Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Sex Offenders Snared in MySpace Web

Networking site turns over user IDs in predator parole busts

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 15, 2007 6:46 AM CDT

(Newser) – Texas officials using ID information ceded by MySpace have nabbed seven sex offenders trolling the online networking site. Six were arrested for violating parole, which barred them from using the internet, and another had failed to register as a sex offender with the local police. The seven men had been convicted of assaulting kids as young as 4 years old.

The arrests followed several states' controversial demands that MySpace surrender info on sex offenders with profiles on the site. The News Corp. subsidiary last year commissioned a background-checking firm to create a national database of sex offenders, after reports that some of its teenage users had been abducted by people contacted through MySpace.

Kid online (KRT Photos)

Media baron Rupert Murdoch, who controls News Corp., speaks at the company's Global Energy Initiative on Wednesday, May 9, 2007 in New York. News Corp. reported a 6.2 percent profit increase for its latest... (Associated Press)

MySpace (KRT Photos)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Sex Offenders Kicked Off MySpace Land on Facebook

Company analyzing data for MySpace says of 90K booted, minimum 8K back online

(NEWSER) - MySpace grabbed headlines today when it announced that it had kicked 90,000 registered sex offenders off the site over the past 2 years. Where did they all go? Many went to Facebook, says Sentinel, the security firm that roots out such offenders for MySpace. “We found over 8,000 offenders on their site without much effort,” the CEO told TechCrunch. More»

Sex Convicts May Face Internet Ban

NY bill aims to keep 25K offenders off social websites

(NEWSER) - New York's 25,000 convicted sex criminals will be banned from Facebook and MySpace if a bill unveiled today becomes law, CNET reports. Dubbed E-Stop, the legislation requires sex convicts to submit online identities and screen names so participating sites can block them. Those who committed a sex crime over the Internet would have usage controlled by the state's parole board. More»

Cops Screen Recruits' Texts, Facebook Posts

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

(NEWSER) - Law enforcement agencies are probing potential recruits’ digital lives for information that might make them unfit for the job, USA Today reports. More than a third of police agencies look into applicants’ social media presence, says a new report conducted for police executives. Reviewing postings to sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, some agencies require applicants’ online passwords, or want to see their text-messaging and email records. More»

MySpace Axes Profile of Sex Murder Suspect

Man charged in teen's death listed as 'Jason Stud'

(NEWSER) - Turns out a MySpace user with a sexy profile is a registered sex offender who has been charged with the rape and murder of California teenager Chelsea King. MySpace has now removed the profile of John Albert Gardner, who used a fake name, email and hometown to register his account. The profile lists his name as "Jason Stud" and "Energizer Bunny," names the Playboy Mansion as his hometown, and lists CSI and Bones among his favorite TV shows, AP notes. More»

Facebook May Sue UK Tab for Flubbed Sex Predator Story

Said reporter posing as girl harassed by men

(NEWSER) - Posing as a 14-year-old girl on Facebook, a Daily Mail reporter was bombarded by messages from 20- to 40-year-old men wanting "to perform a sex act"—only it was really another social networking site, and Facebook is livid and threatening to sue over the misreported story . The author of the item, which appeared yesterday, said he was on another site and that editors added the mention against his wishes. Fine, says Facebook, but the paper was slow to respond and the damage is done. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Sex Offenders Snared in MySpace Web

Networking site turns over user IDs in predator parole busts

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Related Articles

Internet • MySpace • sex offenders • sexual predator

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Sex Offenders Kicked Off MySpace Land on Facebook

Company analyzing data for MySpace says of 90K booted, minimum 8K back online

Sex Convicts May Face Internet Ban

NY bill aims to keep 25K offenders off social websites

Cops Screen Recruits' Texts, Facebook Posts

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

MySpace Axes Profile of Sex Murder Suspect

Man charged in teen's death listed as 'Jason Stud'

Facebook May Sue UK Tab for Flubbed Sex Predator Story

Said reporter posing as girl harassed by men

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?

Sex Offenders Snared in MySpace Web

Networking site turns over user IDs in predator parole busts

Bookmark & Share

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Related Articles

Internet • MySpace • sex offenders • sexual predator

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Sex Offenders Kicked Off MySpace Land on Facebook

Company analyzing data for MySpace says of 90K booted, minimum 8K back online

Sex Convicts May Face Internet Ban

NY bill aims to keep 25K offenders off social websites

Cops Screen Recruits' Texts, Facebook Posts

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

MySpace Axes Profile of Sex Murder Suspect

Man charged in teen's death listed as 'Jason Stud'

Facebook May Sue UK Tab for Flubbed Sex Predator Story

Said reporter posing as girl harassed by men

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?