John Norman
Born
John David Norman

(1927-10-13)October 13, 1927[1]: 41 
Ada, Oklahoma, U.S.[2]
DiedMay 22, 2011(2011-05-22) (aged 83)
Coalinga State Hospital, Coalinga, California, U.S.
Other namesJohn Paul Norman, Steven Gurwell, Alan Hitchcock, Charles Caldwell,[1]: 41  Clarence McKay, Patrick Nelson
Organization(s)Odyssey Foundation, Delta Project, Handy Andy
Details
Span of crimes
1960–1998
CountryUnited States
State(s)California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas

John David Norman (October 13, 1927 – May 22, 2011) was an American pedophile and sex offender convicted numerous times between 1960 and 1998 on charges of child molestation and child pornography. Throughout his life, Norman operated various direct mailing services dedicated to distributing child pornography and arranging sex trafficking. Among these operations were the Odyssey Foundation based out of Dallas; the Delta Project, Creative Corps and M-C Publications based out of Chicago; and Handy Andy based out of Pennsylvania.

Norman is known for his alleged links to serial killers Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy. He was eventually arrested for the last time in August 1987, in Illinois, and spent the rest of his life in state custody. He died in 2011, at age 83.

Biography

Little is known about John Norman's life, particularly his childhood and teenage years. He was born on October 13, 1927,[1]: 41  in Ada, Oklahoma,[2][3] and is known to have lived in California, Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas.[4] A July 1944 article from his hometown's newspaper, The Ada Weekly News, states that he moved to Houston with his family in 1943. The article also states that Norman, then 16, was working as a radio engineer for the station KTRH and was planning on attending Northwestern University.[5]

Norman used at least 20 aliases in his life, including John Paul Norman, Steve Gurwell, Alan Hitchcock, Charles Caldwell, Clarence McKay and Patrick Nelson.[1]: 41 [6]

In 1999, Norman was declared a sexually violent predator by the State of California and committed to Atascadero State Hospital.[7] His psychiatrist, Dr. James Reavis, said about Norman: “John is an unrepentant adult male sex offender who in my opinion will go to his grave without any remorse for what he had done." Norman was released from Atascadero in October 2008 under strict conditions, but soon returned to custody after handing a sexually suggestive note to a 19-year-old male clerk at an El Centro grocery store.[7][8][9] Norman was recommitted to Coalinga State Hospital in March 2009,[9] where he died two years later.[10]

Crimes

Early crimes

Norman's criminal record dates back to the 1950s, when he was twice arrested for sexual assault in Houston in 1954 and 1956, though it is unknown if he was convicted of any crime in these cases.[11] Court records and some news reports indicate he was first convicted of sex crimes in 1960.[7][4][12] Norman was convicted of sexual assault in California in 1963, and in federal court in 1970 for sending obscene literature through the mail.[11] He received a 15-month prison sentence for the federal charge and served time at the McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary.[1]: 41 [13]

Dallas: Odyssey Foundation

On August 13, 1973, Dallas police raided Norman's apartment at 3716 Cole Avenue based on a tip from a man in San Francisco that he was running a homosexual prostitution ring called the Odyssey Foundation. Police seized booklets bearing the name International and containing photographs and contact information of teenage boys and young men, as well as 30,000 index cards listing between 50,000 and 100,000 clients located in 35 U.S. states.[11][14]

Dallas Police Lt. Harold Hancock told the Chicago Tribune in May 1977 that prominent public figures and federal employees were among the names found in Norman's client list. Investigators sent the index cards to the State Department, a fact confirmed by State Department Counselor Matthew Nimetz. Nimetz stated that the State Department destroyed the index cards after determining them to be "not relevant to any fraud case concerning a passport".[14] Norman was charged with possessing marijuana, conspiracy to commit sodomy and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile; he was released on bail.[11]

The Odyssey Foundation groomed teenaged boys and young men from bus stations, or because they were known to be homosexuals. These boys and young men (referred to as "fellows") were photographed for the booklets and trafficked to clients (referred to as "sponsors") who paid for their "company". The "fellows" were trafficked across the country, staying with "sponsors" for one to three days on average before traveling to the next "sponsor".[11]

Illinois: Delta Project

After being released in Dallas, Norman fled to Homewood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in late August or early September 1973.[1]: 39 [14] Using the name Steve Gurwell, he began living with Charles Rehling, an Odyssey client from Homewood. Norman had previously trafficked a 16-year-old boy from Independence, Missouri, to Rehling, who went on a trip to Europe with the boy.[1]: 38–39 [14]

