New face of Internet stalking is local

In the age of the Internet and Facebook, stalkers wear a new face.One of them is 24-year-old Jonathan Wryn Vance of Auburn, a 2007 Auburn University graduate who last week was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.

In January, Vance pleaded guilty to 34 criminal counts involving interstate extortion, interstate transportation in aid of extortion, attempted production of child pornography and attempted enticement.

One local woman who asked to remain anonymous learned that her childhood friend's daughter was one of Vance's victims. He apparently made a connection to the young woman when she was in Auburn visiting friends.

"In this young woman's case, Vance sought access to her via a social networking site, using access gained through false pretenses that let him into her circle of 'friends' online," the woman said. "This was not a young woman seeking romance online, nor did she engage in sharing sexual photos or information. But that didn't stop him from using information about her life to terrorize her."

Vance used screen names including "metascape" and "manescape 22" when he established contact with more than 200 women—many of them just teenagers—on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. More than 50 victims agreed to cooperate in the investigation, according to the Birmingham News.

According to the original 10-count indictment last Oct. 1, Vance first pretended to be a family member, friend, acquaintance or secret admirer to gain trust. Sometimes he initiated a seemingly playful game in which he posed as an anonymous long-lost friend or secret admirer who would reveal his true identity if the recipient truthfully answered 10 questions on personal matters.

The questions "were purportedly designed to elicit intimate and embarrassing personal information from the victims," according to the indictment.

"People presume that victimization like this can only happen to teens who are emotionally vulnerable, insecure or unstable or to people who carelessly post photos or information that is explicit or compromising," the local woman said. "But it isn't true. Vance approached the victim as if he were another teen who had met her at a large church event. She is a very confident, responsible young woman who has open communication with her parents."

Among other tactics, Vance sometimes gained access to Facebook and MySpace account information, then changed the passwords and held the accounts hostage. Vance then demanded victims send him digital images or Webcam video transmissions of themselves in various states of undress, according to the indictment.

Most of the women didn't comply, but according to the Birmingham News, investigators identified two minors and one adult who did. Four others have not been identified. Women in three states were approached, according to a press release from U.S. attorney Alice Martin's office in Birmingham announcing the guilty plea earlier this year.

"Her parents had followed all the 'rules' for keeping their child safe on the Internet, like requiring that they preview her Facebook page or insuring that the settings were for 'friends only,'" the local woman said.

"But Vance learned details of her activities, schedule, location, friends and family members from harmless, 'safe' photos and information on her social networking page once he gained 'friend" access from another teen under false pretenses."

She said Vance knew nothing illicit, sexual or very intimate about this particular young woman, but he didn't need that information to victimize her.

"When Vance became demanding about photos and the young woman wouldn't comply, he used these everyday details of her life to threaten her as if he were watching her," the woman said. "Regardless of what she had been taught and how close a relationship she had to her parents, when he threatened her, she was afraid to tell for fear her family would be harmed."

The investigation involved the FBI and the Auburn, Hoover, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville police departments, and the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, launched in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The story the local woman tells is very similar to the description of Vance's tactics contained in press releases and news articles about both the indictment and Vance's guilty plea.

According to the indictments and plea agreements, Vance used computers to transmit threatening communications to young women in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Missouri. He started in about January 2006 and continued until about June 2008.

"I encourage parents to talk with their children about Internet dangers and to explain how predators can work their way into your life through social networking Web sites, such as MySpace and Facebook," Martin said in a press release at the time of Vance's plea.

"Any suspicious activity involving a possible Internet predator should immediately be reported to the FBI or your local police department," she said. "All should recognize it isn't a matter of 'if' it will happen, it is 'when,' so youth and adults need to be prepared to identify predators."

Vance also sometimes hacked into his victims' e-mail accounts using information from public Facebook pages, which included information such as birth dates, the names of the victims' schools and their hometowns, according to the Birmingham News. Password protection on the e-mail accounts used standard questions such as ZIP code, date of birth or school mascot.

Once Vance had control of an e-mail account, he would go to Facebook pretending he forgot the password. Facebook would then send a link to the victims' compromised e-mail account. Vance changed the passwords, locking the victims out of their accounts.

Because he demanded—and in a few cases received—compromising photos, Vance will be ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He will be barred from any contact with minors, and his computer access will be restricted. U.S. District Judge David Proctor also ordered Vance to pay $10,380 in restitution, the cost of victims' counseling.

According to federal authorities, Vance's case is groundbreaking and will be used as a template for "cyber harassment" cases. The information learned will also be used to train law enforcement officials and prosecutors.

Vance apologized for his actions in court, according to press reports. He cooperated with FBI agents to identify victims they did not know about, and he also showed agents how he hacked his victims' accounts.

According to the Birmingham News, The FBI shared that information with the social networking sites and e-mail services. The FBI has also conducted Internet-safety training based on what they learned from Vance, according to court records.

"Yeah, I know," the local woman said. "I just broke down and got on Facebook myself, and awareness and security have improved over the last couple of years. But this was so sneaky, so under our noses and so insidious—and so local.

"Hey—it's ugly but it happens more than we realize, even with very aware and responsible kids."