Archives > Celina Record > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
MySpace suit involves former Celina resident
By Jim Kilpatrick, Staff Writer
According to a lawsuit filed in the Dallas courts by Houston attorney Jason Itkin for the parents of a California teenager who committed suicide in 2006, MySpace has “a responsibility to protect its customers.” The lawsuit was filed on Thursday.
A cyber-relationship began in 2005 between the 14-year-old girl and 30-year-old Celina resident Kiley Ryan Bowers. Online meetings and telephone conversations led to a face-to-face meeting and sexual assault near the girl’s home in Southern California.
Several months after the assault Bowers broke off the relationship.
The young girl committed suicide in July 2006. Her suicide note indicated that her relationship with Bowers was to blame for her suicide, according to documents in the criminal case.
Bowers pleaded guilty in a California court on April 20, 2007 to two counts of interstate travel to have sex with a minor and transporting child pornography. He was sentenced on June 22 and is presently serving nine years in federal prison.
Itkin was unavailable for comment as of press-time.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has urged Congress to restrict access to MySpace as well as other sites in order to protect minors.
“This is an issue that will be dealt with for years to come,” said Jerry Strickland a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office. “This is an issue we will continue to address.”
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Lucy wrote on Jan 14, 2008 3:33 PM:
" I wouldn't blame MySpace. Most kids who use it are under the allowed MySpace age and lie about their age to get on it. Quite frankly, if the parents were more involved in what their child was doing, they may have been able to control the situation. How is it that the child was able to get away long enough to have sexual encounters with this 30 year old? People start to sue when they want to draw attention from their own mistakes. "
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
