Anyone You Want Me to Be (33 page)
Read Anyone You Want Me to Be Online
Authors: John Douglas
Back in the late 1980s, Donna Rice gained national notoriety and unwanted fame when the notorious photo of her sitting in then presidential candidate Gary Hart’s lap was flashed around the world. The scandal eventually died down and Rice went on to marry someone else and change her name to Donna Rice Hughes. With the emergence of the Internet, she became one of the leading crusaders in the fight against child pornography. She regularly appeared on TV and spoke passionately about the problem, she wrote at length about it, and she created a Web site called protectkids.com. She became an expert on cyber-behavior and put together statistics on the subject, accumulated from many different sources. The numbers and the sources, which are available on her Web site, reveal the effect of the Net on many American households. Some of the findings include:
- On-line pornography was the first consistently successful e-commerce product.
- In excess of forty thousand individual URLs contain child pornography, pedophilia, and pro-pedophilia content.
- According to Nielsen//NetRatings, 17.5 million surfers visited porn sites from their homes in January 2000, a 40 percent increase compared with four months earlier.
- Thirty percent of all unsolicited e-mails contain pornographic information.
- Web surfers spent $970 million on access to adult-content sites in 1998 and this number is expected to rise to more than $3 billion by 2003, according to the research firm Data monitor.
- Cyber-porn—including videos and accessories ordered on-line—accounted for 8 percent of 1999’s $18 billion e-commerce sales.
- Fifty-three percent of teens have encountered offensive Web sites that offer pornography, hate, or violence. Of these, ninety-one percent unintentionally found the offensive sites while searching the Web.
- Sixty-two percent of parents of teenagers are unaware that their children have accessed objectionable Web sites
- Pornographers disguise their sites by using “stealth” sites. These can use common brand names such as Disney, Barbie, and ESPN and are designed to entrap children.
- The bulk of teenagers’ on-line use occurs at home, immediately after school, when working parents are not at home.
- Students are most at risk for cyber-sex compulsions due to several factors: greater access to computers, more private leisure time, and increasing sexual awareness and experimentation. Those teaching computer classes need to be aware of this vulnerability and institute prevention strategies.
- Sixty percent of all Web site visits are sexual in nature.
- Sex is the number one searched-for topic on the Internet.
- Twenty-five million Americans visit cyber-sex sites one to ten hours per week; 4.7 million Americans visit these sites more than eleven hours per week.
- Of all born-again Christian adults in the United States, 17.8 percent have visited sexually oriented Web sites.
- Sixty-three percent of men attending Men, Romance & Integrity seminars admit to struggling with porn in the past year. Two-thirds are in church leadership and 10 percent are pastors.
Here are my tips for helping adults and kids avoid the dangers of online predators. For adults they include:
- Do not give out personal information about yourself or anyone else on-line.
- Become more computer literate and Internet savvy. It’s important for those who want to explore in cyberspace to educate themselves about Net lingo and rules of conduct—the so-called Netiquette.
- Certain words and symbols mean very specific things in cyberspace and have strong sexual connotations. Stalkers can identify the innocent and the naive (or “newbies”) by their lack of Net sophistication and will regard them as prey.
- Avoid a physical description of yourself in your on-line profile. When going into a chat room, you should choose a genderless screen name. Don’t flirt on-line unless you’re prepared for the consequences.
- If a situation becomes hostile, log off or surf elsewhere. Don’t confront the offender yourself, as this only escalates the problem.
- Save any offending messages and report them to your service provider. Report any attacks or threats to police.
- If you agree to meet someone offline that you’ve met online, take along a friend and always meet in a public place.
- When making on-line purchases, make sure a Web site has a stated privacy policy about not giving out your e-mail address or personal information to other companies or individuals.
- Be appropriately skeptical of virtually everything that you read on-line. Make certain the Web site or organization you’re interacting with is legitimate.
- No e-mail is private unless it’s encrypted. Never put anything on an e-mail that you wouldn’t put on a postcard.
- Block personal messages from people you don’t know.
- Participating in a chat room greatly increases your chances of receiving unsolicited pornography. Without the filtering technology to prevent this, it will come in regularly.
Here are some tips adults can share with children:
- Never give out personal information (such as name, age, home address, phone number, school, town, password, schedule, or your picture) or fill out questionnaires or any forms on-line.
- Never meet in person with anyone you have met on-line without mom and/or dad present.
- Do not enter a chat room without mom and /or dad’s presence or supervision. Some “kids” you meet in chat rooms may not really be kids but adults with bad intentions. Remember—people on-line may be very different from who you think they are.
