Adult cyberbully accused of posting “soccer mom orgy” ad
Apr 22, 2010, 4:52 PM | Updated: Mar 28, 2011, 3:46 pm
We’re used to hearing unfortunate and even tragic cases about kids bullying other kids in schools. But adult cyberbullies? They’re out there, and today a Connecticut man appeared in court on charges of reckless endangerment and harassment. Philip Conran did not enter a plea.
He’s accused of posting an ad on Craigslist that said one of his neighbors wanted to “please as many as I can before I go to work!” The ad had a subject line of “Looking for lust.” It was written to look like it was posted by a married soccer mom hoping to fulfill her fantasy of group sex and inviting strangers to “please come play.” It even listed her street address.
Police linked the posting to Conran through Craigslist and his Internet provider, according to court records. Before the ad was taken down, dozens of men reportedly showed up at the woman’s door. She hasn’t talked about the case, or why her neighbor might have it out for her.
Several other fraudulent Craigslist postings have led to criminal charges. In the most recent case, a Casper, Wyoming woman was raped by a stranger who said he thought he was answering her ad posting for sex. In that case, the woman’s ex-boyfriend posted the ad.
Craigslist executives say the company actively cooperates with police and that using their service for criminal purposes “inevitably leads to apprehension and prosecution.”
Cyberbullying – targeting someone with online attacks – is something I hear about too often as the mom of two Seattle public school kids.
Washington has two new anti-bullying laws that will take effect in June. There’s also a conference coming up about how to stop students from harassing each other through social media. I’ll be covering both of those stories next week.