TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Tag: Richard-Blumenthal

  • Conn. AG turns to Facebook

    Popular Web site is target of probe:

    Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is up to his usual misguided ways. This time he’s focusing his wrath on Facebook.

    Connecticut’s attorney general is scrutinizing Facebook, the popular social-networking site, for allowing convicted sex offenders to register, calling into question whether the company is doing enough to protect users.

    The inquiry by Richard Blumenthal is designed to force Palo Alto’s Facebook to take a more aggressive stand against sexual predators after his office uncovered at least three cases of such offenders becoming members, a spokesman confirmed. In addition, Blumenthal’s team found that some of Facebook’s users had posted sexually explicit material that was not swiftly removed.

    A whole three, compared to MySpace’s 29,000. Ooooooooh, Facebook really is a criminal haven.

    Connecticut officials have contacted Facebook and asked it to remove the sex offenders’ profiles. Blumenthal plans to continue his inquiry.

    A Facebook spokeswoman did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Chris Kelly, the company’s chief privacy officer, told the New York Times that he is not familiar with the Connecticut investigation but that the company receives many reports about sex offenders registering on the Web site. The profiles are usually removed within 72 hours, he said.

    “We want to be a good partner to the states in attempting to address this societal problem,” Kelly told the Times. “We’ve worked with them for quite some time now, and we look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership.”

    Facebook maintains more-stringent security rules than some of its competitors because of its early days as an online destination for students. Full user profiles aren’t visible to the general public, for instance, and can be seen only by people who have been confirmed as friends.

    It’s bad enough that AG Blumenthal places the blame on MySpace instead of inattentive parents now he’s going after a site that has very little criminal activity. In the year and a half that I’ve been doing this site the stories about Facebook pale in comparison to the stories about MySpace.

    As I’ve said before AG Blumenthal needs to concentrate on keeping sex offenders off the streets than off of MySpace or Facebook.

  • David Leonard charged once again

    David Leonard charged once again

    Sex-Assault Suspect Faces More Charges:

    David Leonard is one of the few recurring characters here. You can check out his previous transgressions here, here, and here. This scumbag has had so many charges of child molestation leveled against him, I’ve lost track if this is a new charge or not. I believe it is, but don’t quote me on that.

    VERNON — A local man in custody the past year on charges that he had sex with several underage girls he met on the social networking website MySpace.com has been charged with having sex with a 15-year-old Plymouth girl.

    David F. Leonard, 23, of Vernon, was charged Tuesday by state police with two counts of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of impairing the morals of a minor. During his brief arraignment before Judge Patricia L. Harleston, his bail was set at $75,000 and the case was continued to July 13. Leonard is being held, with bail totaling $715,300.

    In the new case,

    Well, that clears that up.

    the 15-year-old girl told state police that she met Leonard through another website, FaceTheJury.com. Leonard had sex with the girl on several occasions – at her Plymouth home, his dormitory room at Central Connecticut State University and his brother’s dormitory room at the University of Connecticut, police said. The arrest warrant served Tuesday is for the incidents that allegedly occurred in Leonard’s brother’s dorm room at UConn in Storrs.

    Police found the Plymouth girl after executing a search warrant on Leonard’s computer and finding images of the girl in various states of undress. The girl had sent the photos to Leonard via America Online’s instant messaging service.

    Police also found five photographs of Leonard’s penis that they say he sent to the girl via instant messaging.

    I want to say that this is the 11th or 12th charge against him. And as far as I know, all of his acts took place in the state of Connecticut. The same state where Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has pressured MySpace into implementing all sorts of impossible age verification checks. I guess when Leonard gets sentenced, it will be a litmus test to see how Mr. Blumenthal really handles child molesters.

    Thanks to Debbie for the tip.

  • Conn. MySpace SO arrest

    Conn. MySpace SO arrest

    Sex Offender Accused Of Using MySpace:

    Now that the AGs have the names of the sex offenders on MySpace, it’s time to round them up.

