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Girl Seeks Help On Facebook During Assault 417

A 12-year-old girl who was being assaulted by her mother's ex-boyfriend used some quick thinking by sending a message on her iPod to a friend's Facebook account for help. The friend was able to contact the girl's mother who then contacted the police. 42-year-old Raymond Ernest Cesmat was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree. He is being held at the Dakota County Jail on $175,000 bail.
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Girl Seeks Help On Facebook During Assault

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  • by Evro ( 18923 ) * <evandhoffman.gmail@com> on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:26AM (#32926640) Homepage Journal

    The girl was raped and the guy left the room. It's not like Facebook saved the girl from being raped. She contacted her friend and requested she contact her mother, then she escaped and called her mother herself from a payphone, then the guy was arrested. There's not much of a Facebook tie-in.

    • by eln ( 21727 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:36AM (#32926790)
      Slashdot is just taking from the standard journalist's playbook: If you can tie a story to something that's currently very popular, especially Facebook or Twitter, you can get 10 times the page hits you would have normally gotten. If you can tie those things into a story that will generate lots of hits all on its own anyway, such as one dealing with sexual violence against children, your story might even go viral and you can just sit back and watch the ad revenue roll in.
      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by TheLink ( 130905 )
        Another popular trick is to troll Apple fans.

        There's mention of an iPod. But I don't see anything for the Apple fans to bite...
      • Its not slashdot, just a particular 3 editors slashdot has that I like to refer to as the 3 stooges. timothy, kdawson, and samzenpus.

      • A story like this demonstrates to people that Facebook, and the internet in general, can be useful, even life-saving.

        In that way, it may do something to counteract the typical "internets are corrupting your children!!1!" moral-panic type stories that propagate so widely across the news media. (E.g., see the current hysteria about kids listening to binaural beats on YouTube.)

      • by Lumpy ( 12016 )

        Every soldier that survives in afganastan posts on facebook therefore facebook saves soldiers lives...

        Facebook is better than body armor...

        Facebook stops bullets!

        I remember my marketing and journalism classes from college, Can I be a marketing executive? I'll take low 7 figures.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Shakrai ( 717556 ) *

      The girl was raped and the guy left the room. It's not like Facebook saved the girl from being raped

      .38 special > Facebook as a rape prevention device......

      • by Martin Blank ( 154261 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:47AM (#32927002) Homepage Journal

        Children are not allowed to possess a firearm unless in the presence of an adult, and 12-year-old kids in general do not have the judgment necessary to carry one on their own.

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          I think a 12 year old who was about to be raped would probably find a reasonably good use for a firearm.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by obarthelemy ( 160321 )

            and how many extra gun deaths do you think letting 12 yo have guns would cause ?

            hint: http://www.gun-control-network.org/International.gif [gun-control-network.org]

            (and that chart is only for INTENTIONAL deaths, you can add accidents to that, not that there are ver any accidents with guns...)

            • by Fulcrum of Evil ( 560260 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @12:14PM (#32927398)
              The great bulk of underage gun deaths are either suicide or gangbangers. 12 year old girls are almost completely absent from that count, save as random victims. In addition, the number of accidental shootings (the stereotypical 'hey look, it's dad's gun' scenario) runs about 100/year. In the grand scheme of things, it's a nonfactor.
              • by MBGMorden ( 803437 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @01:16PM (#32928320)

                (the stereotypical 'hey look, it's dad's gun' scenario)

                If that can be reduced to a near zero factor through education. When you get the gun, don't hide it in a drawer. The kids WILL find it. Kids love to plunder and find stuff. Instead, let the kids know when you get the gun (if it's an "event" like that - in many gun-friendly households the kids are just born into it). Afterwards, take them out to the range shooting. Show them how to use it effectively, and safely. Tell them WHERE it's at in case they need it. Then, they're not going to run across it on accident, and they're not going to find the "magical" gun lying around there. They're going to know the location of a tool that's as interesting to them as a socket wrench or a drill.

                • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

                  Then, they're not going to run across it on accident, and they're not going to find the "magical" gun lying around there.

                  That to me is the most important thing, to demystify guns. They are tools, highly dangerous tools to be sure, but tools nonetheless. The first step is to demythologize them, or more to the point to de-Hollywoodize them.

                • Come on, buddy (Score:3, Interesting)

                  by copponex ( 13876 )

                  A drill or a socket wrench cannot kill you if you drop it, or if you think it's unloaded, or if you get angry with your pregnant stepmother and decide to kill her while she sleeps [go.com].

