Tag: MySpace

  • AG Cooper strikes again

    AG Cooper strikes again

    Cooper cracks down on predators:

    The North Carolina Attorney General is up to his old tricks again. Putting unreal expectations on MySpace and allowing parents to continue to shirk their responsibility.

    The rules on how children use social networking sites like MySpace.com could soon be changing.

    State lawmakers are working on a bill that would require parents to give permission before their children use those type of Web sites. North Carolina attorney general Roy Cooper will testify before a House committee Tuesday about the need for tougher laws.

    Cooper says online sites are a playground for predators, citing that as of this July, more than 29,000 registered sex offenders have been found using MySpace.com and that’s jut those who are using their real names.

    I think he got that number from the Department of Pulling Things out of Your Ass. That’s the first I’ve heard the 29K figure. According to this article, 29,000 is what Cooper is claiming that MySpace has told him. MySpace has yet to confirm.

    MySpace.com is currently open only to users age 14 or older, but the company doesn’t perform any kind of verification. Cooper wants social networking sites to require parents’ permission before children can join, including procedures to verify the parents’ identity and age.

    Again, he doesn’t tell us how he expects MySpace to do that.

    “It wont’ be a perfect system. Just like any other kind of age verification system, you’ve got kids who fake driver’s licenses, you’ve got kids who fake their age to get into an R-rated movie,” Cooper said. “Those kinds of things are going to happen on the Internet as well, but the key is to put a barrier up to better protect kids on the Internet and we think this will be important.”

    Except it’s not against the law to sneak into an R rated movie. And isn’t that up to the parents to make sure their underage kids don’t see R rated movies?

    If passed, Senate Bill 132 would also ban North Carolina sex offenders from social networking sites, enhance the criminal penalty for soliciting minors for sex over the Internet and expand the law regarding child pornography to include indecent exposure.

    I’d like to see how they’re going to keep SOs off sites like MySpace. Enhancing the penalty for child solicitation isn’t going to stop predators from approaching kids. It may even put kids more at danger.

    On the next election day, Attorney General Cooper’s slogan should be “Long on ideas. Short on solutions.”

  • Werribee teens plead guilty

    Werribee teens plead guilty

    Werribee DVD youths plead guilty, avoid jail:

    Seven of the teens from Werribee, Australia who filmed themselves sexually assaulting a mildly developmentally challenged girl have pleaded guilty. If you remember, the suspects also sold the DVD, entitled C*nt: The Movie, to their classmates over MySpace. Let me refresh your memory…

    The DVD was shot in June last year when the 17-year-old girl, who has mild developmental delay, was taken by the youths to the edge of the Werribee River.

    It includes footage of the sexual act, of men urinating on the girl and throwing a cup of urine on her. It also shows them setting her hair alight three times.

    They throw her top and jacket into the river and tell her: “You’re walking home topless.”

    You would think the judge would throw the book at them. Not so. Since they have pleaded guilty, they will avoid any jail time and will be sent to an “adolescent sexual rehabilitation program”.

    Let’s hear from the judge…

    The judge said the youths’ guilty plea was a strong indication of their remorse.

    “The idea is that the defendants now have some rehabilitation and education in how not to treat women,” the judge said.

    Personally, I think the judge let them off way too easy. I think the only thing they’re remorseful about is that they got caught.

    However, I want to hear from my Aussie readers to see what they feel about the sentence. Is it enough?

    Thanks to Alan for the tip.

  • Shefelbine trial moved

    Shefelbine trial moved

    Shefelbine Cases Moved To Rockville:

    Everyone’s favorite repeat arrestee and all around creepy guy, Scott Shefelbine, is having two of his cases moved from Hartford to Rockville, CT. However, it’s not because of any change of venue requests.

    Judge Thomas P. Miano said that he was transferring the cases for administrative purposes to Rockville, where seven other cases are pending against Shefelbine. Miano said that the move did not preclude the defense from filing a change of venue motion.

    So Judge Miano is basically saying “Look here Slapnuts. Since you have seven other cases pending against you in Rockville, we’re going to let them have these two as well”. So, basically, Shefelbine only has to make one stop before he heads to the joint.

    Rockville may not be his last stop, though. His defense attorney may file a change of venue request due to all the pre-trial publicity. Maybe if her client’s father didn’t punch out a reporter, there wouldn’t be so much publicity.

  • A Shefelbine strikes back

    A Shefelbine strikes back

    Defendant’s Father Punches Reporter:

    The saga of alleged serial predator Scott Shefelbine took a bizarre twist today. After his bail was revoked, his father, David Shefelbine, punched out a reporter…a female reporter.