During his time in Homewood, Norman sexually abused ten teenage boys, enticing them with beer, showing them pornography and committing acts such as groping and oral sex upon them.[1][14] Homewood Police received an anonymous call on October 31, 1973, stating that "Steve Gurwell" (Norman) was sexually abusing boys. Norman was out of town at the time, but police were able to locate Rehling who assisted them in their investigation. Upon his return to Homewood on November 14, Norman was arrested and charged with five counts of indecent liberties with a child and eight counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.[1]: 38, 45, 48–49 

In the spring of 1976, while still awaiting trial on charges related to the Homewood crimes, Norman was bailed out of Cook County Jail for $36,000 by an unknown person from California. In December 1976 he was sentenced to four years in prison and sent to Pontiac Correctional Center.[15][14] Shortly before he was released on bail, Norman began his next sex operation, the Delta Project, and began publishing a newsletter called Hermes. From Cook County Jail, Norman sent out three newsletters using the jail's printing press, claiming that the Delta Project aimed to "provide educational, travel and self-development opportunities for qualified young men of character and integrity" and that "Delta-Dorms" were being established across the U.S. with each dorm having two to four "cadets" overseen by a "don". Police alleged that the "cadets" were underaged male prostitutes recruited in Chicago. In a May 1977 interview with the Tribune, Norman denied that Project Delta was sexual in nature and claimed to have sent the newsletter to over 7,000 people. At the time of the interview, police said that the newsletter had 5,000 subscribers and grossed over $300,000 per year.[15][14]

Norman was paroled in the fall of 1977, but was arrested again in Chicago in June 1978 for having sex with two underage boys from a local foster home and taking pornographic pictures of both. One of the boys informed investigators that Norman was in the process of selling him to a client and he (Norman) was simply "waiting for [his] plane ticket".[16]

Norman was accused of re-founding the Delta Project, now called the Creative Corps and M-C Publications, after being released from prison and operating it out of his apartment at 685 1/2 West Wrightwood Avenue, allegedly sending photos of the boys to a "don" in Canada.[17][18] In a raid of the apartment, 20,000 pink index cards (or possibly 50,000 to 100,000) containing the names of customers were found.[19][20]

Pennsylvania: Handy Andy

Between October 1983 and May 1984, Norman produced and published a child pornography magazine called Handy Andy from his rural home and a nearby motel in Aspers, Pennsylvania. He exploited at least twenty teenage boys from the area, enticing them with drugs and alcohol and photographing them engaged in various sex acts.[21][6] Norman fled Pennsylvania after his home was raided on May 31, 1984, but was captured in Bolingbrook, Illinois, in October 1984. He was released on bail in March 1985 and promptly fled again.[21][4]

Norman was captured in August 1987 in Urbana, Illinois, and given a six-year prison sentence for crimes in Illinois.[12] He was later extradited to Pennsylvania and sentenced to 18 months to 36 months in prison for charges related to Handy Andy. A 1986 news report focusing on Handy Andy stated that Norman was wanted in five different states for child sex crimes.[6]

Later crimes

Norman was convicted of child molestation in Colorado in 1988 and of distributing child pornography in California in 1995 and 1998.[8] He was released from prison in California in 1999, but was declared a sexually violent predator and was detained indefinitely at Atascadero State Hospital.[7] He was eventually released from Atascadero to the rural town of Boulevard, California, under strict conditions.[8][7] On February 2, 2009, Norman violated those conditions by giving a note containing his contact information to a 19-year-old grocery bagger in El Centro. In March 2009 he was ordered back into state custody, this time at Coalinga State Hospital, where he died in 2011.[7][9][22]

Possible connection to Dean Corll

Following Norman's 1973 arrest in Dallas, news reports indicated police were investigating if he had any ties to serial killer Dean Corll.[3][11] Corll murdered at least 28 teenage boys and young men in Houston between 1970 and 1973. Corll was himself killed on August 8, 1973, by his accomplice Elmer Wayne Henley, just days before Norman's arrest. Norman had previously lived in Houston, as evidenced by his 1954 and 1956 arrests there. Additionally, the source who tipped off police about the Odyssey Foundation was a prostitute involved in the organization who got scared after an unidentified man in Houston requested his services.[3]

Henley gave a statement to police following Corll's death in which he stated that Corll claimed to be involved with a Dallas-based organization that "bought and sold boys, ran whores and dope and stuff like that".[23] Police stated they did not think Corll's other accomplice, David Owen Brooks, was involved with the Odyssey Foundation, but also did not rule out Corll and Henley as being involved,[3] though they stated they had no evidence connecting them to Norman's organization.[11] In 1975 however, Houston police reported finding pictures depicting eleven of Corll's victims during a raid on a child prostitution ring, once again raising the possibility of connections to Norman.[24]

