Dangers of MySpace

A story worth repeating and sharing with others:

Police: Teen raped by man met on MySpace
BY CHRISTINE ARMARIO
christine.armario@newsday.com
April 3, 2007, 1:22 PM EDT

Monday morning, a 13-year-old Suffolk County girl climbed out her bathroom window and into the Jeep of a 20-year-old man she met on MySpace. He took her to his Bayport home and raped her, police said.

It was the end result of a 6-week online romance that the girl's parents knew nothing about, even though police say her father did "everything in his power" to monitor her activity on the Internet.

"He was doing what any good parent would do," Det. Sgt. Thomas Groneman, of Suffolk's Third Squad said this Tuesday afternoon.

Despite those efforts, however, the girl managed to gain regular access to a laptop computer that either wasn't password protected, like the desktop computer in her home, or whose password she had somehow learned.

For six weeks, she communicated with Zachary Rapoza, the self-titled "Bayport Kid," according to his Myspace profile. On his Web page, he says he is a 2006 graduate of Bayport-Blue Point High School who played on the track and football teams. A profile picture shows him sitting in a chair with a blue football jersey, baseball cap and sunglasses.

The girl, who was not identified, is supposedly one of 51 friends on his page, many of who are young girls, some posing in their underwear.

Suffolk police say Rapoza and the girl made an arrangement during her week of spring break to pick her up Monday morning at 8 a.m. in front of her home. Groneman said a relative saw her sneak out the bathroom window and then contacted her father, who was at his work.

The father contacted her friends and visited places where he thought she might be. When he was unsuccessful, he called police.

Groneman said police searched Robert Moses State Park after receiving information that they may have gone to the beach. That did not turn up the pair. Meanwhile, the father searched through his home telephone's caller ID and discovered an unfamiliar number. He called and left a message.

A short time later, his daughter contacted him.

At that point, she was with Rapoza on a Long Island Rail Road train heading to Jamaica, Queens. Her father told her to get off of the train at the next possible stop -- which happened to be Pinelawn.

The two were waiting at the train station when police arrived. They were then taken to the Third Precinct for questioning.

Rapoza was charged with second-degree rape, unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a minor. He is expected to be arraigned Tuesday.

Groneman said Rapoza has no known prior criminal history, is unemployed and previously worked as a boiler repair man. He lives on Barrett Avenue with his family, police said. Authorities are investigating whether he was involved with any other minors he met over the Internet.

Groneman described the girl as a good kid who has never had any prior disciplinary problems. He would not say what town she lives in.

"It happens on an all too familiar basis," the sergeant said of the incident. "These kids talk to people online and I don't think they know what they're getting into."
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~Helena~