    VERNON – After his son was jailed today, David Shefelbine punched a television reporter in the face outside Superior Court in Rockville.

    Erin Cox, from WTNH Channel 8, was asking him for a comment on the judge’s decision involving Scott Shefelbine, 32, when David Shefelbine, 67, swung his right arm and punched her.

    Vernon police were called, interviewed witnesses and viewed footage of the alleged assault taken by photographers for Channel 8 and WVIT Channel 30. Cox went to Rockville General Hospital at 2:35 p.m. to be evaluated.

    Police went to Shefelbine’s Tolland home after the incident to question him, but he refused to answer the door, police said. He later turned himself in at Vernon police headquarters, accompanied by his lawyer. He was charged with second-degree breach of peace and released without having to post bail.

    I’m not surprised he didn’t have to post bail. He should have a $1.5M credit.

    It also seems that a lack of respect for women runs in the family.

  • Marshals, please take Mr. Shefelbine into custody

    Marshals, please take Mr. Shefelbine into custody

    That’s the quote from Judge Stanley T. Fuger Jr. when he ordered the bail of Scott Shefelbine revoked.

    In his ruling, which came at noon, Fuger said he found the parents’ testimony not believable. The judge said he believed Shefelbine and his parents fabricated evidence and conspired to lie in order to keep him out of jail.

    Shefelbine’s mother sobbed. He showed no emotion, stood and faced the marshals and held out his hands.

    I’ve seen mothers in denial about their kids before, but Mrs. Shefelbine takes the cake.

    Since Shefelbine’s bail was revoked, doesn’t that mean that his family loses that $1.5M that they posted? If I was on the verge of losing $1.5M because of an ungrateful son, maybe I would fabricate evidence, too.

    But let’s not lose sight of something. Shefelbine should have had his bail revoked a long time ago. He was arrested multiple times for pretty much the exact same thing. His bail should have been revoked after his second arrest. The first arrest of his that I posted about was back in October 2006. Why in God’s name did it take 9 months to finally get him off the streets?

    And why is no one asking these questions to Conn. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal? You know him, he’s the guy who started all the MySpace hysteria. He likes to brag about how much he does to keep Connecticut’s children safe, yet a serial predator like Shefelbine is allowed to walk free.

    Maybe I’ll have to ask him that question myself.

    Thanks to A Mom for the link.

  • As the Shefelbines turn

    As the Shefelbines turn

    This story gets more bizarre with each passing day.

    Yesterday, the mother of Scott Shefelbine testified in her son’s bail revocation hearing. Her alibi for her son was that he was at church and not trying to molest a 14-year-old girl. Was church really the best thing she could come up with?

    Scott D. Shefelbine was not in West Hartford on the evening of April 19 trying to hook up with a 14-year-old girl, but at Victory Tabernacle Church in Middlefield praying for the Virginia Tech massacre victims, his mother told a Rockville Superior Court judge Wednesday.

    Gail Shefelbine’s offer of an alibi for her 32-year-old son, accused of sexually assaulting several teenage girls, came during the second day of a hearing on the state’s effort to send Shefelbine to jail until his trial.

    The defense offered a dated church bulletin as evidence of the April 19 visit to Victory Tabernacle.

    Gail Shefelbine also said that on May 13 and May 20 she was at church with her son – at St. Thomas the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in West Hartford. Under cross-examination, she acknowledged that she unsuccessfully sought after the fact to obtain a dated church bulletin to offer as proof of the May 13 visit.

    The defense Wednesday presented a May 20 church bulletin from St. Thomas and date-stamped photographs of Gail and Scott Shefelbine in front of the church. Gail Shefelbine testified they posed for the shots as further proof they were there May 20.

    Shefelbine’s mother also said an elderly nun at the church wrote on the bulletin “Gail and Scott were here.”

    The electronic monitor shows that Shefelbine was out of his house from 4:45 to 5:53 p.m. May 20. Gail Shefelbine and Cooney testified that they arrived at the church late and stayed only about a half hour, leaving before communion because as non-Catholics they could not partake.

    Leaming wasn’t buying it. “You arrived late, left early and you drove all the way to West Hartford to attend Mass?” Leaming asked. Yes, Gail Shefelbine responded.

    Leaming also asked whether “anything on [the May 20 church bulletin] proves you were at that church on that date?” Shefelbine responded that she did not know. When Leaming asked her whether date stamps on a digital photo, such as those of her and her son at the church, could be manipulated, she replied: “I have no idea.”

    For those of you who aren’t Catholic, this is an old Catholic trick that most of us did when we were kids. Back in the day when you could send your kids to church alone, my parents would always make me bring back a church bulletin to prove that I was there. So I would go to church, grab a bulletin, and then run off to the mall. It worked on Mom but not Dad, and I sure as hell wouldn’t use it as a defense in criminal proceedings.

