Court sides with MySpace in suit over sex assault:
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision to dismiss the infamous $30M lawsuit against MySpace.
The family of 24-year-old Julie Doe filed a lawsuit against MySpace after she was sexually assaulted by 19-year-old Pete Solis who met her over MySpace.
New Video in Teen Beating Case:
TheLedger.com posted this video that has been released by the Polk County Sheriff’s Department that shows the minutes leading up to the beating of Victoria Lindsay which as it turns out wasn’t the first beating.
Thanks to Navigator for the tip.
Convicted rapist hangs himself in cell after arrest, prison officials say:
About a week ago I posted about Bryan Halstead He was arrested in Naperville, Illinois for trying to meet an underage girl he met on MySpace. Halstead was already a convicted sex offender for the 1986 rape of a 13-year-old girl and shooting her father.
It seems that Mr. Halstead decided to save the courts a lot of time and resources. Halstead hanged himself in his cell shortly after his arrest.
Thanks to Mike for the tip.
Three of Eight Beating Defendants Get Easier Pre-Trial Restrictions:
Three of the suspects accused in the beating of Victoria Lindsay have had their house arrest restrictions lifted.
Cara Murphy, Zachary Ashley, and Stephen Schumaker have all had their house arrest restrictions lifted.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Chip Thullbery would not comment about why his office agreed to ease the restrictions.
Naperville police say paroled rapist tried to lure girl online:
It’s been a while since I posted a story about Naperville, Illinois but here we are. Outside of Connecticut, Naperville seems like the MySpace predator capital of the world.
This time paroled rapist Bryan E. Halstead, 44, of Chicago Heights was arrested in Naperville for posing as a teenage boy to meet an underage girl. The underage girl was actually Naperville police.
There originally was a girl but her astute parents discovered Halstead’s message and contacted police.
Man accused of rape after meeting girl online:
Meet 37-year-old Louis Tirone of Rio Rancho, New Mexico. He’s accused of raping a 12-year-old girl that he met over MySpace. According to police Tirone claims that the girl said she was 37 on her MySpace then claimed she was 23, then 17. Dude, if you can’t tell the difference between a 37 and 12-year-old you have serious problems.
Tirone picked the girl up from a sleepover then took her back to his place where they had sex.
The girl’s mom discovered a message from Tirone on her MySpace about it and called the police. Tirone was apprehended at his job at Wal-Mart.
Personally, I don’t think the ‘she said she was 37, 23, and 17’ defense is going to work. 23-year-old girls don’t even joke about being 37.
Also, it’s obvious that mom knew about the girl’s MySpace as well. The minimum age for MySpace is 14, not 12.
Thanks to Mr. A for the links.
Florida Man, Accused In MySpace Molestation, Caught In Upstate:
I posted about Ansen Brown yesterday. He’s the guy from Hollywood, Florida who flew a 15-year-old girl from California to Florida and molested her. He had posted on his MySpace blog that he would fly someone out who was interested in being in porn.
Well, he won’t be making any movies anytime soon unless he’s part of an Investigation Discovery documentary about prison life.
Mr. Brown was apprehended at an Econo Lodge in Greenville, South Carolina where he’s currently awaiting extradition.
Gadsden man charged with rape of teen he met on MySpace:
21-year-old Jared Heath Gaskey has been arrested in the rape of a 14-year-old he met over MySpace.
Gaskey left his home in Gadsden, Alabama and drove to Greenville, South Carolina and picked her up at middle school. Then he drove her all the way back to Gadsden. While in Gadsden Gaskey received a call from Greenville police informing him that the girl was 14 and to turn himself in. Gaskey went to his local police department but it was closed. So rather than calling the police he went back to his place and had sex with the 14-year-old girl.
Not surprisingly the dude is a Juggalo.
Hollywood Cops Hunt MySpace Sexual Predator:
Police in Hollywood Florida are looking for 32-year-old Ansen Brown.
Brown made a blog post that asked who wanted to be a porn star. The blog post said if he thought they were good enough he would fly them to Miami.
Apparently, he thought a 15-year-old girl was good enough because that’s who he flew from California to Florida. He’s accused of molesting her once they got back to Brown’s place.
The girl was found but Brown has disappeared.
Update: Per LiLO you may want to turn your speakers off before clicking Brown’s MySpace link.
Teens in video beating overcharged?:
The attorney for Cara Murphy is speaking out on behalf of her client. Cara Murphy is one of the defendants in the beating of Victoria Lindsay.
Her attorney, Melodie Lopez, doesn’t think the defendants should have been charged as adults and doesn’t think her client should have been charged at all.
She insists that Murphy never hit the victim, Victoria Lindsay, and in fact tried to stop the beating by telling her friends, “Enough is enough.”
“She (Murphy) didn’t call police I know that, but she did make some attempts to stop the incident at some point” Lopez said.
Correct me if I’m wrong but doesn’t the fact that she was present at the time of the crime and did nothing to prevent it make her an accessory?
And as far as the adult charges go, a wise man once said ‘Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.’