TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Social Media Crime

  • It’s not illegal if I don’t meet them in person

    It’s not illegal if I don’t meet them in person

    Man Arrested For Nude Pics Of Girls On MySpace:

    Another creep arrested for MySpace misdeeds. The subject in question is one Kevin Dale Pierce from the City of Angels. The 33-year-old Pierce was arrested for convincing teenage girls to send him nude pictures of themselves. Several external hard drives were found when police searched his house. How many girls did he contact top have that many hard drives? Pierce claimed to be a 19-year-old art student from UCLA.

    The investigation started in January, when a Temecula resident reported that her 14-year-old daughter was swapping notes with someone who claimed to be a 19-year-old art student at UCLA, DeLuna said.

    The two started an online relationship last November and, after several weeks, established a bond of trust, according to the sergeant. The suspect persuaded the girl to send photos of herself in various stages of undress, purportedly for an art project, DeLuna said.

    The girl’s mother noticed her daughter’s computer screen and read messages from the suspect asking for additional pictures in varied poses, DeLuna said.

    The woman told a deputy that the e-mail she spotted was from someone who called himself “kev pie” and thanked the girl for pictures she had sent him, according to an affidavit for a search warrant.

    The e-mailer then requested that the girl send some more snapshots and wrote, “Is there any way you can also take the exact same angles, straight from behind and from the 45 degree side … but on the floor instead of standing? so I can draw the legs and the body bent in shape,” the affidavit states.

    The mother did not know what the e-mail referred to and asked her daughter about it.

    The girl later told investigators that she informed the person she was corresponding with that she was 14 years old. She told detectives that she and the suspect began chatting on “I Chat” after meeting on MySpace.com, according to the affidavit.

    Investigators tracked down Pierce’s ISP address, accessed his MySpace account and determined he was actually 33 and that he had been communicating with at least 10 other girls, persuading them to send nude photos of themselves, police allege.

    The best part is Pierce’s explanation.

    “He seemed pretty eager to try to clear his name,” DeLuna said, adding that Pierce told them he did not believe he was breaking the law as long as he did not meet the girls in person.

    I would love to have seen the cops’ faces when he told them that.

    I could not find a definitive MySpace for Pierce.

  • SI Teen’s story checks out

    SI Teen’s story checks out

    Sex Offender Arrested for Allegedly Abusing Boy, Handcuffing Him to Tree:

    The other day, when I posted about the Staten Island teen who was found tied to a tree after an alleged MySpace meeting, I have to admit I was a little suspicious of his story. Well, shame on me because police have arrested a suspect.

    A tip led police to the 26-year-old man, whose photo was identified by the boy, said Lt. Robert Sprague. Investigators later found the boy’s bracelet and his cell phone at the suspect’s Staten Island house, he said. Charges were pending in the case.

    Investigators said the man had a 1999 conviction for sodomy and endangering the welfare of a child.

    Police said the suspect also was involved in the attempted abduction of a 14-year-old boy on Staten Island on March 5.

    My apologies for doubting.

  • New York predator gets 10 years

    New York predator gets 10 years

    Batavia sex offender guilty, gets 10 years:

    48-year-old Gregory Mexin of Batavia, New York, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to indecent solicitation of a child, failure to notify police of a change of address while a registered sex offender and possession of child pornography. It seems Mr. Mexin is a well-rounded pedophile. Mexin was arrested back in December for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl who was actually an undercover cop. Do these perverts not watch Dateline?

    Thanks to Tim, we have Mexin’s MySpace. Under “Who I’d like to meet” Mexin put “Women between 38 and 55 for dating, possible relationships or I am open to whatever the woman has in mind.” Apparently, by 38 to 55 he meant inches tall.

  • SI Teen tied to tree after MySpace meeting

    SI Teen tied to tree after MySpace meeting

    Boy’s MySpace nightmare:

    A Staten Island teen was rescued yesterday after being found tied to a tree off of the Staten Island Expressway. The teen says that his attacker was not a stranger and that he knew him from MySpace.

    The source said the two made contact on MySpace.com, a popular social networking Web site. The teen, who investigators said comes from a “solid family,” initially told police he was accosted by a knife-wielding man as he walked to a nearby bus stop.

    As cops continued to interview the teen throughout the day, he offered “a little bit more.”

