Pandora’s Blog

Lawmakers in Washington have taken another step towards trying to make the Internet a safer place. Though the bill passed unanimously, and most parents will feel a bit better about it’s enactment, there are a lot of people out that that think the bill is wrong because it a) won’t stop anyone from breaking the law and b) is too general for a certain labeled percentage of the population.

I have ZERO tolerance or sympathy for convicted sex offenders who won’t be allowed to troll Facebook and MySpace. You made your bed and tried to or forced a minor to lie in it, now suffer. Scumbags. If someone would like to comment on why I should feel otherwise, please do! I invite you to defend these nasty A1-holes.

But still, as the critics say, and it is true, some convicted SPs will continue to do what they do. Plus there are all the people who HAVEN’T been caught… and there seems to be an endless supply (see my weekly ‘Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday’ posts). Thus, parents need to remain vigilant about what their kids are doing online. It’s not just predators either. In fact, they are the least of your worries. Worry about cyberbullying, illegal downloading, porn and just simply wasting time with mindless surfing.

All parents should be monitoring their child’s computer activity one way or another. Monitoring software, like our PC Pandora, can help take the guesswork out of monitoring Internet activity. It’ll help you be a more efficient and effective parent. Don’t waste time blocking and filtering – take the time to KNOW what your kids are doing so you can act appropriately. Knowledge is power. If you don’t know what your kids know – you have no power in your house. It’s as simple as that.

Anyway, from politico.com, here’s the scoop on the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act (KIDS Act), Bill S. 431:

Sex offender bill passes Senate
By: Ryan Grim, May 22, 2008

Legislation passed without fanfare in the Senate on Tuesday night would require convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses and IM screen names with a government-controlled database — but only if Senate Democrats can overcome objections from Democrats in the House, and only if they’re willing to take the risk that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will get some of the credit for the law that would result.

The Senate version of the bill, known as the KIDS Act, is intended to make it difficult for sex offenders to join social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace. The act is just one of many Congress is considering as it takes aim at sex offenders.

Beyond the KIDS Act, there’s the Deleting Online Predators Act, the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, the Children’s Listbroker Privacy Act, the Combating Child Exploitation Act and the Effective Child Pornography Prosecution Act.

And then there are the ones with the clever acronyms. The KIDS Act (Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act) is joined by the SAFE Act (Securing Adolescents From Exploitation Online Act) and the mother of them all, the PROTECT Our Children Act (Providing Resources, Officers and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act).

How the KIDS Act fares will say much about the prognosis for the rest of Congress’ sex-offender agenda.

The bill was introduced by McCain and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and it passed by unanimous consent.

But civil libertarians say that the bill is too broad, that it could reach convicted offenders with little chance of recidivism and that it could prevent them from accessing not only MySpace, Facebook and other sites frequented by young people but also news sites and others built around social-networking models.

“Everybody wants to keep kids safe,” says Michael Macleod-Ball, the ACLU’s chief legislative and policy counsel. But Macleod-Ball said that the bill’s policy goals have to be balanced against the rights of individuals, and that each offender’s situation should be evaluated on its own merits.

“If you’re going to affect somebody’s rights, there’s got to be a connection to some sort of legitimate public policy purpose, and there are some people that are within the realm of the Senate regimen who would fall outside of that,” he said, arguing that it “makes a little more sense if there is a specific determination that’s made by the court or by some probationary or parole process that finds an actual nexus between the restriction you trying to impose and the nature of the conviction.”

Schumer downplays those concerns, saying that he hasn’t heard much opposition from the civil liberties community and that there are only “a couple people” in the House who oppose the registration requirement.

But among those are two House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), who head the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Scott stripped the registration requirement out of the House version of the KIDS Act before it passed on a 417-0 vote in November, and Conyers said he supports Scott’s views.

“We’ll have to negotiate,” Conyers said of the Senate’s legislation.

Under the registration requirement approved by the Senate, social networking sites would have access to the government database of e-mail addresses and screen names and would be encouraged to ban those on it. It would be a violation of parole or probation to use different online identifiers.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children supports the bill, as does MySpace, Facebook, Microsoft and the American Family Association. One catch for Democrats: So, too, of course, does the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, who issued a press release Wednesday calling on the House to pass it as soon as possible.

