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From Got Frag comes word of a disturbing incident.
A 52-year-old man who helped manage the Green Berets, a competitive video game clan, was busted by police in London, Ontario following accusations that he solicited obscene pictures of young boys he recruited for the Green Berets' Counter-strike team.
The London Free Press reports that George "Spike" Finley, found guilty of possessing child pornography in 2005, was charged with violating the terms of his probation by having contact with minors.
It is alleged that Finley recruited 10 to 13-year-old boys to help manage the Green Berets, advising them to lie about their ages to seem older. Finley then used the popular voice chat program Ventrilo to solicit nude pictures from the boys. The convicted pedophile promised the boys PC hardware and promotions to clan leadership positions as enticements. Potential victims who refused Finley's overtures were dropped from the team.
The leader of the Green Berets, 24-year-old James O'Connor became suspicious after several former members complained to him about Finley's scheme.
"Those children would come to me with crazy accusations..." said O'Connor. "George went on to tell us that this person was just making up the meanest things possible to get back at him for being removed from the team. This whole thing, about George possibly being a pedophile... seemed almost inconceivable. I didn't believe it at first."
After suggesting that one of the boys record the Ventrilo conversations, however, O'Connor and other clan officials turned the matter over to law enforcement authorities.
"Similar situations kept occurring every other month or so for about 4 months," said O'Connor. "I would ask these children for logs of IRC chat and they would always say that they never had any. George was careful to only talk about his perversions on Ventrillo."
GP: Coupled with January's Xbox Live pedophile incident, it's clear that some online predators are turning to multiplayer gaming venues as a source of potential victims.
A shout-out to GP reader Steven Strasser for the story...
March 7 2006, 19:25:23 UTC 6 years ago
As opposed to...every other venue of communication online that kids and preteens use?
I have a sinking feeling that this might balloon into a huge story. Look at all of the coverage MySpace has been getting lately; I've seen plenty of stories on how predators are using the site to track down victims. With the notoriety that games already seem to have - especially after GTA and Hot Coffee - this would make for even splashier headlines and interviews.
Just what we wanted, right? >_
March 7 2006, 19:34:10 UTC 6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 19:28:50 UTC 6 years ago
Props to James O'Connor
And a big thanks and double thumbs up to James O'Connor for being proactive in this and involving the police in this.March 7 2006, 19:37:52 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Props to James O'Connor
But you know that certain people who will use this in their rhetoric will conveniently forget that part.6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 19:30:56 UTC 6 years ago
Disturbing Trend
This is an unfortunate part of growth in the online world. The people that are "jack in", so to speak, the more likely we are to see the wicked ones using the technology to perform their wicked deeds.I just hope this doesn't usher in a whole new wave of fear over the gradual "webification" of video games.
March 7 2006, 19:33:56 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Disturbing Trend
There was a story on the news last night about some teen boys who tricked a pedophile into thinking they were a 12 year old girl who wanted to meet up with him. They used MySpace and lured the guy to a park, when he showed up they called police and he got busted. The kids handed over a few pages full of chat logs this between the fake girl and the pedophile.6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 19:34:25 UTC 6 years ago
Man, this is all politicians need...
First that guy who was busted in January, then the DS thing, and now this guy. Politicians will probably just say that people should ban the games, rather than realize that this is another reason why kids need education about the dangers of chatting online.March 7 2006, 19:39:28 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Man, this is all politicians need...
That's what I'm worried about. A psychotic gamer shooting people is one thing, but when the technology is actually physically involved with the crime, it's a lot worse.I can just feel the media drooling over this too.
March 7 2006, 19:36:12 UTC 6 years ago
...Maybe.
March 7 2006, 19:43:28 UTC 6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 19:50:57 UTC 6 years ago
It needs to balloon into a huge story.
When I sent the link to Denis it was to draw attention to this, I neglected to mention some things.The fact is that this is not an isolated incident, in fact it’s indicative of a trend. A lot of competitive gaming organizations have had similar problems. Most clan leaders/managers are older and have a lot of control over younger players, many of which are obsessed with becoming a “pro”gamer or winning money. It’s a perfect situation where the pedophile is in a position of trust and power, and has an easy way to go about his ways. If you read the information on gotfrag, and the article in the newspaper this wasn’t the first time this guy had been busted for this sort of behavior, and this wasn’t the first gaming clan he created specifically for this purpose. To make matters worse this guy was one of the more respected members of the counter strike community.
Most clans tend to just hide things like this from the community. Nobody wants to tarnish their name and potentially ruin something that for many is a business. Hats off to the GB’s for having the guts to come forward with this, even if it wasn’t the first time he had been sent to jail while in the clan for the same thing (apparently he did 4 months for this stuff while he was part of the team and was on probation when this happened).
The thing is online gaming is in many ways the perfect medium for this kind of behavior, far more so then email/chat. You instantly place the person in a position of trust and power.
