TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Author: Trench Reynolds

  • The Predator’s Playground

    The Predator’s Playground

    Pedophiles trolling in MySpace raise alarm:

    Just another local news article, this time from Houston, about how MySpace is a predator’s playground…

    MySpace is the Studio 54 for the Internet set. And just like the seminal disco-era nightclub, MySpace has transcended being a place ”to see and be seen” and become a cultural benchmark.

    But there are no bouncers guarding the Internet. Locally, there have been two arrests in underage sex cases, and nationwide, the site has been linked to probes involving a variety of crimes, including exposing minors to pornography and even murder. On Thursday, Connecticut authorities said they arrested two men on allegations of having sexual contact with minors they met through the site.

    Locally, a 26-year-old Houston man was charged with sexual assault of a child, accused of luring a 15-year-old League City girl away from home in January after meeting through MySpace.

    Also in January, another teen from League City met a 38-year-old man on the site who began sending sexually explicit messages. The girl told her father, who went to police. Robert Alan Wise was arrested after arriving at what he thought was a meeting with the girl but was a trap set by police.

    And for the “no surprise” portion of the article…

    Telephoned requests to the Santa Monica, Calif.-based headquarters of MySpace seeking comment were not answered.

    Go figure.

  • Dyleski facing life

    Dyleski facing life

    Dyleski could serve life without parole:

    Contra Costa County prosecutors have filed a special circumstance allegation against 17-year-old murder defendant Scott Dyleski, subjecting him to a life term without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.

    Prosecutors allege that Dyleski committed murder during a residential burglary.

    In court documents filed Wednesday, deputy district attorney Harold Jewett said Dyleski entered the home of Pamela Vitale with the intention of stealing, counterfeiting or fraudulently using access card information.

    Dyleski is accused of killing Vitale on Oct. 15, 2005. Vitale’s husband Daniel Horowitz found her stabbed and bludgeoned to death that evening.

    Dyleski cannot get the death penalty due to his age. Which is more consideration than Pam Vitale got.

  • Two molestations in Conn.

    Two molestations in Conn.

    Prosecutors: Men used MySpace to meet underage girls for sex:

    I am horrified by this article…

    Two men from Pennsylvania and New Jersey used the popular networking Web site MySpace.com to set up sexual encounters with underage Connecticut girls, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

    The two unrelated cases come after weeks in which the potential danger of MySpace has been a topic of discussion for law enforcement, parents and school officials nationwide.

    In one case, Sonny Szeto, 22, of Jersey City, N.J., traveled to Connecticut in October and molested an 11-year-old girl in her playroom while her parents slept upstairs, according to an FBI affidavit.

    In the other case, Stephen Letavec, 39, molested a 14-year-old Connecticut girl in his car while visiting from of Elrama, Pa., in October, according to another FBI report.

    Police in Middletown are investigating recent reports that as many as seven local girls were sexually assaulted by men in their 20s who contacted them through MySpace pretending to be teenagers.

    Emphasis mine.

    What the hell was an 11-year-old girl doing on the internet unsupervised, anyway?

    The internet is not someplace an 11-year-old girl needs to be wandering around aimlessly. Parents, if this isn’t a wake-up a call, I don’t know what is.

  • What would we do without experts?

    What would we do without experts?

    A Parent’s Guide To Checking MySpace:

    Another local news article on what parents can do to protect their kids online. I only have one bone to pick with the article…

    Remember, experts have said you should warn your child that you are going to look at their Web site, and be prepared to talk reasonably about how they present themselves on the Web.

    Screw what the experts say.

    If you really want to protect your kids, don’t tell them you’ll be checking it out. This way they won’t have time to change anything, and you can really see what they’re doing online, which in turn will let you know how you need to protect your kids.

    When it comes to protecting your kids, be a parent first and their friend second.

  • Survey Says II

    Survey Says II

    Sheriff asks families whether to release Columbine tapes:

    Sheriff Ted Mink of the Jefferson County Sheriffs department is still dragging his feet on releasing the tapes and journals made my Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. He’s still surveying the victims’ families to see if the material should be released. Old news, right? Well, the article had two interesting facts that caught my eye…

    Sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said Wednesday Sheriff Ted Mink wanted to hear from the families before deciding. She said no decision has been made and that Mink would likely wait until after the seventh anniversary of the shootings next month to announce his plans.

    Mink has not said whether the parents and victims will have the final word.

    So he’s not going to announce his decision until after April 20th and that the victims and their families will NOT have the final word. Then what is the point of surveying the victims and their families?

    If he doesn’t release the tapes, he will be committing political suicide. Is there really any other option than releasing the tapes?

  • Creeper busted by 12-year-old girl

    Creeper busted by 12-year-old girl

    Man Allegedly Lures Girl For Sex Through MySpace:

    Here’s another story of a creeper who thought he was meeting a 12-year-old girl but is instead met by law enforcement…

    VANCOUVER, Wash. — A 26-year-old man is behind bars after allegedly making a date with a 12-year-old girl he met online.

