Sexual predator Peter Chapman has now been jailed for life after he kidnapped, raped and murdered a teenager. It was found out that Peter was able to get close to this girl by way of the well known internet social networking site Facebook.

Peter Chapman, age 33, was told by Judge Peter Fox that he must serve a minimum of 35 years in prison. Chapman had used Facebook to make friends with 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall by posing as another teenager.

Ashleigh had told her mother that she was going to go stay with a friend before leaving her home in October to meet, who she though at the time, was another 17-year-old boy. However, the body of the young girl from Darlington was found dumped in a farmer’s field near Sedgefiled in Country Durham.

Judge Fox said that the case was a salutary lesson for teenage girls and parents about the obvious dangers that can be associated with social networking sites. It has been said for a long time that meeting with people from these sites can be very dangerous.

Andy Reddick, who led the investigation, cautioned against meeting strangers through these kinds of sites like Facebook. He said that it’s clear from this investigation that sexual predators are using these sites to select their next victims. He said that the clear message is to not meet people whom users have only met by way of the networking site.

It is very easy for someone to lie on these networking sites about their age. Also, studies suggest that overtime people start to let their guard down when using these networking sites, as they start to feel more confident. This could prove to be a fatal mistake.