TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

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  • Long Island predator on MySpace arrested

    Long Island predator on MySpace arrested

    MySpace Leads to Arrest of Sex Offender:

    41-year-old Joseph Burkett of Sound Beach, New York was arrested on Thursday on charges of molesting 5 boys.

    The police investigation began several weeks ago when officers received an anonymous tip “that an adult male may have a MySpace page and (may) be looking for young boys to sexually exploit,” said Suffolk County Police Detective Sgt. John Cowie.

    Cowie said MySpace had no involvement in the investigation, nor culpability in the case. “That’s just where he (Burkett) went shopping for victims, so to speak.”

    On Tuesday, a police officer spotted a car in front of a Sound Beach house that matched a description given by the tipster. He went to the door, found Burkett living there and noticed two 12-year-old boys in the house, authorities said.

    “We still didn’t have a crime at that point,” Cowie said.

    On Wednesday, police returned with a search warrant, and seized Burkett’s computer and a digital camera.

    On Thursday, after images of children being sexually exploited allegedly were found, Burkett was arrested.

    Cowie said that five victims have been identified; one of the boys was from the Binghamton area in upstate New York and met Burkett via MySpace.

    He said some of the boys were given bicycles, toys and other gifts to keep quiet.

    Of course, Burkett pleaded not guilty. I would love to hear the defense on this one. He’s being held on $500K bail.

  • 7 Texas sex offenders found on MySpace

    7 Texas sex offenders found on MySpace

    7 sex offenders who use MySpace arrested:

    With the information provided to the Texas Attorney General by MySpace, seven Texas sex offenders were arrested for being on MySpace.

    In Houston, officials arrested Patrick Joseph Blevins, 49; Reginald Lee Collins, 27; Ronald Daven Metoyer, 41; and Robert Shepard Walter, 23. Walter was also charged last month with failing to register as a sex offender.

    Scott Peter Hansen, 44, was arrested in Glenn Heights, a Dallas suburb. Information on his incarceration or attorney were not immediately available late Thursday.

    Jason Labronte Carr, 31, was taken into custody in Austin. A Travis County jail official said Thursday night she did not have access to information on Carr’s attorney of record.

    Jeremy Bryan Polak, 28, a parole violator accused of failing to register as a sex offender, was arrested in Round Rock, an Austin suburb. A Williamson County jail official said his records did not include Polak’s attorney of record.

    The really creepy thing is when I was looking for their MySpaces, I found a bunch with the same names that had varying ages. One had several different profiles that were attributed to his name and location that had different teenage ages.

    Thanks to Shyloh for the tip.

  • Facebook lynch mob

    Facebook lynch mob

    Police interest has Facebook group changing tune:

    A Facebook group was started in Toronto when a woman by the name of Tabitha Etches, accused of abandoning her baby and leaving it to die, was granted bail.

    The moderator of the group claims that the group was started to speak out on behalf of the baby. However, with the internet being what it is, it didn’t take long for things to get out of hand.

    One of the Facebook group’s 200 members advocated running Etches out of the community for the alleged crime while another urged members to show up at her next court date with signs and friends to “show (their) hate for her.”

    Other messages posted on the website described Etches as “sick” and “twisted” and expressed hope she would “rot in hell” or be beaten while in prison.

    That, of course, attracted the attention of local police.

    The moderator now claims that she has deleted the more obscene and violent comments.

  • Bonelli conviction upheld

    Bonelli conviction upheld

    State upholds Bonelli conviction:

    Robert Bonelli Jr. was sentenced to 32 years for shooting up the Hudson Valley Mall in Ulster, New York and wounding two. After his arrest, “Columbine memorabilia” was found in his house, i.e. he’s a mutant.

    The Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court upheld Bonelli’s conviction. Bonelli claimed that his public defender provided an inadequate defense.

    You know it’s hard to provide a defense when you’re caught shooting up a shopping mall.

