FC: Mich Kabay on young girl strangled... and blaming the Net

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 07:37:28 -0400
From: Mich Kabay <mkabay () compuserve com>
Subject: NEWS: Confusing cause and means
Sender: Mich Kabay <mkabay () compuserve com>
To: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>

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* * * 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

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