998)
* 
* (1997)
* and 
* by Stephen Goldin; WebCite
* by Stephen Goldin; WebCite
* ; WebCite
===2000===
* The Most Hyper-Toxic Possible Discussion: What To Do by Gary Farber (2000)
===2007===
* , (February 14, 2007) An online newspaper article briefly summarizing Breen's activities and speculating on the nature of MZB's relationship with Breen.
===2008===
* by Dr. Sol Taylor (July 2008)
===2012===
* (article: 2012) (fan comments: 2015)
===2014===
* , Jim Hines' site, June 23, 2104 (many of the comments are about Walter Breen)
* by Natalie Luhrs (June 2014)
===2015===
* on Ask the Bigot, a Christian blog featuring a first hand account by Breen's daughter, dated July 23, 2015.
* (2015)
===2016===
* : 
===2018===
* Katrina Rasbold, The Last Closet – A Book Review. In-depth analysis of Moira Greyland's The Last Closet: The Dark Side of Avalon (Castalia House (one founder is Vox Day), December 2017), "for those who did not read the book, for whatever reason." February 7, 2018.
* 
 
* Perverts Of Geekdom by Buzz Dixon (February 11, 2018)
==References==
Category:Science Fiction Fandom Occurrences