The boons and banes of social networking.

Seven sex offenders were arrested for violating their parole by going online and posting profiles on social network MySpace. Data was provided to Texas police by MySpace. This is part of the preventive measures done by the State to curb the victim-finding activities of these sex offenders. Many of them use social networks such as MySpace to lure minors and children for their crimes. The State provided going online as a parole condition to limit these activities.

[Texas Attorney General Greg] Abbott highlighted the arrest of Patrick Joseph Blevins on June 7 in Houston as demonstrating the magnitude of the problem with sex offenders using MySpace. Blevins, he said, is a habitual sex offender with multiple arrests in two states. Blevins had served eight years in prison because of a 1996 conviction of indecency with a child because of sexual contact.

MySpace had been reluctant to give out such data but was compelled to do so after receiving a subpoena.

While this may once again limit one’s freedom on the Internet, it just reemphasizes the fact that crimes are worthy of punishment. Serves them right for corrupting kids!

Via Computerworld