This is a couple weeks’ worth of those wacky slimeballs getting caught for soliciting minors online. Last Wednesday I was at home for the 1st day with my new baby girl (yay!).

Here are three stories, in chronological order with links, of a collection of dirtbags arrested for soliciting minors online. Let these serve as reminders to parents that these guys are out there in large numbers. They are looking for your teenagers (not always girls) to solicit and take advantage of. Protect your kids with monitoring software like PC Pandora. Know what they are doing and obtain the information that will help you be an efficient and effective 21st century parent.

Max for Internet Predator Crew: 298 Years
WXYZ-TV

Eleven men branded as internet predators by Michigan’s attorney general have been caught in an online sting prowling for kids and hit with charges carrying a total of 298 years in prison.

“This internet predator sting was unique. Most focus only on those predators that travel. Not so with this project. If you solicit a child for sex, or send sexually graphic material to a youngster, you do not escape prosecution just because you never got off your couch,” Cox said in a statement.

The sting involved officers posing online as minors. The attorney general’s office was assisted in the case by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office and the Van Buren Township Police Department.

Click here to read full story, see mugshots, get nasty details and watch excellent reporter video package.

Grand Rapids man arrested in online child predator sting
Posted by The Grand Rapids Press, May 23, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS — A statewide Internet child predator sting geared toward individuals who traveled to have sex with minors also nabbed some who allegedly solicited sex but didn’t leave home.

The sting is one of the first of its kind, state officials said. Joshua Fuhr, 21, of Grand Rapids, was arrested and charged with sending sexually explicit material to a minor and four counts of accosting and soliciting a minor for immoral purposes via the Internet.

If convicted, he could face as much as 44 years in prison.

Fuhr was part of the sting’s Phase II, which classifies an individual who chatted online with volunteers posing as minors but did not travel to the decoy location in Wayne County.

His arrest was one of 38 made throughout Michigan in the joint operation conducted by the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department, the Van Buren Township Department of Public Safety and the Attorney General’s office.

Fox Lake man admits using Facebook to solicit minors
Tribune staff report, May 27, 2008

The first person to be charged in Chicago’s federal court with using Facebook.com to solicit minors for sex pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal child pornography charges.

Michael Macalindong, 25, of Fox Lake faces 25 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors said Macalindong used the social-networking Web site to communicate with minors and then threatened to show photos of minors to their friends or expose their sexual activity.

He pleaded guilty to six counts of manufacturing child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and one count of attempted child enticement.

Ok, so this story unfolded last week. Basically, a 13-year old girl from Oregon ran away. After she did, her parents discovered that she was leading a double MySpace life. One profile was mostly accurate and claiming to be 17 (so, in reality, both accounts were false), but in another she presented herself as a 28-year-old college student. The parents feared she had run off with an older boy/man. Turns out she was just hiding at a friends house after an argument with mom and dad. Good old fashion ‘running away.’ Thankfully it wasn’t a dangerous situation, but it does show that parents, you most likely don’t know your teens. If they are online, you most certainly don’t. Or so I would wager next week’s check on…

Here are the two AP stories. Read and enjoy and think twice before just assuming your child is innocent and trustworthy… They ARE teenagers after all. Remember what you were like and you didn’t have the Internet. Know what your kids are doing. Use PC Pandora monitoring software to verify. Knowledge is power. Don’t be a weak 21st century parent.

13-year-old from Salem with double life MySpace pages disappears

Posted by The Associated Press May 23, 2008 06:40AM

The parents of a Salem runaway are worried she is with an older man, according to a story in the Statesman-Journal.

They reached that conclusion after learning that 13-year-old Melissa Gregory had been living a double life through her computer. On one MySpace account, she provided mostly accurate information about herself but claimed to be 17. On another, she presented herself as a 28-year-old college student.

Through one of those social networking accounts, Melissa apparently got involved with an older man.

“She told a friend she’d met a man online and was going to Washington or California with him,” mother Tana Gregory told the Statesman Journal newspaper. “I am so scared. If I don’t get her back, my life is over.”