                  Guns are designed to destroy life. They make it too easy to turn short term emotion into permanent tragedy. Throw in accidents, carelessness, sociopaths, and the primate violence found in all human societies, and there's no reason not to regulate it just like we regulate explosives or dangerous chemicals.

                  Having said that, I am awa

            • by Lumpy ( 12016 )

              Not many. I had my first firearm at 10. I had a 22/410 and went hunting on my own a lot when 12 on my parents property.

              Kids that are trained in the use of firearms and their danger are more capable than a 40 year old uneducated moron that leaves a loaded pistol on the table.

              In fact MANY farmer kids from 8-13 have and own a firearm of their own.

        • by gwayne ( 306174 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @12:00PM (#32927162)

          Nonsense! I learned firearm safety around age 6 and have been using/carrying firearms on my own for over 30 years. Children who learn to hunt know very well the consequences using a firearm. I am not advocating that 12-year olds should carry weapons, but had she known how to use one, she certainly would have been justified in defending herself.

          • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

            by Shakrai ( 717556 ) *

            I am not advocating that 12-year olds should carry weapons, but had she known how to use one, she certainly would have been justified in defending herself.

            This.

            I knew a kid growing up that picked up a target rifle when someone broke into his house and attempted to rape his mother. Thankfully he didn't have to shoot the scumbag (guess he lost his nerve when he was looking at the business end of a firearm) but there's no way that you can say his actions weren't justified.

            • by Tetsujin ( 103070 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @01:19PM (#32928360) Homepage Journal

              I am not advocating that 12-year olds should carry weapons, but had she known how to use one, she certainly would have been justified in defending herself.

              I knew a kid growing up that picked up a target rifle when someone broke into his house and attempted to rape his mother.

              You know, I can't condone rape under any circumstance, but raping your mother while someone's breaking into the house just seems particularly unwise.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          Ages where a person can possess firearms varies from state to state and can depend on the type of firearm. In Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina, there is no age restriction on the possession of long guns. Why, oh why, do people mod baseless assertions like this so high?

          (I've also met twelve year olds who were more responsible than some people are at the age of majority.)
        • by mcvos ( 645701 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @12:10PM (#32927332)

          Children are not allowed to possess a firearm unless in the presence of an adult,

          Haven't you read the story? There was an adult right there!

        • by sjames ( 1099 )

          Oddly enough, at one time 12 was considered old enough, particularly in emergencies. Of course, at that time, one of the prizes in cracker jacks was a "match shooter"; you insert a match, pull back the hammer and release and it strikes the match and propels it a short distance away.

        • I don't know about the law where you are from - but where I live, kids can own their own weapons with parental approval. The parent is ultimately responsible, of course, but the weapon belongs to the kid. I bought my first rifle when I was twelve, bought my first NEW rifle when I was 16. The salesman only asked that I bring an adult to the store, so that he knew I was allowed to buy the rifle. He might have raised an eyebrow, had I been purchasing a pistol - or not.

        • She was in the presence of an adult.
      • Yep. Also much better for righting all wrongs: more playstation time, less spinach, marbles thiefs, bath-time enforcers. Thankfully 12 year old kids are in full control of their emotions (like all adults, too), and gun possession would never cause a shouting match or fistfight to graduate to gun murder/

    • by thijsh ( 910751 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:49AM (#32927024) Journal
      Because with an ordinary case the vulture-like journalists can't easily find out the address, pictures and favorite color of the little girl in question, not to do anything to remotely help or support but to get as much views as possible... The facebook part is just used to enlist crowds of geeks to track every little bit of information down... I guess they didn't know they could just scour facebook to find her profile by searching for a comment like: PLZ water my farm 4me, being raped IRL!!! BRB? :'-(
      • by AdamTrace ( 255409 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @12:05PM (#32927254)

        "PLZ water my farm 4me, being raped IRL!!! BRB? :'-("

        I'm so ashamed that I find this as funny as I do...

        *shame*

        • by thijsh ( 910751 )
          I tried to joke about the journalists, and tried to come up with a possible post... and it occurred to me: 'what the fuck *would* you write on Facebook when you're being raped?', it's far too ridiculous to think of anything less shameful (but funny)...
          If watching years of stand-up comedy (and South Park) taught us anything it's that nothing is exempt from being funny in some strange way.
    • by Xest ( 935314 )

      To be fair when someone gets murdered and the guy 5 doors down owned an 18 rated computer game or whatever then computer games get blamed so I see these kinds of stories as balancing it all out!