    Our first contestant is 30-year-old Christopher Montefusco (MySpace deleted). Of course, it happens in the MySpace predator capital of the U.S., Connecticut.

    Montefusco, 30, of West Haven, was convicted of first-degree sexual assault on Aug. 30, 1996. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, suspended after two and half years served. Montefuso had two years of special parole remaining on his sentence when he was picked up by state Department of Correction officials Wednesday, Blumenthal said. Special parole usually involves close supervision and sometimes mandatory participation in support programs.

    While Blumenthal had no details about Montefusco’s underlying criminal charge, he said that one of the conditions of Montefusco’s parole was that he not use a computer, the Internet or access social networking sites such as MySpace without first obtaining permission from his parole officer.

    Of course, Attorney General Blumenthal is using this one arrest to stroke his own ego…

    “The results here demonstrate the urgent and clear need for this kind of information from MySpace and other social networking sites,” said Blumenthal, one of two attorneys general serving as chairman of a national task force on Internet safety. “Clearly, offenders like this are just the most visible tip of the predator iceberg.”

    Still no word from Mr. Blumenthal’s office about what they’re going to do about parents who don’t monitor their children’s internet usage.

  • AGs pressure MySpace for info

    AGs pressure MySpace for info

    8 States Seek Sex Offender Data From MySpace:

    Attorneys General from eight states, including North Carolina’s Roy Cooper and Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal, sent what I’m sure is a strongly worded letter to MySpace demanding they turn over sex offender information.

    In a letter, the attorneys general asked MySpace to provide information on how many registered sex offenders are using the site, and where they live. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper signed the letter, along with attorneys general from Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

    In a statement, Cooper’s office said media outlets in 2006 “reported almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.”

    In December, MySpace announced it was partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to build a database with information on sex offenders in the United States. Software to identify and remove sex offenders from the site was launched in early May, MySpace officials said Monday in a statement.

    “It is our understanding that the data from Sentinel reveals that thousands of known sex offenders have been confirmed as MySpace members,” the letter said.

    In an interview, Cooper said the information was provided by “absolutely credible” sources, whom he declined to identify.

    This is how I imagine the press conference in Raleigh went…

    AG Cooper: It is our understanding that the data from Sentinel reveals that thousands of known sex offenders have been confirmed as MySpace members.

    Reporter: Who provided you that information?

    AG Cooper: Um…a guy.

    Here’s a thought. Rather than having MySpace do your work for you, why don’t you keep better track of your sex offenders? Especially you, Mr. Blumenthal. Connecticut seems to have a serious problem with SOs if this site is any indication.

    While you’re at it, why don’t you keep them behind bars longer?

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • I’m from the government and I’m here to help

    I’m from the government and I’m here to help

    Blumenthal Asks MySpace To Make Site Safer For Kids:

    Why are most politicians so clueless?…

    HARTFORD, Conn. — Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has sent MySpace.com a letter asking the company to take steps to make the site safer for children.

    He is asking them to provide parents with software to block the Web site, ban kids under 16, institute new measures against pornography and take other steps to protect children from sexual predators and inappropriate material.

    Has Attorney General Blumenthal thought about asking parents to keep an eye on their own damn kids? MySpace has no responsibility to pay for software for the parents of teen MySpace users.

    I’m not surprised, though. An Attorney General is just another lawyer.

  • MySpace gets ready to fight the law

    MySpace gets ready to fight the law

    In the wake of the two arrests in Conn. of two men who molested underage girls they met through MySpace, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is calling on MySpace to make changes to their site to make it safer for children.

    On the other hand, MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe says “People who put themselves at risk on MySpace, DeWolfe said, would be doing so elsewhere.” Trench says they’re both right.

    On the one hand, as LilO pointed out, MySpace is horrible when it comes to enforcing their own Terms of Service. On the other hand, parents are doing a great disservice to their children by not checking up on what they’re posting on their MySpace.

    Once a happy medium can be finally met, then maybe MySpace will be safe for children. But I won’t hold my breath waiting for it.

    H/T to Stephen.