    His sister’s explanation wasn’t much better.

    The girl and her sister have identified Shefelbine in court, but said he looked different in May. They said he didn’t have a beard as he does now.

    Cindy Shefelbine, the suspect’s sister, testified on Wednesday that her brother has had a beard for nearly a year. Photos taken in May, just a day or two before the victim said she saw Scott Shefelbine, were shown in court on Wednesday. The pictures depict that he did have a beard.

    Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Susan Raff reported Cindy Shefelbine appeared agitated when asked about her brother’s whereabouts.

    Cindy Shefelbine said her brother was with her at church the day that one of the victims said Scott Shefelbine came to her home. Prosecutors asked whether Cindy Shefelbine felt her brother was being unfairly prosecuted and she said she didn’t know what that meant.

    So their best explanations for Shefelbine’s whereabouts are church and a beard. Are you sure it wasn’t the one-armed man? Or maybe Shefelbine was saving babies from burning buildings at the time? Good luck with that.

    Proceedings are scheduled for today as well.

  • Update on Scott Shefelbine

    Update on Scott Shefelbine

    Prosecutors Want Shefelbine’s Bond Revoked:

    Just a quick update on Scott Shefelbine’s bail revocation hearing. No decision was made yesterday, but one is expected today.

    But let’s throw some weaselly lawyer in for good measure.

    The most recent victim said she met Shefelbine online and they met in West Hartford Center. After that, she said he went to her home one day and told her he was at his therapist’s office on Prospect Avenue in Hartford and that he decided to walk over.

    Shefelbine’s attorney, Jeffery Denner, questioned the meetings, pointing out that the time the girl said Shefelbine was at her house, he was still at a therapy session.

    “The evidence speaks for itself and Mr. Shefelbine was not in their houses. If they say he was, they are mistaken,” Denner said.

    What about the other bajillion victims? Are they mistaken too?

  • Polygamist’s son convicted

    Polygamist’s son convicted

    Son of imprisoned polygamist sent to jail:

    Apparently, the “tendencies” of the father were passed on to the son.

    19-year-old William Green was sentenced to 180 days for having sex with a 13-year-old girl that he met on MySpace.

    Green’s father, Tom Green, is an infamous Utah polygamist who was convicted in 2001 for having sex with…anyone care to guess…that’s right, a 13-year-old girl.

    It seems like an affection for 13-year-old girls is not the only thing that was passed from father to son.

    ”He’s a remorseful kid,” his attorney, David Leavitt, said. ”He’s married and has full-time work. I think you’ll see this is a blip on the radar screen.”

    I guess the rotten apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

    In addition to his 180 days behind bars, Green the Younger must avoid porn, stay out of “chat rooms”, and pay a $500 fine.

  • More details on Scott Shefelbine

    More details on Scott Shefelbine

    State Wants Sex Suspect Jailed:

    Today a hearing was scheduled to see if the most infamous MySpace predator, at least on this site, Scott Shefelbine would have his bail revoked. You know, since he’s been arrested on the same child sex charges multiple times and been bailed out by his parents every time. I haven’t heard how the hearing went or even if it took place, but this article points out some of Shefelbine’s more extreme behavior.

    The warrants for Shefelbine’s arrests paint a picture of a then-31-year-old man portraying himself to teenage girls and their parents as 17 or 19, then pressuring the girls for sex. When the girls would resist, according to the warrants, Shefelbine would grow angry and abusive.

    On one occasion, according to a warrant, Shefelbine placed his knee on a girl’s chest, causing pain and making it difficult for her to breathe, until she agreed to have sex. On several occasions, one of the girls told police, Shefelbine would strike her with a bottle until she agreed to have sex.

    That sounds pretty much like a rapist to me. I hope to God his bail was revoked because Shefelbine is nothing short of a monster.

  • David Leonard gets 20 years

    David Leonard gets 20 years

    Man gets 20 years in prison for sexual assaulting MySpace members:

    David Leonard, the sex offender from Connecticut with at least a dozen arrests…no, not that one, the other one…has been sentenced to only 20 years behind bars. He pleaded no contest to multiple sexual assault charges.

    The article states that he’s expected to enter other pleas to other charges. Hopefully, he’ll receive more sentences because 20 years for everything he’s done is a joke.

    Speaking of jokes, look what his lawyer had to say.

    Leonard’s lawyer, special public defender Jeffrey C. Kestenband, said he “grudgingly” endorsed the plea bargain. He said Leonard is a considerate and intelligent person who is committed to addressing his problems.

    I wonder if he said that with a straight face.