Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday #66
Here are two more good reasons to keep track of who your kids are talking to online…
- A 40-year-old Florida man got 20 years for luring and molesting a 12-year-old and 14-year-old girl through MySpace. THIS GUY SUCCEEDED!
- A 52-year-old man in Pennsylvania was arrested for driving to a meeting in hopes of having sex with a 13 and 15 year old girl, who were actually undercover cops.
I have filled up a lot of weekly posts with stories like these for a reason: parent, you need to know these guys DO exist, and they DO succeed. If the danger is there, why are you not taking precautions? PC Pandora is the best weapon you can have in your arsenal because it will let you KNOW what your kids are doing online, for sure – no guesswork. Why would you prefer guessing to knowing when it comes to your child’s safety?
Full stories and links below…
October 28, 2009
Pinellas man gets 20 years for luring girls on MySpace
By Tom Brennan, The Tampa TribuneTAMPA – A Seminole man was sentenced to 20 years in prison today for molesting two girls he lured through MySpace.
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne S. Timmerman also ordered Edward Oberwise, 40, to serve 10 years of sexual offender probation when he is released.
The judge was outraged at Oberwise’s apparent lack of remorse – the defendant only mentioned he was sorry after repeated promptings by Timmerman.
“You are sorry you got caught,” Timmerman said. “I have no sympathy.”
Oberwise asked for leniency, saying he had a sick mother, a child and a job waiting.
“You might have thought about that before you tried to pull this off,” the judge replied.
The sentence was the maximum Timmerman could impose under an agreement prosecutors struck with Oberwise in exchange for him waiving his right to a jury trial.
Timmerman found Oberwise guilty of five counts of lewd and lascivious battery in August. Without the cap, Oberwise faced up to 75 years.
Defense attorney Roger Futerman said his client made the right choice in foregoing a jury trial.
“Twenty years is 20 years but it obviously could have been worse,” he said.
The girls were 12 and 14 when the crime occurred. The Tampa Tribune does not identify the victims of sex crimes.
The younger victim, along with the mothers of both girls, stood by prosecutor Anthony Duran during sentencing.
In a letter read by her mother, the older victim said she was still having nightmares and flashbacks about the incident and cringes every time she drives by the parking lot where the assaults occurred.
The younger girl and her mother didn’t speak. But at trial, the girl testified that she met Oberwise through her MySpace page and the two began to text and e-mail.
She agreed to meet him at a park near her FishHawk Ranch home and took her older friend along because she didn’t want to meet him alone.
The pair said they sneaked out of their homes and met Oberwise on Jan. 3, 2008. He drove them to a nearby grocery store parking lot.
Oberwise molested one girl in the back seat while the other stayed in front acting as a lookout, testimony showed. The girls then exchanged places.
Duran said the younger girl’s mother discovered the relationship while checking her daughter’s cell phone.
Deputies set up a recorded conversation between the girl and Oberwise in which he admitted the sexual conduct.
During the trial, Oberwise denied any sexual activity. He admitted meeting the girls but said he left because they were so young.
Oberwise testified the girls stole $15 in beer money and that he only admitted to the sexual conduct during the recorded conversation because he was mad about the theft.
During that call, the girl set up a second meeting.
Oberwise was arrested when he arrived.
November 2, 2009
Beaver Co. Man Accused Of Being Internet Predator ArrestedNEW CASTLE, Pa. — Attorney General Tom Corbett announced Monday that agents from the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit have arrested a Beaver County man accused of traveling to Lawrence County to have sex with whom he believed were two teenage girls.
Thomas Pieri, 52, of Koppel, is accused of traveling to New Castle Friday to meet and have sex with whom he believed was a 15-year-old girl from Ohio and her 13-year-old cousin from Pennsylvania. Pieri allegedly used Internet chat rooms to sexually proposition the girls in mid-October and arranged the Friday meeting, believing that the Ohio teen was visiting her cousin in Pennsylvania for the Halloween weekend.
“It is vital for parents to understand that Internet predators will take advantage of many different situations to plan a meeting with a child, including holidays, school vacations and even snow days — any time that children may be home alone,” Corbett said. “Since 2005, our agents have arrested men who have traveled from as far away as Kentucky or Texas, in every kind of weather, simply because they believed a vulnerable child was waiting to meet them.”
Corbett said that on Oct. 16, Pieri allegedly used an Internet chat room to sexually proposition what he believed was a 15-year old girl from Ohio. Pieri, who identified himself as a Pittsburgh area resident, is also accused of sending a sexually explicit Web cam video to the girl.
The Ohio “girl” was actually an undercover detective from the Fairborn Ohio Police Department, who immediately contacted agents from the Pittsburgh office of the Attorney General’s Child Predator Unit. As part of a coordinated online investigation, Pieri allegedly engaged in online chats with the Ohio “girl” and her 13-year-old “cousin” from Pennsylvania. The “cousin” was actually an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit, using the online profile of a child from Lawrence County.
Pieri was arrested Friday after arriving at a predetermined meeting location in Lawrence County. At the time of his arrest, Pieri was driving a vehicle that matched a description he had allegedly provided during online chats.
Pieri is charged with six counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to sexual offenses), all second-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to ten years in prison and $25,000 fines. Pieri is also charged with three counts of unlawful contact with a minor (related to obscene or sexual materials and performances) and four counts of criminal use of a computer, all third-degree felonies which are each punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 fines.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5.
