Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday #65
Lots of good stories this week, so let me get right to it…
- A 19-year-old Oklahoma man met a 115-year-old girl on MySpace and raped her. Know that the girl consented to everything (making friends online, talking on the phone, going to meet him, and getting in the car) up the point of rape. Believe it or not, teenagers DO take risks. The girl HAD to know what the guy wanted… but still, the guy should have known that minors are off limits.
- A 38-year-old Michigan man was arrested in a sting operation for soliciting what he thought was a 14-year-old girl online for sex.
- A 47-year-old California man was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy he met on MySpace. Specifically, he is charged with three counts of oral copulation of a person under 16 and two counts of sodomy of a person under 16.
- Five counties in California participated in Operation TRAPS recently, a hunt for Internet predators and child pornography. A total of 196 contacts and attempted contacts were made, 169 searches were conducted, 28 arrests were made for a variety of crimes including child exploitation related crimes, and 30 computers were seized for further analysis. Also seized were numerous digital cameras, cell phones, external hard drives, thumb drives, compact discs, DVDs and floppy disks. Future arrests are likely once investigators have a chance to review the seized evidence.
That’s a lot of reasons to be concerned with who your child is talking to online…and who is TRYING to talk to them! That’s where monitoring software comes in…
Oct 22, 2009
Sapulpa Man Accused of Raping Teen After Meeting On MySpace
By Lori Fullbright, The News On 6SAPULPA, OK — A Sapulpa man is in the Creek County jail accused of raping a teenage girl he met online. It’s what parents worry about and what kids think will never happen to them.
A 15-year-old Creek County teen met the man on MySpace. Then they started talking on the phone and then agreed to meet in person. That’s where sheriff’s deputies say it went terribly wrong.
MySpace is a social networking site where people can talk, share pictures and generally keep in touch with their family and friends.
You can also talk to total strangers from around the globe or around the corner. Any police agency will tell you sexual predators use online sites like MySpace to find their prey.
Creek County deputies booked 19-year-old Clayton Sanders into jail for rape and lewd molestation. He’s accused of meeting a 15-year-old girl online, then escalating to a face-to-face meeting.
The teen told deputies she was walking with a friend on Saturday afternoon when Sanders called her and they agreed to meet at a park. That’s when she got into a vehicle with him and they went to an area south of Kellyville, where she was sexually assaulted, the girl told deputies.
“It has a devastating effect on victims,” said Lt. John Davis, Creek County Sheriff’s Department.
Records show Sanders was arrested in May for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, in July for public intoxication and again in September for burglary and public intoxication. He was also arrested earlier in October for larceny and stolen property. The felony cases are still pending.
Sheriff’s deputies say this current case should be a wake-up call for parents and teenagers alike.
“My advice would be one, for parents to be involved and monitor what their child is doing on the internet and for young adults, pay attention to what you’re doing, not knowing this people, basically strangers, not everybody has good intentions,” said Lt. John Davis.
Sapulpa Police are also investigating a case where a man is accused of sexually assaulting an underage girl after they met on MySpace.
In that case, the girl’s parents even took the computer out of the house in order to protect her, but she accessed the internet on a cell phone.
October 23, 2009
Detroit sting operation nabs alleged Internet sex predator
By Cole Waterman, The Bay City TimesA Wednesday sting operation nabbed a 38-year-old Pontiac man suspected of using the Internet to solicit sex from minors, the Attorney General’s office reports
Using the screen name “uchi_deshi2000,” Russell L. Bennett allegedly engaged in online chats with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl. Little did he know his alleged lewd comments were being sent to investigators from Attorney General Mike Cox’s office and members of Perverted Justice.
In the course of his chats, Bennett allegedly arranged a meeting with the underage girl at a Detroit Church’s Chicken. Lacking personal transportation, Bennett allegedly took a bus from Pontiac to Detroit.
At the restaurant, authorities observed Bennett, later trailing him back to his home and arresting him, said Nick De Leeuw, spokesman for the Attorney General’s office.
“This should serve as a continuing warning for parents that predators are using the Web to target our children,” Cox said.
The sting was part of a collaborative effort between Cox’s office and volunteer organization Perverted Justice.
