TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: MySpace

  • Petaluma teacher pleads not guilty

    Teacher pleads not guilty in MySpace messaging case:

    I originally posted about Scott Dietlin here. He’s the teacher from Petaluma, California who was caught sending sexually explicit messages to a 15-year-old girl named Jackie on MySpace. ‘Jackie’ was actually a group of kids who set up a fake profile but attracted Dietlin’s attention.

    Tuesday Dietlin pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and is still being held on $700K bond.

    He’s looking at 5 years behind bars.

  • New Lori Drew dismissal request

    Lori Drew Files New Bid for Dismissal on Grounds that MySpace Authorized Access:

    The attorneys for Lori Drew have filed yet another appeal for dismissal. This time they’re saying that Drew cannot be guilty of unauthorized access to a computer since MySpace basically gave her authorization.

    They argue that since MySpace allowed her to register on the site even with false information they still granted her authorization.

    For once I think they may have a point.

    It doesn’t change that I think that Lori Drew is still a cold heartless bitch.

  • Pro-Ana rears it’s ugly head

    ‘You can’t save people from themselves’:

    This about just one of the many scourges on the internet that I talk about but this one has nothing to do with crime per se. This has to do with websites that proclaim that eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are not diseases but ‘lifestyle choices’.

    That’s right. You heard me correctly. There are people out there who actually believe that disorders like anorexia are not only good but are a viable alternative to…you know…eating.

    The article sort of poses the question should pro-ana and pro-mia sites be censored? Now if you mean censored in the way that they should be outlawed by the government then no. If you mean censored in the way that webhosts like Livejournal, MySpace, and Xanga should shut them down for violating their TOS then yes.

    But places like MySpace, LiveJournal, and Xanga do not want to shut these groups down. They claim that it’s free speech but we all really know what it’s about. They don’t want to alienate a part of their userbase that clicks on their advertisements which in turn makes them money. Never mind if a few people end up killing themselves over what they call a lifestyle choice, there’s money to be made from those skeletons.

    Webhosts like MySpace and the like need to be more personally responsible instead of financially responsible. If these groups were to be shut down would it really hurt the bottom line?

    If there was a pro-suicide group would the webhosts allow those? Because claiming that eating disorders are a choice is basically the same thing.

  • Did nurse violate federal law on MySpace?

    MySpace gripe about patient sparks federal privacy complaint:

    I can greatly identify with this story because in my real life I’ve worked in the healthcare industry for the past 2 decades. However, this is also yet another example of nothing being private on the internet.

    Stephanie Sicilia works for an OB/GYN office. That’s a gynecologist for you not in the know. And as everyone does in the healthcare industry she complained about her patients. Her mistake was is that she posted it on her MySpace.

    In one item posted to her MySpace blog in late 2007, Sicilia, then 29, referred to patients at the practice as “the tramp troop,” saying of one: “her stories are entertaining but I’ve only slept with as many people as she has had abortions.” In another post, she mocked a patient who had asked where she could buy the gingerbread cookies the doctor had recommended to remedy nausea, writing: “SOME WOMEN SHOULD NEVER REPRODUCE!!!!”

    While I currently work in a different field than Ms. Sicilia I can definitely commiserate with her. However, with those posts, she may have broken a very serious law in our industry known as HIPAA. In a nustshell, HIPAA defines how a patient’s information needs to be protected. For at least 5 years or more HIPAA has been drilled into our heads with the threat of possible jail time if a patient’s private information is compromised. Since you’re reading this here you can guess what happened to Ms. Sicilia.

    One of the patients she wrote about says she recognized herself in Sicilia’s post and says the other person was a friend of hers. Even though she did not name the patients she could be facing some serious legal ramifications. According to the Ars Technica article, only one practice has ever been fined for violating HIPAA but it’s only a matter of time before the Dept. of Health and Human Services makes an example out of someone.

  • Iowa man accused of sexual assault of 12-year-old girl

    Police say Des Moines man met girl on MySpace, assaulted her:

    23-year-old Ryan Joseph Scorpiniti of Des Moines, Iowa has been arrested for having sex with a 12-year-old girl he met over MySpace.

    Again I have to ask why can’t these jackasses have sex with women relatively their own age.

