murder of Carly Ryan

{{Infobox person

| name = Carly Ryan

| image = File:CarlyRyanPortrait.jpeg

| image_upright = 0.8

| caption = School portrait

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1992|1|31}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2007|2|20|1992|1|31}}

| death_place = Port Elliot, South Australia

| death_cause = Murder by assault, suffocation, and drowning

| nationality = Australian

| occupation = Student

| known_for = Victim of catfishing and Internet homicide by an online predator

| mother = Sonya Ryan

| website = {{URL|http://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/|Memorial website}}

}}

Carly Ryan (January 31, 1992 – February 20, 2007) was an Australian teenager from Stirling, South Australia, who was lured and murdered by a 50-year-old serial paedophile from Melbourne, Garry Francis Newman. Using a fake identity, Newman had posed online as a fictitious 18-year-old boy and had groomed Ryan for over 18 months before eventually meeting and killing her.

The case, which highlighted the emerging phenomena of catfishing, child grooming, and online predatory behaviour, was unique at the time, given that Ryan was the first person in Australia to be killed by an online predator.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/the-australian-womens-weekly/20170907/281857233682330|title=My little girl was killed by an internet predator|last=Australian Woman’s Weekly|date=2017-09-07|via=PressReader|access-date=2018-08-23}}{{Cite news|url=https://casefilepodcast.com/case-91-carly-ryan/|title=Case 91: Carly Ryan – Casefile: True Crime Podcast|date=2018-08-04|work=Casefile: True Crime Podcast|access-date=2018-08-23|language=en-US}} In the wake of the arrest and trial of Newman, public opinion eventually led to nationwide legal changes, nicknamed "Carly's Law", being made to help protect minors online.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1617a/17bd100|title=Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017|website=www.aph.gov.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2018-08-23}}

Background

Carly Ryan lived in Stirling, South Australia with her mother, Sonya Ryan. Approximately 18 months before her death, while using MySpace (and Vampirefreaks.com), she befriended "Brandon Kane",{{Cite news|url=https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/todays-best-stories-from-true-crime-australia/news-story/c885a1599a946aab4f2c0436008b9790|title=Today's top True Crime content|work=NewsComAu|access-date=2018-08-31}} a user who claimed to be a Texas-born teen living in Melbourne who was a musician and had similar taste in music as Ryan. Their contact eventually grew into an online and telephone romance.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/iwakeupwithtoday/videos/2146244609027202/|title=TODAY|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-31}}

In January 2007, Garry Francis Newman, a 50-year-old man who had been using the fictitious Kane persona, travelled from Melbourne posing as "Shane", Kane's father, in order to give Ryan presents from Kane (lingerie and a nurse's outfit). After meeting her mother, he was then allowed to attend Ryan's 15th birthday party and stay overnight. After a shopping trip together, Newman's increasingly erratic and possessive behaviour at the party, along with inappropriate physical advances (including lying on Ryan's bed while she slept inside it), led Sonya Ryan to ask him to leave the following morning. Subsequently, she began monitoring her daughter's internet usage more closely.

Later, on 19 February, Ryan left the house for an apparent sleepover with friends, but after not returning the next day, the police were notified. The same morning, at Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot, Ryan's battered and dishevelled body was found floating face-down in the shallow water, and attempts to revive her failed.

Investigation

{{infobox event

| image = Horseshoe Bay Panoroma.jpg

| caption = Horseshoe Bay, the location of Ryan’s murder

| date = {{start date and age|df=y|2007|2|20}}

| location = Lot 850 Basham Parade,
Port Elliot, South Australia

| coordinates = {{coord|35.53267|S|138.68611|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| deaths = Carly Ryan

| type = Murder by assault, suffocation, and drowning

| motive = Failed attempt at sexual predation

| convictions = Garry Francis Newman
Guilty of murder

Newman's son
Not guilty of all charges

| sentence = Garry Newman
Life imprisonment with 29-year non-parole period{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/21/2798264.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123005531/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/21/2798264.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2010|title=Man found guilty of murdering Carly Ryan – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)|newspaper=ABC News|date=21 January 2010|publisher=Abc.net.au|accessdate=2010-10-13}}

