THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN.
The Levys are back on national television tonight to plead for their daughter's return, but will their use of the media help them find their daughter, or bring down their congressman?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN LEVY, CHANDRA LEVY'S MOTHER: I called a specific number and asked a specific question. And it was not told to me in a truthful manner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Tonight's point, the media blitz.
Cyber creeps lure a teenage girl into their basement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The victim was repetitively sexually abused, and during the sexual assault, is physically injured and is subjected to humiliating and dehumanizing acts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: What you can do to stay safe on the Net.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can never trust anyone out there. You know, who don't know who you're writing to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Plus, the cutting edge in messy divorces. Not who gets the children, but who gets the frozen embryos?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can be used for research, they can be frozen in perpetuity. They simply cannot be used for reproductive purposes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: We'll hear from both sides in a court case that's only the tip of the iceberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is cutting edge of the technology and the law. And the law needs to keep up with technology
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Now from Washington, Greta Van Susteren.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: They're doing everything they can to keep their story in the headlines. Wouldn't you, if your son or daughter were missing? The question is, will it do any good?
Tonight's "Flashpoint," the Levys' media blitz. It is more than just a few words for the news crews camped-out around their home. Now, Robert and Susan Levy are sitting down for long interviews. While taping a program with CNN's Larry King today, Susan Levy described her June 21 meeting with Congressman Gary Condit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. LEVY: Generally, when's the last time you've seen my daughter, the dates, do you happen to know where my daughter is, where did you see my daughter. "At my house," he says. And I said, "Oh, your house in Ceres?" And he says, "No, my house in Washington, D.C." And will you cooperate with our investigators in the case? And he says, "Yes, I will cooperate fully." And I think the other one was will you cooperate with the Washington police in the investigation? Those were the four questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAN SUSTEREN: Larry King's entire interview with the Levys is at the top of the hour. But first, let's take a closer look at the strategy behind their new media blitz.
Joining me from San Francisco is Carla Marinucci, a political writer for "The San Francisco Chronicle."
Carla, do you think that the Levys will gain anything by speaking out right now, or is it just in an effort to perhaps even feel better?
CARLA MARINUCCI, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": Well, Greta, I mean, the focus has now shifted to California. And a couple things happened this week that showed that they really want to stay on the air, to keep the trail hot. I mean there was the editorials in "The Fresno Bee" and "Modesto Bee", the statement from Condit himself and the CNN interview with Mike Lynch declaring the -- that he is running are for re-election. I think gone...
VAN SUSTEREN: But let me ask you, Carla. You say keep the trail hot. I mean, the police here in the District of Columbia have at least publicly said that Congressman Gary Condit is not a suspect, is not central to the investigation. Yet the Levys are focusing their attention on Congressman Gary Condit out in California.
MARINUCCI: Yes, and I think a good example of differing stories here and why we may hear more from Condit in the days and weeks to come are, just before we went on the air, Greta, I spoke to Condit's staff. They said that the congressman -- Mrs. Levy contends that there were four questions she was allowed.
They're maintaining that he did want to talk to the Levys, that they wanted -- he wanted to hear from them, that there was no limit on questions. So he has a story to tell, too. And I think his constituents want to hear it. And I think along with the Levys making their case to the media, I believe that we'll hear Congressman Condit do the same.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, it's sort of interesting. It's almost as though the Levys' interview tonight with Larry sort of shot across the bow in hopes that Gary Condit will then respond. And from what you're saying, you've obviously struck a nerve with the staff if they're talking to you about it?
MARINUCCI: Yes, they were saying that he did express concern, that he wanted to meet with them on a one-on-one kind of personal basis. The lawyers ended up involved, but they did want to stress that there was no limit on questions and that he had hoped to have a personal conversation with them.
So I think this underscores the fact that while Levys want to make sure the media attention continues on their daughter, that any kind of leads out there come forward, that on the other side, there is story to be told with Congressman Condit. And we haven't heard it yet and the constituents haven't heard it yet. And that is going to be critical as well.
VAN SUSTEREN: And of course, we're hearing that it'll come sometime before Labor Day from the congressman himself. My thanks tonight to Carla Marinucci in San Francisco.
Chandra Levy was surfing the Internet the morning she disappeared. Washington police are still keeping a handful of the web sites she visited secret. Although several weeks ago, they made public a long list of other web sites she typed into her computer. As if we did not already know there are some creepy people in cyberspace, a new story out of New York, unrelated to Levy's disappearance, is enough to shock and worry any parent.
CNN's David Mattingly has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VINCENT ROBUSTELLI, NASSAU COUNTY POLICE: The victim is repetitively sexually abused, physical and during the sexual assault is physically injured, and is subjected to humiliating and dehumanizing acts. DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is online tale of terror. A 15-year-old girl held prisoner and assaulted by a couple she met through the Internet.
