Texas police arrest MySpace sex offenders

MySpace handed over the details of 7,000 users to the police last month

Texas police have reported the arrest of seven sex offenders who had accounts on MySpace.

The social networking site agreed last month to block registered sex offenders from its site, and handed over the details of 7,000 users to the police. These are the first arrests from that action.  

"Texans will not tolerate criminals who prey on our children," said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

"These convicted sex predators established online identities on a website that is popular with teenagers and children. The Cyber Crimes Unit will continue its aggressive crackdown on sex predators who threaten our kids.

"By providing law enforcement with this critical user profile information, MySpace has taken an important first step towards a safer internet.

"We urge all social networking sites to do whatever is necessary to protect children from internet predators."

Six sex offenders were arrested in the swoop for violating the terms of their parole by using the site to converse with children. Another man was arrested for parole violation and failing to register as a sex offender.