- Be suspicious of anyone who tries to turn you against your parents, teachers, or friends. They may have a hidden agenda.
- Never respond to or send e-mail or instant messages to new people you’ve met on-line. Talk to your parents first so that they can check out the situation. Never engage in an on-line conversation that makes you feel uncomfortable; log off and tell your parents. If you get such a message, DO NOT respond. Sending a response only encourages the person. Instead, show it to your parents and let them handle it.
- Use Control-H while browsing the Web to see a list of Web sites that have been accessed by your computer in the last few weeks. This can help you determine if your child is visiting any dangerous sites.
- Install filtering software like CYBERsitter, CyberPatrol, or Net Nanny. The software costs about $50 and acts as a digital chaperon, blocking any inappropriate content. These programs work by checking which sites your child visits against a list of disapproved sites, compiled by the makers of the software.
- Install software that will actually record images of every Web site that your child visits. The software won’t stop them from accessing sites, but it will let you know if you have a problem. For truly concerned parents (or employers), you can now buy Investigator, which allows you to track every mouse click made by your child when on-line. It reads secret passwords, records everything that has been deleted, catalogs Web sites that have been visited, shows credit card usage on the Internet, and can even tell you what your child purchased. At present, it is the most sophisticated software yet created to spy on those in cyberspace.
- Be a part of your children’s on-line lives as well as their off-line ones. Talk to your children about what sites they visit, whom they communicate with, and who are on their buddy lists. No software will ever be a substitute for being an active parent.
from John Douglas
I wish to thank my long time editor Lisa Drew for her support in writing this book. Additionally, her assistant, Erin Curler, has made the publication process run smoothly. Also, a nod to my agent, Jay Acton, who helps keep me on the straight and narrow.
from Stephen Singular
My wife, Joyce, was instrumental in the whole process of putting this book together. Before we had a contract with Scribner, Joyce attended legal proceedings in Kansas City for the case, she did research about the Internet, she conducted interviews with people, she was in attendance at parts of the trial, and she helped shape certain areas of the manuscript that were tied to very complicated forensic testimony. She was an important part of transferring that testimony into clear and readable sections of the book. Her help was especially critical near the end of this long process—at crunch time. I would also like to thank our editor, Lisa Drew; my agent, Reid Boates; Gerald Hay of the
Olathe Daily News
; and Sarah Hitt of the Lyndon (Kansas) Public Library.
adoptions, illegal
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)
Amadi, Mildred
American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
America Online
Anderson, John, III
antisocial personalities
ARPAnet
Ashcroft, John
Atlanta, Ga., child murders in
autopsies
Back Care Systems
Bales, Robert
Barker, Kate “Ma,”
Belton, Mo.
Berkowitz, David
Berlin Associates, Ltd.
Berrigan, Patrick
Bible
Big Pine Key, Fla.
Billam, Jason
“Bill Summers,”
bin Laden, Osama
Birthright
Blattner, Irvin
Blue Valley Sheltered Workshop
Bondage-Discipline-SadoMasochism (BDSM)
Boniedot, Jennifer
Bonner, Beverly
disappearance of
letters supposedly written by
murder of
remains of
Robinson’s relationship with
Bonner, William
bootlegging
Bowersock, Charlotte
Boyer, Jack
Boy Scouts
Brooks, Pierce
Brown, Dave
Brown, John
Brown, Julia
Brownback, Sam
Bundy, Ted
Burchett, Wayne
Burgess, Billy Charles
Bush, George W.
Business Journal
cadaver dogs
Cahal, Mac
Capone, Al
Capone, Frank
Capote, Truman
Carter, Rosalynn
Cass County, Mo.
Catholic Charities
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Chicago Tribune
children:
kidnapping of
in pornography
sexual abuse of
Children’s Mercy Hospital
Cicero, Ill.
City Union Mission
Civil War, U.S.
Clampitt, Catherine
Clampitt, Ryan
Clay County Courthouse
Clay County Jail
Clinton, Bill
Club, the
Clutter family
Cody, William F. “Buffalo Bill,”
Collins, Eric
computers:
firewalls for
mainframe
passwords for
personal
Robinson’s interest in
Robinson’s ownership of
viruses of
see also
Internet
Constitution, U.S.
contracts, slave
Control-H command
Cornwall, Carl
Cox, Alecia
Crawford, Denise Voigt
crime:
disorganized
evidence of
jurisdictional issues in
mixed
organized
white-collar
crime labs
criminals:
confessions by
interrogations of
personalities of
profiling of
unpredictable behavior of
Crossroads Shopping Center Mail Room
Customs Service, U.S.