ROBUSTELLI: She was kept locked in a closet blindfolded throughout the entire time.
MATTINGLY: James Warren, 41 and Beth Loschin, 46, allegedly picked up the teen from her job at a Massachusetts mall and held her for a week at several locations, including this home in Nassau County outside New York City. Neighbors were stunned.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just found it horrible that she was there for like a week and a half and we were all just going on regular lives, not even knowing she was there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard some kind of hollering going on. Either it was hollering or screaming, but I didn't think anything of it because I thought it might be her children.
MATTINGLY (on camera): Police say girl was having trouble at home, suggesting that she had wanted to run away. She allegedly met Warren in online chat room, where she had conversed with him for over a month. But police say it wasn't until she met him August 3 and got into his car that she realized what a mistake she had made.
ROBUSTELLI: I guess there are people out there that have the ability to gain people's trust. And on the Internet, you don't know what you're dealing with.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Police say the girl was handcuffed, abducted and repeatedly assaulted over an eight-day period. At one time, she was shuttled to New York City, where police say another man, Michael Montez, bound her by the neck and arms with a rope.
It wasn't until she was inexplicably left unattended last Friday in Nassau County, that authorities say she was able to first call friends.
ROBUSTELLI: Now fortunately, five minutes later, she phones the Wrentham police department and speaks to a detective O'Connell who keeps her on the line, contacts Nassau County and the eighth precinct officers immediately respond to the house.
MATTINGLY: The teen was rescued and all three suspects were arrested over the weekend, charged with sexual crimes. The two men also facing rape and kidnapping. Hometown friends of the victim express relief and a newfound sense of Internet caution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's terrible to hear about. I mean, so many kids are going into chat rooms these days and meeting new people. And it just -- you can never trust anyone out there. You know, you don't know who you're writing to across the Internet. You have no idea. And so it's terrible to hear that these things happen.
MATTINGLY: The FBI may take over the case, as authorities now explore the concern that this abduction could be part of a wider ring of Internet predators.
David Mattingly, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: How can you keep children safe when they are surfing the web? Especially teenagers, who try to get away with anything when you aren't looking
Joining me from Atlanta is J. Tom Morgan, the district attorney for Dekalb County, Georgia. And in Palo Alto, California, is Larry Magid. He is the family tech columnist for "The Los Angeles Times" and author of a booklet, "Teen Safety on the Information Highway."
J. Tom, first to you, is this case in New York, obviously it's still an allegation at this point, but sexual predators online, common or rare?
J. TOM MORGAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA: Greta, we had case exactly like this, but fortunately the victim's mother was astute enough to know what was going on. We set up a sting operation and apprehended the defendant in a mall, waiting for the victim with pornographic pictures of himself and two condoms in his pocket. So unfortunately, this case is not rare. And we're seeing more and more of them.
VAN SUSTEREN: J. Tom, I read a statistic today. 4,500 cases of predators using chat rooms to prey on teens last year. 4,500 is extraordinarily high number. Does that seem out of line?
MORGAN: No, because we are using more sting operations to catch these predators, Greta, but more and more kids have access to Internet. There is an incredible number of kids now who have Internet capability and savvy. And so, unfortunately, they are victims of these types of predators.
VAN SUSTEREN: Larry, I mean, how is this done? I mean, how do you -- what do you do? You get chat room and you try to pick up some kid?
LARRY MAGID, FAMILY TECH COLUMNIST: Yes it doesn't happen all at once. First, they're a part of a chat room and they're looking for vulnerable kids, perhaps kids that are quiet, who just look like they may be insecure.
VAN SUSTEREN: How do you tell that in chat room?
MAGID: Well, I'm told that the predators basically look and look for kids that act insecure, kids that don't speak a lot. Similar to a kid in a schoolyard who's just sitting in the corner, watching the action and not taking place. And once they get them into a discussion, then go into an instant message area, and from there, it's e-mail, then a phone call, and then finally the face-to-face meeting where the real danger can occur.
VAN SUSTEREN: But how -- Larry, how -- I mean, it seems to unusual to me. And apparently it's not, that a kid will meet someone online and agree to meet the people, especially people online can be speaking from one continent to another.
MAGID: Well, first of all, it doesn't happen constantly. I mean, millions and millions of kids are online every day and there many cases, but the majority of kids are fine, but it can happen. And the fact is, as has been said before on this program, you don't know who you're talking to you. So you have to have some basic rules of online safety that we cover at safekids.com, which are basically never get together with anybody you meet online and never give out any personal information, including your name, phone number, even where your parents work.
VAN SUSTEREN: J. Tom, give me an idea of how these sting operations work? I mean, what MO do you look for online to find someone who may be a sexual predator?