Bennett was arraigned in 36th District Court by Judge Sidney Barthwell. He has been charged with two counts of using the Internet to commit child sexually abusive activity, a 20 year felony; two counts of using a computer to solicit a child for immoral purposes, a 10 year felony; and one count of using a computer/Internet to disseminate sexually explicit matter to a minor, a four year felony.
Barthwell set Bennett’s bond at $5,000 and scheduled him for an examination at 9 a.m. on Nov. 3.
So far, the Attorney General and his Child and Public Protection Unit have arrested 246 Internet predators. An October 2008 sting in Grand Rapids yielded 21 arrests.
An additional nine alleged predators were arrested during an August sting in Livingston County.
Cox’s office is urging parents to check their children’s “buddy lists” for Bennett’s screen name. If they believe their children were approached by Bennett online, they are encouraged to report this to the Attorney General’s office at (313)456-0180.
Parents and schools may also contact the office for information regarding the Michigan Cyber Safety Initiative, which has been taught to more than 400,000 Michigan children.
October 23, 2009
Accused Covina child molester found victim on MySpace
Tori Richards, LA County Courts ExaminerA 47-year-old construction worker has been charged with sexually assaulting a boy he met on MySpace, police said Thursday.
Achilles Dartgnan Corelleone pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of oral copulation of a person under 16 and two counts of sodomy of a person under 16. The victim, 14, lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina.
“He was out there, trolling around on MySpace, and he met this victim,” said Covina police Sgt. Dave Foster. “We seized his laptop and cell phone and we feel very strongly that we’re going to find more evidence on there” of other victims.
Corelleone began corresponding with the boy in March on MySpace.com. A few days later, the pair had exchanged phone numbers and they began texting each other, Foster said. Soon they began meeting in person and Correlleone gained the boy’s trust by giving him presents like gift cards and jewelry. The sexual assault took place between June and early October, Foster said.
It ended when the boy’s father became suspicious of his son’s new friend who was known only by his first name. The father checked his son’s MySpace page and found correspondence between the two.
“He saw a guy who looked like an adult communicating with his son,” Foster said. “He was aware of what kind of vehicle (Corelleone) drove and happened to be driving down the street on Monday and saw the car at a park.”
The boy’s father called police, who detained Corelleone while they interviewed the boy and conducted an investigation. Corelleone was arrested a short time later. Detectives served a search warrant on his Palm Springs-area home the following day. An investigation is continuing into whether other boys may have been victimized. Anyone with information to call the Covina Police Department at 626-384-5808.
October 23, 2009
Operation TRAPS Targets Internet PredatorsFor the past two days law enforcement officers in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, El Dorado and Placer counties were busy conducting a child predator sweep. The operation, code named Operation TRAPS, targeted child predators and pornographers and was in support of the FBI´s Innocent Images National Initiative, a program designed to reduce the sexual exploitation and abuse of children over the Internet.
Special Agent in Charge of the Sacramento FBI, Drew Parenti, said “Sexual exploitation of minors simply cannot be tolerated. We as law enforcement must do everything we can to protect our nation´s most vulnerable asset—our children. The FBI is firmly committed to this goal and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners allocating significant resources to combat this growing problem.”
Approximately 150 law enforcement officers from 26 federal, state, and local agencies participated in the two day operation which was organized and coordinated by the Sacramento FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force. A total of 196 contacts and attempted contacts were made, 169 searches were conducted, 28 arrests were made for a variety of crimes including child exploitation related crimes, and 30 computers were seized for further analysis. Also seized were numerous digital cameras, cell phones, external hard drives, thumb drives, compact discs, DVDs and floppy disks. Future arrests are likely once investigators have a chance to review the seized evidence.
“Tremendous enforcement tools to safeguard children against sexual predators have been provided by Congress, the California Legislature, and the California voters over the past decade. The federal, state, and local agencies are to be lauded for their coordinated enforcement of many of these tools in our region over the past two days,” stated United States Attorney Brown.
Among those contacted during the sweep were subjects of active federal, state, and local sex crime related investigations, individuals on parole or probation for sex crimes and individuals who, as a result of previous sex crime convictions, are required to register as sex offenders with the State of California. In addition, law enforcement also contacted potential traders of child pornography who were identified through the use of advanced undercover techniques.
