A Washington state jailer whose wife discovered through Facebook that he had married a second woman has pleaded guilty to attempted bigamy.

Alan O'Neill, 42, of Graham, was charged in March after his first wife learned of his second wife through a Facebook "people you may know" notification and alerted authorities.

The second woman's profile photo showed her with O'Neill, dressed up and standing near a wedding cake, The Tacoma News Tribune reported Friday.

O'Neill, who was accompanied to court Thursday by the second woman, told Superior Court Judge Beverly Grant he never meant to commit a crime.

"I've never done anything intentionally wrong in my life," he said.

O'Neill was spared jail time but will be on probation for a year. The charge is a gross misdemeanor.

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He has annulled his second marriage and is divorcing his first wife.

O’Neill married his first wife in 2001, when he was known as Alan Fulk, The News Tribune reported in March. The couple split up eight years later, but the pair never divorced, the newspaper reported. Last December, he reportedly petitioned to have his name changed to O’Neill before marrying his second wife.

O'Neill's first wife seems to have forgiven him. She wrote a letter of support, saying that the media coverage has been enough punishment.

Related: Man charged with bigamy after wives' Facebook encounter

"He just made a bad decision that hurt a few people's feelings and (brought) embarrassment to himself," she wrote.

O'Neill's lawyer, Philip Thornton, told the judge his client tried to get a divorce from his first wife before he married the second one. O'Neill trusted a neighbor to process his divorce through Lincoln County, but the neighbor didn't file the paperwork, Thornton said.

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"Mr. O'Neill failed to follow through on that," Thornton said. "He is extremely embarrassed and remorseful."

O'Neill's future as a Pierce County corrections officer remains in question.

He is on unpaid leave. Sheriff Paul Pastor, who oversees the jail, will evaluate the results of an internal affairs investigation before deciding whether to allow O'Neill, on the job for five years, to come back to work, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.

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Three weeks ago, an alumnus of Franciscan University of Steubenville was researching online a rape that had occurred years ago near the campus.

One of the search results upset the alum: A social work course on deviant behavior offered by the Catholic university that lumped together “murder, rape, robbery, prostitution, homosexuality, mental illness and drug use.”

Franciscan University

The alum, a member of a Facebook group for gay graduates of Franciscan University, posted the course description, and members of the group contacted the sole accrediting agency for social work education to examine the university’s program.    

"The fact that homosexuality was identified in the course description as a deviant behavior raises a flag," Stephen Holloway, director of the accrediting agency, Council on Social Work Education, told National Public Radio.

The group, meanwhile, has asked that “homosexuality” and “mental illness” be removed from the description.

Mental illness is not a deviant behavior but a condition, noted Elizabeth Vermilyea, a psychology professional who founded the Facebook group, and homosexuality was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973.

“I’ve talked to people who took the course and judging from the textbook, it seemed pretty harmless,” she said. “But that description sends a message in an atmosphere that’s already sending messages.”

Plus, she said: “They didn’t put pedophilia in that description and that would have been a no-brainer.”

Franciscan University defended itself in a statement to NPR, saying the university “follows Catholic Church teaching in regard to homosexuality and treats homosexual persons with “respect, compassion, and sensitivity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2358) while holding homosexual acts as “intrinsically disordered” (Catechism, No. 2357).

But Vermilyea argued the course description doesn’t follow Catholic teachings.

“The Catholic Church says that being gay is not sinful but that the actions are disordered,” she said. In other words, it’s OK to be gay, just not to act on those feelings.

Gregory Gronbacher, a member of the Facebook group who graduated from Franciscan in 1990, said he doesn’t believe administrators are evil – “They mean well but they live within a bubble.”

“If you live in that sort of intellectual isolation where gay people are hidden, it’s easy to wander down that path where gay people are rapists and murderers – that scary 'other,'” he said.

In college he was a serious Catholic who dated quietly – speaking out could have gotten him booted from school, he said. He went on to become a theology and philosophy professor but has since left academia and the church, in part because of its stance on homosexuality.

