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Calif. Prison Inmates Blocked From Using Facebook

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- California prison officials say Facebook has agreed to work with law enforcement agencies nationwide to remove accounts set up by inmates, in part because prisoners are using the social networking site to stalk victims and direct criminal activity.

They announced the agreement Monday. It represents another step in a corrections department crackdown on inmates' illegal use of cell phones.

The department confiscated 7,200 cell phones from inmates during the first six months of the year, compared to 261 six years ago.

In one case, a convicted child molester used a smuggled phone to search his victim's Facebook and MySpace pages. He then sent current sketches of the 17-year-old to the victim's home.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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