Tag: MySpace

  • Boomalicious IV

    Boomalicious IV

    More girls linked to sex abuse suspect:

    It seems one of our favorite new fiends, Joseph Polk, aka Boomalicious, may have some more skeletons in his closet. Not only did he allegedly pose as a teenage boy on MySpace to contact underage girls, it seems that he may have done it on Tagged.com as well. On his Tagged.com profile, Polk had 30 friends listed, all under the age of 16. So investigators believe there still may be more victims.

    But what makes this article so good is Polk’s line of defense.

    Polk denies he had any sexual contact with minors and claims he set up the accounts to research Internet stalkers, said his attorney, Phil Studenberg.

    What a coincidence that he just happens to be accused of inappropriate contact with a 14-year-old girl.

    Thanks to Pilar for the link.

  • Wentworth pleads guilty

    Wentworth pleads guilty

    Naperville Man Pleads Guilty In MySpace Sex Abuse:

    John Wentworth, who I posted about here, has pleaded guilty to felony charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and indecent solicitation of a child.

    Unfortunately, the most he’s looking at is seven years in prison.

  • Boomalicious III

    Boomalicious III

    Man Arrested Again For MySpace Sex Crimes:

    Joseph Polk, aka Boomalicious, has been arrested once again for sex-related crimes involving a 14-year-old girl he met on MySpace after another victim came forward. Polk was arrested back in January for Having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Polk is 36. Police believe there still may be other victims.

  • Werribee suspects charged

    Werribee suspects charged

    Eight charged over Werribee DVD:

    The suspects in the Werribee DVD assault case have finally been charged. They’re facing charges of procuring sexual penetration by intimidation, manufacturing child pornography, and assault.

    The Australian teens recorded themselves sexually assaulting a mildly mentally disabled girl, then sold the DVD to classmates.

    Thanks to Alan for the link.

  • Conn. proposes new legislation

    Conn. proposes new legislation

    Blumenthal, lawmakers want age verification rules for MySpace.com:

    Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has unveiled some proposed legislation in regard to age verification on MySpace.

    Under the proposal, any networking site that fails to verify ages and obtain parental permission from parents to post profiles of users under 18 would face civil fines up to $5,000 per violation. Sites would have to check information about parents to make sure it is legitimate. Parents would be contacted directly when necessary.

    It would probably just be cheaper for the sites to take the $5K fine, then have to verify the parental information for every user under 18. And what about parents who don’t want their personal information online?

    Speaking of parents, there’s still no proposed legislation in Conn. for lax parenting.

  • Sonny Szeto sentenced

    Sonny Szeto sentenced

    Man who used MySpace to meet underage girl sentenced to 14 years:

    One of the first MySpace cases I ever posted about was the arrest of Sonny Szeto.

    He traveled from Jersey City to Connecticut and assaulted an 11-year-old girl he met on MySpace in her playroom while her parents were asleep.

    Yesterday, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

    Nowhere near long enough if you ask me.

  • Trench in the Security Executive press

    Trench in the Security Executive press

    Mr. Safety Keeps Watch on MySpace Security:

    This is an excellent article by Sarah D. Scalet for CSO Online about MySpace’s CSO Hemanshu Nigam and the job he’s been doing since he was hired.

    Yours truly happened to be interviewed for the article as well. I think that Mr. Nigam is doing the best job possible, but his hands are tied with the nature of the internet…

    Still, the reports of unsavory characters on the site continue, as attested by a quick visit to the crowded MyCrimeSpace.com, which tracks crimes related to MySpace and other social networking sites. “I don’t think whatever security measures [Nigam] put in place are being all that effective,” says Trench Reynolds, the nom de blog of the North Carolina dad and “9 to 5-er” who runs the site in his spare time. “MySpace can only do so much on their end of things. Parents need to do a better job monitoring their kids’ activities.”

    Thanks again to Ms. Scalet for taking the time out to interview me.

  • Patrick Lee Kenney

    Patrick Lee Kenney

    Man arrested after MySpace exchanges with girl:

    25-year-old Patrick Lee Kenney of Portland, Oregon was arrested for trying to meet a 12-year-old from Klamath Falls for sex. The girl’s mother found explicit messages and photos from Kenney.

    She then called the police, who posed as the girl and continued to talk to Kenney. Turns out Kenney has family in Klamath Falls and asked to meet the girl. You know what happens next.

    Police were waiting for him and arrested him. He tried the “she said she was 15” defense. Oregon age of consent is 18.

    I found a couple of MySpaces that fit the bill, one is set to private and one is by an obvious horndog. However, without a pic or mugshot, I can’t narrow them down. Hell, they both might be his but without a pic to compare with I can’t post either.

    Thanks to Pilar for the link.

    UPDATE: One of the commenters below says that this is Kenney’s 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.