N.C. officials: 2,116 of state's sex offenders found on MySpace

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(CNN) -- More than 2,100 registered North Carolina sex offenders were found on the social networking site MySpace, the state attorney general's office said Tuesday.

In response to a subpoena from state Attorney General Roy Cooper, "MySpace turned over the names, IP and e-mail addresses of 2,116 convicted North Carolina sex offenders found on its social networking Web site," Cooper's office said in a written statement.

Cooper has requested similar information from Facebook, another popular social networking site, the statement said.

MySpace has told North Carolina authorities that the sex offenders it identified have been removed from the site.

North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation is sharing the sex offenders' information with all 100 sheriffs in the state, Cooper's office said.

"It's no secret that child predators are on these Web sites," Cooper said in the statement. "Turning over information about these predators to law enforcement helps, but MySpace, Facebook and other social networks need to do much more to protect kids online."

made a tidy dent in the pervert population on myspace, and facebook is next..hmmmm glad they got rid of that many but we have no idea how many remain..thats part of the risk of those sites.

I'm surprised at your opinion FF... while I agree that children or teens (or adults for that matter) should have some level of protection against predators online, the banning of these individuals from this service would not likely hold up to any serious legal challenge vis-a-vis the 1st amendment.

The point is that myspace and the law enforcement authorities in this case are banning individuals from an otherwise free activity based on their past history alone... what I dont see here is anything to indicate that any of these individuals actually commited any sort of crime... yea, they are on a sex offender registry, but that doesnt mean that they used myspace to further commit sex offenses.

If I was drunk walking home from Columbia street and stopped in an alley to take a leak and was caught holding my... um... er indecently exposed, should it mean that I cant use myspace anymore? By no means am I defending any of the actions of these individuals, but at the same time I find it surprising that myspace was so quick to delete these members.

what I dont see here is anything to indicate that any of these individuals actually commited any sort of crime... yea, they are on a sex offender registry, but that doesnt mean that they used myspace to further commit sex offenses.

Part of being a registered sex offer (I believe) is NO CONTACT with children, therefore, (to me) online sites (even this one) would be OFF LIMITS.

I guess that makes sense, but I have issues with the entire sex offender registration to begin with... another topic I guess...

Pez wrote:I guess that makes sense, but I have issues with the entire sex offender registration to begin with... another topic I guess...

I concur. Two underage students who have consensual sex with each other can now be registered as sex offenders in some states. WTF?

Pez wrote:I have issues with the entire sex offender registration to begin with... another topic I guess...

I do too... I have a friend who was 19 and the girl was 16, mama found out, had him arrested and charged. He has been listed as Sex Offender since that whole thing came about. He is now 43 yo and to this day, it follows him. IMO, he is NOT a SO.... cases like his, I do not think should have to register.
As with a lot of issues, abortion, etc, (to me) there will also be "what if"/grey area situations.

I think Pez makes a good point. It's true that the offenders are banned from any contact with children. But Myspace is just a communication tool right? Should they also not be allowed to have a phone? Go to McDonalds? And so on.

who here has never seen any of the dateline predator busts where there is anyone from preists and teachers to fast food employees setting up and going to meet kids for sex they have been told are 13 or 14 and are home alone and dumbly inviting trouble because they are lonely? thats the kind of thing i think of when i see this kind of story.

i agree there are a share of so-called sex offenders out there who shouldnt need to be.

floridafun wrote:who here has never seen any of the dateline predator busts where there is anyone from preists and teachers to fast food employees setting up and going to meet kids for sex they have been told are 13 or 14 and are home alone and dumbly inviting trouble because they are lonely? thats the kind of thing i think of when i see this kind of story.

i agree there are a share of so-called sex offenders out there who shouldnt need to be.

One of the stories they aired was about a guy who use to work for North American Van Lines/Sirva.

floridafun wrote:who here has never seen any of the dateline predator busts where there is anyone from preists and teachers to fast food employees setting up and going to meet kids for sex they have been told are 13 or 14 and are home alone and dumbly inviting trouble because they are lonely? thats the kind of thing i think of when i see this kind of story.

i agree there are a share of so-called sex offenders out there who shouldnt need to be.

I wondered who that guy was with all the cameras... he wigged me out so I bailed. Seriously, I have seen it, I tend to think such media stories are intended more for their shock or ratings value than any sort of real concern for victims, so I tend not to watch journalists go looking for the underbelly of our society and then feign shock and awe when they find it.

