People Are Giving Craigslist a Bad Name

2 years ago

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Mary C. Curtis

National Correspondent

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In the latest twisted case, a husband is accused by police of setting up his wife's rape with someone he found on Craigslist. Did the man think he was being paid to participate in a crime? The facts of the case aren't yet clear, but police have arrested 39-year-old Rodney Liverman of Norwood, N.C., and charged him with – among other things -- first-degree rape.

The husband is already in jail. According to the Associated Press, authorities say he arranged to have Liverman attack his wife while he watched on May 31. It's already being called the "Craigslist rape."

I think I've seen this plot on "Law & Order." We've already had the so-called "Craigslist Killer," accused of a Boston murder and other crimes. It is thought the accused found his victims on the Internet site.

Google Craigslist and up pops a story about Florida authorities investigating a "Baby for Sale or Trade" ad that turned out to be a hoax. Craigslist sure is popular -- famous and notorious.

But is it fair to blame the messenger for the message, or for the schemes cooked up by criminal minds? If there were no Craigslist, it's not as though the worst parts of human nature would disappear.

We fear the perverts and the strangers lurking behind fake Internet names and carefully worded advertisements. We look at the fools caught in the child molester traps set up by cable television – the ordinary men bringing flowers and booze to their underage fantasies.

It's true that Websites allow the darkest hearts to indulge with efficiency and from a distance. But it's too easy to place "Craigslist" labels on crimes that existed before anyone turned on a computer.

Filed Under: Woman Up

Tagged: Craigslist rape, CraigslistRape

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