CONCORD - Prosecutors began their case yesterday against a Florida convict on trial on charges of enticing a 15-year-old Windham girl to run away from home so the two could have sex.
A jury heard about how Daniel Lenz, 26, allegedly met the girl online while the two were playing the game World of Warcraft and eventually convinced her to flee home.
The girl's parents had forbidden Lenz from visiting Windham to see her. On March 27, the girl left home while her mother was out, leaving with Lenz's friend Jason Dowling, prosecutors said. Windham police began working with the game's distributors and federal authorities, which helped them identify Lenz through his Warcraft account.
Dowling drove as far as Manning, S.C., before authorities tracked him and the girl down after obtaining Dowling's cell phone number.
Lenz was arrested the next day on an unrelated gun possession charge at his Jacksonville apartment after deputies went to the apartment searching for the girl.
The girl's mother testified yesterday in U.S. District Court that her daughter was allowed to play the online game with Lenz, but the two couldn't see each other.
"I sat her down and I spoke to her, and she was OK with that," the mother testified. "I said they could communicate, but he couldn't come up and they couldn't exchange information."
The mother explained to jurors that her daughter was home-schooled because of a social anxiety disorder. She described her daughter as bright, taking courses such as honors classes in English, French and geometry, but she was taking prescription medication for depression. The mother said the one joy her daughter found socially was playing the Warcraft game.
"She seemed happier," the mother said. "She smiled more."
Sometimes the parents would hear a soda can crack open late at night, only to find their daughter still playing the game, she testified.
Defense lawyer Bjorn Lange asked the mother about statements the daughter made about killing herself if she could no longer play the game. Her parents threatened restricting her game play once her studies began dropping off.
"She said it was the only thing that gave her pleasure," her mother said. "She said she might as well kill herself if we took (the game) away."
A jury heard about how Daniel Lenz, 26, allegedly met the girl online while the two were playing the game World of Warcraft and eventually convinced her to flee home.
The girl's parents had forbidden Lenz from visiting Windham to see her. On March 27, the girl left home while her mother was out, leaving with Lenz's friend Jason Dowling, prosecutors said. Windham police began working with the game's distributors and federal authorities, which helped them identify Lenz through his Warcraft account.
Dowling drove as far as Manning, S.C., before authorities tracked him and the girl down after obtaining Dowling's cell phone number.
Lenz was arrested the next day on an unrelated gun possession charge at his Jacksonville apartment after deputies went to the apartment searching for the girl.
The girl's mother testified yesterday in U.S. District Court that her daughter was allowed to play the online game with Lenz, but the two couldn't see each other.
"I sat her down and I spoke to her, and she was OK with that," the mother testified. "I said they could communicate, but he couldn't come up and they couldn't exchange information."
The mother explained to jurors that her daughter was home-schooled because of a social anxiety disorder. She described her daughter as bright, taking courses such as honors classes in English, French and geometry, but she was taking prescription medication for depression. The mother said the one joy her daughter found socially was playing the Warcraft game.
"She seemed happier," the mother said. "She smiled more."
Sometimes the parents would hear a soda can crack open late at night, only to find their daughter still playing the game, she testified.
Defense lawyer Bjorn Lange asked the mother about statements the daughter made about killing herself if she could no longer play the game. Her parents threatened restricting her game play once her studies began dropping off.
"She said it was the only thing that gave her pleasure," her mother said. "She said she might as well kill herself if we took (the game) away."
The Eagle-Tribune is not naming the girl or her parents because of its policy of not identifying victims in such cases.
Lenz was able to converse with the girl privately using a chat feature, prosecutors said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Fitzgibbon spent part of yesterday questioning a legal assistant for Blizzard Entertainment, the parent company of the Warcraft game.
The company assistant, Peter Ty, told the jury how he retrieved Lenz's information at the request of Windham police. He explained how players subscribe to the game, which boasts 9 million users worldwide, and have the option of conversing either with the group they're playing with or privately. Both Lenz and Dowling had Warcraft accounts and belonged to the same "guild" in the Warcraft universe, which the girl joined.
Testimony was expected to continue today. If convicted, Lenz, who has a record of sexual contact with a child, fraud and burglary, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in federal prison.
