1. Background

2. Investigation

3. Reaction

4. Legal changes
     National    South Australia  

5. References

6. External links

Background

Carly Ryan (26 January 1992 – 20 February 2007) lived in Stirling, South Australia with her mother. Approximately 18 months before her death, while using MySpace (and VampireFreaks.com), she befriended "Brandon Kane",^[1] an American citizen living in Melbourne, which eventually grew into an online and telephone romance.^[2][5] In January 2007, Garry Newman travelled from Melbourne posing as "Shane", the father of Brandon, in order to give her presents (lingerie and a nurse's outfit) from the non-existent Brandon.^[2] After meeting her mother, Sonya, he was then allowed to attend Ryan's 15th birthday party and stay overnight.^[2] After a shopping trip together, and his increasingly erratic and possessive behaviour at the party, he was told to leave by Sonya Ryan,^[3] who then limited Ryan's mobile access. Later, on 19 February, Ryan left the house for an apparent sleepover with friends, but after not returning the next day, the police were notified. The same morning, at Horseshoe Inlet in Port Elliot, Ryan's battered and dishevelled body was found floating face-down in the shallow water,^[3] and attempts to revive her failed.

Investigation

The autopsy revealed 19 separate injuries, and the cause of death was drowning and facial trauma. Investigators examined security footage, which showed Ryan in and around Port Elliot on 19 February, in the company of two men, and she was last seen alive by witnesses at the beach at 9.30 pm.^[3] A pale blue vehicle used by the men led police to Mornington, where a raid (11 days after the murder^[2]) led to the arrest of Newman, and the detention of Newman's younger son. A search revealed that Newman had kept a notebook detailing some 200 online personas, and other criminal attempts at grooming both in Australia and internationally.^[2] At trial, Newman, who was initially not identified to the media, acted erratically and initially denied meeting the teenager.^[6] On 21 January 2010, Newman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 29-year non-parole period.^[4][7] Newman's adopted son, who was 17 at the time, and a witness to the killing, was cleared of all charges, and his identity remains suppressed.^[3]

Reaction

After the trial, Sonya Ryan helped to set up The Carly Ryan Foundation, a non profit charity created to promote internet safety.^[8] In 2013, the Foundation began lobbying for a legal change to improve the protection of minors online,^[9] particularly given that 25% of teenage Australians are being contacted online by people they do not know.^[5] The Foundation also promoted safety awareness in Australia and New Zealand (such as the use of online contracts^[5]), and created a smartphone application, called Thread, as a personal safety app for children.^[3][10] Sonya Ryan, also received a South Australian of the Year Award in 2013 for services to the community.^[11][12]

Legal changes

National

After a number of unsuccessful proposals by Senator Nick Xenophon's team, on 25 May 2017, a bill titled Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017 was submitted to the Parliament of Australia. The purpose of the Bill was "to introduce an offence to criminalise acts done using a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to, procure, or engage in sexual activity with, a person under the age of 16. This expressly includes a person misrepresenting their age online as part of a plan to cause harm to another person under 16 years of age."^[4] It proposed changes to three federal Australian laws: Criminal Code Act 1995; Crimes Act 1914; and, Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. The amended bill was passed at the Federal level and enacted into law on 23 June 2017.^[13]

South Australia

A similar, but tighter version of the law initially failed to pass the Legislative Council in South Australia in 2013.^[14] Later, following a petition, an amended bill was introduced by Attorney-General Vickie Chapman,^[9] and was passed by the Parliament of South Australia on 5 July 2018,^[31] which made it an offence for an adult (aged 18 or older) to lie to a child about their age or who they are and then attempt to meet that child.^[15] These amendments came into effect on 13 August 2018.^[16]

References

External links

• Carly Ryan Foundation

• Lennay Kekua
• Lennebergwald
• Lennegebirge
• Lenneke Ruiten
• L'Ennemi Intime
• Lennep district
• Lennep, Montana
• Len Newcombe
• Lennie (barque)
• Lennie Bluett
• Lennie Clements
• Lennie Felix
• Lennie Guest
• Lennie Mace
• Lennie Pearson
• Lennie Sogoloff
• Lennie sogoloff
• Lennie (surname)
• Lennie Waite
• Lennie Woodard
• Lenni Frazier
• Lenni Montiel
• Lenningrad
• Lennon (album)
• Lennon and Maisy