Courts - California SoCal child predator's MySpace link probed

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- California corrections officials are investigating whether a registered sex offender who is charged with murdering a 17-year-old girl had an account on the social networking site MySpace while he was on parole for a molestation conviction. The account would violate terms of John Albert Gardner III's parole, which prohibited him from using a computer to connect to the Internet or communicate with others. MySpace said the account was set up on Dec. 22, 2007, more than nine months before Gardner ended parole on a conviction in 2000 for molesting a 13-year-old neighbor. It removed the profile last week. A copy of the profile obtained by The Associated Press uses the names Jason Stud and Energizer Bunny. It uses sexually explicit language to describe his interests, names Playboy Mansion as his hometown and lists "CSI" and "Bones" among his favorite television shows. Gardner, 30, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Chelsea King, whose body was found five days after she vanished Feb. 25 on a run in a San Diego park. He is a suspect, but has not been charged, in the death of 14-year-old Amber Dubois, whose remains were found March 6 in a remote area north of San Diego, more than a year after she disappeared walking to school. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has not independently confirmed that the MySpace profile was created or used by Gardner, or that he used the site while on parole, said spokesman Oscar Hidalgo. He said the California Sex Offender Management Board, a panel made up law enforcement, victims and treatment experts, would investigate. A judge has issued a gag order to bar attorneys from discussing the case publicly. MySpace said Gardner was an infrequent user who had two friends. A posting on the profile in May 2008 read: "I'm poor, homeless and living in my truck." The profile's last login was on Feb. 24, the day before Chelsea went missing. Published: Mon, Apr 5, 2010

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