}}

The autopsy revealed 19 separate injuries, with six to eight of them being blows to the head, and the cause of death was a combination of facial trauma, smothering, and drowning.{{Cite web|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/extraordinary-scenes-at-start-of-carly-ryan-murder-trial/news-story/b8def169051def97c91c9ad3bd648662?nk=4860e9f63f20a34414a2ef31a02edc41-1557895823|title=Carly Ryan 'lured to death by cyber lover'|date=2009-10-19|website=www.adelaidenow.com.au|language=en|access-date=2019-05-15}} It also revealed cannabinoids in Ryan's bloodstream and beach sand in her oesophagus. Investigators examined security footage, which showed Ryan in and around Port Elliot on 19 February, in the company of two men, and she was last seen alive by witnesses at the beach at 9:30 PM.{{Cite web|url=https://audioboom.com/posts/5083783-felon-s1e6-carly-ryan|title=Felon - S1E6 - Carly Ryan|website=Audioboom|language=en|access-date=2020-03-10}}

{{Infobox criminal

| name = Garry Francis Newman

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1956}}

| alias = Brandon Kane

| nationality = Australian

| known_for = Murder of Carly Ryan, online catfishing

| charge = One count of murder

| conviction = Guilty

| conviction_penalty = Life in prison with 29-year non-parole period

| conviction_status = Currently serving life sentence

| children = 3

| victims = At least 2

| endyear = 2007

| country = Australia

| apprehended = 3 March 2007

}}

A pale blue vehicle used by the men led police to Mornington Peninsula, where a raid (11 days after the murder) led to the arrest of Newman, and the detention of Newman's younger son. At the time of his arrest, a search of his computer revealed that Newman was still using the Kane identity. Further investigations revealed that Newman had kept a notebook detailing some 200 online personas, and other criminal attempts at grooming both in Australia and internationally.

At his trial, which ran from October 2009 to April 2010,{{Cite journal |last=Houlihan |first=Rebecca |date=2024-08-21 |title="Complete Strangers Can Get through Your Front Door": The Carly Ryan Murder, Teen Girls and the Internet in 2000s Australia |journal=Journal of Australian Studies |volume=48 |issue=4 |language=en |pages=466–481 |doi=10.1080/14443058.2024.2392673 |issn=1444-3058|doi-access=free }} Newman, who was initially not identified to the media, acted erratically and initially denied meeting the teenager.{{Cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/19/2717877.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091021133655/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/19/2717877.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 October 2009|title=Father, son 'made up false IDs to kill teenager'|date=2009-10-19|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-08-23|language=en-AU}} On 21 January 2010, Newman was sentenced to life imprisonment with a 29-year non-parole period.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/21/2798264.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100123005531/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/21/2798264.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2010|title=Man found guilty of murdering Carly Ryan – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)|newspaper=ABC News|date=21 January 2010|publisher=Abc.net.au|accessdate=2010-10-13}} Newman's adopted son, who was a minor at the time and a witness to the killing, was cleared of all charges and his identity remains suppressed.