      No seriously though, both types of stories are equally retarded.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      The girl was raped and the guy left the room.
      A shame the guy isn't an award winning director living in France, the he could have Whoopi Goldberg explain why this wasn't, "Rape, rape."
    • The girl was raped and the guy left the room. It's not like Facebook saved the girl from being raped. She contacted her friend and requested she contact her mother, then she escaped and called her mother herself from a payphone, then the guy was arrested. There's not much of a Facebook tie-in.

      From the article:
      He later walked in naked and tried to pull off her pants, she said, but she kicked him away and screamed, according to the complaint. When he left, she got out her iPod and found an acquaintance on the social Advertisement networking website Facebook.com. She begged her friend to contact her mother and tell her to come pick her up.

      As she was sending the message, Cesmat went back to her room and sexually assaulted the girl, the complaint said.

      So no Facebook didn't "save her from being

  • Mother... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:33AM (#32926742) Journal

    "Cesmat, who has a sizable criminal history,"

    The girl's mother is an idiot.

    • You will probably get slammed for that, but it is the truth. Letting the career criminal you no longer date live at your house with unrestricted access to your under age daughter? Durrrr....
    • Re:Mother... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by elrous0 ( 869638 ) * on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:37AM (#32926822)
      Some women have the worst taste in men. I had an aunt who would climb a tree to find the worst possible guy when she could have stood on the ground and dated a nice guy. She dated a string of guys literally coming right out of prison. Needless to say, she took a string of beatings, was stabbed a couple of times, her kids were beaten. The family finally just cut her off and told her that they weren't going to help her anymore until she started making smarter decisions. AFAIK, she never did (her kids cut off contact with her long ago too).
    • Re:Mother... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Kleiba ( 929721 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:49AM (#32927030)

      It gets better:

      "The mom was no longer dating Cesmat but he continued to live with them."

    • Re:Mother... (Score:5, Informative)

      by srealm ( 157581 ) <prez.goth@net> on Friday July 16, 2010 @12:04PM (#32927238) Homepage

      While I agree, none of the criminal's prior offenses included either violent crimes or crimes of a sexual nature.

      His priors were for fraud and such. I'm not saying the mother was not an idiot, but it's not like she left her with a known pedophile or rapist.

    • by Yvanhoe ( 564877 )
      Well, she was dating a rapist, for a start...
  • Good for something (Score:3, Insightful)

    by maclizard ( 1029814 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:35AM (#32926784)
    This easily the best application that Facebook has ever been used for.
  • Yes, this isn't a Slashdot story, and no, this had nothing to do with Facebook as it could've been a text message instead for all it was.

    But a kid was raped, and that's not so awesome that everyone should be hopping on the "lol rape jokes" bandwagon.

    Let's just chalk this up to bad story moderation per editor, do our internal-pity-thing for the girl for a sec, and move on.

  • by djKing ( 1970 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:51AM (#32927044) Homepage Journal

    A 12-year-old girl, victim of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree. Hilarious.

  • Especially when they have 12 year old daughters? Cant understand it.
  • by Azuaron ( 1480137 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @11:53AM (#32927084)

    The girl grabbed her iPod. Not her iPhone. Not her cellphone, the home phone, the anything-phone, her iPod. Her cellphone was taken away. So everyone who's going, "Why didn't she call 911?" or "This could have easily been a text message," it couldn't. iPod. Had that been me, I'd probably have searched frantically for a phone, even venturing outside my room, and ultimately running to the payphone. It shows incredible presence of mind for her to realize she could get a message out from her iPod (via Facebook, but it could easily have been email or pretty much any other internet communication).

    I think that puts it firmly in the realm of Slashdot, and the debate should be something more along the lines of, "Should police departments have Facebook/other social networking accounts for the purpose of getting crime reports similar to 911." Probably not (too much spam), but it's something to consider. Sometimes it's easier to get on the internet than to a phone.

  • The mother is 100% to blame, from the story.

    "Cesmat, who has a sizable criminal history,"

    No caring mother would put their kid in harms way, good to see the child can take care of business, she should have gouged the a**holes eyes out.
    • No blame on the dude? You are a sick person!
    • by sjames ( 1099 )

      To be fair, his sizable record was for check fraud, not violent crime. The mother might not have shown the best judgment in men, but it's not like he was a serial rapist.

  • Leaving a minor alone with any non-relative man is dubious at best.

    A 12 year old girl and a known criminal ?

  • "Assault"? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Tetsujin ( 103070 ) on Friday July 16, 2010 @01:39PM (#32928628) Homepage Journal

    It's called "Rape"...

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