Possible connection to John Wayne Gacy

Norman is also alleged to have been connected to another serial killer, John Wayne Gacy, who murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men in Chicago between 1972 and 1978. A May 1977 report from the Chicago Tribune stated that Norman's closest associate in running the Delta Project was a 25-year-old convicted murderer named Philip Paske. Known for his violent streak, Paske was implicated in several thefts and murders, the most notable of the latter being three young boys killed in 1977, one of which was set to testify against Norman. The link between Paske and Norman was made when it was discovered they shared a post office box that was used for distributing Norman's newsletters, which Paske helped facilitate. On August 16, 1977, the Tribune outed Paske when they found out that he worked for the City of Chicago as a lifeguard. Paske was described as being tall, blonde, having a bad complexion, and often dressed as a woman. He died in 1998.

Police alleged that Paske had taken over running the Delta Project after Norman was sent to prison.[15][14] He was also at Norman's apartment during Norman's arrest in 1978, though Paske himself was not arrested.[18] Paske had worked for Gacy's construction company, PDM Contractors. Gacy implicated Paske, Norman and two other PDM employees as his accomplices in murder. In a 1992 interview, Gacy claimed Norman and the Delta Project were producing snuff films of young boys, possibly including some of Gacy's victims.[22] At least two victims believed to have been murdered by Gacy, Kenneth Parker and Michael Marino, had last been seen alive close to where Norman lived.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "John Norman records from Homewood PD". archive.org. Homewood, Illinois Police Department. January 11, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "John David Norman". ancestry.com. Ancestry. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Police seek tie between killings, homosexual ring". United Press International. August 17, 1973. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via archive.today.
  4. 1 2 3 Roth, Jeffrey (January 9, 1989). "Child Pornographer gets 18 months". The Gettysburg Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via archive.today.
  5. ↑ "John David Norman Wins Scholarship". The Ada Weekly News. July 27, 1944. p. 3. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Roth, Jeffrey (November 29, 1986). "Handy Andy". archive.today: The Gettysburg Times. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "People v. Norman". casetext.com. April 30, 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Judge send molester to rural town". Los Angeles Times. archive.today. Associated Press. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Littlefield, Dana (March 12, 2009). "East County sex offender, 81, returned to state hospital". San Diego Union Tribune. archive.today. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Sex Offenders". www.sdcda.org. San Diego County District Attorney. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Alleged Homosexual Ring Found In a Raid on Apartment in Dallas". The New York Times. archive.today. August 16, 1973. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Roth, Jeffrey (May 13, 1988). "Accused Adams pornograph serving 6-year sentence in Illinois prison". The Gettysburg Times. archive.today: Gettysburg Times. p. 7. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  13. ↑ Cimarsuti, Tony (November 6, 1970). "San Gabriel, West Covina men indictted by federal jury on pornography charges". archive.today: Daily News-Post (Monrovia, California). Archived from the original on April 2, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Chicago is center of national child porno ring". archive.today: Chicago Tribune. May 16, 1977. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 "Chicago is center of national child porno ring". archive.today: Chicago Tribune. May 16, 1977. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  16. ↑ Sneed, Michaela (June 19, 1978). "Seized File Studied for Child Sex Leads". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ Sneed, Michael (June 17, 1978). "Parolee arrested in child porn raid". archive.today: Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  18. 1 2 Sneed, Michael (June 17, 1978). "Parolee held in child porn raid". archive.today: Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Hidden cards list boys' name". archive.today: The Daily Chronicle (De Kalb, Illinois). June 19, 1978. Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  20. ↑ "CHILD PORN PROBE KEYS ON PAROLEE". archive.today: Des Moines Register. June 20, 1978. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  21. 1 2 "Man Held on child molesting charge". www.newspapers.com. archive.today: The Gettysburg Times. October 31, 1984. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  22. 1 2 Tron, Gina (April 22, 2021). "Was Notorious Child Sex Ring Leader John Norman Connected To John Wayne Gacy?". Oxygen. Archived from the original on September 16, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via archive.today.
  23. ↑ Barlow, Jim (July 9, 1974). "Henley Gives Statement On Manner Of Killings". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via archive.today.
  24. ↑ "Mass murder victims linked with sex ring". Corsican Daily Sun. Associated Press. February 28, 1975. p. 7. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2023 – via newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  25. ↑ True, Alison (June 20, 2016). "Child Sex Trafficking in Chicago: The Missing Link in the Gacy Mystery". JohnWayneGacyNews. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016.
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