A “dangerous sex offender” was apprehended after his girlfriend “liked” the local sheriff department’s Facebook page.
29-year-old Dyllan Otto Naecher was wanted by authorities in the state of Maryland, who described him as a “dangerous sex offender” with possible gang ties. He was believed to be hiding out in the Tazewell County area of Virginia, and sure enough, that’s where he was found, with a little bit of help from his girlfriend.
Not that her assistance was intentional. For some reason, she “liked” the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page, which provided deputies with information including her name and address. They were presumably already aware of the connection between her and Naecher, and quickly took him into custody without incident.
Naecker, who was convicted in 2010 for a third-degree sexual offense, was wanted for leaving his home in Grasonville, Maryland, and relocating to Virginia without informing the police. He may face charges in Virginia for failing to register as a sex offender and could also face federal charges for crossing state lines under the Adam Walsh Act, which mandates that sex offenders notify the authorities of their whereabouts at regular intervals. The girlfriend, 22-year-old Samantha Dillow, has been charged with obstruction of justice.
“Our community is safer tonight with this predator off the streets,” said Sheriff Brian Hiaett. “He will face the justice system as required and I would like to ask the community to join me in thanking the hard working deputies that brought this fugitive in without incident.”
It’s hard to be too critical of getting a wanted sex offender off the streets, but I feel compelled to point out that this really says something about the state of privacy of Facebook. If you’re not careful, you have none, and even if you do take care about what you feed into the system, assuming that you have any sort of built-in protection is just asking for trouble. That’s okay if you’re a wanted criminal, but for the rest of us, it should be a little disconcerting.
Source: Facebook, The Daily Record
Published: Sep 13, 2012 09:54 pm