CyberPatrol
CYBERsitter
Dallas
Dalton gang
Dancer, Jeffrey
data recovery
Davis, Bob
Davis, Scott
Defense Department, U.S.
Democratic Missourian
de Sade, Marquis
disabled individuals
Dixon, David J.
Dixon, Larry
DNA evidence
dot-com businesses
Douglas, John
Drug Enforcement Administration U.S.
drug trafficking
Elizabeth II, Queen of England
Elledge, Marty
e-mail:
personal information contained in
Robinson’s use of
safety precautions for
Encase program
Enough Is Enough
Equi-II
Equi-Plus
Evans, Ron
Extended Stay America
Faith, Debbie:
medical disabilities of
murder of
personality of
remains of
Robinson’s relationship with
Social Security payments for
Faith, John
Faith, Sheila
letters supposedly written by
murder of
remains of
Robinson’s relationship with
Farley, Michael
Farm Journal
“Father Martin,”
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):
child pornography investigated by
Robinson investigated by
serial killers investigated by
white-collar crime investigated by
Federal Cyber Service
Ferguson, Ronald L.
Fields, Gracie
Finegan, Michael
First Blood
Floyd, Pretty Boy
forensic evidence
Fountain Plaza X-Ray
Fourth Amendment
Freeh, Louis J.
Fun with Home Hobby Hydroponics
Gacy, John
Gaddis, Karen
“Gang Show, The,”
Garland, Judy
Glines, Jean
Godfrey, Bill
Godfrey, Paula
Goldman, Ron
Gorean sadomasochism
Graham, Wallace
Grant, Mary
Grant, Retia
Green, Debra
Greshem, Evi
Grissom, Richard, Jr.
Guest House Suites motel
Guy’s Foods
Gwartney, Steve
Habitual Criminal Act
Hamilton, John
Hansen, Robert
Hari (Trouten’s dog)
Harpers Ferry raid (1859)
Hart, Gary
Hartlein, John
Hayes, Jennifer
Haymes, Steve:
FBI contacted by
as parole officer
Robinson as viewed by
Robinson file compiled by
Robinson investigated by
Robinson’s adoption scam investigated by
Robinson’s arrest and
Robinson’s contacts with
Robinson’s grudge against
Hazelwood, Roy
Hickock, Dick
Hickok, James Butler “Wild Bill,”
Hoang, Ky
Holbert, Ginny
Holmes, Cora
homicides
Hope House
Houdek, Bruce
Howell, William
Hughes, Donna Rice
Hughes, Harold
Hutcherson, John
Hutchinson Correctional Facility
Hydro-Gro, Inc.
hydroponics
Ibarra, Carlos
In Cold Blood
(Capote)
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
International Association of Computer Technologists
International Council of Masters (ICM)
Internet:
children as users of
criminal activities on
cyber-investigations of
development of
e-mail used in,
see
as escapist pastime
false identities used on
financial scams on
as “information superhighway,”
law enforcement for
parental controls for
personal information revealed on
pornography on
regulation of
Robinson’s exploitation of
romantic relationships fostered by
sadomasochism on
safety precautions for
servers for
service providers for
sexual solicitation on
technological innovation for
terrorist activities on
viruses on
Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC)
interview interrogation strategies
Investigator software
investment scams
Jacobson, Mike
James, Frank
James, Jesse
Jayhawkers
Jestes, Jim
Johnson County, Kans.
Johnson County Adult Detention Center
Johnson County Courthouse
Johnston, Richard L.
Jones, Jim
“J.R.’s Comments,”
“Judge, the,”
Justice Department, U.S.
Kansas
Kansas Association of Police Chiefs
Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI)
Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas City Area Association of Sheltered Workshops
Kansas City Chamber of Commerce
Kansas City Crime Lab
Kansas City Outreach program
Kansas City Star
Kansas City Times
Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit
Kansas State Penitentiary
Kauffman, Ewing M.
kidnappings
King, Fred
Klinginsmith, David
Klinginsmith, Kathy
Koresh, David
Koster, Chris
media coverage of
Robinson prosecuted by
La Cygne, Kans.
Landslide Productions
Lane, Charles
Larry King Live
“Lauralei,”
Lavin, Thomas
Layman, Dawn
Lenexa, Kans.
Lenexa Police Department
Levy, Jerrold
Lewicka, Andrzei
Lewicka, Danuta
Lewicka, Izabela
e-mails from
“gothic” appearance of
murder of
Polish spoken by
possessions of
remains of
Robinson’s “marriage” to
Robinson’s photographs of
sadomasochistic interests of
vampire role-playing by
Lewis, Dorothy
“Linda White,”
Linn Country, Mo.
