Friends don't let friends use craigslist (or backpage)
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Man released in NY-Wisconsin sex slave case, accuser balks at testifying:
You may remember the story of John Hopkins of New York. He was the man accused of luring a woman from Wisconsin to New York by promising free board with an ad on craigslist.
Hopkins has been released by the court since the alleged victim has refused to come back from Wisconsin to New York to testify.
Hopkins claimed that he was in a consensual BDSM relationship with the alleged victim.
Tags: Brooklyn, craigslist, John Hopkins, kidnapping, New York, rape
Heather Ballinger
Mother of Missing Fresno Woman Says Daughter Called Her:
The day after that Heather Ballinger’s disappearance was reported by the media her mother says that Heather called her. Heather’s mother says that her daughter’s speech was slurred and she could not return the Jeep she was driving because it was broken.
It turns out that Heather has a warrant out for her arrest and that the Jeep may be stolen.
However that does not necessarily mean that she was not taken against her will after answering a craigslist job ad.
To my knowledge Heather Ballinger has still not been found,. I’ll be posting updates as the information becomes available.
Tags: California, craigslist, employment scam, Fresno, Heather Ballinger, kidnapping, missing persons
Heather Ballinger
Valley Woman Reported Missing after Answering Craigslist Ad:
22-year-old Heather Ballinger of Fresno, California went missing on June 1st after responding to a job ad on craigslist and has not been seen since. A witness said she met two men at a Jamba Juice. The ad was for a personal assistant.
Ballinger is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. She has long, black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a multicolored shirt over a white shirt, along with blue jeans and white sandals. She has piercings on her nose and right cheek, along with two tattoos — one on her left shoulder that says “daddy’s girl” and another of an Indian design on her lower leg.
She was last seen driving a white 1994 Jeep Cherokee with California license plate 3FKR292. The vehicle has a large Raiders emblem on the rear door.
Anyone with information about Ballinger can call the Sheriff’s Office at (559) 488-3111.
I’ve posted stories before about assaults and scams that can happen to you if you respond to a shady craigslist job ad but this is possibly the worst thing imaginable that could happen. My prayers go out to Ms. Ballinger’s family that she’ll be brought home safely.
If you could please share this story on your Facebook or Twitter accounts or anywhere else you think it would be helpful to get the word out.
Tags: California, craigslist, employment scam, Fresno, Heather Ballinger, kidnapping, missing persons
Norman S. Barnes
Dorchester man who allegedly forced teen into prostitution held without bail:
In Massachusetts police say that Norman s. Barnes of Dorchester held a 15-year-old girl captive for 10 days and forced her to have sex with men. At one point the girl was allegedly forced to have sex with 8 men in one night.
Barnes allegedly approached the girl after she got out of school and convinced her to go with him. He’s also accused of having sex (child rape) with the girl multiple times.
Now who wants to take a guess on how this dirtbag found johns? That’s right, it was on the Village Voice Media owned backpage.com. I wonder how Barnes was able to get around backapge’s massive safety measures designed to keep children from being trafficked on their site? Oh that’s right, no matter how much they claim it, backpage doesn’t have any real safety measures.
Geebo.com has real safety measures to keep this from happening on their site.
Backpage crime post #118
Prostitution/Human Trafficking post #704
Tags: backpage, child prostitution, child rape, Dorchester, kidnapping, Massachusetts, Norman s. Barnes, Village Voice Media
Jeffrey Gray
NYC woman lured over CraigsList to New Hampshire home where man raped, imprisoned her: cops:
Don’t ever rely on the kindness of strangers, especially on craigslist.
A woman from New York City supposedly placed an ad on craigslist looking for a place to stay in New England so she could start a new life. What police say she got instead was 3 days of being held captive and raped.
Authorities say that 48-year-old Jeffrey Gray of Windham, New Hampshire lured her to the Green Mountain state with the promise of place she could stay. When she got to New Hampshire and met with Gray he allegedly held her captive for 3 days and repeatedly raped her. He then dropped her off at Boston’s Logan Airport.
It turns out that Gray has a history of criminal threatening and restraining orders.
Face it people. Craigslist is lost to the criminals. It’s no longer the friendly online global community that it briefly was in the late 90s. Scum like Gray are more and more becoming the norm and not the exception.
Craigslist crime post #1447
Predators post #220
Kidnapping post #3
Tags: craigslist, Jeffrey Gray, kidnapping, New Hampshire, rape, Windham
The Late Michael Crandell
Lexington Man Kills Self After Chase In N.Y.:
I had trouble finding details on this one but from what I can ascertain 28-year old Michael Crandell of Lexington, Kentucky posted an ad for a motorcycle on craigslist. When someone that he knew showed up at his home about the motorcycle that person was tied up and taken to another county to be robbed.
Crandell was on the run until a few days ago when police spotted him in Clinton County, New York trying to cross over into Canada. A police chase that included Crandell driving on the side walk ended when police surrounded him and Crandell committed suicide by shooting himself while his girlfriend was in the car with him.