Other members of the Facebook group – there are 105 – have posted memories of being ridiculed, shamed and sent to recovery groups for being gay.

“I didn’t start it for activism,” Vermilyea said. “It was community for people who understand the lesbian gay experience but also who went to that university. A lot of people in the group needed their wounds to heal.”

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Be careful of what pictures of your ex you put on Facebook.

The boyfriend of Christopher Shell's ex-girlfriend has been charged with making Thursday's hoax phone call that forced a US Airways flight to return to the Philadelphia airport. Shell is the passenger who was removed at gunpoint by federal agents, after a caller falsely claimed he was carrying liquid explosives. 

Kenneth W. Smith, Jr, 26, of Philadelphia, has been charged with making a hoax threat. He'll appear in court at 1:30 p.m. 

The charge carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Court documents say Smith admitted yesterday that he got up Thursday, walked to a pay phone, and made the call to Philadelphia Airport police. His motive, according to investigators, "was to avenge (Shell's) ex-girlfriend" after Shell posted a compromising picture of her on Facebook.

Shell gave investigators Smith's name after agents asked him who might have made the call. Text messages on Shell's cell phone included "recent hostile messages exchanged" between Shell and his ex about her relationship with Smith, investigators said. Shell told the FBI where to find Smith. 

US Airways Flight 1267 was en route to Dallas-Fort Worth when law enforcement officials were tipped off to a possible suspicious item on board. The jet returned to Philadelphia International shortly before 9 a.m. ET out of a "abundance of caution," an airline spokesman said Thursday.

US Airways rebooked passengers on later flights.

In yet another wrinkle, when Shell arrived to Dallas late Thursday, he was arrested by local police.

He was wanted on several existing warrants in Texas for offenses having nothing to do with the hoax. When he became famous Thursday because of the plane hoax, and police in Texas discovered he was coming their way, they prepared to meet him at the airport and take him into custody on unfinished business.

Federal officials were not certain of the nature of the existing warrants.

The cost of the hoax will cost US Airways "upwards of tens of thousands of dollars in direct and indirect costs," the airline said.

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SEDRO-WOOLEY, Wash. - A 19-year-old registered sex offender has been arrested in Skagit County, Wash. after the mother of the girl he was dating set up a Facebook sting.

Jesper and Julie Myrfors say they had been concerned about their daughter’s boyfriend.

"We just thought she was getting into a dangerous situation,” said Jesper.

"When I met him, he was totally charming, really likable,” said Julie.

He is 19-year-old William Elms, also known as Liam. Liam was dating the Myrfors' 17-year-old-daughter. Then, the couple learned Liam was a registered sex offender.

Read the full story at KING 5

"When there's a question, follow it.  Find the answer for your kids,” said Julie.

With some help, the parents set up a sting. The Skagit Valley Herald reported that the couple created a fake profile of a 15-year-old girl, linked to a mutual friend of their daughter.

After a short time, Elms began sending explicit messages and pictures to the ‘girl’.

"My daughter didn't know we had done this. I invited her on to begin watching live.  She started watching conversations on our fake little person,” said Julie. "The hardest part as a parent was watching her heart break."

The relationship was over, but the story wasn't.

"If we were just to say, well, our daughter's off the hook.  We would be bad citizens,” said Jesper.

After the couple informed police, Elms was arrested at the Snohomish County Jail where he was serving time for a probation violation. He's now back in the Skagit County Jail, facing charges of Immoral Conduct with a Minor.

The Associated Press reported Elms’ arrest took place on August 18.

KING 5 is an NBC affiliate based in Seattle.

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Oconee County Jail Deputy Dewayne Powers was fired for sending a Facebook friend request and texting a 23-year-old female inmate while she was still in jail.

Authorities in northeast Georgia say a jail deputy was fired and another resigned after they sent Facebook friend requests to an inmate while she was locked up in the county jail.

