It’s a story that we hear more often than we should. A young teen meets someone online and soon finds out he’s not the man she thought he was. In this case, a 16 year-old girl from Clinton Township in Michigan was raped by a man she met on Facebook, according to a report in the Detroit News. The man, who’s real name is Michael Thomas Robinson, is an 18 year-old member of he Facebook community, creating a profile under the name of Michael Jones.
After befriending him online via Facebook, the girl greed to let Robinson come over her house once, but refused to let him in for a return visit on December 4. Not taking no for an answer, Robinson proceeded to sneak into the house through a basement window, went upstairs and raped the Clinton Township girl, according to the police report. The Detroit News article goes on to report that the rape was interrupted by the girl’s grandmother returning home, causing Robinson to flee the premise. The girl’s grandmother immediately called the police, who were then unable to track Robinson with the K-9 unit. However, Robinson was later arrested at his home on Wednesday.
While this is a bad situation, it’s one that can happen seemingly more frequently since the dawn of online social networking. What may be further disheartening about the Clinton Township girl’s situation is that it occur red on Facebook, a social network that prides itself in extensive privacy options for its users.
What’s unknown about this particular situation is how trusting the Clinton Township girl was as a result of a relationship that began online at Facebook. How many mutual friends did they already have, and how did they come across each other’s profile in the first place? Could Robinson have been a suggested friend due to mutual friends and/or geographical location? And considering that many assault victims are raped by people they already know, is it a moot point to even bring up the idea that online social networks provide a false sense of familiarity and security amongst users who have never met in person?
These may all be things that Facebook could consider when maintaining, creating and raising awareness about its existing privacy settings options and are also things that other existing and future social networks should take into consideration as well.
Image from Detroit News article
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how stupid people are?!?!?!
letting someone YOU DONT KNOW come to your house or work place????
if you wish to meet someone who you meet online go get a coffee or something.
be sure you cant be followed or have any of your personal details were they can be seen.
would you invite someone you just met at a club back to your place & expect nothing?
people need to look after themselves & think before doing these things….
Comment by robyn — December 12, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
all good points. its important to remember such safety tips when meeting people from online networks. safety first!
Comment by Kristen Nicole — December 12, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
that person sounds like no friend to me
Comment by Thomas Paine — December 13, 2008 @ 8:23 pm
the gurl was 16 we all make mistakes so sayin its stupid is rude because everybody has done something that was pretty stupid but wasnt thinking at the time yea she should met him in a pubic place but she didnt and for that she was raped does that me she deserved to get raped just because she made a move that wasnt smart??
Comment by shay — December 14, 2008 @ 8:46 am
I agree with Robyn. Im 16 myself and I have a facebook page where i meet alot of ppl. But i never invite them to my home, school, job or ect. Maybe in a public place like the mall or something where there are alot of ppl and its easy for me to get a way if i need to [escape]. Yea you should think before doing things. What she did wasnt safe at all and on top of that what if he would had killed her or even her grandmother.. Idk what she was thinking but im glad it didnt go that far..
Comment by NeNe — December 14, 2008 @ 11:10 am
I think that for some younger people, Facebook and other social networks can create a false sense of security. While having mutual friends or networks can provide a sense of knowing someone, it's also important to remember that people online can appear quite different than in person. Also – you don't know HOW someone knows another person, they could be a random acquaintance as well. I agree with Kristen and Robyn – safety first! Take the online safety lessons we used to teach kids with AOL chatrooms and keep on pushing them with Facebook, etc. Personally, I only meet "online" people at big networking events – and I never give out personal information like a phone number etc.
Comment by Larissa — December 14, 2008 @ 12:59 pm
Sad that is happens and sad that people are this dumb.
Comment by eddie thieda — December 15, 2008 @ 3:38 am
wow, so sad. i think that all of these sites arent to blame as some would like to, its the silly people who are too trusting…
Comment by Reese — December 15, 2008 @ 10:39 am
OMG I knew him correction I thought I knew him he went to my school and i would have never thought that he would even do that. He tried to talk to me and everything I am so glad i did not give him my number. I guess the moral of the story is trust no one not even yourself when it comes to stuff like that. I don't understand how people let things like that happen anyway. She could have easily avoided this when she seen that he would not go away she should have called the police. I feel so sorry for this girl. People just don't understand that no means no. I don't ubderstand that if you see that somebpdy does not like you why would you push yourself on to them that would make me feel dumb and ugly knowing that this person does not like me and i just keep on trying to put myself on to them gurl my heart goes out to you and your in my prayers.
Comment by Trisha Thomas — December 15, 2008 @ 2:08 pm
Ladies and gentlemen, you are absolutely right, if you do not know someone you should never invite them to your home. I also want to entertain you with a thought? In our society you are innocent until proven guilty. You all are being extremely jusgemental and do not know all the facts. Was this rape or not? not anyone knows unless you were there. If you have been following the news many of this young mans charges have been dropped due to the fact that some of the ommissions initially brought up by this young woman were changed. I am a woman and I do know that "no means no", but, I do not know what happened here, but I do know that this case could possibly not be what it is thought to be. I wish both individuals success and may the best man win.
Comment by Marit G — May 5, 2009 @ 5:44 pm