Pedophiles across the United States have learned how to use World of Warcraft as their trolling grounds of choice, but not all have figured out how to avoid capture. Take Lauri Price, a 42-year-old mother of four from Texas.
Price had apparently been wooing Andrew Kane, a 16-year-old from Ontario with one cool last name. The two were maintaining a sexy and very illegal (by most standards) relationship online after meeting via World of Warcraft. Guess they found each other's polygons attractive?
On the evening of December 29, Tuesday, Andrew asked his parents if they'd drive him to a hotel in Midland, near the Kane residence in Barrie. Like any sensible parents, Marlene Kane and her husband refused, and their son seemed to take it quite well. He walked away, returning to the computer to tell the love of his life that he couldn't make it. At 2:00 AM, he took off on his own. Luckily, the mismatched couple were found two days later in Orillia, thanks to an anonymous tip. Seems the lady was already waiting with a rental car she picked up after flying all the way to Toronto from her home across the continent.
According to the Kane's parents, their son has always had issues with managing his time online. They had removed his computer privileges for four weeks in 2008, until a psychologist suggested restoring them as a reward for his progress -- bad idea. Looks like that progress didn't last very long, and the Kane household admits Andrew was back to his old habits in no time. While safe at home, we're pretty sure his parents are never letting him back on the computer. Ever.
Despite all his time spent in front of the computer, shared with his two sisters (19 and 13), Andrew didn't realize his conversations with Price were being logged, thus providing awkward reading material for his parents and plenty of information for police. In the logs, the confused teen called Price his "soulmate."
He also lied about his age, telling the Texan that he was 20 years old, though the age of consent is 16 in Canada. As such, the woman was not charged and should be heading home with only a warning and a creepy reputation.
Of course, we all know if Price were a man, she'd be taking it in prison right about now. Back in February, 27-year-old Edward Stout drove from Missouri to California, hoping to meet an 18-year-old girl he met on Xbox LIVE. Her actual age turned out to be 15, but that didn't stop Stout; now the guy's in deep sh*t, facing multiple criminal charges that likely involve jail time.
Thanks for the delightful tip, Stephanie, and Happy New Year!
Source:The Globe and Mail
Section:PC Games
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