The sad thing is most clans, and most of the community tends to sweep things like this under the rug and hide it.
This needs to make the main stream media and it needs to turn into a huge story. The sad fact is that this is a reality, and it is going on. Most parents probably don't understand how all of this works, or what exactly their kid is doing.
I don't feel this should be shoved under the rug just because it makes gaming look bad. If anything it should be brought to light to show people the community can police itself. Hiding it only makes it worse and makes us part of the problem.
March 7 2006, 19:54:41 UTC 6 years ago
Re: It needs to balloon into a huge story.
Considering that, I agree. There should definitely be an effort by gamers and operators of online games alike to crack down on this.6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 19:53:57 UTC 6 years ago
Just f-ing dandy
Lord knows we need another depressing story of some game and it's technology being bastardized by some NAMBLA member. Shadowing what everyone else said, this is going to be a media hounding and more than likely Jack will inject his vile rhetoric about it in certain publications. (Not this one, thank god.)To counter all this icky sadness, here is a picture of a kitten. Enjoy.
March 7 2006, 19:56:49 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Just f-ing dandy
All I see is a red X....I am still sad :( lol.6 years ago
March 7 2006, 19:59:22 UTC 6 years ago
Something a bit ironic
We consider pedophilia serious enough to get police/government figures involved, yet murderers are pretty much swept under the rug.I am in absolutely no way stating that either is not, in fact, quite disgustingly heinous.. but rather the interesting gap in the community response.
March 7 2006, 20:02:02 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Something a bit ironic
I feel both types of people should be put to death if found guilty of their crimes.6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 20:46:06 UTC 6 years ago
March 7 2006, 21:14:04 UTC 6 years ago
it has before
but it has happened before, and people just hid the fact, hushed it up to avoid bad press.The typical stance by the gaming community was to look the other way and pretend it didn't happen to avoid bad press.
March 7 2006, 20:58:26 UTC 6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 21:39:32 UTC 6 years ago
Well, maybe it isn't entirely bad...
These kids are learning the wondeful lesson of how to sleep your way to the top?...Yeah, I can't really put a positive spin on this at all.
March 7 2006, 21:42:36 UTC 6 years ago
Off Topic, but important.
I'm sorry for going OT, but has anybody seen Jack lately? He hasn't posted anything in the last week and I was just wondering if we might have made him crack. Hopefully he's sitting in a corner sucking his thumb. Either that or he's compiling hundreds of "press reports" based on stuff like this.March 7 2006, 21:50:16 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Off Topic, but important.
I don't know, did soemthign happen? I noticed he deleted all of his livejournal accounts. Is he being emo or something?6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 21:49:16 UTC 6 years ago
OT: What's all this?
Go to www.gamepolitics.com. Scroll to the bottom of the page. Select the invisible text at the very very bottom.Why is all that there? Here's a copy + paste:
Video games, video game violence, Video game ratings, video game legislation, video game law, video game labor, video game business, video game economics, Red Lake, Columbine, ESRB ratings, Game politics, video game politics, whistle blowers, game industry employees, Grand Theft Auto, Jack Thompson, Hillary Clinton, Joseph Lieberman, Doug Lowenstein, ESA, Entertainment Software Association, E3, Serious games, Media violence, effects of video games, effects of media, virtual economy, video game ban, AO, censorship, Sony, Nintendo, PlayStation, Sony PlayStation, GameCube, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, Microsoft Xbox, first-person shooter, Leland Yee, Jennifer Granholm, Rob Blagojevich, Podcast, whistle blower, Revolution, Nintendo Revolution, Doom, Half-life, Halo, Painkiller, NARC, M-rated, Jonathan Freedman, Grossman, GamePolitics.com, Game politics, politics of video game, game sales to minors, PSP, Sony PSP, DS, Nintendo DS, school shootings, Paducah, Jeffrey Weise, Klebold, Eric Harris, Carolyn Rauch, Joe Baca, Adrian M. Fenty, Adrian Fenty, game bill, killology, stopkill, rockstar, mediafamily, Devin Thompson, Manhunt, Electronic Arts, MMORPG, global gaming, game addiction, gaming addiction, obesity in children, childhood obesity, America's Army, game learning, learning through games, teaching with games, games in hospitals, games before surgery, online gaming, Take 2 Interactive, Mortal Kombat, Dennis McCauley, McCauley, Shawn Woolley, Elizabeth Woolley, Evercrack, Everquest addiction, World of Warcraft addiction, WoW addiction, World of Warcraft
March 7 2006, 21:51:51 UTC 6 years ago
Re: OT: What's all this?
For google and other search engines6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 22:17:32 UTC 6 years ago
Like a deer in headlights!
