The mysterious case of Erika Perdue

Photos of the alleged criminal Erika Perdue.

OK so for all of my faithful readers, you know that I'm quite the nerd, geek whatever you want to call me. Little did you know just how nerdy I am though when it comes to some inane things.

I lost the "numbers" both when it comes to our website at TheNewsHerald.com and here on my blog. I'm always looking at popular stories, and things like what people are searching for to drive them to our site. Basically I want to see what types of things our readers are looking for, so that we can provide them with more of it.

From a conference last fall, "our" Erica Perdue is on the left.

Well this week, both on the news site, and on the blog I noticed that a former co-worker, Erica Perdue, was showing up in the search results. The only hitch being that her name was spelled wrong, so actually Erika Perdue was what was showing up.

I just assumed that Erica was covering some big story at her new job and dismissed it when I saw it Friday, but it happened again all weekend, and so far both days this week. It was so strange that I even mentioned it to another co-worker today, but neither of us gave it much of a thought.

Well finally I decided to do a search on the misspelled name. Boy was I surprised, apparently I've been so wrapped up in the local news that I missed this story out of Texas about a wealthy socialite that was arrested for running a child pornography ring. She just happened to share a name, though slightly misspelled, with my former co-worker and friend.

The FBI alleges that Erika Perdue has been downloading and sharing child pornography since as early as 1999.  According to the local media outlet that first reported the story, Perdue, 41, of University Park, faces several child pornography charges after agents raided her $1.4 million mansion in April and found a cache of graphic videos and photos on her computer.
While her husband was at work as a successful attorney, Perdue told investigators she was on the computer swapping and collecting child porn.
“She also confessed that she used file-sharing child pornography every day,” agents wrote in court documents.
Her Facebook page depicts a sultry housewife who liked to pose provocatively for pictures. In the couple’s driveway sits a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro with vanity license plates "MY SYN."

I sure hope that no one really confused my friend with this whacko from Texas.