    Jeramie Eidem is behind bars in Clark County. He will be back in court Friday.

    Detectives say he carried on a sexually explicit cyber conversation with a 12-year-old on the popular Web site MySpace and tried to meet with her.

    Detectives say the girl did the right thing. She called her mom into the situation when she realized what was happening on the MySpace Web site. The mom called the sheriff’s office. A meeting was set up, and deputies arrested Eidem, who they say drove up from Columbia City, Ore., with plans to have sex with the girl.

    “An arrangement was made for them to meet him at a place in Hazel Dell, and he came over there, and instead he met us,” Sgt. Craig Hogman said.

    Detectives say Eidem knew the girl was 12, but that didn’t matter to him. In fact, the meeting was set up in a phone conversation after the Internet chat ended.

    Detectives have seized Eidem’s computer from his home to investigate this case. They say it’s possible that he’ll also face federal charges because he crossed state lines in the commission of the crimes.

    Luckily, in this case, the girl and her mom had enough sense to realize what was going on, and this scumbag will hopefully go away for a long time,

  • Wake Up Call

    Wake Up Call

    MySpace Dangers:

    Yet another local news expose on the evils of MySpace. That seems to be the in thing with local newscasts right now…

    MySpace.com is a growing phenomenon among teens and also an easy way for people to find you if you’re not careful. Many people think, ‘It couldn’t happen to me.’

    Only on KXAN, Jenny Hoff set out to prove those people wrong with a wake-up call at their front doors.

    Jenny admits MySpace is a great resource for journalists. She logs on every time there is breaking news to get information.

    It’s also a great resource for predators, pedophiles and stalkers, and as I’m about to show you, for anybody who wants to know where you live.

    You may call it an ambush. We prefer wake-up call.

    This article is actually much better than most of the local newscasts about MySpace. I love the fact that the reporter actually took it to the parents of MySpace users and their children.

    This is a great read for any parent whose kids have a MySpace account.

  • Minor Problem

    Minor Problem

    MySpace Investigation:

    Just another “expose” on MySpace, but it has some interesting quotes…

    Who else is on the ever-popular social Web sites? A recent search on MySpace found this teen, listing her age as 13 and calling herself “Hottie Wid A Body.”

    “I’m Delicious” is 15 years old.

    So is the minor who calls herself “PlayboySlut101,” who says the perfect date is “going to a party, then having sex.”

    This is Megan. Her quote is, “Slippery when wet, boys.”

    Parents? Anyone? Beuller?

  • More on yesterday’s hearing from Roseburg

    More on yesterday’s hearing from Roseburg

    Guns fascinate teen, court told:

    This is scary…

    A 14-year-old boy charged with gunning down a classmate in a courtyard at Roseburg High School has a fascination with guns and recently researched how certain ammunition could penetrate body armor, a prosecutor told a judge during a hearing Monday.

    This is funny…

    At Monday’s brief court appearance, Bruce Tower, Leodoro’s court-appointed attorney, asked Millikan to consider a conditional release for the accused shooter. He argued that because his client doesn’t have a criminal background, he doesn’t pose a danger to the community.

    You’re kidding, right? Why do these lawyers try to get their clients released before trial, stating they have no criminal background, when they’re being held for shooting someone?

    Vincent Leodoro shot Joseph Monti multiple times with a Wyoming Arms 10 mm semiautomatic loaded with hollow point bullets. So we can just expect him to act like a good little boy while he’s awaiting trial? Hell no. Luckily, he was held without bail.

    Also, it sounds like the prognosis for Joseph Monti was not as rosy as we were led to believe…

    Monti, meanwhile, is recovering from his wounds at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg, where he is listed in serious but stable condition. Doctors said he should recover fully from gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen, and elbow.

    But Monti’s half-brother, Eric Allison of Sacramento, wonders. He said Monti is in pain and will have to undergo reconstructive surgeries. Allison said he plans to fly his brother to medical facilities at Stanford University.

    “I don’t know why everyone is saying that he’s going to be OK,” Allison said. “He’s got huge holes in him. We’re worried that he has signs of infection and this is going to be a long road to recovery.”

    My thoughts and prayers are with the Monti family, and I hope Joseph recovers soon.

  • Bail Denied for Vincent Leodoro

    Bail Denied for Vincent Leodoro

    Bail denied for suspect in Roseburg High School shooting:

    The gunman in the Roseburg High shooting, Vincent Leodoro, has been ordered to be held without bail…

    Douglas County Circuit Judge Robert Millikan denied a defense motion to allow Vincent Leodoro to be released from juvenile detention after the prosecution argued he posed a danger to society and himself.

    The trial has been scheduled for April 18th.