TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: MySpace

  • Werribee suspects may receive light sentences

    I got a tip from a reader Alan in Australia who says that two of the Werribee rape DVD suspects will be receiving light sentences. This is the e-mail he sent me verbatim.

    Something finally appears to be stirring from the Victoria Police.

    It appears only two of them will face charges of sexual assault.

    This is from a myspace page that has gone from private to public.

    ah not really, they just wanted me to describe the night and how i made
    the bomb n shit, and they asked if i feel guilty and if i understand wat i
    did was wrong lol

    yer man, made me do sum interview thing, and they showd dad the dvd. the
    f**khead hit the roof. Strted clipping me n shit infrnt of tht copper and
    was like giving them permission to take me prints n shit.

    Yer well they said i got sum caution of behaviour bond thing, so no
    biggie”

    A good behavior bond *shakes head*

    I’ll bring you confirmation as soon as I get it.

  • $30M MySpace lawsuit dismissed

    $30M MySpace lawsuit dismissed

    Suit against Myspace dismissed by judge in Texas:

    Hallelujah. For once, common sense has prevailed. The $30M lawsuit filed against MySpace by the parents of children who were molested by MySpace users has been dismissed.

    U.S. district judge Sam Sparks ruled that MySpace, owned by media giant News Corp., should not be held responsible for what happened. “If anyone had a duty to protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace,” he wrote in his decision.

    “Ding ding ding ding, we have a winner”. Of course, the lawyers for the families are going to appeal.

    An attorney for the four families said they plan to appeal the ruling. “The judge’s ruling is flat wrong,” said Jason Itkin, the attorney representing the families. “As the Internet grows and companies like MySpace are aware of the dangers, they need to do things to protect their users, especially young children.”

    Another quote from Mr. Itkin…

    “This is allowing sites like MySpace to avoid the responsibility to make the Internet safe for children,” Jason Itkin said. “MySpace knows its Web site is a playground for sexual predators. Because of that, MySpace should be doing some very basic safety precautions.”

    Sorry, buddy, but MySpace can’t make parents be responsible.

    Personal responsibility wins a rare victory.

    But the war just may be beginning…

    On Wednesday, MySpace announced victory in a Texas lawsuit in which the social networking Web site was accused of failing to protect its underage members from sexual abuse. However, the company’s legal issues are just beginning, according to plaintiff’s lawyer Adam Loewy of Austin, Texas-based Barry & Loewy.

    “We’re at the onset of this sort of litigation,” says Loewy. “We are prepared for a very long battle.”

    The plaintiffs plan to appeal to the Fifth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. They also plan to refile some of their claims in Los Angeles Superior Court, adding to similar suits brought against MySpace and its parent company, News Corp.

    More frivolous suits to clog up our already backed up courts.

  • NC Attorney General brings the MySpace hate

    NC Attorney General brings the MySpace hate

    Attorney General Pushes For Internet Safeguards:

    I thought that my state of residence would have a little more sense, but that’s what I get for thinking. Add North Carolina to the list of states who are jumping on the blame MySpace Boogeyman bandwagon. Attorney General Roy Cooper has called on sites like MySpace to install age verification or parental notification systems.

    “They lure children onto the site with ads, lull parents into thinking its safe when in reality these children are a mouse click away from porn and predators,” Cooper said.

    That may just be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of a politician’s mouth since “It depends on your definition of ‘is’.”

    He makes it sound like MySpace goes around in a virtual van from computer to computer, offering kids candy. And how do they lull parents into thinking it’s safe? Maybe they lulled you, Mr. Cooper, but not me. Parents shouldn’t be letting their kids have unfettered access to the internet anyway.

    Cooper admits it’s not a perfect system.

    “We know ways kids can get around system, but you can protect most of the kids,” Cooper said.

    You know how you can protect all the kids, Mr. Cooper? By having responsible parents. As usual, I don’t hear you suggesting any laws for that.

  • 2007 SAFE Act

    2007 SAFE Act

    Senator to propose surveillance of illegal images:

    Senators McCain and Schumer are at it again. Not being happy with trying to legislate MySpace, they’re now trying to force ISP’s and websites that have any kind of user base to notify the authorities of any illegal images of real or “cartoon” minors.

    It’s called the Securing Adolescents from Exploitation-Online Act, otherwise known as the 2007 SAFE Act. Because as I’ve mentioned before, no legislation works unless it has a catchy acronym.

    Now, don’t get me wrong. I am in no way defending child pornographers. However, I think this proposed law would do more harm than good and will be almost impossible to enforce. Not only that, but the bill only offers suggestions and doesn’t offer any solutions about how the ISP’s should handle these issues…

    Details on how the system would work are missing from McCain’s legislation and are left to the center and ISPs. But one method would include ISPs automatically scanning e-mail and instant messaging attachments and flagging any matches.

    Wow, that doesn’t sound like government intrusion, does it? Not only that, but the cost passed on to ISP’s would be astronomical and would more than likely be passed on to the consumer.

    Existing laws regarding child pornography are sufficient. Extra legislation is not going to make them go away overnight, and will only get innocent people in trouble. We’ve already heard stories of people being arrested for taking innocent pictures of their own children. If this law is passed, there will be more of that.

    Thanks to Aaron for the link.

  • The KIDS Act

    The KIDS Act

    Proposal requires sex offenders to list e-mail, IM:

    First, there was DOPA, then Ted “Tubes” Stevens introduced the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act. Now we have yet another legislative proposal designed in the name of “keeping children safe” but really doesn’t do anything of the sort.

