Morgon Douglas Jones, a 27 year old gamer, is going to find himself in a lot of trouble. He ran off with a 14 year old girl he met through WoW. They were found safe in a campground in Franklin County, Washington. We (and several of you commenters) have covered age related issues before: from age restricted servers to youths applying to raiding guilds.I am amazed at some of the creeps who play this game, and Morgon Jones definitely falls into that category. 27 years old and running off with a 14 year old girl he met through the game. It's time for him to get outside and enjoy life while he still can, since hopefully there'll be some good ol' prison time coming his way.
Reader Basic sent us the tip for this story posted on the KTVB.com website, and you can read the full article over there. There is an error in the article however, where the author says WoW is a science fiction based game, when it is actually a fantasy game (unless the author was making a critique on Outlands being too SciFi for the game, but that's highly doubtful and not given at all in the context of the article).
This is also a good time to remind people that protecting your online identity and privacy is important. Jon Eldridge in our Azeroth Security column has a great article about what you can do to protect your online identity - it's something everyone should take a minute to ensure they're doing.
Perhaps in the end stories like this will lead to tighter restrictions on age limits and interactivity based on age in the game. I can't help but think that this could have been avoided if there were tighter controls on teens interacting with adults in the game.


















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
6-02-2008 @ 3:40PM
Fugmug said...
Awesome!
Just when you think there are less stories in the world for the ignoramus press to hand the public their thoughts for the day when it come to painting WoW players with a broad brush.
Thanks to Moron D. Jones and the press, we're now all going to be considered sexual predators.
Can I get a woot?
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 3:42PM
Steve said...
Woot!
6-02-2008 @ 3:55PM
Badger said...
Double Woot! Indeed.
6-03-2008 @ 12:20AM
Arctor said...
It happens more often than you think. My cousin is actually in jail for pretty much the same thing, except with Everquest >_>
6-02-2008 @ 3:44PM
Anaughtybear said...
This story has got to be fixed. There are no 14 year old girls that play WoW. They are all busy dieting and learning how to be sluts from watching Sex and the City, or Sex in the City, or Sex with the City... whatever it is.
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 3:50PM
ILikePvPbuthatePvPers said...
My cousin plays this game and she just turned 14 two months ago. You fail.
6-02-2008 @ 7:27PM
sarah said...
i've met plenty of girls as young as 11 or 12 in azeroth. it creeps me out when they tell me that guys hit on their toons.
6-02-2008 @ 7:47PM
Freehugz said...
lol naughtybear.
@ the 2 replys: Outside in the real world, people use this thing called humor. You can find it in game by typing /silly
6-02-2008 @ 7:59PM
wyrd said...
I think this was meant a bit more sarcasticly than people took it. Yes, in reality there are 14yo girls playing wow. However, most 14yo girls today do seem to be working on their slut training than playing video games. At the risk of sounding old, have you seen how the kids (pre to early teens) are dressing today?
6-02-2008 @ 3:46PM
Rovec said...
It could have been avoided with more restrictions, yes, but I don't think the lack of restrictions is at fault here. There's nothing wrong with teenagers hanging out with adults in WoW and I'd hate to see that put to an end. The one to blame here is the creep involving himself with the teen.
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 3:57PM
Ralod said...
The blame is also on the parents. Who should have been paying attention to the daughter. The pervert is to blame as well, don't get me wrong.
But the parents need to keep track of what their kids are doing. A well adjusted 14 year would would never do something like this. But we all know, the parents will likely blame the game, as much as the guy, because they don't want to risk being blamed for being horrible parents.
I would put money on a lawsuit coming soon.
6-02-2008 @ 4:49PM
Bunkai said...
Yeah, as a parent of 2 and a player of WoW for over 3 years now, I wholeheartedly agree that the parents are at fault here.
As with 95% of all problem children, it's the parents who are to blame for poor behavior and bad morals.
The parents of today are just not doing their jobs up to par. Everyone is too liberal and just wants to be their son or daughter's best friend... that is NOT the way to properly raise a child. A child can make friends on the own if given proper structure, guidance, and discipline from their parents (not TV, teachers, babysitters, day care, etc.).
6-02-2008 @ 7:23PM
darian said...
Interestingly enough, you can say the same things about leading guilds.
If you're going to lead a guild/raise a child you have to be prepared to be the bad cop as often as the good cop.
6-02-2008 @ 3:51PM
annar said...
I sometimes do not get the people who write and fancy such stories.
I am, however, proud that wow-community has not immediately commited judgement
in the comments as it is usually done by the readers of the fine newspaper like the Sun in uk :P.
It may be just about anything, why publish their pictures?
As an european i do not get it.
Now judge me..
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 3:58PM
Badger said...
As for "not passing judgment," I cite the following:
"I am amazed at some of the creeps who play this game, and Morgon Jones definitely falls into that category. 27 years old and running off with a 14 year old girl he met through the game. It's time for him to get outside and enjoy life while he still can, since hopefully there'll be some good ol' prison time coming his way."
I believe you'll want to rethink your statement about how the WOW "Community" does not pass judgment.
6-02-2008 @ 6:28PM
George said...
Blah blah blah. Why do Europeans feel the need to turn things into a Europe vs US debate all the time?
6-02-2008 @ 3:51PM
Ryan said...
Smokey?
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 3:51PM
Arras said...
i'm sure that as a 14 this young lady is quite mature for her age, but she is still highly vulnerable (clearly), so her parents should still be actively monitoring her online usage and know who she chats with - the screen names of her friends and have blocking programs installed on the PC.
Sound harsh or draconian? Maybe a bit, but this could have ended much worse than it did.
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 3:54PM
Graevus said...
As a parent, I have a lot of sympathy for the panic and desperation this episode put her family through, and I'm very glad this ended quickly.
As a gamer, how long until we get the "To Catch a Predator: World of Warcraft Edition" special?
Reply
6-02-2008 @ 5:11PM
Old School Gamer said...
How long, you ask? They did it last year...
http://www.wowbash.com/images/1184942986.jpg