Archive for January, 2008
Alicia’s Law
Alicia Kozakiewicz was abducted six years ago by a man she met online. For four days she was brutally raped and chained to his floor while he continued to go to work and bragged online about kidnapping a young girl. Finally a team of law enforcement officers specializing in cybercrime rescued her and arrested him.
The nineteen-year-old now spends much of her time making presentations about online safety and going to schools to warn others about online predators through her story. Last year she testified before congress, “Please support the children. Save us from pedophiles, the pornographers, the monsters. The boogeyman is real, and he lives on the Net. He lived on my computer, and he lives in yours. While you are sitting here, he’s at home with your children. . . . Task forces all over this country are poised to capture him, to put him in that prison cell with the man who hurt me. They can do it; they want to do it. Don’t you?”
Teachers Arrested for Online Solicitation
Internet Crime detectives are ensnaring predators simply by saying that they are 14-year-old girls, opening up a chat with them and letting the men walk themselves right into a nice pair of silver bracelets. It seems to happen every week. Examples:
Anthony Waguespack arrested for computer-aided solicitation and indecent behavior. This 54-year-old band teacher at Assumption High School in Napoleonville, LA used the screenname “anotherbadgolfer2” and started up a chat with a young girl. Then he sent her webcam footage of himself maturating.
Read the rest of this entry »
Applause for MySpace Changes
The people behind MySpace are taking aim at cyber-bullies and online predators with their new regulations. Their goal is to try and help protect minors from some of the hazards they face online. Police, educators, legislator and parents are applauding the effort.
Although these regulations are only a small piece of the safety puzzle they may help. Parents must provide the majority of safety pieces with supervision, rules, and discussions with their little online users. But now parents have a hand from MySpace.
Young Girl tells on Online Predator
A 16-year-old girl told investigators about her online conversations with a 27-year-old man. After sexually explicit conversations the man, Gary M. Layman, requested that the young girl send him photos via email of her private parts. Mr. Layman used the online name of “warhammer_1021.”
He was arrested and charged with a felony of attempt to “seduce, Read the rest of this entry »
MySpace Finally Stepping Up
“Today we form a partnership that will protect children, purge predators, and expunge inappropriate content including pornography,” stated Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumentha.
The popular networking site MySpace has reached an agreement with 49 states. There goal was to try and improve safety online. Texas did not sign the agreement under protests that new security measures were inadequate.
Children aren’t Predators Only Prey
If you think that online predators are only after 13-year-old girls then you are sadly mistaken. Aside for online scams, Craiglist abuse, and identity theft, Online-dating site can be a problem.
Just his week police arrested two men for the date rape of women that they had met on internet dating sites.
A 40 year old man who used the name “Houndman” was arrested and faces several charges after raping two women on two separate occasions. He met them online and brought them back to his rural property.
High School Teacher Arrested!
Matthew E. McGuire was a 29 year old High School Spanish Teacher. He spent his spare time coaching the boys and girls track team and according to North Virgina detectives chatting with what he thought was a 13-year-old online.
Detectives had several conversations with the teacher online. He asked for a photo of her and upon receiving it sent back a photo of a man exposing himself. Because of this very bad online behavior he was arrested and being charged with attempted indecent liberties with a minor and use of a computer to solicit sex with a minor.
Charged with a Sex Crime
todd_mcmillen2003, a bakery employee, a 28 year old man, waives his hearing after his arrest in December for an inappropriate online relationship with what he thought was a teen girl.
Todd Mcmillen is charged with nine felonies. He talked with the minor several times. He would talk with “her” about sex, expose himself to “her” via webcam while he was performing sexual acts on himself. He would also encouraged the girl to perform acts on herself and discuss having sex with her.
Richard Bailey, 59, online name of “alaskaman58″ plead guilty to a double felony charge of online enticement of a minor.
Police Officer Arrested
He logged into a Yahoo chat room and began chatting with a “minor female.” His messages contained sexual innuendos and he joked about getting in big trouble for chatting this way with someone so young.
He did.
Weak Laws Gaining Strength
Weak laws still exist in some states but hopefully that will change with the New Year. Prior to the turn of the year Perverted Justice rarely went after online pervs living in Oregon. When they did the prosecutors could only charge them with a misdemeanor so it wasn’t worth their time.
With Oregon’s new law going into effect online luring will become a felony offense. Raising the stakes for persecutor will allow the police and other agencies to focus their attention more on internet crimes.