--- Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 07:37:28 -0400 From: Mich Kabay <mkabayat_private> Subject: NEWS: Confusing cause and means Sender: Mich Kabay <mkabayat_private> To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- * * * SUBMISSION TO POLITECH* * * A thirteen-year-old girl was strangled and her corpse dumped in a ravine last week, allegedly by a 25-year-old man who corresponded with her via the Internet. Christina Long of Danbury CT had apparently met her married electronic pen pal in person on other occasions. In a report published by foxnews.com at < http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,53291,00.html >, one child commented, "She was really obsessed with computers. . . . That's what got her into trouble ... computers." The child's comment is unfortunately a reflection of a widespread and fundamental confusion between communication medium and cause. Parents and guardians who wouldn't dream of sending their children into a prostitution or drug zone in their local area seem to be willing to leave their kids online without supervision for hours at a time. Blaming computers or the Internet for the harm done to children by pedophiles and other criminals is equivalent to blaming the telephone system for facilitating murder and fraud. For a series of simple, short guides with practical suggestions and resources about child and adult safety when communicating with other people via the Internet, see the Cyberwatch series at http://www2.norwich.edu/mkabay/cyberwatch/index.htm I would be happy to see this series republished in local newspapers; please let your local editors know that I have the copyright on this series and am making it freely available to anyone who wants to use the items verbatim. If anyone wants to use the material on the Web, however, please link rather than copy so that I can update the articles in a single place. M. E. Kabay, PhD, CISSP -- AssocProf Information Assurance Dept CompInfoSys, Norwich University, Northfield VT http://www2.norwich.edu/mkabay/index.htm * * * ORIGINAL NEWS STORY FOR REFERENCE * * * Cops: Teen Girl Lured on Internet, Killed Tuesday, May 21, 2002 http://www.foxnews.com A pretty Connecticut cheerleader who mysteriously vanished last week was found strangled in a Greenwich ravine yesterday -- and her cyber-suitor has confessed to her sickening murder, cops said. Christina Long, 13, a popular student at St. Peter Catholic School in Danbury, disappeared Friday after her aunt, Shelly Reilly, dropped her off at about 5:45 p.m. at the Danbury Fair Mall. Investigators believe Christina made her way to a nearby McDonald's, where she met Saul Dos Reis, 25, a married man with whom she had been communicating online. It wasn't known how long the two corresponded, but cops said they had met before in person. "She was really obsessed with computers," best pal Thamiris Silva said. "That's what got her into trouble ... computers." When her aunt went to retrieve her, Christina didn't show up. Reilly called cops and begged neighbors for any information on the girl's whereabouts -- to no avail. After an intense manhunt, local cops and FBI agents began focusing on the teen's bedroom computer, where they discovered provocative messages from Dos Reis, cops said. Pals said Christina spent hours on the computer and often spoke of teen boys she'd met online. Dos Reis -- an illegal Brazilian immigrant -- was taken into custody early Sunday and charged with the federal crime of using the Internet to entice a child for sex. Danbury Detective Rachel Halas said Dos Reis also confessed to her murder and led them to where he dumped the body, a ravine off King Street in North Greenwich. Officials said she'd been strangled. They did not say whether she had been sexually assaulted. Nor would they comment on the details of the e-mail correspondence. The slaying of the blue-eyed, 5-foot-1, 125-pound teen has stunned the community. The tragedy has also been devastating to her classmates at St. Peter, where she transferred last fall and was co-captain of the cheerleading squad. Counselors will be on hand at the school today - where the flag flew at half-staff. "It's a bad day, we're very sad today," said principal Josephine Ferry, who added that Christina started sixth grade at the school last fall. "She was a sweet, sweet girl." Last fall, after her parents' divorce, Christina left her hometown of New Milford and moved into her aunt's two-story house. She was recently baptized as a Catholic. The Rev. Albert Audette, who has been comforting the family, said her aunt is devastated. "Of course, there's a great deal of blame and a great deal of pain in the family," Audette said. "Her aunt blames herself terribly for not knowing these things about her niece." Dos Reis came to the United States when he was 10 and apparently worked at his father's Port Chester restaurant. He graduated from Greenwich High School in 1997 and worked in service jobs. A former neighbor wasn't surprised by the sinister turn of events. Dos Reis was described as "quiet" and his wife, Tatiana, became that way too after the couple married. "He never talked to me, to say good morning or anything. His wife, Tatiana, was very friendly -- until they got married," the neighbor said. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,53291,00.html -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.5.8 Comment: Digital signatures increase security for everyone. iQB1AwUBPOt5DzPd6/an40lzAQFlcgMAxONCXB/EYj6EHMA2oAD3SQNLjv/NHWxI 4IMLB778jBsfHeBS8FBFgCl4ac73VBys5tUKiGn0YJQmh8v3SMLzQ0DkCgEjkYzB zNePbUuCASMKeY/1Pl3ZoFdkRoxEO7e5 =tOoU -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? 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