A 44-year-old man is in federal custody after using a social networking app to meet and have sex with a 14-year-old girl.
Moses Virgil Campbell Jr., 44, allegedly used the “iDate-Personals Dating Service for Singles of Any Sex” app on his iPhone to hook up with a teen, according to an affidavit written by FBI Special Agent Alicia M. McShane.
This is the third sex case involving minors and iPhone apps we’ve come across — after one in Canada involving Grindr and another unnamed social networking app in Phoenix. Both Grindr and iDate are free apps and classified as “games,” require users to be 18 or over.
iDate is not marketed overtly as a hook-up app but “love at your fingertips.” There are also iDate gay and Christian versions.
App maker Netway President Tom Reed told the Washington Examiner that the company looks for underage users by scanning profiles for words like “teen.” They also review every picture to screen out users who look like they’re too young to join.
Campbell reportedly sent the teen a message through iDate that included his phone number. She called and the two began building a relationship over the phone, court documents said.
While the general consensus seems to be that app makers aren’t at fault, it seems that after purging anything remotely sexual from the iTunes store, Apple has a way to go to making it as family friendly as they state.