Note: Not flaming, just frustrated...Couldn't we, just once, read an article about something in the news that is game related without having the reaction "oh my godz teh polise are come for us!"
There are some very paranoid people on this forum. Not everyone, I'm not trying to flame, but enough to be a bit worried. "Oh no, the media is going to have a field day with this. Politicians will eat us alive. WE'RE DYING, WE'RE DYING!!! JACK IS COMING!" Alot of people sound as if they're trying to "back up gaming" with things like "Oh yeah, just like you could do in any other media". True, but it's completely irrelevant as gaming is not being "attacked".
The politicians and pixel-anti haven't even said anything yet, other than some sick freak used a medium of communication to solicit nude pictures from minors. They wouldn't have a leg to stand on if they said this was a games only thing.
And everyone goes tense...
March 7 2006, 22:22:48 UTC 6 years ago
Re: Like a deer in headlights!
As a side note, post rant, this story SHOULD be presented to the media so that people can know that sickos have another way to take advantage of children. Not as fnords, but as a way to let parents know that it IS happening out there.6 years ago
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March 7 2006, 23:40:23 UTC 6 years ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_
March 8 2006, 00:29:30 UTC 6 years ago
Well, it's kind of like the argument for people flying, with planes being the safest way to travel: There are thousands of flights each day, and maybe once a year there's an accident... Thousands of people play these games, interact with each other. It's bound to happen that occasionally someone is going to do stupid things.
Really. stupid. things.
(counterargument: Unlike planes, which we know when they crash, how many cases of this happen where someone doesn't say anything...)
March 8 2006, 15:28:12 UTC 6 years ago
Graphics are great, gameplay is as good as it ever was (debatable to different people)...
Of course, the cheaters are also there, but it's not as bad as it used to be since Valve introduced their Anti Cheating system (VAC) - at least, not on the servers I frequent.
March 8 2006, 00:31:48 UTC 6 years ago
That mentality needs to be drilled in all the more in this day and age, as communication grows, so will the abuse of it, look at Telesales, the word didn't even exist until about a decade ago, and now it is a serious problem, and for every defence that is put up, a workaround is discovered. The same is true for chat programs.
Children aren't naive, but rather than running around declaring how dangerous the 'new technologies' can be, authorities should be educating young children on what to look for and how to protect themselves.
The problem is an old one, the media a new one, the more authorities dig their heals in about accepting that media, both the good and the bad of it, rather than dealing with reality, the more danger they put children in.
March 8 2006, 02:16:40 UTC 6 years ago
but some medias are better then others
The issue is what media works best. As this has shown gaming communities are a great way for predators to get children, better then chat, better the forums.So while it's not singling out gaming (read the linked articles) it does point out that gaming holds a specific danger, and thus the solution needs to be gaming oriented.
March 8 2006, 00:40:50 UTC 6 years ago
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March 8 2006, 03:31:03 UTC 6 years ago
More myspace.com fun!
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/07/myspacWhen will the pedophiles catch on? Never, I hope. More of em in jail.
March 8 2006, 05:33:14 UTC 6 years ago
Re: More myspace.com fun!
Well, that was pwnage...Community backlash, eh?!
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March 8 2006, 04:26:26 UTC 6 years ago
This has 'media circus' written all over it
Not only might this strike the same nerve which caused the 'zomg myspace is evil!1' panic, but it could be a 25 to Life redux. Just think of it. 25 to Life lets you be a cop or a gangsta, but the media and politricks just see 'cop killer' and go into a blind rage. CS lets you be special forces/SWAT or a terrorist. I can almost hear Chuck Schumer now ranting about how 'Little Johnny should be learning how to read, not how to be a terr'ist.' Maybe he-who-can-not-be-named will even pop out from under his rock and say Al Qaeda trains of the game or something.../makes some popcorn
March 8 2006, 21:21:44 UTC 6 years ago
How to catch pedophiles in games
Don't fear my fellow truth seekers, there is a way to stop these horrible people from getting to our children. Get them at the source!How about before they sign up for a game account we give them a questionare. It would consist of 100 maybe 500 questions (maybe more just to be safe) that ask meaningless information. For example:
#456) Do you enjoy bikeriding? ( ) YES ( ) NO
#457) Do you smoke? ( ) YES ( ) NO
#456) Have you ever ridden a tractor? ( ) YES ( ) NO
#458) Do you molest children? ( ) YES ( ) NO
#459) Have you baked brownies? ( ) YES ( ) NO
These lowlifes will be so distracted by the long seires of questions they will trip up and reveal their diabolical intentions.
March 9 2006, 20:54:15 UTC 6 years ago
Re: How to catch pedophiles in games
*DIES LAUGHING*GOd I miss watchign the Cobre report...OMG O'rliye has to be happy to have soemone smarter than him pardaing his show LOLOLOLOLOL
March 8 2006, 22:17:33 UTC 6 years ago
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