A Slidell man known as one of the most prolific spammers in the country is accused of raping one teenage girl and handcuffing and molesting another, authorities said Wednesday.

Police arrested Ronald Scelson, 36, after seizing computers, servers, marijuana and drug paraphernalia during a raid on his home and office Tuesday afternoon, Slidell Police spokesman Capt. Kevin Foltz said.

In May, the mother of a 14-year-old girl told Slidell Police that Scelson, who was considered a friend of the family, had molested her daughter during Mardi Gras week, Foltz said.

The teenager told authorities she was at Scelson's business address, at 1831 Third St., when she saw sexually explicit material and open chat rooms on several monitors, Foltz said. Scelson started "playing around" with her, eventually handcuffing and fondling her, he said.

During the investigation, detectives received information that Scelson had raped a girl in spring 2008, when the juvenile was 15-years-old, Foltz said. That attack occurred in Scelson's home in the Audubon subdivision, he said.

On Tuesday, investigators raided Scelson's home and business, taking 10 servers, 15 personal computers and several external storage devices from his home at 2030 Teal St. and his Third Street office, Foltz said. Computer specialists are examining the computers for illegal materials such as child pornography or evidence that Scelson had other victims, he said.

Scelson was booked into the Slidell city jail with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a weapon while in possession of narcotics and molestation of a juvenile and forcible rape.

A 2003 Times-Picayune profile on Scelson said he was once one of the 10 most prolific spammers in North America or Europe and quoted him bragging about sending out hundreds of millions of e-mails a day. At the time, Scelson claimed he distinguished himself from other spammers because he did not hide the identity of his company and did not market pornographic sites or "get rich quick schemes."
http://blog.nola.com/tpnorthshore/2009/06/slidell_man_booked_with_molest.html

http://www.spam-site.com/spammer-ronnie-scelson.shtml

http://www.myspace.com/scelson