TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Category: Social Media Crime

  • Teens’ secret MySpace lives

    Teens’ secret MySpace lives

    Mom finds her teen’s secret life on MySpace:

    Another parent with no clue, waking up to the harsh reality of their kids and the internet…

    Q: My 15-year-old daughter has a MySpace website (I overheard her talking about it on the phone with a girlfriend), and I was able to check it out last week. I was astonished with what I found a group picture with a bunch of her best friends, apparently at a party, most with a can of beer in their hand. She wasn’t holding a beer, but she was surrounded by kids who were. I also read some (but not all) of the notes on the site from her friends, and many were OK, but some were suggestive of other parties and some skipping of school. This is all news to me, and I don’t know how to approach her. I’m furious, but I’m also concerned and want to let her know that this behavior is not fine with me. But will she think that I was snooping? How is the best way to handle this?

    Who cares if she thinks you were snooping? You’re the parent. If your kids do not practice common sense or good judgment online, then it’s your job as a parent to watch out for them.

    Or you can click the article link for the lengthy answer by a professional.

  • Congressman wants FTC to do parents’ job

    Congressman wants FTC to do parents’ job

    Suburban congressman wants FTC to warn parents about MySpace:

    So, Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) wants the Federal Trade Commission to issue a national consumer alert warning for parents to look at the web pages their children are posting on MySpace. Isn’t that basically wasting taxpayers’ money on something that used to be known as common sense?

  • Cops Catch Conn. College Creeper

    Cops Catch Conn. College Creeper

    CCSU student held in MySpace case :

    Is Conn. like the MySpace predator breeding ground?

    A Central Connecticut State University student was arrested Tuesday morning after police said they discovered he had made contact with a 12-year-old Newington girl on MySpace and used the connection to set up a sexual encounter with the girl and a 12-year-old friend. David Leonard of New Britain, was arrested by the Newington detectives at his home on charges of third-degree sexual assault and resisting arrest.

    Lt. Stephen Clark of the Newington Police Department said detectives first began investigating the incident after they received information from a Department of Children and Families worker about the victim’s encounter with Leonard.

    Police said the relationship first began in summer 2005 when one of the victims used her sister’s screen name and began corresponding with Leonard using the popular Internet profile and chat program, myspace.com. The relationship eventually led to phone conversations via cell phone and eventually he established a meeting time with the two girls, police said.

    According to the incident reports, Leonard proceeded to meet the girls at a local school and the three went into a wooded area together. Once they were in the area, Leonard proceeded to kiss and fondle both victims.

    Assistant State’s Attorney Louis Luba Jr. said that during investigations, Leonard indicated to police that he had believed the girls were actually 14 years old, stating that he was unaware of their actual age.

    This is the second time Leonard has been in trouble for possible involvement with a minor. He was scheduled to face charges of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor for what is believed to be a similar case in Tolland Superior Court today, but the case was continued until April 19 because of Tuesday’s arrest.

    Several facts stated in Leonard’s MySpace profile indicate that he has had several other established Internet relationships with females under the age of 18 as well. His site, which was last accessed by the user on Monday, contains a list of 17 friends, of which nearly a dozen are females registered as under the age of 18.

    In his profile, Leonard admits to being a CCSU student from New Britain, but claims to be only 18 years old himself. His actual age is 22.

    So, telling the cops you thought they were 14 makes it right? For someone so dumb, how did you get into college?

    And Mr. A brings us Davey’s MySpace profile. Nothing is funnier than reading the comments of a MySpace creeper when his friends find out that he’s been busted.

  • Is MySpace finally getting serious?

    Is MySpace finally getting serious?

    MySpace.com hires child safety czar from Microsoft:

    News Corp. is set on Tuesday to name a security czar to oversee child safety measures on MySpace.com, the popular teen dating and music site that has provoked an outcry among parents who fear they have not done enough to thwart sexual predators.

    Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam, now director of Consumer Security Outreach & Child Safe Computing at Microsoft Corp., will head up safety, education, privacy and law enforcement oversight programs for MySpace and other Fox Web properties.

    The appointment is effective May 1, News Corp.’s Fox Interactive Media, the parent of MySpace, said in a statement.

    The move is one of several responses MySpace and its owners have taken in recent months to respond to harsh criticism by parent groups, legal authorities and politicians.