Oconee County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Lee Weems said Andrea Rogers resigned and "pretty much owned up to his portion of the thing pretty quickly" after an internal investigation revealed he sent a Facebook friend request to a female inmate.

Oconee County Jail Deputy Dewayne Powers was fired and Deputy Andrea Rogers resigned following an internal investigation that revealed both men had “inappropriate communications” with a 23-year-old female inmate.

Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Lee Weems said Monday the men sent Facebook friend requests to the woman while she was incarcerated in the jail, and Powers also sent a text message to the inmate’s phone. Additionally, both deputies engaged in face-to-face conversations of a sexual nature with the inmate, according to Weems.

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The allegations came to Sheriff Scott Berry’s attention on July 23, the day the inmate, whose name has not been released, was bonded out of jail. The woman told her boyfriend, who told the sheriff, Weems said.

The inmate, who was incarcerated on June 28, did not have access to her phone or a computer while she was in jail, but an examination of her computer showed the friend requests sent by the men, and an examination of her phone showed the text message, according to Weems’ report.  

The sheriff fired Powers, while Rogers resigned following an August 3 hearing. Weems said Powers had 10 days to file an appeal, but he didn’t.

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“There was a difference in the level of conduct between the two,” Weems told the Athens Banner-Herald. “The one that resigned pretty much owned up to his portion of the thing pretty quickly.”

Weems said it is not fully known what exactly was said between the inmate and the two deputies, but during an interview with the two on July 24, they both admitted to having electronic contact with the woman.

“I don’t have any exact quotes from her … just conversations of a sexual nature,” Weems said. “There is no evidence of any actual physical contact having taken place, and such was adamantly denied by all parties involved.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Updated at 3:56 p.m. ET: The chairman of the Rutland County, Vt., Republican Committee on Tuesday admitted to posting comments on Facebook that he said were meant to be satirical but which Democrats labeled “racist” and “appalling.”

In a statement issued to the local newspaper, the Rutland Herald, Rob Towle said he took full responsibility for the post, which has since been taken down along with the entire Rutland County GOP Facebook page.

Towle called his post “stupid and insensitive” and said he was “truly sorry.”

His statement continued:

"It was a case of bad judgement and anyone that knows me, knows that the post does not reflect my personal values, nor does it in any way reflect the values or beliefs of any GOP official, Candidate, GOP worker, or any person that I am friends with or associate with. At no time was any person other than myself involved with this post and I wanted to make sure people understand I take full responsibility.

In writing this statement (with a heavy heart and great sorrow), I hope this message will reach those offended and will take this apology for face value and find it in their hearts to forgive."

The post was spotted on Sunday by the Vermont political blog Green Mountain Daily. It read:

“Just wanted to let you know - today I received my 2012 Social Security Stimulus Package. It contained two tomato seeds, cornbread mix, a prayer rug, a machine to blow smoke up my butt, 2 discount coupons to KFC, an "Obama Hope & Change" bumper sticker, and a "Blame it on Bush" poster for the front yard. The directions were in Spanish. Watch for yours soon.”

Green Mountain Daily also pointed to three comments written by the Rutland County GOP in response to the post. One read “Comedy is usually based in reality ... call it racist if you must ... not too far off from the truth (I didn’t write this one but it IS funny and scary at the same time).”

By Monday, the post was deleted and Towle issued a statement saying the post was meant to be "satirical" and intended to "show the author's frustration at the current economic situation that he/she finds themselves in."

"I realize now that there are those that were deeply offended and for that I am very saddened and I will make sure that our editoral process will result in posts to our pages that reflect the spirit of good natured political discussions. My hope is that we can get back to the critical dialog necessary to move Vermont and the US back towards economic prosperity.”

 On Tuesday, the entire Rutland County GOP Facebook page was taken offline.

Towle wouldn’t comment to NBC News on Tuesday beyond what he wrote in the letter to the Herald.

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Vermont Democratic Party Chair Jake Perkinson called the original post discriminatory, noting it came the same week that Republican Gov. Paul LePage of Maine compared the IRS to the Gestapo. 