  • Bad Ronald

    Bad Ronald

    MySpace predator sentenced to 10 years:

    51-year-old Ronald L. Phillips of Richmond, Virginia was sentenced to 10 years behind bars this past Monday for trying to meet up with a 14-year-old girl for sex over MySpace. Guess what. The 14-year-old girl was actually an agent for the FBI.

    Go figure.

    Phillips was arrested in a motel parking lot the night before he was supposed to meet “the girl”.

  • Another VF stalker

    Another VF stalker

    Bothell man stalked teens on goth Web site:

    30-year-old Sean E. MacMartin of Bothell, Washington, has been arrested for stalking and grooming teenage girls for sex on the goth social site VampireFreaks.

    Scary…

    Within the past few months, he’s been charged with five counts of rape of a child in the third degree in cases involving girls between the ages of 13 and 14. He coerced them into coming to his Bothell home.

    Detectives fear there could be more victims.

    The girls got to know MacMartin online. He used nicknames including Soroth, Darklord, and most frequently – Soth.

    Eventually they agreed to meet in person at his home, believing the then 29-year-old was in his late teens or early 20s.

    Some of the underage girls had sex willingly,

    But for at least one, it was not consensual.

    In court papers, one alleged victim says:

    “… when “Soth” was cooking he asked (the victim) if she wanted some wine with her dinner. (the victim) told “Soth” that she was fourteen. “Soth” said that there were no cops around.”

    After dinner, the victim says she fell asleep, then:

    “… (the victim) said that she woke up to “Soth” biting her neck. (the victim) said that “Soth” held her hands above her head and sex with her even after she told him to stop.”

    Scarier…

    Charges have also been filed against MacMartin’s roommate, Robert Schwarzinger, who is accused of having repeated sex with a 13-year-old girl.

    Scariest…

    MacMartin was able to post his half million dollar bail and is currently out of jail.

    I have a feeling we might be seeing Mr. MacMartin’s name in the future…repeatedly.

  • Another Naperville creeper gets caught

    Another Naperville creeper gets caught

    MySpace page leads to charges:

    Is there something in the water in Naperville, Illinois? This is the third or fourth predator story that I’ve posted about that has happened in Naperville. Is it the creeper holy land of the Midwest?

    Anyway, 30-year-old Anthony Kershaw, formerly of Naperville, was arrested Friday on child porn charges. Police were tipped off to “suspicious activity” on a MySpace that he created.

    A forensic examination of a computer seized from Kershaw’s former Naperville home revealed 100 images of child pornography, police said.

    That’s not a small number. Maybe they should make a law that says for every piece of child porn you get caught with, you get a year in prison. 100 years for this creep sounds about right, doesn’t it?

  • No gag order in cop killing trial

    No gag order in cop killing trial

    Gag order denied in police slayings:

    Superior Court Judge Robert Johnston has denied the request from the defense to instill a gag order on the trial of Demeatrius Montgomery. Montgomery is accused of the shooting deaths of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark.

    However, Judge Montgomery said that the defense could renew their request if they feel the media is hurting Montgomery’s right to a fair trial.

    I, for one, hope the media does not step out of line. I don’t want there to be any complications with this trial, whether Montgomery is convicted or not.

  • Osantowski’s resentencing delayed

    Osantowski’s resentencing delayed

    Teen convicted of school attack plot faces re-sentencing:

    The Michigan mutant, Andrew Osantowski, will have to wait until October to find out how much more will be added to his 4 1/2-year sentence. He was originally supposed to find out tomorrow but has been delayed because Osantowski’s attorney is appealing the conviction to the Michigan Supreme Court. I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m pretty sure that Osantowski’s conviction will be upheld.

  • Kip Kinkel transferred

    Kip Kinkel transferred

    Kip Kinkel moved from MacLaren to Salem prison:

    Kip Kinkel, the infamous gunman of the Thurston High School shootings in Oregon, has been moved from a juvenile facility to an Oregon State prison. Kinkel had killed his parents in May 1998 before going to school and opening fire in the high school, killing two students. He was sentenced to 111 years behind bars. Kinkel, now 24, will be housed in the general population.