Mayoral Candidate Registered Sex Offender

Wilmer, Texas -- A registered sex offender, who was arrested after using the Internet to arrange sex with someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl, is running for mayor of his small town...James Brian Sliter, 42, said he is sorry and needs to prove he can be an asset to his suburban Dallas community.

Should we give him a chance?

Download candidate_for_mayor_registered_sex_offender.pdf

Japan criticized over child porn loopholes.

"Forms of child pornography that are banned in other countries but not in Japan...are still widely available on the Internet and on the street...If Japan, known worldwide as an IT and software contents giant, is left uncontrolled, hundreds of thousands of children... will continue to be sexually exploited," UNICEF said in a statement.

Who's going to police the Internet or should we?

Download japan_criticized.pdf

Realistic fake photos challenge child porn prosecutors.

Each week, about 100,000 sexually explicit images of children arrive on CDs or portable disk drives at Michelle Collins' office.

Although challenges to digital photos come in all types of criminal and civil cases, they are especially pronounced in child-pornography cases because of a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a ban on computer-generated child pornography. Defense attorneys are trying to use the ruling to introduce reasonable doubt in jurors' minds about the images' authenticity. And many law-enforcement officials worry that the time and money needed to withstand any challenges will only grow as technology improves and makes it more difficult to tell a computer-generated image from a real one...

Some of you work in the this arena. Please give us more insight into this issue so we can help to ensure children's safety.

Download realistic_fake_photos_challenge_child_porn_prosecutors_cnn.com.pdf

Pedophile Playground Discovered in "Second Life" Virtual World

Every lifestyle group has its own place in the virtual world "Second Life" — including, apparently, pedophiles.

Britain's Sky News TV channel on Tuesday uncovered a virtual playground hidden away behind a strip mall in "Second Life" — a playground where little girls who looked about 10 years old offered the Sky reporter's avatar, or virtual representative, a variety of sex acts.

• Click here to see the Sky News report.

Be sure to watch this video clip. It shows you in a "PG" format why pedophiles are attracted to this site.

Sky reported the playground, called "Wonderland" in possible reference to an Internet child-porn ring broken up in 1998, to British authorities.

But Linden Lab, the San Francisco-based creator and operator of "Second Life," doesn't plan to take any action for now against the non-age-specific sex playground.

It seems that everyone in Wonderland says they're over 18, despite the much younger-looking avatars of some members.

Role-playing and sex are two common activities on "Second Life," where users frequently select avatars of different genders, races, ages or even species, and then do what adults are prone to do.

Linden Lab is currently testing a system that would verify users' ages before they could enter areas deemed to contain adults-only content in "Second Life."

Download Wonderland Article (PDF)

Self-Proclaimed Pedophile is Surprised at "Pedophilia Hysteria"

A unique situation has caught the media's attention. Will this trigger mass hysteria nationwide? Will it be the tipping point that puts pedophiles at the top of our Most Wanted List, even ahead of Al Qaeda? It is certainly personal. This man is fantasizing about our children. He is teaching others how to abduct and molest our children.

For a complete perspective, be sure to watch the videos (including an interview with the pedophile) provided on the FoxNews.com (PDF) site, after reading their article. MSNBC.com (PDF) has also provided an excellent report on this topic.

Here are a few "lowlights" from the FoxNews.com article:

An admitted pedophile, chased out of Seattle for running a "how-to" Web site, defended his right to post pictures of little girls, telling FOX News that he is considering a possible lawsuit against the Santa Monica, Calif., police department for posting his picture on their Web site, after he recently surfaced there.... When pressed, McClellan, 45, insisted he was doing nothing wrong by posting photos of children as young as 3, even admitting that he would have sex with little girls if it weren’t against the law.

MySpace Removes Sex Offenders - Where Will They Go Next to Hunt Online?

After reporting in May that 7,000 registered sex offenders were found on its site, MySpace now announces the removal of 29,000, according to an article by BBC News (PDF). Two other articles, one on SFGate.com (PDF) and the other on MSNBC.com (PDF), report that the focus is now being turned toward a similarly problematic Web site, Facebook.

It's encouraging to hear that online predators are being rooted out, but it's also apparent that they simply move from one location to another to continue their pursuits. That's why it's so important for all of us to continue being diligent, sharing information and keeping this topic "top of mind" with those who have the power to help.

