2-for-Tuesday (Internet Predator Arrests)
Normally, I don’t make a big show about caught and arrested predators because… well, there are just so many stories out there daily. But I do like to bring them to y’alls attention when they are out of the ordinary (one of the basic ideals that makes a good journalism story).
The first story is related to the group of 28 men rounded up last year during a “To Catch a Predator” sting in NJ. Superior Court Judge Barbara Ann Villano sentenced Howard Thornton III (a 28-year-old warehouse manager from Danielsville PA, and father of 6-year-old twin girls) to 3 years in prison for his online solicitation of a person he thought was a 12-year-old girl. Under the imposed sentence, Thornton will be subject to lifetime parole supervision and to the reporting requirements of Megan’s Law.
Again, while Dateline’s go-to-sting unit, Perverted Justice, has been scrutinized for their tactics, there is no doubt that these guys caught still knew what they were doing and were looking for sex with little girls. Many have been able to get away, almost scot-free – so it’s good to see some justice finally prevailing.You can read this full article here: Man, 28, gets 3-year prison term for child luring.
The second story is just ridiculous. Every once in while a “good guy” is caught, sometimes it’s a cop, a judge, whatever-have-you… this time, it is a lawyer for the Marion County Public Defender Agency (Indiana).
Ryan W. Snyder, 29, was arrested Sunday on preliminary charges of dissemination of matter harmful to a child and child solicitation. Apparently, he used the Internet to set up a sexual encounter with what he thought was a 15-year-old girl. As one of his charming techniques, he sent an explicit photo of male genitalia. Yeah, that’s what a 15-year old girl wants to see…
Snyder is a court-appointed attorney who last year earned $43k representing clients who are unable to afford their own lawyers. He has worked as a public defender for about a year and primarily defends clients in drunken driving and other misdemeanor cases.
Read the full story here, Public defender could be suspended after sex sting, and check out his mug shot and the other little goon that was arrested in the same sting – but not without striking a female office with his car first!
The point here, parents, is that these guys do exist. You can read various stats on the amount that actually succeed, and you can believe reports that the predator threats are over-hyped… but here are two guys caught this weekend and the 3rd of 28 caught a while ago finally getting a sentence. I hate to sound like Santa in the holiday M&M commercial, but… “they do exist.”
All the more reason to make sure you are monitoring PC activity with software like PC Pandora 5.0. If your kids are in contact with an Internet predator like these guys, you will know! And knowledge is power…
February 20th, 2008 at 12:22 AM
Random telephone surveys used in research indicate that one in three adults were sexually molested in childhood. Apparently there are many, many sexual predators out there.
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:23 PM
Good point Lauren. As much as we hate to admit it, there are pedophiles lurking around and this case just goes to show that your everyday run of the mill bloke around the street could have an entirely different online persona.. Scary enough..You bet.!
February 22nd, 2008 at 7:26 PM
The Snyder case certainly did leave me thinking about what I should do to protect my children against being victims of molestation and abuse at their tender age. Monitoring does indeed seem a good proposition to combat these goons .