    The source said the two made contact on MySpace.com, a popular social networking Web site. The teen, who investigators said comes from a “solid family,” initially told police he was accosted by a knife-wielding man as he walked to a nearby bus stop.

    The source declined to speculate as to why the teen and his attacker agreed to meet, or why their rendezvous ended with the bizarre episode.

    The teen described his assailant as a black man in his 20s or 30s, wearing dark clothing, police said.

    This is a bizarre story indeed, and I don’t think all the facts are in.

  • MySpace lawsuit being appealed

    MySpace lawsuit being appealed

    New Rounds Coming in Parents vs. MySpace.com:

    It seems that the losers of the infamous $30M lawsuit against MySpace that was dismissed are more than losers. It seems that they are sore losers at that.

    Let’s revisit the dismissal…

    In dismissing the suit last month, a judge in Austin, Texas, cited a provision in the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA), which holds that, as an “interactive computer service,” News Corp. and its property MySpace were not liable for the postings to the site.

    Of course, since this is America and litigation we’re talking about, that won’t stop money hungry lawyers and opportunistic families, now, will it?

    “We don’t believe the Communications Decency Act applies to a case like this,” said Adam Loewy of law firm Barry & Loewy, which is representing the minor.

    He argued that the CDA applies primarily to defamation cases, such as when an owner of a Web site is sued over defamatory material published on the site. He said Judge Sparks erred in his interpretation of the CDA and that it does not limit MySpace’s liability for torts, or wrongful acts of members on its site.

    Loewy is undeterred, and also plans to re-file a parallel suit against MySpace in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit located in San Francisco. That suit, also previously dismissed by Judge Sparks, accuses MySpace of fraud against the minor. But Loewy feels a court near Silicon Valley, which he says has handled more Internet-related cases, will be more prepared to rule in his client’s favor.

    It’s got nothing to do with Silicon Valley, but everything to do with the Ninth Circuit being more sympathetic to these anti-personal responsibility lawsuits.

    I guess if at first you don’t succeed, sue, sue, again.

  • Boomalicious IV

    Boomalicious IV

    More girls linked to sex abuse suspect:

    It seems one of our favorite new fiends, Joseph Polk, aka Boomalicious, may have some more skeletons in his closet. Not only did he allegedly pose as a teenage boy on MySpace to contact underage girls, it seems that he may have done it on Tagged.com as well. On his Tagged.com profile, Polk had 30 friends listed, all under the age of 16. So investigators believe there still may be more victims.

    But what makes this article so good is Polk’s line of defense.

    Polk denies he had any sexual contact with minors and claims he set up the accounts to research Internet stalkers, said his attorney, Phil Studenberg.

    What a coincidence that he just happens to be accused of inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old girl.

    Thanks to Pilar for the link.

  • Wentworth pleads guilty

    Wentworth pleads guilty

    Naperville Man Pleads Guilty In MySpace Sex Abuse:

    John Wentworth, who I posted about here, has pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and indecent solicitation of a child.

    Unfortunately, the most he’s looking at is seven years in prison.

  • Boomalicious III

    Boomalicious III

    Man Arrested Again For MySpace Sex Crimes:

    Joseph Polk, aka Boomalicious, has been arrested once again for sex-related crimes involving a 14-year-old girl he met on MySpace after another victim came forward. Polk was arrested back in January for Having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Polk is 36. Police believe there still may be other victims.

  • Werribee suspects charged

    Werribee suspects charged

    Eight charged over Werribee DVD:

    The suspects in the Werribee DVD assault case have finally been charged. They’re facing charges of procuring sexual penetration by intimidation, manufacturing child pornography, and assault.

    The Australian teens recorded themselves sexually assaulting a mildly mentally disabled girl, then sold the DVD to classmates.

    Thanks to Alan for the link.

  • Conn. proposes new legislation

    Conn. proposes new legislation

    Blumenthal, lawmakers want age verification rules for MySpace.com:

    Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has unveiled some proposed legislation in regard to age verification on MySpace.

    Under the proposal, any networking site that fails to verify ages and obtain parental permission from parents to post profiles of users under 18 would face civil fines up to $5,000 per violation. Sites would have to check information about parents to make sure it is legitimate. Parents would be contacted directly when necessary.

    It would probably just be cheaper for the sites to take the $5K fine, then have to verify the parental information for every user under 18. And what about parents who don’t want their personal information online?

    Speaking of parents, there’s still no proposed legislation in Conn. for lax parenting.