Of course, we all know one of the best ways to protect our children is through the power of education - teaching children how to protect themselves, whether they are online, on a playground, in the mall or at home. That's why I founded Yello Dyno, and why I'm grateful to all of you for your various efforts to keep our children safe from harm.

Cyberbullying

A bully is in the lineage of those who take advantage of and often harm others. They are a form of predator. To most they are not in the class of child predators, but, none the less, they often inflict tremendous pain and lifetime emotional and psychological scarring. All predators seek an opportunity for privacy and control, and the Internet is ideal for this purpose. Our virtual reality, the Internet, is becoming quite a breeding ground for dangerous and destructive behavior. Cyberbullying flourishes because there are no social "context" boundaries that require socially acceptable behavior with penalties if you step out of line. We are now faced with a decision, What virtual regulations should we put in place?

To start with, let's go back to basics and consider educating our children about the reality of the harm inflicted. Let's arm them with action steps to avoid predators or to correct such encounters. And, oh yes, let's also instill the understanding necessary to avoid giving positive reinforcement to those who "try out" cyberbullying.

Take a look at my Yello Dyno Monthly Memo, "You're on a plane sitting next to a strange man, unbeknownst to you he's a convicted sexual predator," which addresses the issue of the Internet and the concept of virtual "context."

For a sample of cyberbullying, read this great article from Parade magazine, "How to Fight the New Bullies," which starts out:

"Bullies used to be big kids who picked on smaller ones. But instant messages..., cell phones and the Internet have changed that. Today, young people are using technology against each other: It's called cyberbullying, and it can be as frightening as face-to-face aggression. While most parents worry that their child will fall victim to a sexual predator online, cyberbullying often slips under the radar. Here's what you need to know:

For the rest of the story, go to Parade's Cyberbulling Article or to Yello Dyno PDF of Cyberbullying Article.

Federal Judge Dismisses Travis County Lawsuit Against MySpace

Potentially 750 million readers could read your daily journal entries on your personal MySpace.  Federal authorities believe that at least 500,000 to 750,000 predators are “on-line on a daily basis, constantly combing through these blog sites." As a society how do we protect our children? This is no longer a segregated red light district in our towns to keep kids away from. Online chats quickly take someone from a stranger to a close, online buddy. Tragic events linked to MySpace have made it blatantly obvious that society does not have security in place to protect us. In a way it appears like a freeway running through a forest. The deer, raccoons and other critters just don’t have DNA programming or training for how to respond to a 2000-pound speeding bullet. My experience puts educating children and parents on the front lines of defense.

Take a look at this article and court case. Who is responsible and what laws do we enact? How do we patrol the Internet? How long will all this take? Can we wait when our children’s lives are at stake?

By Claire Osborn, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, February 15, 2007

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit this week against MySpace.com filed by a 14-year-old Travis County girl who said she was sexually assaulted by a Buda man she met on the Web site.

"If anyone had a duty to protect Julie Doe, it was her parents, not MySpace," the court order issued Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin said. Julie Doe is a pseudonym for the girl.

The girl's lawyer, Adam Loewy, said Wednesday that he plans to refile part of the lawsuit, probably in California.

"California is where MySpace is located, and we have five other lawsuits in California involving similar cases in My-Space," Loewy said.

The way Sparks dismissed the lawsuit allows the part that involves fraud allegations against MySpace to be refiled, Loewy said.

"They made statements that the Web site was safe for children even though they had been warned by several attorney generals, including Greg Abbott, that this was not the case," Loewy said.

For the rest of the story, go to Austin American-Statesman Article or to Yello Dyno PDF of MySpace Lawsuit Article.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide

Millions of Dr. Jekylls and Mr. Hides may have a key to your diary, and you've given it to them...

Thanks to NBC's "Dateline", America is getting a first-hand look at the deceptive online behavior of Tricky People long hidden in the shadows of our society. Mark my words, predators are in trouble. This show is a monumental breakthrough and will be copied on every small-town TV station in America. or as one viewer suggested, "Make it into a weekly series." Chris Hansen from "Dateline" confirms, "...We could go do this story virtually every week anywhere in the country and get the same results." - What can be done to stop predators? ...

For the rest of this story, go to Yello Dyno Monthly Memo 2_06.