Salem police are reviewing the MySpace accounts as part of the investigation, Sgt. Andrew Connolly said Thursday.

“Right now, we have not been able to confirm she went to anywhere out of state or out of the area,” Connolly said.

The incident started Tuesday when Melissa’s parents learned she had lied to them about her whereabouts, Gregory said. She was supposed to be with a known friend, but that girl told them Melissa was really at the apartment of a 16-year-old girl she had met online.

Gregory said they retrieved Melissa, yelled at her and sent her to bed about 10 p.m.

Melissa attends school through the Salem-Keizer School District’s online program and sleeps in mornings. Her parents left for work at 7 a.m. and did not see her.

At about 4 p.m., Melissa’s father went to speak with her and found her gone. Her bed did not appear slept in.

The Gregorys called police, and then started phoning her friends. They learned that at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, Melissa had left a message with a friend saying she was running away.

Gregory thinks Melissa, whose cell phone is dead, ran away because she and her husband had threatened to take away her computer and send her to the middle school she had attended before taking online courses.

“I knew she had a MySpace, but I wasn’t particularly worried about it because she had a 17-year-old brother and a 21-year-old sister checking in on her page all the time,” Gregory said. “I feel really naive now. I feel I was really blind.”

MySpace runaway is found safe

Posted by The Associated Press May 24, 2008 13:58PM

SALEM — A girl whose parents said she was leading double lives online and may have run off with an older man has turned up hiding at a friend’s house.

Sister Ashli Litchfield says her parents tracked 13-year-old Melissa Gregory through her cell phone records.

She was at the last place she had called, and they picked her up Friday.

Her parents say they found she was posing on MySpace accounts as a 17-year-old and as a 28-year-old college student.

Litchfield says it appears that a fight with her parents on Tuesday led Melissa to run away.

Thought I’d do a quick follow-up to Monday’s post: Facebook Steps Up Security and Safety Measures.

This comes straight from Facebook, but was printed in the LA Times. It’s a bulleted list of plans included in the new safety agreement. Check it out, but remember: “Only you can prevent forest fires”… translation: “Only parents can truly protect their kids online.” Thankfully there is killer monitoring software like our PC Pandora to help get the job done easily and effectively.

Facebook’s statement on its new safety agreement

What has Facebook agreed to as part of this document?

• Building a safe and trusted online experience has been part of Facebook from its outset.
• Facebook is joining 49 states and D.C. in affirming our commitment to these safety principles and to continue improving our tech and policy solutions to keep kids safer.
• We agreed to continue and enhance a number of protections deployed on the site centered around inappropriate conduct and content.
• Facebook affirms its present participation on the Internet Safety Task Force that was part of MySpace’s agreement with the attorneys general.
• Facebook is making specific commitments around “age locking” of under-18 profiles.

What are these features specifically?

The following is a list of safety features and privacy initiatives that Facebook will continue and enhance under the agreement:

• Age and identity identification tools
• Automatic warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an unknown adult
• Restricting the ability of users to change their listed ages
• Aggressive response to remove inappropriate content and groups from the site
• Safety and privacy guidelines that third-party vendors and developers are required to adhere to as part of Facebook’s Terms of Service
• Immediate severance of links to pornographic websites
• Immediate removal of Facebook Groups dedicated to incest, pedophilia, cyber-bullying and other topics that violate Facebook’s Terms of Services
• Immediate investigation of Facebook users who violate the Terms of Service, and expulsion of those individuals that violate the safety or privacy of other users
• Prominent display of privacy information and safety tips
• Require users under 18 to affirm they have read Facebook’s safety tips when they sign up
• Review models for abuse reporting and perform a test using the New Jersey attorney general’s abuse reporting icon

Are any other social networks (such as MySpace) involved in this agreement?

MySpace is not part of this agreement.

Is this similar to the agreement with AG Cuomo from last fall?

• This is a joint effort that Facebook has been working on with the multistate group for quite some time now, and Attorney General Cuomo has signed on to the agreement.
• Facebook already implements most of the enhancements that are part of this agreement.
• Our cooperative relationship with the attorneys general is long-standing and will continue indefinitely.

