The Child Protection eNewsletter

MySpace CEO says site remains safe, despite arrests…
Following federal charges against two men accused of assaulting girls they met on MySpace.com, the company's CEO said the popular Web site remains safe and encouraged parents to teach children the same commonsense rules on the Internet that they learn in the real world. http://www.newsday.com "If you go to the mall and start talking to strange people, bad things can happen," Chris DeWolfe, a co-founder of the site, told Newsday in a telephone interview. "You've got to take the same precautions on the Internet."

In the past month, authorities nationwide have expressed concern that the searching options that make the site popular also put children at risk for abuse. A Middletown officer called it "a predator's dream come true," and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said it was a "parent's worst nightmare."

A group of California boys who posed as a 15-year-old girl for an Internet prank ended up helping police arrest a 48-year-old man who tried to meet the fictitious teenager for sex. The boys arranged a meeting in the park with the man, and called police when he showed up to meet the imaginary girl. http://hosted.ap.org

Now a 16-year-old student at a suburban high school west of Denver has been suspended and arrested after posting a picture of himself with handguns and rifles on MySpace.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com The high school is in the same school district as Columbine.

Frist calls for sexual predator legislation…
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., (R-Tenn.) Friday called on the Senate to pass legislation to protect children from sexual predators. http://frist.senate.gov Specifically, Senator Frist advised the Senate to consider the following provisions from the Children’s Safety Act:

• creating a national sex offenders database searchable by zip code;
• requiring states to notify one another of the whereabouts of registered offenders;
• developing a stricter tracking system to monitor repeat violent offenders;
• requiring DNA fingerprinting of child sexual predators and developing a DNA database to help solve these crimes;
• imposing enhanced criminal penalties for violent crimes against children under 12; and
• provisions that can reduce gang violence, strengthen court security, and prevent child pornography.