    Rep. Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota has proposed the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act or KIDS Act because, as we all know, no proposal is effective unless it has a catchy acronym to go along with it.

    If passed, the law would require just about any website that has users to cross-reference their user information with lists of registered sex offenders. In theory, that sounds like a great idea, but then again, so did Communism.

    Of course, nothing stops an SO from using a fake e-mail address or the ones that haven’t been caught yet. Again, just more legislation designed to get votes but has no application in the real world.

  • Conn. Attorney General blows more hot air at MySpace

    Conn. Attorney General blows more hot air at MySpace

    Attorney General Calls MySpace Sex Offender Registry “False Security Blanket,” Renews Call For Age Verification:

    Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has issued the following press release in regard to MySpace donating a sex offender database to the NCMEC.

    “MySpace’s sex offender data base is a false security blanket that ignores and distracts from the real problem – sexual predators not yet caught and convicted trolling for victims. This data base does nothing to protect children from sexual predators still eluding criminal authorities or who lie about their ages and identities while using MySpace. A data base may actually create a false sense of security and comfort that the site is free from predators.

    “Protecting children is too important for MySpace to continue taking feel-good baby steps. Without age verification, the problems will continue. Age verification is a must.

    “Age verification will help protect kids from the towering danger of sexual predators and inappropriate material on MySpace. The web site and its parent company need to stop making excuses and introduce age verification, as well as raise its minimum age to 16.

    “Age verification for users 18 and older using publicly available data is easy and effective. MySpace can confirm the ages of younger users by requiring information from a parent or guardian.

    “Our coalition of states continues to grow, reaching 39 last week. I will continue to help lead this powerful and growing coalition in pressing MySpace to introduce age verification. We will consider every available option, including possible legal action, if the site continues to resist age verification.”

    I still don’t hear him offering any real solutions.

    He can form as many coalitions and make as many calls for age verification he wants. Any form of age verification out on the internet today can be circumvented.

    Is he going to propose any legal action against lax parents who leave their kids roam the internet unattended?

    Instead of going after MySpace maybe he needs to keep the myriad of sex offenders from The Constitution State behind bars to keep them from reoffending. Just do a search on this site for Scott Shefelbine or David Leonard to see what I mean.

    Mr. Blumenthal, stop being a politician and be a prosecutor.

  • MySpace is on tubes

    MySpace is on tubes

    Ted Stevens Returns, Wants to Ban Kids from MySpace:

    Just when it seemed that DOPA was dead, here comes Senator Ted Stevens. Yes, that Ted Stevens. The one with the tubes and the dump truck. Except his is called the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act.

    As far as sites like MySpace go, Senator Stevens’ bill is no different from DOPA. It seems like he’s trying to sneak it through by tying it in with tougher child pornography and privacy laws.

    And yet, with all Senator Steven’s bluster about protecting children, there’s still no mention of having parents monitor their children’s internet activity better.

  • We get letters

    I received the following e-mail from someone only calling themselves Bert…

    RE: I think you should stop your site

    Really, in any community of 100 millioin people there will always be a spread of bad people. Your one of them. By focussing on bad stuff your feeding the appepite of wannabe bad people. We dont need you doing what you do. We already have the news. Do you think that tech-incompetent parents are going to read your site? No. The only people reading your site are the bad guys, and their jerking off to it. Your fascination with this material is clinically questionable. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were peaodo yourself.

    Methinks Bert doth protest too much.

    I’m not going to bother defending myself because my stance on predators has been established. However, I will not have you sully the good name of my readers.

    Are you going to take that, readers? He called you all the bad guys and that you’re jerking off to my site. Please let Bert know what you think in the comments.

  • Boomalicious II: Electric Boogaloo

    Boomalicious II: Electric Boogaloo

    Police: Suspect posed as teen:

    I originally posted about Joseph Polk aka “Boomalicious” here. He is the 36-year-old from Klamath Falls, Oregon who posed as a 15-year-old on MySpace in order to have sex with a 14-year-old girl.

    In addition to his Boomalicious profile, he also had one under the username I-A-G. I was unable to find either. But to make matters worse, Polk was a religion teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Like the Catholic Church doesn’t have enough problems with that.

    He was asked to resign that volunteer position by the church. The church has talked to the children under Polk’s tutelage, and so far, no abuse has been discovered.

    Thanks to Pilar for the link.

  • Metal Molester

    Metal Molester

    Randall S. Shesto II

    Band singer charged for sex with girl, 15, he met on MySpace.com:

    The green-haired gentleman pictured above is not the Joker. His name is Randall Shesto II, aka RJ Nailwounds. He’s the 20-year-old lead singer for the heavy metal band Nailwounds from Wisconsin. He was arrested for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old girl he met on MySpace. The girl snuck out of the house to meet Shesto, and it only went downhill from there…

    Shortly after 1 a.m. Jan. 12, Shesto picked up the girl and drove to a remote area in the Town of Scott, where he pulled off the road into a field entrance and the two had consensual sex in the back seat of his car.

    The two were then driving on Mapletree Road north of Brazelton Drive about 1:40 a.m. when Shesto veered off the road and crashed the car, according to the Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Department. Both suffered minor injuries in the crash.

    Shesto is charged with sexual assault of a child which has a 25-year max. Shesto is out on bond.

    Here is Shesto’s MySpace. It’s been set to private but thanks to Mr. A we have the Google cache of Shesto’s MySpace. And here is the MySpace for Nailwounds.

    And remember kids. Coloring your hair is so not metal. \m/