Here’s some great news from last week from Uncle Sam and his gang in Washington:

New prosecutor jobs to target online predators
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday it will spend $5 million to create 43 new jobs for prosecutors targeting online sexual predators of children.

The assistant U.S. attorney positions are being funded through the government’s Project Safe Neighborhood program, which aims to protect youngsters from online abuse and exploitation. The jobs will be distributed among 93 federal prosecutors’ offices nationwide, focusing on where the need is greatest.

Deputy Attorney General Mark Filip announced the positions in brief visits to Charlotte, N.C., and Lexington, Ky., among those cities which will receive a new prosecutor.

“Anyone who uses the Internet to prey on children will become the primary target of law enforcement,” Filip said in a statement.

This of course is great news. Let’s hope the folks hired take their job seriously and commit themselves to doing good and not wasting more tax dollars.

As comforting as this may be, it doesn’t mean parents should ease up on the vigilance and stop monitoring PC activity. Monitoring software like PC Pandora can still be a valuable tool in making sure your kids aren’t falling victim to the bad air of the Internet.

An uplifting post today: two great little presentations for online safety.

This video below comes from Protecting Kids Online (PKO), an awareness program (based in PA) designed to educate parents, caregivers, teachers and children about Internet safety. They have created a 22-minute Internet safety video on topics from understanding the serious repercussion of cyber-bullying to learning how to safeguard children from online predators. Click the link above to visit the site. Download this .pdf and watch the video below!

Then, check out this PowerPoint presentation from the Columbia High School Library Blog (New Jersey) put together by Elissa Malespina.

| View | Upload your own

Both items are great. My final parting advice is, as always, to monitor your child’s Internet and overall computer usage and activity. You must know what they are doing, who they are talking to, where they are going, what they are saying about others and themselves, etc. The web (especially social networking) gives kids a forum/newspaper/megaphone to showcase themselves and others and have dialogues with anyone in the world. There is no reason for parents to not be aware of this representation and activity on the worldwide stage. Use PC Pandora monitoring software to know exactly what your kids are doing. Knowledge is power. Imagine what a powerful parents you could be with 100% accurate knowledge. Think about how clueless you might be without it!

This is the HUGE news yesterday/today. The story is now world-famous: 13-year old Megan Meier committed suicide, allegedly over a MySpace relationship that went south. But it turns out that the whole relationship was a hoax, spearheaded by Megan’s former friend’s mother, Lori Drew!

Well, yesterday a tiny slice of justice prevailed, as a warning shot heard round the world was fired: Lori Drew was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl. The indictment includes numerous counts of violating the MySpace user’s agreement.

Now, whether or not this will go through to the end, let alone end up in ‘justice served’ results (which to me would be having Drew forced to serve jail time and carry a picture of Megan with her everywhere she goes and explain to anyone she meets what she did), remains to be seen. But at the very least, this is a warning shot to social networking fans and users: it is not okay to terrorize someone through the Internet.

To parents, this should scream another message: be aware of what your kids are doing online AND how they are representing themselves and others. You have to monitor their computer and Internet activity.

Of course, this also puts the whole “Be a Parent” speech into a quagmire. How can we expect parents to be parents if they are going to act just as juvenile (and disgusting) as their teens? It’s very reminiscent of the stories where cops are busted for being Internet Predators – how are we supposed to trust the law when they break their own rules…?

Parents, it is up to you to keep your kids safe. If Drew walks, it will prove that there is no protection other than what you offer for you child. You have to monitor their online activity. Know what they are doing, who they are talking to. Don’t obsess with filtering and blocking, focus on KNOWING. Monitoring software like PC Pandora can help you do just that. There is no excuse for not being aware of what your child is doing online and what they are involved in. Knowledge is power. It can help you prevent tragic situations like this…

Below is the full AP article and TWO MSNBC videos: #1 is breaking news from yesterday (Thursday), #2 is the Today Show this morning (Friday). I urge going to the MSNBC website (linked below and the source for my post here), as their page on the story has a ton of information, including the info and video I put below, past related reports on the story and even answer a poll (which, at the time of me taking it, 85% of respondents felt the indictment was proper).

Mom indicted in MySpace suicide
Computer charges against woman whose daughter feuded with victim

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.

Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn’t exist.

Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.