“For the second time in a week, Vermont Republican Party Chair Lindley is continuing to sit by and allow his candidates and county chairs to align with discriminatory remarks instead of discussing a real plan for strengthening Vermont’s middle class and economic future,” Perkinson said in a statement Monday.

“Comparing the 2012 Social Security Stimulus Package to racist rhetoric is appalling. Deleting the post from the internet is not enough, both the Rutland County Republicans and Lindley should apologize for vile comments that only move Vermont backwards.”

In a follow-up email to NBC News on Tuesday, Perkinson described Towle's Monday comments as “sophomoric and insincere.”

“Instead of apologizing, he attempts to shift the blame for his actions to 'Democrats' for being offended by his racist post. Mr. Towle should take full responsibility for his words and make a meaningful apology.”

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Bexar County Sheriff's Office

Jason Carroll Moss, 38, was arrested Friday night.

A 38-year-old Texas man who says he was bullied in high school has been accused of threatening his San Antonio classmates online before his 20-year reunion.

Jason Carroll Moss was arrested Friday night, just as the reunion weekend kicked off at a bar in Fair Oaks Ranch, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Moss was charged with misdemeanor harassment and released early Saturday on a personal recognizance bond.

Moss was arrested after some people who noticed the online posting contacted police.

Police say Moss reportedly admitted to posting harassing messages on a Facebook page for the John Marshall High School Class of 1992, the Express-News reported. He claimed he did so to prevent further bullying during the reunion, according to the Express-News.

About 150 people attended Saturday night’s event in the San Antonio area as police patrolled nearby.

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According to the Express-News, arrest warrant affidavit included Moss's Facebook comment:

“I stayed away from graduation at the time because I would have started the Columbine shootings early. I was picked on and bullied by a bunch of you when I went to school and I wanted to kill everyone that hurt me. I'm still seeking vengeance on all those who bullied and harassed me when I was growing up or went to school. You people do not know what you did to me.”

No published phone number could immediately be located for Moss and msnbc.com could not reach him for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Brendan Haas, the 9-year-old Kingston, Mass., boy who gave a fallen soldier’s family a trip to Disney World, has done it again.

During an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday, anchor Robin Roberts told Brendan that the Walt Disney Co., ABC’s parent company, would award him and his family an all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World. Plus, she said, Disney would provide VIP treatment not only for Brendan’s family, but also for the family of 2-year-old Liberty Hope Steele, whose name Brendan pulled out of a hat to award the first trip. Her father was killed in Afghanistan.

Brendan responded to Roberts in a Skype interview: “We can’t accept a trip to Disney but we have many more people who would like to have an all-expenses paid [trip] through the raffle, so we can do another raffle.”

Earlier: Boy, 9, gives away Disney World trip to family of fallen soldier 

Haas earned the first trip through a trading contest through the "Soldier for a Soldier" page he and his mother, Melissa, set up on Facebook to help out a military family. He got the idea from the story of a man who traded up from a red paper clip to a house.

After Brendan's TV appearance, fans posted remarks on his Facebook page such as, "You are so amazing and have such kindness and a big heart" and "You are an inspiration to me."

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Brendan Haas earned a prize any young kid would appreciate — an all-expenses paid trip to Disney World. Instead of going, though, the Massachusetts boy gave the vacation to the family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Haas earned the trip through a trading contest on Facebook he set up to help out a military family. He got the idea from the story of a man who traded up from a red paper clip to a house.

In February, Brendan and his mother Melissa set up the "Soldier for a Soldier" Facebook page in an attempt to trade up from a toy soldier to a Disney trip.

Through a series of trades on the social network site, he managed to amass Disney gift certificates worth almost $900 as well as airfare and a stay at a Disney resort hotel.

On Memorial Day, the boy pulled the name of 2-year-old Liberty Hope Steele out of a hat. She is the daughter of U.S. Army Lt. Timothy Steele, 25, who was killed last August in Afghanistan.

“I think it would make them a lot happier,” Brendan Haas said.

