PA- Warning issued to MySpace predators

This news items tells us much about why the State AG is now upset by finding more RSOs, some parolees or probationers, having MySpace accounts which is not a prohibited act according to the MySpace terms of agreement. First he calls every RSO a predator without any justification saying they have no buniness being on MySpace. Well he ignores the fact that MySpace is a community for everyone, it is not strickly a community for children, there are millions of other adults using MySpace. That population -adults with no prior sex conviction- has been the major source of new sex crimes with minors but the AG completely ignores that fact. Yes, he is frustrated because he has no proof of wrongdoing, possibly the terms of parole or probation MAY say, those folks cannot use either, the Internet or MySpace, but reality is, he doesn't have proof of that either. So, he threatens, without foundation, he cannot accept that there are RSOs who are living within the law.

8-1-2008 Pennsylvania:

HARRISBURG — Convicted sex offenders in Pennsylvania who use MySpace as a means of contacting children may soon find themselves in violation of the terms of their probation and parole after law enforcement agencies throughout the state comb through a list of nearly 200 member accounts.

According to Attorney General Tom Corbett, what began as a list of 353 individuals, whose accounts had been blocked by MySpace because they appeared to match a list of registered sex offenders, was further whittled down to 185 people after duplicate accounts were removed. His office will forward the information to the appropriate probation and parole agencies which will then determine if they broke the terms of their release.

MySpace, which was developed in 2003, is a popular social networking site that now boasts more than 200 million registered users. Through the creation of a profile, members can post pictures, send e-mails, chat and use the browse feature to locate other users by entering information such as age and location.

“Social networking sites like MySpace are supposed to be safe places for teens and young adults to connect with friends, share their thoughts and meet new people,” Corbett said. “Convicted sex offenders have no business in that kind of an environment.”

This is the second time that MySpace has turned records over to the Attorney General’s Office. Prior to the June 2008 Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas court order, the agency received a list of 110 members in 2007 so officials could search for possible parole and probation violators. ..News Source.. by Thre Meadville Tribune