Salvador Hernandez, assistant agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, called the case heart-rending.

“The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl’s weaknesses,” Hernandez said. “Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she’s responsible for her actions.”

She’s denied sending messages
Drew was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl.

Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Megan.

U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien said this was the first time the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used in a social-networking case. It has been used in the past to address hacking.

“This was a tragedy that did not have to happen,” O’Brien said.

Both the girl and MySpace are named as victims in the case, he said.

MySpace is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp. The indictment noted that MySpace computer servers are located in Los Angeles County.

Due to juvenile privacy rules, the U.S. attorney’s office said, the indictment refers to the girl as M.T.M.

FBI agents in St. Louis and Los Angeles investigated the case, Hernandez said.

Each of the four counts carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison. Drew will be arraigned in St. Louis and then moved to Los Angeles for trial.

Citing terms of MySpace service
The indictment says MySpace members agree to abide by terms of service that include, among other things, not promoting information they know to be false or misleading; soliciting personal information from anyone under age 18 and not using information gathered from the Web site to “harass, abuse or harm other people.”

Drew and others who were not named conspired to violate the service terms from about September 2006 to mid-October that year, according to the indictment. It alleges they registered as a MySpace member under a phony name and used the account to obtain information on the girl.

Drew and her coconspirators “used the information obtained over the MySpace computer system to torment, harass, humiliate, and embarrass the juvenile MySpace member,” the indictment charged.

After the girl killed herself, Drew and the others deleted the information for the account, the indictment said.

Last month, an employee of Drew, 19-year-old Ashley Grills, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” she created the false MySpace profile but Drew wrote some of the messages to Megan.

A joke taken too far
Grills said Drew suggested talking to Megan via the Internet to find out what Megan was saying about Drew’s daughter, who was a former friend.

Grills also said she wrote the message to Megan about the world being a better place without her. The message was supposed to end the online relationship with “Josh” because Grills felt the joke had gone too far.

“I was trying to get her angry so she would leave him alone and I could get rid of the whole MySpace,” Grills told the morning show.

Megan’s death was investigated by Missouri authorities, but no state charges were filed because no laws appeared to apply to the case.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Despite popular social network website Facebook’s commitment to increase security for its users, PC Pandora reminds parents that the best protection this summer is inside the home, not on the web…

New York, NY (PRWEB) May 15, 2008 — Last week, the popular social networking site Facebook signed a commitment with 49 state Attorneys General (and the District of Columbia), promising to take proactive steps in strengthening the protection offered to younger users, specifically against sexual predators and inappropriate content littering the site. But while many applaud and recognize the effort as a positive step forward, one company wants to remind parents that this is only the first step down a long road.

“It’s definitely a great and necessary step to take,” says Pandora Corp. co-founder, James Leasure, “But for now it’s just an announcement. Real measurements of success and improved safety will have to be evaluated down the road.”

Included in the announced plans are stronger age and identity identification tools and restrictions, automatic warning messages when a child is in danger of giving personal information to an unknown adult, a prominent display of privacy information and safety tips, and a more immediate and aggressive response to pornographic material, inappropriate user groups and investigations of complaints.

“Again, the plans are great, but they are not infallible. Parents need to remember that protection starts in the home, especially with summer approaching,” says Leasure.

Long gone are the days when the local teens would hang out at the arcade or at the mall all day long. The “playground” of the 21st century is the Internet. And kids on summer vacation will spend much more time unsupervised and online … and so will sexual predators. So, just like yesterday’s parents told their children not to talk to strangers, so parents of today must do so with the digital playground in mind. And while many stories in the media warn of threats and dangers, few give parents the tools they need to monitor computer activity and be an effective Net-generation parent.

That’s why Pandora Corp. makes and sells leading monitoring software PC Pandora 5.0. Working like a TiVo for your PC, it records all content via screen capture.

“Our program allows parents to see everything their child does and opens the window for a conversation and chance to correct the potentially risky or dangerous behavior,” explains Leasure. “If your child is visiting a website that you feel they are not ready for, or if they are developing a relationship with a username you don’t recognize, you will know about it and be able to do something.”

In addition to the first-rate monitoring capabilities, PC Pandora records instant messenger conversations, emails and keystrokes. It also contains a web filter and has the ability to block programs from launching.

