The Investigators Find Sex Predators on MySpace

(New York - WABC, May 11, 2007) (WABC) -- A warning for parents who worry about their kids and the Internet. Eyewitness news discovered sexual predators with their own pages on the popular web site MySpace.

Our investigation is now prompting the New Jersey Division of Parole to get involved. The Investigators Jim Hoffer has more.

The operators of MySpace have been saying for months that they're cracking down on sex offenders using their site, but it took us just a few hours to find numerous predators who served time in jail now spending time on MySpace.

One registered sex offender we talked to spent nearly two-and-a-half years in prison for sexually assaulting two girls, one under the age of 13. His profile is on the Sex Offender Internet Registry. He also has a profile on MySpace, the popular online hangout for teens.

We asked him if he could understand why some parents might be concerned that he's on MySpace considering his history. His response? He said he could understand it, but that "I don't outreach to anybody, people outreach to me."

Douglas Oates also has a MySpace page where he describes himself as sexy and looking for new relationships. But it was his relationship with a 9-year-old boy that got him listed on the Sex Offender Registry as a level three offender, the most serious.
Hoffer: "This person is 14 years old, he's listed as your friend"

Oates insists he's never met any minors on MySpace and he uses it mostly to communicate with his family:

Oates: "I never met nobody on this."
Hoffer: "What would you say to parents who have their kids go on MySpace?"
Oates: "I would say if anybody goes on MySpace make sure your kids are meeting the right person."

John Cowie, Suffolk County Police: "It's like putting a pedophile loose in a park. This is where all the kids are."

Last year, Sergeant John Cowie and the Computer Crimes Unit at the Suffolk County Police Department caught Andrew Lubrano communicating with minors on MySpace even though he had served nine years for sexually abusing two boys. After the MySpace arrest, Lubrano pled guilty to endearing the welfare of a child.

Sgt. John Cowie: "A sex predator, that's where they are going to go shopping, that's where the kids are. Like I said, it's like putting a pedophile into a candy store."

The New Jersey Division of Parole seemed troubled by our investigation, promising to do one of their own.

Sean Asay, Assistant Dir., NJ Division of Parole: "The kind of information you're giving us, if these people are under our supervision, we're going to act on it we're going to investigate it. What are they doing on this site, trying to interact on a site where they know it's young people..."

In a statement to Eyewitness News, the head of security for MySpace said they are, "committed to keeping sex offenders off MySpace and will delete profiles of convicted offenders they are made aware of." The security chief added, "We have developed tools to proactively identify and remove any registered sex offenders," and that MySpace is now in the process of reviewing 175 million profiles against all potential matches.

But it took us just a few hours to find the web sites of numerous sex offenders, sites that remain active, except for one. Shortly after confronting him, one offender closed his MySpace profile.

Hoffer: "Do you think those who are on the Sex Offender Registry should be allowed on MySpace?"
Oates: "No, they shouldn't."
Hoffer: "Well, that's you, sir."

We should also note that as recently as this afternoon, we found additional registered offenders with profiles on MySpace.

If you have a tip about this or any other investigative story, give our tip line a call at 877-TIP-NEWS or email us.

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