TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Social Media Crime

  • New Jersey AG eyes MySpace and others

    New Jersey AG eyes MySpace and others

    New Jersey asks 12 Web sites to check for sex offenders:

    New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram has not only asked MySpace for sex offender information, she’s also asked eleven other sites to do the same.

    Attorney General Anne Milgram has asked for information from Xanga.com, Facebook, Community Connect, TagWorld, Bebo, MyYearbook.com, Tagged, Friendster, LiveJournal, Imeem, Hi5 and Gaia Online.

    I’ll give her this much, she’s thorough. Some of those sites I hadn’t even heard of. But like other states Attorneys General, she’s picking on MySpace…

    The Attorney General’s Office has issued three subpoenas to MySpace, but the 12 other sites will soon be getting letters from Milgram asking for help.

    And also, like the other state Attorneys General, there’s no mention of parents doing a better job of monitoring their children.

  • MySpace used to lure girl into prostitution

    MySpace used to lure girl into prostitution

    Man charged with using MySpace to lure girl into prostitution:

    32-year-old Melvin Charles Parker Jr. of Richmond, California was arrested for using MySpace to lure a 16-year-old girl into prostitution.

    Once the girl arrived in town, police stopped her on the street for questioning when it appeared she was trying to find customers. She told police Parker threatened her into prostitution.

    “He told her that he wanted her to prostitute herself, or his friends would look up her family and hurt them,” said Margo Rohrbacher, a spokeswoman for the San Rafael police.

    Police said they told the girl to call Parker, and listened in as he gave her instructions on where to meet him to deliver her earnings. He was arrested when he arrived.

    I couldn’t find a MySpace for Parker. But if you needed another reason why kids should not be posting their personal info online, this is it.

  • Give it up already Roy

    Give it up already Roy

    Cooper still pushing for parental consent to use MySpace:

    Seriously, Roy, it’s time to hang it up.

    Even after being crushed in the North Carolina House, Attorney General Roy Cooper is still touting his master plan for MySpace.

    Attorney General Roy Cooper vowed Monday to keep pressuring lawmakers to approve legislation that will require minors to get parental permission before using MySpace.com and other social networking Web sites.

    North Carolina legislators failed to pass a bill this year targeting such sites, as some House members and Internet commerce groups said a broad restriction would be unworkable and unconstitutional.

    “One thing we pride ourselves in doing is being ahead of the curve with ideas,” Cooper said during a news conference. “Sometimes it just takes the slow-moving Legislature a period of time to see the light.”

    Or how about a slow Attorney General who doesn’t realize the technology doesn’t exist yet?

    Cooper said age verification technology is already being used on adult oriented sites that advertise tobacco and alcohol. He said social networking sites just don’t want to lose the revenue generated from advertising to young people, an accusation MySpace denies.

    What? You mean, that stupid drop-down menu that asks you your age? Yeah, nobody lies about that. The other form of verification is called a credit card. While a parent’s credit card may be helpful with parental consent, it doesn’t prevent kids from just lifting the numbers and using it themselves. Plus, it opens a whole other issue of identity theft.

    And my favorite part…

    Officials in two states have said MySpace recently identified more than 29,000 registered sex offenders with profiles. The company will not confirm the reports but said it is working to locate and remove profiles posted by sexual offenders.

    Cooper threatened Monday to take action against MySpace if it fails to require parental consent voluntarily, but he declined to discuss specifics.

    That’s Roy Cooper for you. He hasn’t been specific since he started this whole ordeal. From now on, I’m going to refer to him as Mr. Vague.

  • Conn. AG turns to Facebook

    Conn. AG turns to Facebook

    Popular Web site is target of probe:

    Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is up to his usual misguided ways. This time, he’s focusing his wrath on Facebook.

    Connecticut’s attorney general is scrutinizing Facebook, the popular social-networking site, for allowing convicted sex offenders to register, calling into question whether the company is doing enough to protect users.

    The inquiry by Richard Blumenthal is designed to force Palo Alto’s Facebook to take a more aggressive stand against sexual predators after his office uncovered at least three cases of such offenders becoming members, a spokesman confirmed. In addition, Blumenthal’s team found that some of Facebook’s users had posted sexually explicit material that was not swiftly removed.

    A whole three, compared to MySpace’s 29,000. Ooooooooh, Facebook really is a criminal haven.

    Connecticut officials have contacted Facebook and asked it to remove the sex offenders’ profiles. Blumenthal plans to continue his inquiry.

    A Facebook spokeswoman did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Chris Kelly, the company’s chief privacy officer, told the New York Times that he is not familiar with the Connecticut investigation but that the company receives many reports about sex offenders registering on the Web site. The profiles are usually removed within 72 hours, he said.

    “We want to be a good partner to the states in attempting to address this societal problem,” Kelly told the Times. “We’ve worked with them for quite some time now, and we look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership.”

    Facebook maintains more-stringent security rules than some of its competitors because of its early days as an online destination for students. Full user profiles aren’t visible to the general public, for instance, and can be seen only by people who have been confirmed as friends.

    It’s bad enough that AG Blumenthal places the blame on MySpace instead of inattentive parents. Now he’s going after a site that has very little criminal activity. In the year and a half that I’ve been doing this site, the stories about Facebook pale in comparison to the stories about MySpace.

