So a couple weekends ago I’m out and about just innocently washing some clothes (@ the laundromat) with my son when guess who’s mugshot I witness plastered all over the TV screen at http://www.wsoctv.com,……..

WSOC was broadcasting a news story about (local) sexual predators who are utilizing online social networking sites (like myspace.com) as a stealthy & sickening way to prey on younger victims, sometimes offering very personal information and graphic pictures of themselves in the process. They were also making the public aware of a new program they will begin in 2007 which will begin tracking the state’s worst sex offenders with GPS monitoring technology.

Lo and behold, John M Iannarone, found HERE and HERE, previously was a roommate of one of my best friends whom I’ve known since I was but a young chap.

What’s scary is that we used to visit their apartment occasionally (with my son, no less) to swim, etc., before my best bud moved to Boston to get away from this disgusting freak for other abusive reasons that I won’t be publishing here. However, we obviously never knew the extent to which this pedophile had gone to showcase his detestable habits.

Here is the information pulled from the registry site:

Conviction Date:

06-15-2000

Release Date:

09-30-2002

NC Statute:

14-202.1 INDECENT LIBERTY WITH A MINOR

Sentence Imposed:

CONFINEMENT: 2Y8M

Court County:

BROWARD , FL

To have that kind of record………2 years and 8 months in prison………he must have committed a GRIEVOUS OFFENSE. This wasn’t just your run-of-the-mill perp caught in the legislative absurdities of GovCO circumstances, where he may have been convicted of a being a sexual predator to someone he may actually currently be married to. (What actually qualifies someone as a sexual offender/predator anyways, besides this particular obvious case of a 31yo violating someone under the age of 15?)

The WSOCTV (channel 9) video shows a reporter actually rushing his apartment door recently and questioning him while showcasing printouts of his graphic myspace page (cannot seem to find it suddenly, go figure), along with explicit pictures on that page, and his conviction record from Florida.
http://www.wsoctv.com/video/10406319/index.html

Luckily, just today, I came across this:
MySpace Ups Effort Against Sex Offenders

MySpace.com has partnered with an online identity and background verification company to root out sex offenders from the popular social network.

MySpace.com, which is owned by News Corp., said Tuesday it plans to identify and delete the profiles of registered sex offenders based on a database that is to be built by Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. Information in the data store would be compiled and updated frequently from records kept by federal and state law enforcement agencies.

MySpace.com plans to employ a 24-hour dedicated staff to check profiles against convicted sex offenders’ names, ages, physical descriptions, and distinguishing features such as scars and tattoos. The Sentinel database is expected to contain information on the 550,000 registered sex offenders in the United States.

MySpace.com has testified before Congress in support of a law that would require convicted sex offenders to register all of their e-mail addresses in a national database, which would make it easier to prevent them from joining sites like MySpace.com, which has a large base of teenage users. Under the proposal, failing to register e-mails would constitute a violation of offenders’ parole or probation, which could land them back in jail.

Child advocacy groups have criticized MySpace.com for failing to do enough to protect users younger than 18. In response to the dangers of teenagers becoming victims of sexual predators, the site in June launched security measures to protect 14 and 15 year olds. In addition, MySpace.com hired Hemanshu Nigam as chief security officer. Nigam is a former federal prosecutor against Internet child exploitation for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Nevertheless, child advocacy groups maintain that among the biggest problems of social networks remains their failure to reliably determine the age of people joining the site, in order to separate children and adults. In fact, sex offenders could simply lie when registering at an e-mail carrier, making it possible for them to circumvent new security measures.

Basically, my advice to you is this;
Be sure you have an inquisitive nature towards acquaintances you know who are of an unsavory nature (or not) and above all be sure to check your local sex offender registry, like the two I’ve listed below for my area.

North Carolina Sexual Offender Registry Search
http://ncregistry.ncsbi.gov/(S(ilcbgomtotxx5y45a0epdfbz))/search.aspx

Charlotte, NC – Mecklenburg County Child Predatory Registry Search
http://mcsowebsvr.co.mecklenburg.nc.us/pasom/search.aspx

Tags: local news, people, sex offenders, sexual predators