Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday #83
Another good round-up of arrests, charges and sentences for the scum that prey on the kids on the Internet. Some of these stories do involve real kids; others are sting ops. But one thing is certain: these guys DO exist.
It is imperative that if you are going to let your child play online – and you absolutely should let them use and have fun with the Internet – but you MUST monitor their online activity. You MUST know who they are chatting with, who is on their friends lists and who is trying to talk to them. There is too much at stake to turn a blind eye. Privacy doesn’t exist online, why give it so freely to your child in your own house?
Assumptions will get you nowhere. KNOW what your child does with PC Pandora 6.0 computer monitoring software, and be sure they are safe…
CLICK THE HEADLINES FOR THE FULL STORIES
A 21-year-old police academy student in Michigan was arrested in a sting op for soliciting sex from what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
March 4, 2010
Internet sex sting catches police academy student
From The Times HeraldLANSING – An undercover Internet child predator sting has led to the arrest of a Waterford resident. David Michael Thornberry, 21, is accused of using the Internet to solicit a minor for sex after making advances in online chats toward someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He was actually chatting with investigators from the Attorney General’s office and the volunteer organization Perverted Justice.
A 33-year-old Virginia man was found guilty of using the Internet to lure a 13-year-old and 17-year-old girl. Sentencing to follow…
March 5, 2010
VB man lured minors into sex; Guilty of sexual exploitation
From WAVY-TV/ NBC 10NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A Virginia Beach man was found guilty Friday of multiple charges after he successfully attempted to lure two female minors into engaging in sexual acts with him, according to the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s office. Shawn F. Engle, 33, was found guilty of sexual exploitation of a minor, three counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexual activity, and nine counts of witness tampering. His maximum penalty is life in prison, a $3,250,000 fine and supervised release until his death.
A 21-year-old Tennessee man was arrested when the 15-year-old girl he tried to solicit in the library, via MySpace and the library computers, told her mom what “the man next to her” was doing…
March 6, 2010
Maryville man accused of soliciting sex from 15-year-old at Blount County Public Library
By Mark Boxley, the Daily TimesA 21-year-old Maryville man was charged Friday with soliciting sex from a 15-year-old girl while the two were chatting on MySpace at the Blount County Library. Daniel Ray Bryant, Wells Avenue, was taken into custody Wednesday at the library after the girl’s mother called 9-1-1.
A 38-year-old man from Louisiana was arrested for using the Internet, posing as a teen, to solicit young girls for sex.
March 8, 2010
Louisiana Man Reportedly Posed as Teen Online to Lure Underage Girls Into Sex
From the Associated PressNEW ORLEANS — Federal prosecutors say a Metairie man is accused of posing as a teenager on social networking Web sites to lure underage girls from Louisiana and Mississippi into having sex with him. Friday’s indictment also accuses 38-year-old Michael Meany of trading sexually explicit pictures with girls — including one in Maine — and downloading child pornography.
A 35-year-old California man met a 13-year-old girl on MySpace, became friends with her, then picked her up one day after school, brought her to his house and raped her.
March 8, 2010
13-year-old girl allegedly kidnapped, assaulted by man she met on MySpace
By Melissa Evans, Daily BreezeA 35-year-old man who met a middle school girl on a social networking site is suspected of sexually assaulting the teen at his San Pedro home, police and sources said Monday. Samuel Francisco was arrested Friday night at his home in the 500 block of East 36th Street, where police found a distraught 13-year-old girl who had been reported missing the day before, said Los Angeles police Lt. Andrea Grossman.
A 25-year-old registered sex offender in Florida was arrested in a sting op when he tried to solicit a 12-year-old girl for sex on MySpace.
March 9, 2010
Cops: Sex Offender Lured Girl On Web
From WKMG-TV/ CBS 6ORLANDO, Fla. — A registered sex offender has been accused of trying to meet up with a 12-year-old girl using MySpace and text messages. Orlando police said Jose Angel Pamblanco conversed with the girl using the social networking site and text messages, and another 12-year-old girl using text messages.