The girlfriend, 22-year-old Erica Felix, was arrested for marijuana possession and hindering prosecution. No word on if she was adorned in the chunks of her boyfriend when she was arrested.
Craigslist crime post #1443
Kidnapping post #2
Robbery post #152
Tags: Clinton County, Kentucky, kidnapping, Lexington, Michael Crandell, New York, police chase, robbery
Judge in Craigslist ‘sex-slave master’ case says consensual S&M can be criminal:
In the case of John Hopkins a judge has ruled that an S&M relationship can cross over into being rape, kidnap and torture.
If you’re not familiar with this story Hopkins is accused of making a 27-year-old Wisconsin woman his sex slave after promising her free rent on craigslist. Hopkins claims the pair were in a consensual BDSM relationship for two years. However the judge says that does not excuse some of things Hopkins is accused of doing.
“We’re dealing with two individuals with varying degrees of mental instabilities,” Judge Patricia DiMango said in the case of accused sicko “master” John Hopkins and his alleged victim, a 27-year-old Wisconsin woman.
“In these types of situations, with the facts presented by both sides, both the consensual and criminal can co-exist,” the judge said.
“At some point, it can change to a situation where no means no. There comes a time when they’re not playful fun any more and they become dangerous — criminally dangerous.”
Still, the judge said, “I’m not denying that at some point and at some time this abuse and torture was consensual.”
The article states that the victim claims she broke her hand trying to escape from being shackled.
Right now to me this seems like a he said/she said kind of case but still, as I said previously, with the injuries that the victim sustained the judge may be right in saying that the consensual and criminal can co-exist.
UPDATE: Hopkins has pleaded not guilty.
Craigslist crime post #1430
Predators post #210
Safer classifieds at Geebo.com.
Tags: Brooklyn, craigslist, John Hopkins, kidnapping, New York, rape
Craigslist ‘sex slave’ e-mail trail:
It figures. As soon as I post the story about the Wisconsin woman who claims that she was being held as a sex slave by a guy she met on craigslist it turns out that may not be the case.
The attorney for the suspect, John Hopkins, says that the woman allegedly had a BDSM type relationship for over a year and that they did not meet on craigslist.
“i yearn to serve my Master better. can i cook for you tomarrow? i love you so much.,” she allegedly wrote in the e-mail, which she signed “sub,” apparently for the S&M term submissive.
Even if that is the case John Hopkins may still be a rapist. Again I think the injuries that the victim sustained indicate rape.
More on this as details become available.
Craigslist crime post #1409
Predators post #206
Tags: Brooklyn, craigslist, John Hopkins, kidnapping, New York, rape
Wis. woman says she was held in NYC as sex slave:
I’m sure you’ve all heard this story by now. A woman from Wisconsin responded to an ad on craigslist from a man seeking a roommate in Brooklyn, New York. The man offered to pay for not only her plane ticket from Wisconsin to New York but would pay her rent if she cooked and cleaned for him. Not to make light of the situation but with most too good to be true offers on craigslist too good to be true is a massive understatement.
Rather than cooking and cleaning police say that 45-year-old John Hopkins made the 27-year-old woman his sex slave. He allegedly chained her to a radiator, repeatedly beat her and raped her and forced him to call him master. This all went on for eight torturous days. Supposedly he only let her leave the apartment so she could go to work. More on that in a little bit.
The woman was treated for rectal bleeding and bruising. I’m sorry but that does not sound like a normal BDSM relationship to me.
As far as why the woman kept returning to the apartment I have a theory that was brought forth by lovely and talented wife Jade. She believes that since Hopkins probably had her personal information in order to purchase her plane ticket he probably threatened her family if she did not return. I have an addendum to that theory as well. The victim had a job as a chef on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. To me that sounds like this could have been her dream job and that she didn’t want to risk having to leave New York.
Both of those, to me, show just how much of a manipulative predator that John Hopkins can possibly be.
Also I would strongly recommend never falling for the craigslist ads that say that they’ll pay for your half of the rent in eschange for domestic services. More than likely they’re after something else.
Thanks to Courtney for the tip.
Craigslist crime post #1408
Predators post #205
Tags: Brooklyn, craigslist, John Hopkins, kidnapping, New York, rape
Police: Woman tried to arrange kidnap of husband:
Corvallis woman tried to hire kidnapper on Craigslist, police say:
I wasn’t sure how to open this post. I could either go with “You really can find anything on craigslist, even kidnappers” or “Just when I thought I had seen it all.” So instead I’m going with both.
Anyway Mari-Teresa Price of Corvallis, Oregon has been arrested for allegedly trying to solicit kidnappers on craigslist. She wanted them to break into her estranged husband’s home, ransack the place then kidnap him. No word on what she wanted them to do after he was kidnapped or if she would try and demand ransom.
One of the people that she was in contact with called police.
If you want to use a classified site that’s free of kidnappers and other miscreants I really do recommend Geebo.com. The soft G stands for…um….geometry? As in you’ll get a square deal when you use Geebo.
Craigslist post #1241
Kidnapping post #1
Tags: Corvallis, craigslist, kidnapping, Mari-Teresa Price, Oregon
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