ABC: Pedophiles invading Everquest! Run for your virtual lives!

Posted on June 22, 2006 by Scott Jennings| 29 Comments

From ABC:

In an attempt to avoid traceable e-mails, pedophiles are using online games, including Sony’s Everquest, to target and communicate with their victims, according to federal investigators.

This is based on… brace yourself… one pedophile.

Malone was arrested on June 14 in Texas and released on bond. Reached at his home, he told ABC News he did not deny the allegations.

“They were a terrible mistake,” Malone said. “I’ve always tried to make people happy, and I don’t think of myself as a monster or a type of creature,” Malone said.

Yes. Because 99.9999999% of the people who DO think of themselves as monsters or types of creatures in Everquest DO NOT TRY TO MOLEST SMALL CHILDREN. Clearly, this is Advanced Nonlinear Logic beyond the reach of the media.

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  • http://www.nut-shack.com/phpBB2/index.php Kithias

    I wonder how many Hit Dice a pedophile has…

  • Big Gulp

    Sorry Lum, but that second link doesn’t help you out much… Furries may not be child molestors, but they’re sailing the fair ship Pervert all the same.

    Not to say that everyone playing cat people are furries… But hey, you know which race all the bumpfuzzlers glom onto.

  • http://flickr.com/photos/57643254N00/ Elistor

    “attempt to avoid traceable e-mails” Wait… no I give up, not even going to try and understand the thought proccess that made this a valid statment. ANYONE who games should already know anything they type is recorded if for nothing other than the game companies own parsing and/or protection.

  • http://ambernight.org Amber

    U.S. postal inspectors were able to get records from the Sony online game computers in California revealing the communications.

    I’m curious to know if this was in response to a warrant, or if Sony just politely handed the logs over.

  • Xanthippe

    Who owns the logs? My guess is that it’s Sony’s property and they can do whatever they wish with them.

    I don’t know, though. I never bother to read EULAs.

  • http://www.slydesblog.com Slyde

    Please. People who prey on children will inhabit ANYWHERE the children are. Arcades, schools, etc… EQ or any online game is no different…

  • Bob

    America is half amazing technology, half dark ages.

  • http://www.psychochild.org/ Psychochild

    Come on, ABC, learn the rules:

    Once is an occurrence.
    Twice is a coincidence.
    Three times is a pattern!

    One example is not a pattern!

    Geez, what do they teach at journalism school these days?

  • D-0ne

    Why hasn’t Sir Bruce posted? /rimshot

  • http://www.damnedvulpine.com J.

    It’s all about the $30 million lawsuit out of Austin against MySpace. TV news reporters smell blood in the water and are all over the Internet looking for the next lawsuit before it breaks.

  • VPellen

    Pedophiles exist, kids play games, media acts stupid.

    NEXT.

  • http://www.mmogchart.com SirBruce

    You know, I bet pedophiles are using cell phones to talk to kids, too. Why isn’t anyone going after cell phones?

  • lisasdarren

    Tell me, why are you guys expecting any sort of rationality from the press?

    The concept of reporting actual facts is long gone, the press and media are all about sensationalism and playing on the fears of joe moron (read nearly all of the general public) to sell papers/increase viewing figures/etc.

  • Toastrider

    Sadly, yes.

    The big news right now is the bank-monitoring stuff the administration was doing to try and ‘follow the money’ overseas to cut off terrorist support. Now, granted, covert surveillance is always a dicey thing (remember the stink over monitoring phone records?). But from all accounts, this thing was legally airtight and actually a good idea; Joe Jihad’s gonna have problems waging his war if he can’t buy guns or bombs.

    And yet the NYT ‘outed’ the program with the thin justification of ‘public interest’.

    The press is so desperate at times to retain market share they let their mouths run away with them, all in the name of ‘the public has a right to know’. It reminds me of the so-called ‘Goth’ scare *snort*

    –TR

  • lordxixor101

    You know the one striking thing to me about pedophiles, they all seem to own cars. I think maybe we should just ban all cars since many pedophiles use them. Oh wait, that would be stupid, since 99.99999% of people who use cars don’t molest kids. Hmmmm.

  • chabuhi

    Hey, someone want to give me a hand pulling our collective heads out of our collective asses?

    Let’s blame everything else and ignore the real problem. We’re so good at that these days.

  • Rich

    Infotainment. Neither informative nor entertaining.

    Discuss…

  • http://lostranger.blogspot.com almagill

    Should we wait for the knee jerk legislation, or just stat stocking up on tar and feathers now?

    OMG.. it’s a man, with a computer! He’s Obviously Up To Something(tm)

    /rolleyes

  • http://www.theworldtakes.com damijin

    Hey guys, I’m on this blog looking for children to prey on. If any of you know of one, point me in the right direction please.

    Also, I feel that this blog should be shut down for the way I am using it. Thanks you.

  • blachawk

    “99.99999% of people who use cars don\’e2\’80\’99t molest kids.”

    Sadly, it’s probably more like 99.95% aren’t pedophiles. That one in two thousand estimate is still way too high for my comfort.

  • http://www.eqclerics.org Boanerges

    That was unnecessary, damijin. We all know this blog will soon be shut down because Scott Jennings is a creepy middle aged white man who peddles drugs, er, writes video games. I am certain you can find all that you seek inside one of his addictive and pedophile friendly video games (because all MMOGs are pedophilia zones). He’s one of Those People(tm) who needs to be thrown in jail because Hillary Clinton needs an issue to run on.

    In other news OMGZ0R THE BIRDFLU MUTATED AND KILLED PEOPLE! STOCKPILE TAMIFLU NOW! This is serious folks. Go out and panic right away because the press never inflates stories to get people to watch. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find out who makes anti-flu drugs and buy some stock…

  • Grim

    LOL Boanerges!

    Hillary has more than enough issues to run on, just ask her! :p

  • Trol
  • Jurrasic

    I am sure the pedophiles and terrorists are to blame for the downsizing, Lum.

  • Joe

    damijin, I am 11 and looking for love. I’m not too old for you am I? Can I call you daddy?

  • Gamelore

    This is a game where some people fall so in love that they don’t even care if the other person ends up being the same sex, IRL. I’m sorry, but I’m totally on that player’s side on this. I feel pretty upset over the entire ordeal. Apparently the worst that he did, legally, was accept pictures of her. And how do you know they’re nude before the fact? And honestly, you should be free to transmit or receive whatever (non-copyrighted material) you want.

    It’s like someone just took away my freedom, as well. I’m sure if you dug through all the server logs for what I have said in MMORPGs, you could find tons of things to put me in jail for IRL. MMORPGs as a place to escape the constraints of life? Well, meet the government.

    Being pissed doesn’t express my outrage.

  • http://www.psychochild.org/ Psychochild

    Uh oh, some of those kids are preying on adults, too! Who’s going to save us from the teenagers?

  • pika

    Whoa. First the TV, and now I can’t let the Internet babysit my kids either? When is Congress going to get off their asses and enact some laws that protect my kids???

  • Merkwurdigliebe

    “Man Robbed by Teen Girls, Thought He was Meeting MySpace Friend”
    pwnd