“We’ve also implemented the IRIS feature that allows parents to monitor computer activity via email updates, when they are not at home,” Leasure continues. “This is extremely valuable for every parent who will be at work this summer while their child is at home and online.”

The problem of sexual predators on social networking sites has been well documented in the media. Experts agree the websites did not create the threats, but they opened doors. Internet predators, however, are not the only things in cyberspace that should concern parents.

“The reality is that parents should be concerned with everything their child does online. Whether it’s Facebook, instant messenger chatrooms, peer-to-peer sharing clients or just innocent surfing, parents need to be involved. They should also be concerned with cyberbullying and the dangers of posting too much personal information, which many kids innocently often do. There is no excuse for not knowing all aspects of what your child is doing on the Internet. Technology and monitoring software like PC Pandora plays a critical role in obtaining that knowledge. It allows you to be an effective 21st century parent by eliminating the guesswork.”

One thing young Internet users don’t realize is the power of the World Wide Web and how deep it really goes. Most teenagers cannot remember a world that wasn’t connected through cyberspace. By speeding up communication and widening informational access, the Internet has effectively removed the small town setting of America and placed everyone who enters on a global stage. And on that stage, not everyone is who they say they are or has the best intentions.

“It’s up to parents to be there to explain,” says Leasure. “The first and last line of defense is and always will be at home, not on a social networking website with millions of world wide users.”

About PC Pandora: Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal - to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents with 18 Tips to Safe Surfing and Pandora’s Blog, where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position by boasting a combination of features that unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In February 2008, Version 5.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. In addition, through the company’s SAFE SCHOOLS program, schools and school districts can receive up to $100,000 worth of software to aid in protecting their students and their PCs. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com.

Reporters and Producers: Looking to cover this topic? We are your technology solution and experts. Software is available for review and testing. Staff members are always available for interviews. Let us help you show your audience how easy it can be to keep their kids safe online.

This is a follow-up to the post below: Four Internet Predators Caught in Eastern PA

Apparently there were SIX guys arrested in conjunction with the investigations and crimes.

Go here to read details about each of the scumbag predators:
‘DirtyOlderMan’ Among Locals Charged In Internet Sting

And go here to watch the video:
‘DirtyOlderMan’ Video Story

Again, these guys exist. It is essential for parents to monitor their child’s Internet activity to help prevent kids from falling victim to ‘DirtyOlderMen’ like this. Check out PC Pandora as a tool and a resource to help make your job easier and make you – as a 21st century parent – more effective!

I have to start making this a regular thing…

From NBC 30 in Hartford CT:

Man Thought He Was Meeting Girl For Sex

A 44-year-old East Windsor (CT) man was arrested, accused of trying to meet what he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex.

Meriden police arrested Steve Warren Thursday (May 8th) after a group that works with law enforcement to prosecute online predators contacted the department, police said.

Police said the teenager Warren thought he was chatting with online was an adult member of Perverted Justice, which also works with “Dateline NBC” to catch online predators. When detectives arrived at the location Perverted Justice provided, Warren was there, police said.

Warren was charged with criminal attempt to commit risk of injury to a minor, second-degree criminal attempt to commit sex assault and criminal attempt to entice a minor.

Warren was held on a $100,000 bond and scheduled to appear in court in Meriden Friday, police said.

The special crimes unit is investigating.

OK, clearly this guy is a sicko… yes. There is no question there. But what is this? Perverted Justice now does the whole operation on their own and then calls the police? WTF?!

You know, they have been accused of and found guilty of entrapment before. Police should really require PJ to include law enforcement on ALL proceedings… otherwise I guarantee they will bend the rules a bit to catch guys, i.e. turning the tables and luring them to the house (rather than the sickos going willfully and enthusiastically).

Anyway, glad another one was caught, I just wish law enforcement was involved the whole way and that it wasn’t an entire ‘private bounty hunter’ type situation.

And parents, there may be one less creep trolling the Net, but that doesn’t mean they are all gone. Make sure you know whom your kids are talking to. Use monitoring software like PC Pandora version 5 to monitor computer activity of the teens and young surfers in your house!