    Nigam brings strong credentials to his new role. He has more than 15 years of experience in online safety, including serving as a Federal prosecutor against Internet child exploitation for the U.S. Department of Justice.

    He was also an advisor to a Congressional commission on online child safety, and an advisor to the White House on cyberstalking.

    Prior to Microsoft, Nigam was vice president of worldwide Internet enforcement at the Motion Picture Association of America, where he oversaw the global strategy to combat online video piracy for seven major Hollywood studios.

    Impressive credentials outside of that stint with the MPAA.

    MySpace reaching out to parents:

    MySpace has also hired more employees to handle security and customer care–roughly 100 people, or one-third of its workforce, scout out inappropriate content or underage members.

    Again, that is rather impressive, but will it be enough? Only time will tell.

  • MySpace getting serious about safety?

    MySpace getting serious about safety?

    National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Advertising Council and MySpace Partner to Promote Online Safety:

    The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children(R) (NCMEC), the Advertising Council and News Corporation, parent company of Fox Interactive Media and MySpace, announced today a joint effort to promote online safety through the deployment of a series of national public service advertisements (PSAs). The PSAs, part of an ongoing Ad Council campaign, will begin running today through News Corporation’s broad network of distribution channels, and are designed to raise awareness about Internet safety and education.

    Sponsored by NCMEC and created pro bono by ad agency Merkley + Partners, the PSAs are designed to educate parents and guardians about measures they can take to better protect their children online, and to educate teens on how to be smart and maintain safe online relationships. The PSAs direct parents, guardians, and teens to visit www.cybertipline.com to learn about safe and responsible use of the Internet, as well as how to report threats.

    The PSAs will air on primetime on FOX, and across Fox Interactive Media’s network of websites including MySpace, FoxSports.com, IGN.com, Fox.com, AmericanIdol.com, Rotten Tomatoes and AskMen. The PSAs will also air on the 28 Fox Networks Group broadcast, cable and satellite services. Fox broadcast and cable networks running the campaign will include FOX, FX, National Geographic channel, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Reality, FUEL TV, FSN, SPEED, Fox College Sports Atlantic, Fox College Sports Central, Fox College Sports Pacific, Fox Soccer Channel and (in Spanish) on Fox Sports en Espanol. All Fox-owned-and-operated regional sports networks will likewise televise the PSAs. Additionally, Fox All Access radio and the New York Post will run the campaign.

    Normally, I would say this is just a PR move on Newscorp’s part, but I have tremendous respect for the NCMEC.

    Hopefully, this will make parents more aware of what’s going on online, but excuse me if I don’t hold my breath.

  • Letavec pleads not guilty

    MySpace suspect pleads not guilty of sex with teen:

    One of our earliest inductees to the Rogues Gallery, Stephen M. Letavec, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of traveling across state lines to molest a 14-year-old girl in Conn. that he met through MySpace. But here’s where it gets weird…

    He has been in custody since his arrest in Pennsylvania in February. The teenage girl’s mother and a girlfriend met Letavec and even welcomed him into their homes.

    The girlfriend’s mother allegedly allowed him to spend 13 hours with the alleged victim and her daughter in their home while the mother wasn’t there, according to court documents.

    Huh?

    What parent would let their 14-year-old daughter be befriended by a 39-year-old father of four that she met on MySpace?

    His MySpace has since been deleted and the cache has expired, however the always intrepid Mr. A has a mirror of it here.

    Mr. A also found this, where Letavec offers some kind of defense, stating that the girl claimed she was 18, and he was trying to help her out with family problems. Surprisingly, I’ve had commenters leave comments on my site about another man accused of traveling across state lines to engage in sex with a minor, who said the exact same thing.

    Will this become the MySpace molester’s mantra? That remains to be seen.

  • Mr. A Reports III

    Mr. A Reports III

    Mr. A brings us another report from the darkest depths of the internet. This time about a child porn ring that was broken up in Massachusetts. The crimes themselves did not take place on MySpace but on P2P networks. However,

    Mr. A brings us the MySpace profiles of two of the suspects. Michael Curley, who was arrested in February and Joseph Jaena who was arrested on 4/5. Welcome to the Rogues Gallery, boys.

    Mr. A, the scourge of the internet underworld, strikes again.

