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Another MySpace Predator Caught Going After Children
On the same day MySpace and the attorneys general for 49 states announced an agreement that will allow parents to have their kids' email addresses blocked from the social networking site we get this tragic story out of Florida:
A Tampa man met two girls, aged 14 and 12, through MySpace and met up with them to have sex. After the 14-year-old confided in her parents about what happened, the police nabbed the pervert after he attempted a second meeting with the younger girl.
Turn your irony sensors on now: When arrested he was wearing a shirt that read "Real Men of Genius." See the referenced story for the picture. And that's the long and short of the humor here. Irony sensors off now. Thank you.
Nothing is funny about a predator skulking around MySpace looking for victims. It will be interesting to see how many parents take advantage of the new offering by the social networking site to let them block their children from signing up. Granted, this relies on the parents submitting their kids' email addresses in order to have them blocked, which may not be enough considering how easy it is to set up a new free email account. But at least it is a start.
What would you do to protect your kids from online predators? What do you do to protect yourself when you go online yourself?
From Tampa Bay's 10 and The New York Times.
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Comments
25
Subscribe to commentsphughes38Aug 19th 2009 2:14PM
thats not even freaking kool ok for yu freakin on line preditors yu suck
KenSJan 16th 2008 9:47AM
I use PC Pandora to monitor my kids. I found it online. Records everything and has simple blocks and filters that are kind of like a back-up to my Norton antivirus stuff. I recommend them (Pc Pandora). They are pretty good - at least, no complaints yet... Cheap, easy to use, gives me everythig i need to see wha't going on when I'm not around... 'nuff said. Check them out.
GregJan 18th 2008 8:35PM
What idiot would let their children play on the information superhighway? I guess they told them to go play in the highway. The WORLD uses the internet. SEND IN THE USA WORLD POLICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JennJan 19th 2008 1:07PM
I have two younger sisters and a younger brother. I also have several younger cousins and close family friends. I do what I can to protect my younger relatives and friends. I've seen sketchy people on both of my sisters' MySpace accounts. What do I do? I talk to the parents. I don't care if my sisters find out that I "rat them out". I'm protecting them, and that comes first. I've seen one of my sisters post bulletins that are highly inappropriate. I've also seen both of my sisters and my cousin get hacked. I notify them when I think they've been hacked. That way, they can change their passwords and get rid of friends that aren't people they know or added. It's a scary world out there. I would MUCH rather my sisters and cousins be pissed off at me than lying helpless in a bed with a 54 year old man on them or going to meet someone they think is a friend and then being killed by some psycho maniac. It's been done people. This is NOT a safe world.
Catherine WestropeJan 19th 2008 5:24PM
There are many ways to protect ourselves and our children, but the facts are what they are;Greg says what idiot allows their child to play on the internet? Well many, myself included, with as many safeguards and restrictions as possible. They are given computer courses in school and even allowed school websites, though at school they know how to get outside the box, and at the library, or a friends we cannot monitor so easily. That being the case I would rather my child be versed in safety then assumed not to be at risk. I have removed my daughter's computer from internet access and now have safeguards in place on mine and no access when I am not present. I am happy to see myspace stepping up and starting to deal with this problem as that site will always be there, and so will the kids. Shame as it is, this is the world we live in.