Yea, 2100 sex offenders, millions of freely viewable myspace profiles with pictures of young girls doing the things that young girls do... I'm sure that in that 2100 there were many using myspace for nefarious purposes. Someone should find the rest of the story tho... what did those 2100 people look at?

Iber: I didnt think the SO registry explicitly states no contact with children... I was under the assumption that the SO registry was sponsored by the county sheriff to register convicted individuals. I would assume that such would be extraordinarily difficult to monitor or enforce (what if your friend has kids?)... Again, the existence of a sex offender registry suggests that these indidividuals are a danger to society... it's the police, law enforcement and corrections that should be tasked with this, not citizens surfing the web.

Pez wrote:

floridafun wrote:who here has never seen any of the dateline predator busts where there is anyone from preists and teachers to fast food employees setting up and going to meet kids for sex they have been told are 13 or 14 and are home alone and dumbly inviting trouble because they are lonely? thats the kind of thing i think of when i see this kind of story.

i agree there are a share of so-called sex offenders out there who shouldnt need to be.

I wondered who that guy was with all the cameras... he wigged me out so I bailed. Seriously, I have seen it, I tend to think such media stories are intended more for their shock or ratings value than any sort of real concern for victims, so I tend not to watch journalists go looking for the underbelly of our society and then feign shock and awe when they find it.

Yea, 2100 sex offenders, millions of freely viewable myspace profiles with pictures of young girls doing the things that young girls do... I'm sure that in that 2100 there were many using myspace for nefarious purposes. Someone should find the rest of the story tho... what did those 2100 people look at?

Iber: I didnt think the SO registry explicitly states no contact with children... I was under the assumption that the SO registry was sponsored by the county sheriff to register convicted individuals. I would assume that such would be extraordinarily difficult to monitor or enforce (what if your friend has kids?)... Again, the existence of a sex offender registry suggests that these indidividuals are a danger to society... it's the police, law enforcement and corrections that should be tasked with this, not citizens surfing the web.

I agree.. it gets sticky, b/c yes he does have kids, 6 to be exact and he is also a grandfather.

Any smart pedo knows that you don't go to their house. That's what cho-mo panel vans are for!

along the same topic line...i saw in yesterdays ns a 21 yr old guy who admitted to giving a sexually transmitted disease to a 1 year old thru alleged sexual contact pleaded to a class c felony. if his plea deal is accepted he will get 2 yr in prison and 6 yr probation....and a different 19 yr old guy got 20 years for raping a woman (a gun was involved, no age given for victim). sends an interesting message doesnt it?

at least for halloween some states including indiana do have no-contact restrictions--

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-10-29-halloween_N.htm

For Halloween this year, more convicted sex offenders must post signs telling trick-or-treaters to stay away or saying "No candy at this residence."
In Indiana, Maryland, Missouri and New Mexico, some registered sex offenders are required to hang such signs where they live. In Maryland, the sign is a bright orange pumpkin.

The signs are part of expanding efforts to regulate not only where convicted sex offenders live and work but also their movements on Halloween. Many states bar those on probation from giving out candy, wearing costumes or decorating their homes.

If I were convicted of a sex offense and did my time and had no predatory intentions, I would challenge this law... by continually changing the laws about what these individuals can and cannot do, the state is essentially admitting that their efforts at rehabilitation have completely failed... more generally, the existence of this list means that they are letting dangerous people go free. It's hard to sympathize, but at the same time I feel that justice is not being served here...

For me, it boils down to this: I dont see the difference between an individual that is capable of committing a sex offense, but has not been convicted of same and an individual that is capable of committing a sex offense... there's two standards here for accomplishing the same goal, and one cant be reconciled with the other.

Pez wrote:For me, it boils down to this: I dont see the difference between an individual that is capable of committing a sex offense, but has not been convicted of same and an individual that is capable of committing a sex offense... there's two standards here for accomplishing the same goal, and one cant be reconciled with the other.

Maybe I am reading this wrong but it does not make any sense to me.

One thing about ligit (the ppl you see on Dateline's Predator show) sex offenders, that not all ppl know/believe is: There is NO rehabilitation!! Some SO will even tell you that. To them, it is inbred and cannot "be cured".
I strongly believe this... not ALL SO's are like this, but a lot will tell you that they have had the "idea" in their heads for as long as they can remember... they knew as a child "that something was wrong"