Chapter 16: Computer-Assisted and Internet Crime
In 2002, a 13-year-old girl, Christina Long, from Danbury, Connecticut, became the first confirmed death in the United States at the hands of an Internet predator. There have been many since then. By all accounts, Christina was a good student, a cheerleader, and seemingly socially well adjusted despite being a child of divorced parents who was sent to live with an aunt. Unbeknownst to her aunt, Christina had a history of meeting up with individuals whom she met on the Internet. As with most teenagers, Christina’s ability to navigate around various social venues online was more sophisticated than her judgment regarding safe behavior with her newfound friends. On the night of her death, Christina chatted with Saul Dos Rios, age 25, an undocumented immigrant from Brazil, and agreed to meet him at the Danbury Mall. There in his car in the parking garage, the two engaged in what was described as rough sex that culminated in the strangulation death of Christina. Her body was later found in a ravine in Greenwich, Connecticut. Dos Rios was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison all the while maintaining that the death was accidental.
1: Explain the factors that cause technology-savvy adolescents to become part of a vulnerable population. |
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| 2: How do actions like those of Christina Long compare to the phenomenon of sexting? Are the same dangers involved? |
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| 3: How would you discourage an adolescent from these risky behaviors? |
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