IrishTex
09-02-2010, 07:56 PM
In one of the first cases of its kind in Texas, a San Antonio sports promoter who also worked as an announcer for the Spurs, Rampage and Missions has been thrown in the hoosegow for using a fake Twitter account to badger a television reporter. No, not Erin Andrews. From the San Antonio Express-News:
Mike Lavender, 36, has been charged with one count of online harassment-spoofing, an addition to the state's penal code that one legislator said is intended to protect people against anonymous online attackers.
Hear that, 3A Downlow commenters? The law is coming for you.
Lavender was released Saturday from Bexar County Jail after posting $3,500 bail. Police say he used the Twitter handle @SkanksInSA411 in June to harass a 33-year-old reporter -- the newspaper is withholding her name -- by claiming that she was having an affair with a married man.
Texas' House Bill 2003, which took effect last September, makes it illegal to send anonymous e-mails, texts or instant messages or communicate through social networking sites if the intent is to harm, defraud or intimidate another person.
In January, a man south of Houston was arrested after a fraudulent dating site account was set up for a woman. The next month, a Houston woman was charged with online harassment after a job posting was created on craigslist.com under the guise of her former employer.
Other states also are grappling with the issue. The California Legislature passed a bill last month that would make it a misdemeanor to impersonate another person with criminal intent. The online impersonation must be of an actual person and both credible and without the other person's consent. It awaits the governor's signature.
So, I guess, all you sports bloggers out there who post anonymously ... see you on visitors day!
***
Announcer accused of online harassment [San Antonio Express-News]
Mike Lavender, 36, has been charged with one count of online harassment-spoofing, an addition to the state's penal code that one legislator said is intended to protect people against anonymous online attackers.
Hear that, 3A Downlow commenters? The law is coming for you.
Lavender was released Saturday from Bexar County Jail after posting $3,500 bail. Police say he used the Twitter handle @SkanksInSA411 in June to harass a 33-year-old reporter -- the newspaper is withholding her name -- by claiming that she was having an affair with a married man.
Texas' House Bill 2003, which took effect last September, makes it illegal to send anonymous e-mails, texts or instant messages or communicate through social networking sites if the intent is to harm, defraud or intimidate another person.
In January, a man south of Houston was arrested after a fraudulent dating site account was set up for a woman. The next month, a Houston woman was charged with online harassment after a job posting was created on craigslist.com under the guise of her former employer.
Other states also are grappling with the issue. The California Legislature passed a bill last month that would make it a misdemeanor to impersonate another person with criminal intent. The online impersonation must be of an actual person and both credible and without the other person's consent. It awaits the governor's signature.
So, I guess, all you sports bloggers out there who post anonymously ... see you on visitors day!
***
Announcer accused of online harassment [San Antonio Express-News]