1-28-2010 New Guinea:
Two people are dead after a pornographic text message sparked tribal violence in Papua New Guinea's southern highlands.
The violence flared on Saturday when a young man from the Tapo clan in Tari sent a pornographic text message to a woman in the Pipi clan.
The girl was offended and showed the image to her brother, who gathered his clansmen and attacked the Tapos with home-made guns, bush knives and bows and arrows.
One man was killed in the clash and Superintendent Jimmy Onopia says another man was pulled from a bus and killed with an axe yesterday.
"Two people have died, several have been wounded, several houses have been burnt down," he said.
Superintendent Onopia says the situation is now calm and police are helping to negotiate a peaceful resolution. ..Source.. Papua New Guinea correspondent Liam Fox
January 28, 2010
Pornographic text sparks tribal war
April 29, 2009
UT- Woman sent to jail for texting in court
4-29-2009 Utah:
TOOELE -- A Utah woman is in jail for sending a text message. She's being held for contempt of court.
Susan Henwood, a mother of four, has been sentenced to 30 days in the Tooele County Jail because she sent a text message about a court hearing she was observing.
"She shouldn't be there. She did nothing wrong," her husband, Joshua Henwood, said.
In early April, Joshua was sick and couldn't make his court appearance in a debt collection case. He sent Susan to ask for a continuance and to keep him updated, so she sent a text that said: "It doesn't look good for you" and "They're coming for the Polaris Ranger."
The Polaris was one of several items the other side of the case wanted to sell to recoup supposed losses. Henwood says his wife's text wasn't a warning to hide anything, just a heads up.
But Judge Stephen Henroid caught wind of the text and held Susan in contempt of court. She started her 30 day sentence Monday.
"You see drunk drivers and what do they get? A few days. She texts and she's in jail for 30? No, no," Susan's grandmother, Dolores Kyle, said.
Judge Henroid wasn't available for comment. A spokeswoman with the court system says the problem wasn't that Susan texted in court but the content of her text, but the spokeswoman was unable to provide further detail.
Back in Grantsville, Joshua says he still doesn't understand why his wife must spend a month in jail. He feels powerless to help. "I think this was an unfit punishment for the crime," he said.
The court spokeswoman says while everyone in a courtroom is asked to turn off their cell phones, sending a text message will usually just get you a reprimand from the bailiff. In this case, she reiterates, it was the content of the message. ..News Source..
April 27, 2009
CO- Sexting mom nabs child predator
4-27-2009 Colorado:
When 19-year-old Derek Peisert propositioned a pair of 16- and 14-year old girls for sex, their mom wasn’t going to let him get away with it. She obtained his cell phone number and, pretending to be a 14-year-old girl, exchanging text messages with him.
The messages turned sexual in nature – often referred to as ‘sexting’ – and a clandestine meeting was arranged at a Loveland park late Friday night.
When Peisert showed up for the sexual encounter with the fictional 14-year-old, police were waiting for him. He was taken into custody without incident and booked on charges of child enticement and attempted sex assault on a child.
The woman and her daughters have not been named. Whoever this mom is, kudos to her for turning the tables on a child abuser. If you suspect child abuse is happening to a child you know, think of the sexting mom and do something – now. ..News Source..
February 9, 2009
CA- Feds: Meeting On Xbox Live Led To Sex Crime
2-9-2009 California:
Missouri Man Met California Teen On Video Game System, U.S. Attorney's Office Says
FRESNO, Calif. -- A 27-year-old Missouri man who drove almost nonstop to California to meet a teenager he met on Xbox LIVE was indicted Thursday in federal court.
Edward Preston Stout, of Richmond Heights, Mo., communicated with the Sanger, Calif., teen on both the video game system and through MySpace accounts, according to federal officials. They also communicated by text messages and telephone calls.
The U.S. attorney's office in Fresno alleges Stout sent the teen a cell phone as a 15th birthday present so they could communicate more frequently and privately.
On Jan. 25, Stout drove for 30 hours to meet the teen, federal officials said.
He then took the teen to a motel and engaged in criminal sexual activity, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Stout was indicted on charges of using interstate commerce to entice or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity and travel in interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual activity. ..News Source.. by KCRA3
December 23, 2008
Text messages sent with ill will can be a crime
12-23-2008 National:
The next time you get upset with someone and consider sending a telephone text message, you might want to think again.
If it comes across as a threat, or even if you text an annoying message repeatedly, the police could come knocking on your door.
"It's actually easier to prosecute if someone does a text message (threat instead of a phone call)," said Lt. Troy Elwell, of the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. "If you've got the text there, you've got the evidence."
And the punishment could be just as stiff as if you verbally threatened them.
"Even though sometimes it's easier to send that (a text message) ... it could still get you the same punishment," he said.
Lately, police say they've seen more reports from people saying they've been threatened or harassed in a text message.
In a case reported in Hephzibah last week, a woman told police that another woman had called her several times after being told not to and that she also sent a text message stating, "I'm gonna kill you."
On Dec. 7, a North Augusta woman told authorities that she had received four text messages from a family member by marriage and that one was threatening. In that case, police advised the suspect not to call or text the woman again.
And on Nov. 30, a report was filed with North Augusta Department of Public Safety in which someone reported receiving repeated vulgar text messages and a picture via cell phone of an unknown man's genitals.
In Columbia County, sheriff's Capt. Steve Morris said about one-third of the harassment reports are text-message-related. He said about half involve a threat.
"We have some that are not threatening but are annoying and harassing," Capt. Morris said, adding that such text messages can be a crime even if the person hasn't asked the sender to quit. "It's not like criminal trespass where you have to warn them first."
Richmond County sheriff's Maj. Ken Autry said his county hasn't had many text message harassment reports in the past, "But we're starting to see some now." He said one recent case involved a person sending a text from Canada, which proves more difficult to prosecute because there is a greater burden of proof to make it a federal case.
In Georgia, Capt. Morris said, improper text messages fall under the harassing telephone calls statute. A conviction would be a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to 12 months' confinement, up to a $1,000 fine, or both, he said.
In South Carolina, Lt. Elwell said, such cases are considered unlawful use of a telephone, which is a misdemeanor and results in a fine not less than $100 and not more than $500 and no more than 30 days' imprisonment. Lt. Elwell said the only catch to prosecuting text-message cases is to prove who was using the phone at the time, but he said that usually isn't difficult.
Capt. Morris said many times people don't realize how easy a text message can be tracked.
"They may be under the misunderstanding that these calls cannot be traced when in fact they can," he said, adding that the sheriff's office often issues subpoenas to cell phone providers to retrieve text messages. "And within a few days, we receive those records." ..News Source.. by Preston Sparks| Staff Writer