    However, I’m sure we’ll hear from his friends saying things like ‘She said she was 16’ or some crap like that.

    I do have to say though these MySpace molestation stories are starting to become less frequent. I hope it’s because parents are being more vigilant these days and not because these scumbags are getting away with it more.

    It wouldn’t hurt me if better parenting put me out of a job.

  • Lori Drew will not kill the internet

    MySpace ruling could lead to jail for lying online daters:

    Another over-reactionary column about the Lori Drew conviction. I’m sick of them. This is not the end of anonymity on the internet. If it was I’d be the first person to sign off.

    Everybody is forgetting one certain thing. Lori Drew and company violated MySpace’s TOS with the expressed intent of harassing Megan Meier no matter what the outcome of that was. Unfortunately, the outcome of their actions was Megan’s suicide.

    I don’t think federal prosecutors are going to run around prosecuting everybody who uses a fake name on MySpace.

    Un-wad your panties people.

  • Lori Drew verdict

    Guilty verdict on lesser charges in MySpace case:

    First off I hope you all had a Happy and safe Thanksgiving those of you in the U.S. Now on to the story I’m sure you’ve been waiting for me to talk about.

    Lori Drew was convicted. As I’m sure you all know by now she was only convicted of the lesser misdemeanor charges of three counts of accessing a computer without authorization. The jury was hung on the felony count of conspiracy. If I remember correctly the most she can get is one year a piece for each of the misdemeanor convictions. Let’s face it though, she’ll do no time.

    U.S. District Judge George Wu still has not ruled on the defense’s motion for a mistrial which could result in there being no conviction whatsoever.

    I’m going to wait on Judge Wu’s ruling before I offer any further commentary because anything I say now could be made moot come Monday or whenever he decides to rule.

  • Teens catch teacher creeper

    Cops: Teen boys pretend to be girl on MySpace, help catch teacher looking for date:

    34-year-old Scott Eugene Dietlin was a teacher at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, California. He’d probably still be if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.

    A bunch of 15-year-old boys created a fake profile of a 15-year-old girl named ‘Jackie’. Dietlin contacted the fake girl and the boys played along. Dietlin, of course, sent the prerequisite naked pics of himself to ‘Jackie’. The boys finally decided to getting around to calling police.

    But here’s a puzzler for you. Is what the boys did any different from what Lori Drew did? Discuss.

  • Lori Drew trial wraps up

    Judge puts off ruling in Internet hoax case:

    U.S. District Court Judge George Wu said today that he will not rule on whether or not the charges against Lori Drew will be dismissed. Instead, he cited a rule that allows him to wait after a verdict is reached before deciding on dismissal.

    Meanwhile, the trial will continue.

    I have a feeling that George Wu already has his mind made up to dismiss but wants to see if the jury will take that responsibility away from him.

    The defense rested today without calling Lori Drew to the stand.

    The case has been sent to the jury after closing arguments. In those arguments, Drew’s attorney laid the blame of Megan’s death squarely at the feet of Tina Meier, Megan’s mother.

  • Lori Drew trial Days 2 and 3

    More highlights from the Lori Drew trial.

    Drew’s former hairdresser, Christina Chu, testified that Drew considered the harassment of Megan Meier ‘a funny story’. Chu even admonished Drew for what she was doing. When Chu asked why Drew wasn’t going to Megan’s wake Drew reportedly said: “It’s not like I pulled the trigger.”

    Ashely Grills testified that when Drew learned of Megan’s death that Drew said to her “`We could have pushed her overboard because she was suicidal and depressed.’” Ya think?

    And when Grills expressed her concerns to Drew about getting in trouble Drew dismissed it saying “It was fine and people do it all the time.”

    MySpace executive Jae Sung basically testified that you have to check a box that shows you accept MySpace’s TOS. You think that would be a stupid thing to testify about but not everyone out in the non-internet world knows this.

    Also, an FBI agent testified that Drew deleted files from her computer on the day of Megan’s suicide but they couldn’t tell what the files contained.

    The prosecution rested and the defense made a motion for dismissal claiming that the prosecution did not prove Drew committed a crime. The Judge did not reject the motion and will rule on the dismissal on Monday.

    Drew’s daughter Sara testified that Lori Drew told Ashley Grills to delete the fake MySpace two weeks before Megan committed suicide.