I picked up a newspaper to read over lunch, and I come across this on the front page:
Mom's sleuthing snares sex suspect
Investigators credit a cyber-savvy Ramsey mom with helping nab a 42-year-old Pennsylvania man who they said had sex with her 15-year-old daughter after they met on a social networking site.
The entire article is like a confluence of social anxieties, being equal parts sexism, slut-shaming, and fear of technology.
"It's a complete shock," said the woman..., "She hasn't dated much. She doesn't wear makeup. She's not one of these 'hot' kids, strutting all over the place.
"It shows how scary the Internet can be."
That's right. There are sluts who where makeup, and nice girls who don't date (much), but Teh Scary Internets can make nice girls have consensual sex.
As you read the article, outlining how the 15 year-old girl met the 42 year-old man for sex at a hotel twice, you come to understand that this girl was definitely making a choice. Now, the man is clearly a sick motherfucker, but the girl? Chose to have sex. Despite the fact that she doesn't wear makeup.
Her mother is clearly confused. Only painted strumpets have sex. Therefore, some other explanation for her daughter's abberation must be sought, and fortunately, it's right there on the desk: The computer. The computer made her do it! If it weren't for "social networking sites" her daughter would still be a virgin—because that's exactly the truth about unpainted girls in the pre-Internet days. They were all virgins. And still are.
Inside [the suspect's] truck [the police] found a laptop with broadband access and a global positioning device that Maloney used to guide him on the more than 100-mile trip from his Pennsylvania home, said Joseph Macellaro, acting chief of detectives for the Prosecutor's Office.
"This was a pretty determined individual," Macellaro said. "Obviously, this person is somebody who would be considered dangerous."
OHNOEZ! Only determined perverts have laptops! And GPS units!
Sgt. Andrew Donofrio, who heads the prosecutor's Computer Crimes Unit, said credit is due to such mothers – however nosy – who relentlessly investigate potential indecencies on their children's computers.I'm tempted to just leave this part without comment. Because obviously, non-stop monitoring helped so much here. I mean, yes, it stopped this pervert. And one less free-roaming pervert, yay. But in what way is that parenting? The girl isn't even in the equation, is she? Non-stop
"She took a proactive step," Donofrio said.
The mother said it simply seemed the right thing to do.
"I guess all the warnings that you read about as a parent are true -- that you do have to monitor them non-stop," she said.
The mother also took the computer away. So now I suppose the girl will have to wear makeup.
('hot' strutting cross-post)
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