It turned out that Timothy Steele’s parents live in nearby Duxbury, Mass., so Brendan went over to the family’s home and surprised the soldier’s parents with the news of the trip.

The story was first reported by NBC station WHDH-TV.

“Tim was pretty special to us,” Jack Steele, Timothy’s father told WDHT-TV. “He knew what he wanted to do at a very young age.”

Haas' ingenuity, sacrifice and thoughtfulness led to an outpouring of admiration on Facebook.

“Your one amazing young man,” wrote Ann Marie Smith Braga, “Our family lives on Hanscom AFB in Bedford, Mass. We are an active duty Army family. I want to thank you from all the Army families here at Hanscom.” 

“Your parents must be so proud of you,” wrote Cheryl Simoes-Buente. “I hope you always will be such a caring and amazing person. God bless you for your thoughtfulness!!!”

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Pam Broviak

A mother who says her middle-school daughter was forced to let school officials browse the 13-year-old girl’s private Facebook page is speaking out against the practice because, she says, "other parents are scared to talk about it."

Pam Broviak, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Geneva, Ill., says her daughter was traumatized when the principal of Geneva Middle School South forced the child to log in to her Facebook account, then rummaged through the girl's private information.

"What a violation of my daughter's privacy this whole episode was," Broviak said. The incident took "a huge toll on my daughter, who ended up crying through most of the rest of the day and therefore missed most of her classes. She was embarrassed and very upset."

There have been several descriptions lately of Facebook prying by schools – and one lawsuit was filed recently by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff against a school district that allegedly demanded a student’s social media passwords. But Broviak may be the first parent to go public with concerns about what she sees as serious violations of student privacy.

In a conversation with msnbc.com, Broviak said she confronted school officials about the incident involving her daughter soon after it occurred last fall and was told that they routinely investigate student issues by asking kids to log into their social networking pages -- or cellphones -- in the presence of administrators. And she said her daughter and other students told her they are frequently called into the principal’s office and told that they can’t leave until they surrender their passwords or unlock their phones and allow school officials to browse their personal information.

"(Students) let them see the accounts because otherwise, they are not allowed to leave the room. And that is just wrong," she said.

Kent Mutchler, superintendent of Geneva schools, said in an interview with msnbc.com that he couldn't comment on Broviak’s daughter because privacy rules prevent him from publicly discussing an individual student’s situation. But he said Broviak's description of district policy is inaccurate.

"We would never demand someone's password. When you have someone's password, you open yourself up to other issues," Mutchler said. "But if we have a disruptive situation, a school (official) will ask to see the page, and if the student refuses, we call the parents."

But principals only request access to students' social media pages under extreme circumstances, Mutchler said.

"There are different levels of concern. If there is a drug trafficking suspicion, we'll get the police involved. If it's something like cyberbullying, we'll say, 'This has been reported to us,' and ask to see the page," he said.

Often, students volunteer before they are even asked, he said.

"We ask, 'Is there something you want to show us?' that sort of thing. And they volunteer," he said. 

Such incidents are very rare among district middle schools, he said, contradicting Broviak's assertion that the inspections are commonplace. 

"It happens a half-dozen to a dozen times per year," he said.

Broviak's public complaint comes at a time when schools, employers and lawmakers around the country are wrestling with sticky privacy issues surrounding social networks. The state Legislature in Illinois is considering legislation that would make it illegal for employers to demand access to workers’ or applicants’ private social media information. That law is silent on the issue of schools and social media snooping, but federal legislation introduced last month by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., would extend the protections to students, too.

Submit your questions about social media and privacy, then join our Google+ Hangout Friday at 4 p.m. ET.

Broviak said she didn't think school officials should ever look at a child's personal social media page or cellphone without first contacting parents.

"It's just wrong for them to do this, but parents are afraid to talk about it, because they are worried, 'Are they going to target my kid?'" she said.

Additionally, she said, looking at a kids' social media page violates an entire family's privacy, even if school officials don’t intend to look at posts involving other family members.

