Resources for Parents of Girls

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Books:

Brave New Girls: Creative Ideas to Help Girls Be Confident, Healthy and Happy

 by Jeanette Gadeberg

Everyday Ways to Raise Smart, Strong, Confident Girls: Successful Teens Tell Us What Works

 by Barbara Littman

Girls Will Be Girls: Raising Confident and Courageous Daughters

 by JoAnn Deak and Teresa Barker

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

 by Mary Pipher

Articles:

Man pleads guilty to assaulting girl he met on MySpace.com

from The Associated Press. Posted on Jan 12, 2007
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty Thursday to traveling across state lines to have sexual contact with a 14-year-old Connecticut girl he met through the social networking site MySpace.com.

Stephen M. Letavec, 40, of Elrama, Pa., was charged last year in one of the first federal sex cases involving the popular site.

Letavec, a volunteer firefighter, was accused of molesting an Oxford girl in his car. The FBI said Letavec made several visits to see the girl from the summer of 2005 and early last year.

"I showed you what love is and how it feels," Letavec wrote in an e-mail found in the girl's school locker, according to an FBI report. "I want to show you how making love feels too, not just sex because there is a difference."

The girl signed onto MySpace as an 18-year-old, but told Letavec she was 14 before he visited, the FBI said.

He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport to one count of using the Internet to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity and one count of traveling in interstate commerce for the purpose of attempting to have and having illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill scheduled sentencing for April 9. Letavec faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years, a maximum term of 60 years and a fine of up to $500,000, U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said.

MySpace, a division of NewsCorp., offers a free way for users to meet any of more than 60 million members. The site prohibits minors 13 and under from joining, discourages users from posting personal information and provides special protections for those 14 and 15.

While Internet safety advocates have said the site has a good reputation for working to prevent illegal activity, they say children often lie about their age to get around those restrictions. Many profiles include suggestive photographs and lots of personal information.

MySpace.com was planning new restrictions on how adults may contact its younger users in response to growing concerns about the safety of teenagers who frequent the site.