May 2013

Center Spread
D2
835 words
By Antehya Murray
The photograph is not of him. It is of a bare chested and good looking boy, who is
apparently in his late teens. Graham Reeds QC said in court on March 8, 2010. The trial was
against Peter Chapman, a registered sex offender for the kidnapping, raping and murdering of
Ashleigh Hall, on Oct. 25, 2009. Chapman was 33. Hall was 17.
In Durham, United Kingdom, Chapman saw Halls profile. After sending her a friend request,
and her accepting it, the two began in-boxing each other. Chapman claimed to be an attractive
teenager, and lured Hall into meeting him. Chapman was a somewhat plainer-looking man who
could pass for being rather older than his thirty three years. said Reeds.
In fact, Chapman was a newly emancipated convict, incarcerated for double rape, and
many more sexual assault investigations, beginning at the young age of fifteen. In 1996, he
received a seven year sentence for the raping of two prostitutes at knifepoint.
Mrs.Hall, the mother of deceased Ashleigh, made a statement. He took somebody elses
photo and put it on the internet and has been posing behind this photo. It is awful to think that
theres actually a boy out there and he is using his photo to prey on young girls. said Hall.

With 93% of teens aged between twelve and seventeen going online, this sort of occurrence
happens more often than it should. Internet offenders pretend to be teenagers in 5% of the crimes
studied by researchers.
Sophomore Taylor Blake had a bit to say on the subject. Its not a good idea [to try and

date someone through social media]. It can be dangerous. said Blake. Almost everyones on
one [a social network].
Freshman Brindon Hamlin spoke up.
I dont think its a good idea to try to date someone through social media, because you
dont really know them. Its cool of you know them in real life. Hamlin said.
73% of teens are on a social network. 55% have given out personal information to
someone they dont know, including photos and physical descriptions. 66% of teens say they
know how to hide what they do online from parents.
However, teens often use social networks to get to know people theyve actually met, in
real life, face to face. Sophomore Zeb. Byre told his story.
In eighth grade, I followed a girl on Twitter. She went to a different middle school.
When she followed me back, we had a lot of dialogue. A week after, we met each other at the
park . We liked each other a lot, but a week later we broke up. Meeting through social media
played a part in us breaking up. People were always talking trash on Twitter. Ive asked out about
two or three girls through social media. Byre said.
With dating websites designed exclusively for teens, like eSpinTheBottle, and
MyLOL.net, teenagers trying to meet somebody online are more likely to run into sexual
predators, than actual teenagers. And if they do run into actual teenagers, it may not work out as
well as they planned.
Most guys would know better than to ask a female out through social media. Blake said.
The teen dating website, myLOL.net has made claimsto be Googles Number One
Dating Site For Teens . It has more than 46,000 members worldwide. It has a search function, so
that teens can find their type and is available for persons aged between fourteen and twenty

nine. Another website is TeenSpot, an internet chatroom marketed to teenagers and has rooms
labeled singles, flirting, and hottub.
The USAs Center for Crimes Against Children Research Center has approximated 615
arrest for crimes, where youths were solicited for sex by someone they had met online. Most
likely, this is an extreme under approximation, as many sex crimes against minors are never
reported.
Child pornography production is another negative aspect of internet sex crimes. Studies
show that one out of five online child molesters took sexually explicit/suggestive photographs
of their victims, or pressured victims and their friends to take photographs of themselves. 18% of
child molesters sent their victims photographs of themselves in sexual poses.
15% of the minors surveyed reported an unwanted sexual solicitation online in the past
year. These suggestions occurred through instant messaging, chat rooms, and social networking.
Occurrences where people pretend to be someone they are not online are becoming more
and more common. So much so, that in 2011, a member of Urban Dictionary coined the name of
internet deceit as catfished. Dottykai, an urban dictionary user, defined catifished as being
deceived over facebook as the deceiver professes their romantic feelings to his/her victim, but
isnt who they say they are.
With MTVs Catfish: The TV Show becoming more and more popular, and celebrities like
Manti Teo getting (or pretending to get) catfished, it is important for teens to be safe and
careful when using the internet the internet to meet those they would not have otherwise met.