Facebook closing prison inmates' accounts

Facebook has begun closing the accounts of California prisoninmates after a convicted child molester viewed the pages of hisvictim from behind bars, authorities and the social networking sitesaid.

Facebook has shut down the accounts of at least two prisoners andofficials are working on identifying other accounts that had beenaccessed from behind bars, said the California Department ofCorrections and Rehabilitation.

Though most prisoners in California do not have access to theInternet, they often log onto the Internet with contraband cellphones, despite an effort to crack down on the devices, correctionsofficials said.

California corrections officials, who formally announced thepartnership with Facebook on Monday, said they have receivedhundreds of complaints from victims who were contacted by prisoninmates behind bars.

They include the convicted child molester, who prison officialssaid viewed the Facebook and MySpace pages of his victim, thenmailed her family some drawings of the girl, officials said.

The victim was 10 years old when she was molested and 17 when shewas contacted by the offender, who had used the Web to learn how shewore her hair and her brand of clothes.

"Really, they're just limited by their imagination, you've gothigh ranking gang members shot-calling, ordering crimes to becommitted on their behalf," California Department of Correctionsspokeswoman Dana Toyama told Reuters.

Palo Alto, California-based Facebook lets inmates use the websiteif they are located in a state that allows them to access theInternet.

But since California prohibits inmates from using the Web, thecompany confirmed that it is working with state officials to removethem from Facebook.

The policy will not apply to inmates who created an accountbefore they were sentenced and have not used it while incarcerated.

Facebook's policies prohibit an individual other than theregistered user from updating a Facebook account, which happensoccasionally when an inmate asks a friend or family member to accesstheir page.

"We will disable accounts reported to us that are violatingrelevant U.S. laws or regulations, or inmate accounts that areupdated by someone on the outside," Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyessaid in a statement.

California has seen the number of contraband cell phones takenfrom inmates jump from 261 in 2006 to 10,760 last year, which showsthe problem is increasing. "We're on track to way surpass lastyear's numbers," Toyama said.

Earlier this year, mass murderer Charles Manson was caught forthe second time with a phone at a California prison.