Marine Arrested For Tryst With Girl, 13

Cops: Marine, 20, Met Girl On MySpace And Traveled To Pittsburgh To Give Her Engagement Ring

(AP)  A Marine traveled to Pittsburgh for a Christmas Eve encounter with a 13-year-old girl he had met online, authorities charged.

Lance Cpl. Johnathan Plaisance, 20, was arrested Christmas Day in Harrisburg after the girl's parents reported her missing.

Plaisance had been communicating online with the girl for several months and brought her a diamond engagement ring, police said. He may have thought she was 15, police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.

The pair stayed at a motel before boarding a Greyhound bus to North Carolina, where Plaisance is on active duty at Camp Lejuene, police said.

Police traced the relationship after examining the family computer and the girl's account on the MySpace social networking Web site, Stangrecki said. FBI agents joined the case and helped track them to a bus station in Harrisburg where police arrested Plaisance on Tuesday night.

They brought him back to Pittsburgh early Wednesday and arraigned him on charges of interfering with the custody of a child and child concealment, according to police and online court records.

It was not immediately known if Plaisance, who was jailed, has an attorney.

The case will be transferred to U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh once the FBI completes its investigation, police said. The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh did not immediately return calls for comment.

[maddigiacona]

Defend the perp if you like, perhaps he is just stupid, after all he did join the Marines, but stop punishing the 13 year old for having poor judgment.
Posted by exCoachKen at 09:50 AM : Dec 28, 2007

Let me tell u something "EXCOACHKEN"...My son is a MARINE and I (amongst ALOT of other people) am VERY PROUD of him. WHAT makes someone STUPID for becoming a MARINE? Correct me if I am wrong, you are living in the USA? Have u heard of FREEDOM...YOU MUST BE STUPID...

[angry_us_mom]

I was dismayed to read how many people blame the military for this unfortunate situation. Teenagers want to be grown-up, and parents have to keep an eagle eye on them, including online.

[angry_us_mom]

I was dismayed to read how many people blame the military for this unfortunate situation. Teenagers want to be grown-up, and parents have to keep an eagle eye on them, including online.

[aggiekat2004]

It''s not rape if it''s consensual.

My 12-year-old niece was up online on mySpace LOOKING for older men. She was caught and reprimanded. Two weeks ago she was taken by Child Protective Services because she was allowing boys in her room for seex, and they were doing drug including meth.

Bad parenting, yes. But kids these days are not naive...look at their role models. Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan. Watch the movie "Thirteen." You''d be amazed at what the little angels are doing these days.

[zootallures2]

Duty, Honor, and Courage, huh?
Well, he had to go duty, he had the courage to not fear child protection laws, and he honored her with an engagement ring.

[andrew_693]

I guess raping, killing and supression of right from wrong seem to be the values taught in military institutions these days.

[michellem99-2009]

There are filters in the os platform..parental controls...Are ye running Vista ,THEY ARE THERE. MSN has parental controls.. so does xp, It is yer duty. Google has them... USE THEM. IF THE CHILDREN HAVE COMPUTER YE AS PARENT SET THEM CONTROLS AND BE SURE CHILDREN CAN''T OVER RIDE THEM..Step up to the plate here. Yer whine about this issue. Do something..

[rohink-2009]

My guess he also raped her too and should be hung. Scum bags like him are the reason my son is NOT allowed on myspace and is strickly monitered when he is online. I live by the motto NEVER TRUST A CHILD ONLINE WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION--KNOW HIS/HER FRIENDS AND MEET THE PARENTS. ONLINE PREDETORS AND EXPOSURE TO PORNOGRAPHY CAN BE CONTROLLED BY THE PARENTS PERIOD!
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That''s all you have is a guess angelballs. You don''t know the details of the story, don''t be so quick to condemn the guy. Maybe he is a pervert, maybe not. But you are right about parents not disciplining their children and keeping guard over them. It is a crazy world we live in and it seems a lot of parents are too self absorbed to be bothered with their children. As long as they appear to be doing well, they leave them alone. Never trust a teenager completely. I know, I was one myself long ago.

[rohink-2009]

Where did the associated press come up with "he may have thought she was 15? If he might have thought she was 15, he may have thought she was 18. CBS really has supplied no real information, just enough to cause everyone to speculate. But this story will die just like a lot of other stories and people will be left believing what they want.

[jersupporter]

b-easy63 is just another misguided failure who probably could never serve in the military or even was denied entry because of aptitude or some prior offense as a child - his distaste for anyone that succeeds highlights his personal failure. He will most likely wind up in jail or commit suicide. Waste of human flesh twit