Boise, ID - A teenager missing since last Wednesday has been found unharmed at a remote campground in Franklin County, Washington. Saddie "Elaine" Julian, 14, ran off with Morgon Jones, 27, after she met him through the internet.
Julian developed relations with Jones while playing the popular Internet game "World of Warcraft" developed by Blizzard Entertainment. "World of Warcraft" currently does not have any age requirements to play the game.
Police say that Jones drove from Birmingham, AL to pick up the teen in Boise on May 28th at 7a.m. Locals recognized the girl from a TV news report and notified police. Jones is currently only charged with kidnapping, awaiting further investigation.
I totally did not expect this to be someone from my own city (the girl that is). "But Moooommmmm!!! Why can't I see him? He's ONLY 13 years older than I am. And we love each other..."
Should be illegal, this game is worse than crack and heroin all stuffed into one needle. I remember hearing something about someone meeting a girl through this game and than the girl killed him and took all his gold or something lame like that so the guy moonroofed himself with a shotgun
sexual predators are everywhere on the internet, i dont think think age requirements to play a game would solve anything, and as for the source stating the game allows voice to voice contact, i have done some research and the voice to voice contact is done through third party programs such as ventrillo or teamspeak on dedicated servers because sending voice bandwith over the world of warcraft servers would put the already overloaded servers to a standstill
You can't blame the game for people being stupid. People will be stupid with whatever tools are available. There's a reason Windex says not to spray it directly in your eyes. Furthermore, Blizzard has parental controls that allow you to set specific times that the account can be logged into. And people ruin their lives by spending all their time drinking, nobody except a few uber-religious nuts wants to ban alcohol. This is yet another case of parents wanting to have kids without the responsibility of taking care of their kids.
Furthermore, WoW is only really under fire because it's one of (if not) the most popular MMO-RPG out today. Any game can be over-played. WoW, like all other MMO-RPGs just enables it better because there's no official end. You're constantly striving to achieve things, even if they are virtual things. There's a fine balance to find when making a game like this. They have to make enough content that someone who has the time and desire to spend 16 hours a day playing doesn't get bored and cancel their subscription, but still try to let people know that while you COULD play it for 16 hours a day, you shouldn't. Just like you shouldn't sit and watch TV for 16 hours a day. There's always a way to ruin your life, people just have to take responsibility for their actions and understand the consequences of said actions.
Sorry to sound stand-offish Devil Duck, but as a WoW player, it's kind of offensive to hear things like that because that suggests that nobody is capable of playing in moderation which is insulting to me and the millions of others who can moderate and do not play 16 hours a day or look for relationships online.
Actually they do have in-game voice chat. But it sucks hardcore so it's generally not used. Ventrilo and TeamSpeak are used because it didn't have in-game voice chat for a long time. But as you said, the bandwidth for millions of people to use voice chat is astronomical, so they had to use a very compressed codec which makes everything sound like wah wah wah wahwah wah.
I dislike WoW and have a general dislike of MMORPGs, but blaming this on a game is moronic. I'd expect a Jack Thompson perspective if it weren't for him being sanctioned (link at the bottom), though he'll still manage to try something. Like has been said, if it weren't done through WoW it would be done through something else, like a chat room, Myspace, or even just at school.
I belive that WoW really isnt to blame for his ability to find a teenage girl, because like others said, if thats what he was looking for he could have easily went through Myspace, AIM, etc. I believe that there is a good chance that this man genuinely liked this girl due to the fact that when playing role playing games you often forget about the person on the other side of the computer and get caught up with the story/gameplay. Now actually acting on this and driving across the country to meet a girl this young, thats just bad.
The reason I focused the article on WoW was because I originally saw the post on wowinsider.com and a huge debate sparked on whether or not there should be an age restriction. I think that it would be silly and moreover futile. I currently play WoW, but I do not use my real name for my account and I buy prepaid cards to pay for my monthly dues. So if someone under the age of 21/18/16, whatever, really wanted to play, there are always ways to circumvent age verification. This is ultimately just another news story trying to showcase the evil side of gaming to the world, when really they should be spotlighting the awful parenting that is going. I mean, honestly, this could have all been avoided if a parent took an interest in their childs interests. It's entire plausible for this girl to be spending 40+ hours a week playing the game. I'm willing to bet that she spent more time on the computer than talking to the family.
It may be that the whole situation is over-dramatized. What if the 2 like each other and the man didnt hurt the girl. Words like "Predator" make it sound so evil, but whats so wrong about 2 humans with an age difference loving each other. I say, if he didn't force the girl into anything or raped her, its no big deal.
I started my first real job at 16, working at Hollywood Video making a whopping $5.75 an hour. Among the thousands of people I dealt with, there were a few whose names I never forget, because they were such courteous people. It wasn't just their looking through a person's faults or disagreements, these people were great because it was like they didn't even see your skin, only your soul. I could still give you their full names today. The most amazing thing was that each of them couldn't have been more different - one from each and every wake of life, and yet all had one heart.
Among them was a married couple with a baby. It was clear on my monitor - this guy was 32, she was BARELY 18, and the baby was almost a year old. But they always looked happy with themselves, and they were never ashamed, so nobody else ever even noticed that there had been a "problem" with their relationship. The law may have defined it to be a problem, but humanity did not. I would bet they are still together today.
I don't think it's so much of an age difference thing as it is a maturity issue. Can you say that you made sound choices at 15? Sure, I know plenty of couples with an age difference of over 10 years who are perfectly happy. But for a person of 15 to "Know" they've found their "Soul mate" using only what is written over a screen, to me, is ludicrous.
that nowhere in the source does it say whether this guy knew she was just 14. If she said she was older, or didn't say, the guy could have been thinking he'd met a cool girl in the game and was just driving to meet her.