  • Yet another Creeper solicits a cop

    Yet another Creeper solicits a cop

    Deputy: Solicitation suspect said age didn’t matter:

    This time it’s in Missouri…

    A Bollinger County sheriff’s deputy testified in court Tuesday that a Jackson man arrested in an undercover police sting for soliciting sex with an underage girl had told the minor “age didn’t matter.”

    Following a preliminary hearing before Associate Circuit Judge Gary A. Kamp, Irvin E. Holderbaugh Jr., 40, was bound over to circuit court on charges of attempted statutory rape.

    During the hearing, Bollinger County deputy Kevin Otte said the defendant solicited a 14-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover officer, over the Internet.

    “He would like to have her and age didn’t matter,” Otte said of the defendant.

    The Bollinger County Sheriff’s Department set up a profile of a 14-year-old girl on the Web site MySpace.com, with a picture of a 21-year-old Bollinger County sheriff’s dispatcher when she was 18 years old posing as the minor.

    Holderbaugh began chatting with the girl online and sent her 10 pictures of himself, five of which were pornographic, Otte said.

    On March 11, the two arranged to meet at Jackson’s City Park to later have sex, according to Otte.

    And here’s the really sick part…

    As Holderbaugh began walking toward the dispatcher, police arrested him. During a search, officers found seven condoms, 11 Viagra pills, and a boxcutter knife on his person, Otte said.

    It’s scary to think what he might have planned with that box cutter.

    And thanks to the ever reliable Mr. A, we have what, we believe, is Holderbaugh’s MySpace profile. Here we have another case where a predator’s friends list consists mainly of porn stars. I have nothing against porn per se, but if your entire life revolves around porn than you may have a problem.

  • Mr. A Reports II

    Mr. A Reports II

    Mr. A brings another treasure trove of MySpace profile goodness…or in this case evil.

    First up is one of the first stories I ever posted here. It was about Patrick Phelan who was arrested for propositioning a cop who he thought was a 14-year-old girl. His MySpace is here, according to Mr. A. Now, why would a 42-year-old man have two 17-year-old girls as his MySpace friends?

    Mr. A also brings us this story about the international child porn sting that happened recently and how Paul Roy Peters IV, 19, of Sebring, Florida was busted in that sting. Here is his MySpace profile. That would explain why someone going into the Air Force would have a pink bunny background.

    Two weeks ago, I told you about Matthew Cargill, a 29-year-old from Honolulu who posed as a 16-year-old on MySpace named Nico to lure a 15-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her. Could this be that Nico?

    Mr. A, shining the light of truth into the dark crevices of MySpace.

  • Victims of The Duck

    Victims of The Duck

    Earlier today I told you about John Krieser the 39-year-old Wisconsin man who traveled to Texas to have sex with a 15-year-old girl. And at that time I promised you more MySpace profile goodness. Well, I lied. Oh, I have the MySpace profiles I’m going to talk about, provided to me as usual by Mr. A, but I’m not going to post the links because I only post the links of criminals, not of victims. And even though most of the people I’m going to talk about made bad choices, they are all victims of Krieser one way or another.

    The first profile provided to me by Mr. A was the one that we both believe is the victim involved in Krieser’s arrest. This is what her “About Me” had to say…

    i have been through soo much in my life and now is not a time to back down the ones i love are always the farthest from me so i willl sit here aqnd wait for the day when i can be free.

    Did she ever check Krieser’s friends list? If she did, she would find the profile of a 19-year-old from Wisconsin who had this to say about Krieser…

    My names is Tiffany and there isnt much that I want to say except that John thanks for everything you have done for me in my life. You keep me smiling everytime I think of you! I think of you and then when I see you I want you even more ! Im here for you anytime you need me John for anything and I mean anything !!

    Her profile also contains some risqué pictures that were taken by the rubber duck man himself.

    Then there’s the profile of a 19-year-old girl from North Carolina where Duckman left the comment “kisses all over your body”.

    And the most disturbing thing is that Johnny has a 14-year-old girl from Arkansas on his friends list. Unless that’s his niece or something, why would any 39-year-old man have a 14-year-old girl on his friends list? For that matter, why would a 39-year-old man have a MySpace?

    Well, now HisSpace is a concrete cell.