When fugitive sex offender Adrian Hill was apprehended in Lansing, Michigan this month, it wasn’t an FBI database, but the popular social media website Facebook that led to his capture.
On Easter morning, Michigan Messenger reporter Todd Heywood was contacted by several concerned local citizens to report that fugitive sex offender Hill was working at a daycare center in the area. Hill was apparently helping with organization of a charity event at the community center which many of the youth in the area attended. Heywood started some research online and was able to track Adrian Hill’s exact location on Easter morning. In an article for the Michigan Messenger, Heywood documents his investigation:
Hill, 37, made little effort to conceal his identity or location, which were easily uncovered by a Michigan Messenger investigation. The information about Hill was discovered on publicly available websites including Facebook, where Hill maintained a page under his own name, using his actual birth date. In addition, that website indicated that the convicted sex offender was actively involved in a Jackson daycare center and was preparing a large event to feed the homeless at a community center frequented by many of Lansing’s poorest youth. The profile also indicates Hill had been running a non-profit ministry reaching out to support the disabled and their families.
Most chilling of all, Hill is pictured on his Facebook page with a young child in his lap.
Heywood shared his research with the Lansing police which led to Hill’s arrest just days later.
Thanks to the internet and social media sites like Facebook, criminal justice officials can apprehend criminals faster than ever before. If you have a knack for social media and an interest in criminal justice, imagine what good you could do in the world. Click here to investigate a criminal justice career.
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