OH- Exclusive: Facebook bans Akron sex offender after nearly 'friending' WKYC

And he did nothing wrong, didn't use false information (as a noteable person recently did on a similar site), didn't violate Facebook's Terms of Agreement which says nothing about the alleged policy that former registered sex offenders are not allowed to have accounts; he did nothing wrong!

5-29-2009 Ohio:

AKRON -- A convicted child molestor had his Facebook profile deleted Friday as the social media site enforced its policy restricting access to convicted sex offenders.

____, 48, served 14 months of a four-year sentence for sexual battery and telephone harassment after admitting to inappropriate relationships with six male students while he was a counselor at Firestone High School. He was released from prison in July, 2000.

____ is a tier three sex offender, the most serious classification, which requires him to register his whereabouts every 90 days for life.

Earlier this year, Facebook adopted a new policy prohibiting sex offenders from having profiles and deleted the profiles of more than 5,000 known sex offenders.

Anchor Eric Mansfield learned of ____'s Facebook profile when a Channel 3 viewer sent ____'s name to Eric as a "friend suggestion"; Eric contacted Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander who ordered an immediate investigation.

"This is a major concern," said Sheriff Drew Alexander. "It's a major priority. Anybody that's assaulted anybody. We will be on top of this before the day is over."

Alexander dispatched a deputy to go to ____'s North Akron home and talk to him about the profile, which appears to have been created in the last few days and included basic information on ____'s education and family.

See Eric's complete story tonight on Channel 3 News at 6. ..Source.. by WKYC

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Comments from News site:
NO Social Networking site has any exclusion statement
in their Terms of Agreement, they use verbal unwritten policy
to entrap people then bar them from their site.
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____wrote:
They should re-open Alcatraz, populate the waterway surrounding the island with Great White sharks, and place all sex offenders there for life.


____wrote:
I know from experience that there are numerous people's children online that don't have clue at to what they're doing. And furthermore the parents don't know anything about what the children are doing either.

Mr. REPORTER just made a call. Wouldn't you call someone? We teach our children to run from strangers yet we don't teach them the basics of online strangers.

I don't know Mr. ____, but if he was found guilty of a crime and being the worst type of offender for that crime, i'd be the first one to call!

Does anyone know if he had underage children on his facebook page? This actually is very news-worthy. It will help some parents to understand that they can't just throw their child onto the computer without some kind of supervision!


____ wrote:
I agree strongly with ____'s first two paragraphs. This story reads like a self-aggrandizing pat on the back by and for Mr. ____. Generally, I have a lot of respect for the guy's reporting, but occasionally he goes a little Carl Monday on us. I believe this is one of those occasions.

Am I the patron saint of sex offenders? No. I appreciate the importance of keeping tabs on creepy dudes, especially in situations where they might have access to the vulnerable. I take the danger seriously and I understand the need for precautionary measures.

BUT. I've been a Facebook user since 2005 and I've never been notified of a sex offender exception clause in the TOS. I believe it exists, but this is the first I'm hearing of it and, were I a sex offender, I'd be violating it just like Mr. Bennett. FURTHERMORE, Facebook isn't MySpace. Anyone who has actually used the site knows that it's nearly impossible to get in touch with someone who doesn't want to hear from you, and anonymity is highly unusual. I don't get the impression Mr. ____ was using an alias.

I don't even think Facebook should have that clause. But that's not really my point here. In my opinion, Eric Mansfield's heroic deputygram to Mr. ____ isn't protecting anyone on Facebook, and certainly isn't newsworthy.

No disrespect.


____wrote:
he shouldn't have done it if he wasn't willing to face the consequences. why defend him? do you like molesting, too?


____wrote:
Does Facebook's enrollment process and TOS (Terms of Service) ask a new subscriber if they are a convicted sex offender?

If ____ is properly registered with the Summit County Sheriffs office, then a visit to his home by deputies (prompted by the media) borders on harassment.

Isn't WKYC's calling the Summit County Sheriff about a Facebook profile somewhat akin to the guy who recently called 911 when his McDonald's Happy Meal was incomplete?