Oregon bicyclist jailed in Ky.; hosts find he is sex offender

[Ian David]

Oregon bicyclist jailed in Ky.; hosts find he is sex offender
By MARK F. BARNETT
Associated Press Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. --
A man who said he'd been traveling the country on bicycle and benefiting from the kindness of strangers landed in a south-central Kentucky jail on a charge of impersonating an officer.

David McCarthy, 53, of Oregon, was arrested by Kentucky State Police early last month in Cumberland County after a resident called authorities, claiming the man's story was bogus and that McCarthy had been cruising adult web sites on the family's home computer.

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Whitaker said McCarthy told his father-in-law that he was on a "million mile" bicycle ride to heal after his wife and child were killed in a drunken-driving accident and that he was headed back to Nome, Alaska. McCarthy said he was a federal officer, had retired from the U.S. Coast Guard and had been in New York City during the Sept. 11 attacks, Whitaker said. He also said he was a youth pastor, had cycled with Lance Armstrong and had been on "Good Morning, America."

On top of that, McCarthy carried a scrapbook of newspaper stories to "prove" his travels, Whitaker said.

More:
http://www.kentucky.com/471/story/42664.html

[Fovea]

1. a black eye for touring cyclists.

If guilty of a crime, he is not guilty of cycling.
Riding a bike is not the crime.