The Megan Meier Myspace suicide case *Update: Conviction overturned* see page 23

[Roo]

To those who mentioned my situation, thanks so much. It is a long story but the summary of it is that my daughter met a guy thru myspace about three years ago... he was 3000 miles away and was in his mid 20's. We discovered what was going on when I found a cell phone taped to the underside of the bed on the frame. We began investigating and discovered what was happening. This person had completely indoctrinated our child to the point where she had lied to us for many months about what was going on. We supervised the kids very closely on the computer but she was talking to him online late at night while we were asleep, at school, at her biomother's on weekends etc. (This child is the stepdaughter that I've raised for many years.) He instructed her on how to get around us. Long story short: we got the authorities involved, both in our area, in his area and also federal authorities. The authorities actually contacted myspace and had a very hard time getting them to cooperate. That was my first real 'taste' of how they operate and thus the reason for my biased views against them and their non-policies. We took away computer access and forbade our daughter from contacting him but she was still doing it behind our backs. What happened in our case was there was not enough evidence to prove child luring against this guy, but the authorities did investigate him and he knew it- so as soon as he saw that the heat was on, he stopped contacting our daughter. myspace took his profile down for a while (finally) but within a couple months it was back up again and is still up on the site. Our daughter was very upset at this 'relationship' ending and it was a mess emotionally for her. This guy had been very manipulative with her. God knows what he's done to other girls.

[priiin]

OMG this is terrible...

I'm not going to say what I would like to do to the bullying mother.

Pfffft, what a "mother" she is...

[Glamfoxx]

Originally Posted by Roo

Ok, so taking the 'don't blame myspace' idea a step further: Would this child still be alive if myspace did not exist? Probably.

A person gets hit and killed by a car. Would that person still be alive if cars did not exist? Probably. Sorry this line of reasoning is nonsensical. Maybe the government should step in and tell us all who should and should not have cars to protect us.

[Roo]

Originally Posted by Glamfoxx

Maybe the government should step in and tell us all who should and should not have cars to protect us.

If you really want to split hairs, the government (State) does regulate who can operate a vehicle. People who get multiple DUIs, tickets, etc., are banned from driving and often their cars are impounded or fitted with devices that monitor whether they've been drinking. Same goes for people who have no insurance and are caught repeatedly driving. They do this as a matter of public safety.

[Speedy]

Roo, sadly, the Internet has created a unique, dangerous and easy way for pedophiles and child molestors (a pedophile is technically attracted to PRE-pubescent children, hebephiles are attracted to post-pubescent,) to get to our children. And oh, yes, they know how to get to our children.... they know what to say, how to con them, (it's called "grooming") and in my opinion, the most vile thing a man can do. A child is hooked before they know it, and they just don't have the life experiances to deal with it in a mature manner. When you and I were kids, we only had to look out for the scummy guy down the street wearing the robe or overcoat... kids now have them lurking right in their own homes, in their computers.

I agree in your case MySpace did little to protect your child. But I also know that when we, on the other forum I belonged to informed them that a registered sex offender had a profile up, it was removed within hours usually. However, it was easy for us to prove these guys were using MySpace for neferious reasons. (linking both their MS page AND their mugs from Megan's Law websites.)

This is all new to mankind if you think about it. MySpace thinks they have done all they can to keep children safe, and then they rely on the parents to monitor their children too. Problem is, kids are a LOT smarter than we give them credit for, and if Mom and Dad won't let them have access, a friend or even a library will.

[Glamfoxx]

Originally Posted by Roo

If you really want to split hairs, the government (State) does regulate who can operate a vehicle. People who get multiple DUIs, tickets, etc., are banned from driving and often their cars are impounded or fitted with devices that monitor whether they've been drinking. Same goes for people who have no insurance and are caught repeatedly driving. They do this as a matter of public safety.

I don't really want to split hairs, just to let you know I completely disagree with your view.

[Roo]

Originally Posted by Glamfoxx

I don't really want to split hairs, just to let you know I completely disagree with your view.

Hey, if we all agreed the world would be a pretty boring place!

[Glamfoxx]

Originally Posted by Roo

Hey, if we all agreed the world would be a pretty boring place!

I can definately agree with you there!

[Roo]

Originally Posted by Glamfoxx

I can definately agree with you there!

See, if we can agree, then why can't world peace be achieved? I do not understand!?

[IntlSet]

Originally Posted by Glamfoxx

The question you are asking should be how does a tool like MySpace benefit people who have a need to promote themselves. There are bands, authors, artists, designers, professionals, models, etc. that all benefit from MySpace and other networking tools. MySpace enables these people to reach an audience at minimal cost. I can understand that you feel that kids do not need to promote themselves, and I totally agree with you on that point. It is however, the parents job to keep their kids off of MySpace.

nm!

[Highmaintenance]

OMG! this is so scary!...I'm 30+ and I have never visited Myspace...

[rubylola]

Roo, that is absolutely hideous about your step daughter being manipulated by that b**tard. Sending her a cell phone and telling her to tape it under the bed!?!! You guys must have been completely freaked out when you discovered what was going on. And if myspace was so slow to react (and when they did- it was half-hearted and half-assed), well- I can understand why you are so thoroughly disgusted with myspace.

[airmarket]

that's terrifying. i can't believe adults were behind it :(

[HubbaWubba]

Roo, how awful and scary. Thank goodness you found out what was going on before something horrible happened.

Before myspace came along, there were/are chatrooms on aol or msn or yahoo. Sure you couldn't make elaborate personal pages like myspace, but it wasn't like it is now. Seeing some myspace pages with little girls and boys trying to be sexy is quite disgusting. Myspace is a big game about how many "friends" you have and people trying to outdo who is more popular. I also cringe when I see (and don't flame me) people putting pictures of their children on the net.

I think now, some schools block students from signing onto myspace at school. I am sure parents could do the same thing with personal computers if they wanted.

I used to be on myspace and I put my age as 95 and never put my real pic or my real name. The only way people knew it was me, is if I invited them to be my friend. I would still get pervs asking what my age was.

I think what myspace should do is charge a minimum fee so people are forced to have a record of being signed up. Most children don't have credit cards.

[IntlSet]

Roo, you are probably the best stepmommy that there ever was... I'm glad you found out about all this before anything really horrible happened... does she realize NOW what a TERRIBLE mistake that all was???