"The whole family is exposed in this," she said. "Some families communicate through Facebook. What if her aunt was going through a divorce or had an illness? And now there's these anonymous people reading through this information."

When the first incident occurred in the fall, Broviak said she didn't know what to do -- and initially chose to let it drop for fear that complaining might make things worse for her daughter. But she said reports from her daughter that other kids have been treated the same way and a recent spate of news stories surrounding the issue pushed her to speak up. Three weeks ago she published a detailed accounting of events on her personal blog, and this week agreed to be interviewed by msnbc.com.

"It's really important for people to talk about this and know what's going on," she said. "And I'm really glad that the state Legislature and Congress are considering laws to deal with this."

Her daughter, meanwhile, has learned an important but sad lesson through this experience, Broviak said.

"It's taught her to use better judgment with adults," she said. "Basically, what (they) showed her was you can’t trust anyone. Her trust in and the respect of the adults at her school has been shattered to the point that she is struggling to look beyond this abuse and allow for the education process to occur."

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MIAMI -- A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue captain, whose Facebook comment about the Trayvon Martin shooting spurred an investigation, was demoted two ranks to firefighter Monday in a letter from the fire chief.

Brian Beckmann, who posted the comment April 11, must also complete a Fit for Duty evaluation and diversity and/or sensitivity training, the letter from Fire Chief William Bryson said. Beckmann may appeal the decision within 14 days.

Rowan Taylor, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 1403, wrote in an email statement that he disagrees with the demotion.

"As union President, I believe this discipline is excessive. We will immediately file an appeal to an independent arbitrator," Taylor said.

For more, visit NBCMiami.com

A copy of Beckmann’s initial Facebook post was in the Finding of Fact Report released by the department.

Besides having disparaging words for the prosecutor, the post also said: "I and my coworkers could rewrite the book on whether our urban youths are victims of racist profiling or products of their failed, (expletive), ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents, but like Mrs. Corey, we speak only the truth. They're just misunderstood little church going angels and the ghetto hoodie look doesn't have anything to do with why people wonder if they're about to get jacked by a thug,” he posted.

A disciplinary report said that the comment altered the reputation of the Fire Rescue department.

“The statement posted cast the subject in a negative light as well as brought ill repute to our entire organization as a result of the reference to 'my co-workers.'"

Beckmann, who said in an interview with the department that he was not the author of the post and rather copied it from what he thought was an editorial reply to a news article or blog, apologized to Bryson in a note.

“I know that my actions have brought you undue scrutiny and you didn’t deserve that,” he said. “I promise I will try harder than ever to be a decent and professional public servant to the citizens of Miami-Dade County, that was always my goal and will continue to be.”

Beckmann also explained why he chose to use the statement.

Prosecutor files evidence, witness list in Trayvon Martin case

"I have...from all the years of, all the horrible things I have seen and after a recent couple of events I was reading things that evoked a response in me that made me what to share it and it was not the response they're deeming it to be," he said according to an attachment to the memorandum.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez released a statement Monday that said he agreed with the department’s decision.

“The comments made by Captain Beckmann were reprehensible and will not be tolerated,” Gimenez said. “We can’t have our employees, especially a supervisor, making such disparaging comments about any member of our community, much less one of our own employees."

Gimenez said that he directed his staff to revise policies dealing with the issue.

"It is important to reiterate my position that public servants have a responsibility to uphold the highest levels of integrity and decency, especially when you consider our multicultural, multi-ethnic community. There’s no such thing as being off-the-clock; we are public servants 24/7 and must conduct ourselves with the utmost professionalism at all times," he said in an email statement.

Beckmann, who has worked for the county since 1997, was promoted to lieutenant in 2002 and captain in 2006. He has previously been disciplined twice for reporting late to work and responding to an unauthorized email “sent to be humorous and not county business,” according to his personnel record summary.

Other officers involved in the case were asked to receive counseling for their "lack of official action," the attachment said.

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