Reaction

After the trial, Sonya Ryan helped to set up The Carly Ryan Foundation (CRF) in 2010, a non-profit charity created to promote internet safety.{{Cite web|url=http://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/|title=Carly Ryan Foundation|website=www.carlyryanfoundation.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-23}}{{Cite web |title=The Carly Ryan Foundation Incorporated |url=https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/charities/9bc511a8-38af-e811-a961-000d3ad24182/profile |access-date=14 November 2024 |website=Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission}} In 2013, the foundation began lobbying for a legal change to improve the protection of minors online,{{Cite news|url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/new-laws-set-for-sa-parliament-targeting-adults-who-lie-about-their-age-online-and-arrange-to-meet-children/news-story/dfb052e0194f0fbecc4c9e11e00e1787|title=SA Parliament introduces new laws targeting predators who lie about their age online to children|newspaper=The Advertiser|date=May 10, 2018|access-date=2018-08-23}} particularly given that 25% of teenage Australians are being contacted online by people they do not know. The foundation also promoted safety awareness in Australia and New Zealand (such as the use of online contracts) and also in the US,{{Cite web |last=CarlyRyanFoundation |date=2024-01-30 |title=Carly Ryan Foundation to attend US Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing in Washington DC |url=https://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/posts/2024/01/30/carly-ryan-foundation-to-attend-us-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing-in-washington-dc |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=The Carly Ryan Foundation |language=en}} and created a smartphone application called Thread as a personal safety app for children.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thethreadapp.com/|title=Thread by The Carly Ryan Foundation|website=www.thethreadapp.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-23}} Sonya Ryan also received a South Australian of the Year Award in 2013 for services to the community, as well as various other awards in 2017 and 2018 and a OAM in 2021.{{Cite news|url=https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/sonya-ryan/986/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120225621/https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/sonya-ryan/986/|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 January 2021|title=Sonya Ryan|website=Australian of the Year|access-date=2022-02-21}}{{cite news|url=http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/news-and-media/news/article/?id=south-australias-australian-of-the-year-awards-recipients-2013-announced|title=Awards recipients 2013 announced|date=13 November 2012|accessdate=2 August 2013}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/sonya-ryan|title=Carly Ryan Foundation: Sonya Ryan |access-date=2022-01-11}}

Legal changes

= National =

After a number of unsuccessful proposals by Senator Nick Xenophon's team, on 25 May 2017, a bill titled Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Bill 2017 was submitted to the Parliament of Australia. The bill covered electronic means of communications (i.e., “carriage service”), defined in law as “a service for carrying communications by means of guided and/or unguided electromagnetic energy”{{Cite web |title=Use of Carriage Service for Child Pornography Material Offence |url=https://www.aclawgroup.com.au/criminal-law/offences/sex/carriage-child-pornography/#:~:text=The%20term%20'carriage%20service'%20is,messages%20or%20social%20media%20posts. |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Australian Criminal Law Group |language=en-AU}} such as telephones, faxes, video, computers, internet, or radio. The purpose of the bill was:

to introduce an offence to criminalise acts done using a carriage service to prepare or plan to cause harm to, procure, or engage in sexual activity with, a person under the age of 16. This expressly includes a person misrepresenting their age online as part of a plan to cause harm to another person under 16 years of age.

It proposed changes to three federal Australian laws: Criminal Code Act 1995; Crimes Act 1914; and, Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979. The amended bill was passed at the federal level and enacted into law on 23 June 2017.{{Cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017A00050|title=Criminal Code Amendment (Protecting Minors Online) Act 2017|last=AG|website=www.legislation.gov.au|date=22 June 2017 |language=en|access-date=2018-08-31}}

= South Australia =

A similar, but tighter version of the law initially failed to pass the Legislative Council in South Australia in 2013.{{Cite web|url=http://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/article/view/5|title=Sign the Carly's Law Petition {{!}} Carly Ryan Foundation|website=www.carlyryanfoundation.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-23}} Later, following a petition, an amended bill was introduced by Attorney-General Vickie Chapman, and was passed by the Parliament of South Australia on 5 July 2018, which made it an offence for an adult (aged 18 or older) to lie to a child about their age or who they are and then attempt to meet that child.{{Cite news|url=https://www.victorharbortimes.com.au/story/5509452/full-version-of-carlys-law-signed-off-at-state-level/|title=Full version of Carly's Law signed off at state level|last=Brown|first=Dani|date=2018-07-05|work=The Times|access-date=2018-08-23|language=en|archive-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823110127/https://www.victorharbortimes.com.au/story/5509452/full-version-of-carlys-law-signed-off-at-state-level/|url-status=live}} These amendments came into effect on 13 August 2018.{{Cite web|url=http://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/article/view/39|title=MEDIA RELEASE: Carly's Law to protect children from predators {{!}} Carly Ryan Foundation|website=www.carlyryanfoundation.com|language=en|access-date=2018-08-23|archive-date=23 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823110355/http://www.carlyryanfoundation.com/article/view/39|url-status=live}}