    As I’ve said before, AG Blumenthal needs to concentrate on keeping sex offenders off the streets than off of MySpace or Facebook.

  • NC MySpace bill fails

    NC MySpace bill fails

    Energy bill advances; MySpace rules fail:

    North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper’s proposed legislation to make teens get parental permission before signing up for MySpace has failed in the State House.

    But the second bill lost its headlining clause, a requirement that parents give permission for their younger teenagers to sign up for online social-networking sites. Rep. Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake, said that legal and technical experts raised too many unanswered questions about whether the proposal was feasible and constitutional.

    It is expected that the Senate will reject the changes and the bill will end up in a conference committee.

    So there are still some sensible politicians left in the world.

  • Punta Gorda PD make a different kind of arrest

    Punta Gorda PD make a different kind of arrest

    Police: Myspace mission leads to sex arrest:

    The police department of Punta Gorda, Florida has been featured on this site many times. Usually, it’s for the arrest of some drug dealer that blatantly advertises on MySpace. This time they made a completely different kind of arrest.

    Punta Gorda PD arrested 19-year-old Tyler Stancker of Pennsylvania. Stancker traveled from Pennsylvania to Florida in order to have sex with a 14-year-old girl he met on MySpace.

    He is being charged with fourteen counts of Lewd Battery, two counts of Lewd and Lascivious Molestation, and one count of Prohibited Use of Computer Services.

    He will be transported to the Charlotte County Jail for booking procedures where he will be held on no bond.

    Wow, no bond. That’s pretty harsh. Not that he’ll get any sympathy from me. I still don’t understand why someone would travel that great a distance for a 14-year-old girl.

  • Canada’s sex offenders not affected by purge

    Canada’s sex offenders not affected by purge

    MySpace kicks out sex offenders — but not in Canada:

    This is a great article from Canada.com that explains while 29,000 registered U.S. sex offenders were located and removed from MySpace’s userbase, no such purge will happen in Canada.

    “We can’t even work with any private companies or law-enforcement agencies because we simply can’t get hold of the data,” said John Cardillo, CEO of Sentinel Tech, who said predators are more free to use Canadian social networking sites to lure young victims.

    The public does not have access to the national sex offender registry — a database that provides Canadian police services with information to investigate crimes of a sexual nature.

    “When the bad guys have to cover their tracks, they get caught,” Cardillo said, who added it was only in May that MySpace began to use his Sentinel Tech’s technology, after signing a seven-figure deal reached with MySpace’s owners, News Corp.

    But because Canada’s federal government has not publicly released the names of registered sex offenders, those people are able to travel on the information highway, virtually undetected, Cardillo said. “We can’t see who they are so we can’t see where they are.”

    I’d like to hear from Canadians on whether or not they think the sex offender registry should be made public.

  • Media fueling MySpace hysteria

    Media fueling MySpace hysteria

    Sexual predator gets close to his target on MySpace:

    The headline is kind of misleading, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

    30-year-old Andre Johnson of Eastlake, Ohio was already on probation for improper sexual conduct with a 14-year-old. Apparently, that wasn’t enough of a deterrent. He’s now accused of breaking into the bedroom of another 14-year-old girl and raping her.

    He denies that the sex was rape, but admits he was so drunk and high that he barely remembers the evening.

    Like that makes it better.

    And here’s where MySpace comes into play.

    The two originally met through the teen’s older sister, but detectives say the relationship was further established by chatting back and forth on MySpace.

    So while Mr. Johnson is a grade A scumbag and deserves everything he gets, MySpace was barely involved in this incident and was not the conduit for this predator to meet his victim.

    Sensationalistic journalism at its worst.

  • Shefelbine’s father has charges increased

    Shefelbine’s father has charges increased

    Shefelbine Charge Changed:

    David Shefelbine, the father of alleged serial predator Scott Shefelbine, had his charges increased for assaulting a Connecticut news reporter.

    During his brief arraignment Tuesday in the same court in Rockville, David Shefelbine said nothing as Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth C. Leaming increased the charge he faces to third-degree assault. Lori Beth Leavitt, Shefelbine’s attorney, entered a routine not guilty plea and a request for a jury trial.

    Shefelbine the elder is accused of punching reporter Erin Cox after she asked him to comment on his son’s bail being revoked.

    Maybe father and son will have adjoining cells.

  • The 29,000

    The 29,000

    29,000 sex offenders found on MySpace:

    It has been confirmed by MySpace that there are in fact 29,000 registered sex offenders on MySpace. My apologies to AG Roy Cooper of North Carolina for saying that he pulled that number out of thin air. Mr. Cooper’s New England counterpart, Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal, is stating that the number was provided to him by top MySpace officials. MySpace is still declining to comment.

    If there are 29,000 registered sex offenders on MySpace that are stupid enough to use their real names, I can only imagine how many are on there that are flying below the radar. Not to mention the predators that are on there that have never been caught.

    However, I still don’t think that more legislation is the answer. What is needed is more vigilant parenting. Parents need more education on how to navigate MySpace and how to check up on their kids’ MySpaces.

    We can’t allow the government to raise our children.