Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler of the St. Petersburg Times has issued the following report:

The case against Leon R. Whitman (photo, charge report) started early Sunday, when a Tampa police officer on patrol near the Wyndham Westshore Hotel encountered a distraught 16-year-old who said she had just been pressured into having sex with Whitman.

By Monday, police were working with FBI investigators to determine whether Whitman, a 47-year-old bus driver for a heavy metal band, had victimized other girls. They say more than 200 images seized from Whitman's digital camera suggest he did.

"This thing started real small, and it just mushroomed," said Tampa police Det. Robert Parrish "There's going to be more victims."

For now, Whitman is charged with three counts of pornography and two counts of unlawful sexual activity with the 16-year-old girl. He also is accused of interfering with custody of the teen, whose mother did not know she flew to Tampa on Saturday from her home in Michigan.

Whitman, of Swartz Creek, Mich., is being held in the county jail in lieu of $33,000 bail.

A tour bus driver for the band OPETH, he was in Tampa Bay because OPETH played at the State Theater in St. Petersburg on Saturday night. Whitman, a convicted cocaine trafficker, met the teen about a year ago in Michigan, Parrish said. He told the teen if she flew to Tampa, he would take pictures of her and help her land a job in Los Angeles, according to Parrish. Whitman promised the girl $600, and he offered to take her to Los Angeles on the band's bus, Parrish said. He said the band knew nothing about it.

Saturday, Whitman picked the girl up at Tampa International Airport and brought her to his room at the Wyndham. There, he and the teen had sex, Parrish said.

"She's in Tampa, she has no money, and he was controlling things," Parrish said. "She was a very naive girl."

The girl left the room, shaken, and was walking near the Wyndham when a patrol officer spotted her. Whitman admitted to detectives that he knew the girl was underage, and he admitted he had sex with her, Parrish said.

Investigators seized a video camera that contained footage of Whitman's sexual encounter with the girl, according to police.

Whitman also had a digital camera, which Parrish found on OPETH's bus. Parrish said it contains about 240 pictures of seven to eight females, some of them obviously underage.

Authorities also seized Whitman's computer, but they have not yet analyzed its contents. Based on Whitman's reaction when police took it, Parrish anticipates the computer contains more pornographic images that could lead to additional victims — and further charges.

"He was very adamant," Parrish said. "He did not want me to touch his computer."

wow, that's fucked

This is the coolest thing Opeth has ever done.

BobNOMAAMRooney nli said:

what a shitbag... he should have his cock removed with a rusty spork...

Fuck pedophiles

when will people learn...
I can't wait till _____ gets nailed and jailed for asking underaged girls to give him BJ's...

they forgot to saw the girl was fat.

attn 16 year old

I blame her parents and his wife.

succubus said:

ooh! this is a fun game! like mad libs!

Bob Hope?

what's his name...
dez?

didn't want to call hinm out because lurkers like the band...but facts are facts and aaron can vouch too

naw I hear ya, probably for the best that you don't.

Bob Hope would have wanted it that way.

well i gave his first name
the band's name starts with a D and ends in R

succubus said:

hahahaha, that's awesome.

i can't wait until this story gets distorted and everyone thinks peter lindgren is a child molestor.

succubus said:

DEVILDRIVER!!! HAHAH

DEZ IS A PED, PLEASE SPREAD THIS INFO EVERYWHERE!

I've actually posted that on here before too (aaron too)

http://www.hcso.tampa.fl.us/pub/default.asp?/Online/qdisp/bn=05073428

video report: http://www.tampabays10.com/video/player.aspx?aid=23039&sid=21196&bw=hi

RustedAngel said:

As gay as that guy is, I don't think asking hotties who could pass for 20 for sex makes him a ped. Isn't that the whole point of being a rock star, to fuck hot underage chicks? If that was really a big deal then every 80's band would be locked up.
Shit, when I was 14, this chick in my grade fucked the singer of LA Guns.
That was the norm back then. I doubt much has changed, except the music got even worse.

ok.. the video came up with old people playing with bananas.

"He told the teen if she flew to Tampa, he would take pictures of her and help her land a job in Los Angeles, according to Parrish. Whitman promised the girl $600, and he offered to take her to Los Angeles on the band's bus."

hahaha. stupid kid.

that will be joe not common in 20 years

the_reverend said:

They could fuck her disembodied torso too.

OPETH mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt has posted the following message on the group's official web site:

"As reported on Blabbermouth, our busdriver on the last North American tour was arrested in Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL for 'unlawful activity with a minor.' Basically, we're appalled by the fact that we'd employed this bastard and even more disgusted by his deeds and obviously we will be much more detailed in our background check for future employments. The driver introduced himself only as 'Rod' and seemed like a nice guy, even though for us he was just another driver, and a bad one as well! He said he owned a trailer company and that he was a drummer, playing with TED NUGENT and several other bands in the '70s. We got suspicious that he couldn't get into Canada (we had another driver there) due to some previous drug 'misdemeanors.' Myself and Peter [Lindgren; guitars] met him and the girl in the elevator of the hotel where he introduced her as his niece. She seemed distant, asking us if we smoked pot. 'Rod' told us he was driving her to Los Angeles. After the gig, he never returned to the bus and then we got the news that he'd been arrested. Luckily for us one of NEVERMORE's crew was able to drive us back to the hotel. The next day the FBI stopped our tour manager outside the bus with a warrant to search the bus for 'Rod's' laptop and camera. We feel genuinely happy that he is caught and behind bars where we hope he will stay for a long time."

the_reverend said:

Seriously, I thought it was gonna be a 16 year old girl playing with a banana.