Also, the report says she was in good condition when recovered, so I think it's a bit premature to start branding this guy as a child predator. I've met 18-year-old women who look this girl's age, even younger.
My best friend was never asked for ID when she was 16, walking into overage venues. Now she's 19 and is always checked. The bottom line? Women wear too much makeup.
If he didn't know, he certainly should have. I'd like to think this guy is not stupid enough to drive across the country without even a picture of the girl. From the picture I saw, which may have been very different from the one she gave, she looked very young and very immature. I have no problem whatsoever with an age difference. But 14 and 27 is a little bit too far. I mean... she can probably count the number of periods she's had on her fingers and toes. <--Sorry for the graphic imagery there. My point is that he, being 27, should have known that it was a stupid thing to do. Since I've seen some close to me deal with the legal system before, I know that not everyone is guilty of what the police or media say. However, it was still incredibly stupid and bound to end like this. I'm glad she was OK, although I doubt she'll learn anything from the experience since I'm sure as far as they were concerned they would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling kids and that DOG!
I've just read the source of the story and couln't find the adjective sexual predator, or anything that suggests that the girl has been sexually assaulted at all.
I gave it a bad assessment for an inaccurate title. No where in the article does it mention the two did anything but go camping. Calling him a sexual predator while it may be accurate in the end, is not accurate based on the source provided.
Him being an adult has an obligation to not engage in adult relationships with a minor. Like someone else said... someone at 14 is not capable of making correct decisions. There is a huge gap between 14 and 16 years old even, and an even bigger one between 16 and 20.
This guy probably missed a huge developmental stage in middle school and never dated a girl and never grew up with the females of his age, instead idolizing the ones he was never able to attain. Its no good folks.
as a WoW player with plenty of guy friends who play WoW, I can safely say that is a total stereotype. Most of the guys that i know that play are mma fighters. lol
"Him being an adult has an obligation to not engage in adult relationships with a minor."
There is no evidence to say that he had any form of adult relationship with the girl. Maybe he met her and realised that she was really young, but he maybe only saw her as a friend anyway and there is no law against adults and kids being friends. It was pretty stupid of him to take her anywhere without speaking to her parents, maybe she told him that she'd told her parents she was going away with a friend or whatever. His intentions may have been purely innocent, but he should have refused to take the girl anywhere until he had spoken to her parents first (I expect they would have told him where to go, but may have at least appreciated the fact that he asked them rather than just running off with their daughter!)
Yeah, I had 2 friends who played WoW, one of them was a short guy, but he was a black belt in karate, the other guy was a bit of a skinhead and was quite tough. Neither of them were skinny nerds, or the other stereotype, fat nerds!
You'd be VERY surprised who plays WoW. Dave Chappelle is one. There were even reports (however un-based and/or untrue they may be) that he was playing WoW when he was reportedly in Africa trying to clear his head from the stress of show-biz. I believe this was almost immediately after the first season. As mentioned, it may be complete bullshit, but he has confirmed that he loves WoW. But I can't really condemn you. WoW was out a for a few years before I started playing and during that time, I said things like that all the time. I used to make fun of my friends for playing it.
He is 27, she is 14. Regardless of their "expressed" feelings towards one another he never should have made the decision, let alone carry it out, to drive from Alabama to Boise to pick her up without her parents consent, then cross the state line. That in itself is a Federal crime. Not to mention he will also be charged with rape, and providing narcotics and alcohol to a minor.
He received pictures of her and knew she was 14. If he was in doubt at anytime he could have, and should have, asked for ID with proof of age.
Communication through WoW via any format (in-game, vent, TS) was not the problem, moreso the communication itself was.
Age restrictions are not the solution as there are plenty of adults that act like immature little kids playing that game.
She was not wildly running rampant without parental supervision. That's not to say she didn't learn how to circumvent passwords, create MySpace pages or communicate with him without her parents knowledge or consent. Kids may do stupid things but they are not stupid, and parents that think they have their kids under control may learn otherwise the hard way.
Both of them made very bad decisions and both will be held accountable.
looks like she could easily pass for older than 14, I've seen younger-looking girls in nightclubs here (you have to be 18 to get in)
As a side note... did anyone read the bit about the guy's car? His registration is "OMGROFL"... what a tool! If we needed any more proof that he's a sad nerd, that's it!
You're kidding right? What you seem to be inferring is it's ok to have "sexual relations" with a 14yo as long as there is no intercourse?!? Well, if you can't or don't want to believe they had "sex" then fine but he admitted to having "sexual relations" and that is as good as saying he had intercourse.
Sexual relations includes any kind of ongoing intimate contact including heavy petting, through felatio or cunningulus to digital or phallic penetration.
Hmmm, let's see...a troll that can't spell. Your post puts you in the same category you are trying to pin on the "two" WoW players discussed in the article. Besides, it was already stated in a previous post that the game was not the problem.
Thanks for your enlightenment. A previous comment stating that the game isn't the problem doesn't make that statement factual. Although I do agree that the game isn't the problem. I just wanted to point out to you that his opinion isn't a fact. I don't blame the game, just the general genre of the game that attracts some creepy people. Sorry if that offends you =)
What offends me is narrow-mindedness; when a person puts a label on an entire group based on the actions of a few individuals that made stupid decisions. Not ALL priests abuse little boys, or ALL married Presidents have have sex with interns while in office. To say that WoW, or any particular videogame, is the type of game that attracts losers is a gross stereotype.