MORGAN: Our agents disguise themselves on the Internet as if they are teenagers looking for people who are trying to meet them. They follow very closely what teenagers are saying to each other. They're not spying on the teenagers, but there are codes -- code words that we know that sexual predators look for, just as the gentlemen said, to show that these are vulnerable kids. So by using these code words, we actually trigger many times the predators to start contacting us.
VAN SUSTEREN: What's the attraction though? I mean, how do you attract a kid to come and meet you though?
MORGAN: Like you said, this is not something that happens immediately. There is a trust relationship developed with these kids over many, many weeks, sometimes months to the point that this child feels like this is someone they can trust and that they would be perfectly safe with, based solely on what they have read on the Internet. And that's what frightening, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: Larry, so what's the trick for a parent to prevent this problem?
MAGID: Well, first of all, it's a good idea not have the computer in a bedroom. Put it in a public area of the house. Don't stand over the child's shoulders all the time, but walk in and out.
Also, don't overreact when the kid comes in with a problem. You know, know where to draw your battle lines. Just because your child may get into an inappropriate web site, that's not as big an issue as talking to people who they don't know and revealing private information.
Go over the online rules for safety that you'll find at safekids.com and just make sure that the child and the teenager understands that it's not so much what you see on the Internet, it's what you say. If you say something that jeopardizes your privacy, if you show up someplace, then you can get into serious trouble.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, Larry, it's hard for me to imagine being a teenager now. And we had the Internet when I was teenager, but frankly, teenagers my age didn't listen much to parents. I mean, we wanted our -- we would've wanted our computers in our own room and do what we want with them.
MAGID: Well, this is about safety. It's about personal empowerment, about teens being in control of their own bodies and keeping the bad guys at bay. And they just need to learn it one way or the other from adults, from kids. However they get the message, it's a very important message.
VAN SUSTEREN: J. Tom, how difficult to prosecute these people?
MORGAN: It's not difficult at all if we're able to catch them in the act. Unfortunately, what the sad part is that many times these guys are successful. So we prosecute only after these egregious acts have occurred against these children.
VAN SUSTEREN: Of course. And at that point, much of the damage is done. My thanks tonight to J. Tom Morgan and Larry Magid.
MORGAN: Thank you, Greta.
MAGID: Thank you.
VAN SUSTEREN: Who gets the kids? That is always one of the toughest questions when two people get divorced, but times are changing. And now, there is an even tougher question, who gets the frozen embryos? I'll tell you what a court has just decided when THE POINT returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: Two people got married, but had trouble conceiving children. So they went the in-vitro route, producing embryos by uniting eggs and sperm, freezing some and implanting others. But then they got divorced. Who controls the remaining frozen embryos? Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court said the woman does, although the man can pay to keep them frozen indefinitely.
The attorneys for both of the divorced parents are with me. In Watertown, Massachusetts is James Katz, the mother's attorney. And in Miami is the father's attorney, Erik Spevak. For the sake of privacy, we're not going to use the parents' name.
Erik, first to you. What does your client -- why does your client want the seven frozen embryos?
ERIK SPEVAK, HUSBAND'S ATTORNEY: Well, it's been his position throughout this case that when him and his wife at that time went you through the IVF process, that no matter what happened, that these frozen embryos would not be destroyed. And unfortunately as with most marriages now in this country, one out of two, ended in divorce and she changed her mind.
VAN SUSTEREN: But what does he want to do with them? I mean, his relationship with his wife is over or his ex-wife. What does he want to do with the seven embryos?
SPEVAK: He wants to -- number one, he wants to make sure that these embryos are not destroyed, number one. Number two is throughout this proceeding, he's indicated that there are many people who will adopt these embryos, including his own sister. And there many infertile couples throughout this country would love an opportunity to adopt these frozen embryos. He does not want them destroyed.
VAN SUSTEREN: Jim, what does your client, the mother, want to do with the embryos?
JAMES KATZ, MOTHER'S ATTORNEY: Well, Greta, my client's position has always been the same. She doesn't care what happens to the pre- embryos. They can be used for researched. They can be frozen in perpetuity, paid for by her former husband. What she does not want is she does not want to become a parent against her will and she doesn't want them to be used for reproductive purposes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Jim, when they say a parent against her will, I mean, if indeed these embryos were implanted in some other woman and a baby was born she would not have a legal responsibility vis-a-vis, which of course, I'm not talking about the moral responsibility, but legal responsibility. Is that right?
KATZ: She wouldn't have a legal responsibility. But Greta, as I'm sure you know, parenting involves much more than a legal responsibility. Those will be her children or child. And there's an emotional bond that cannot be changed. There's a psychological bond that was -- that cannot be broken. And no one should be forced into that situation. Bringing a child into the world is an act of love. It shouldn't be something bartered in the marketplace.
VAN SUSTEREN: Go ahead, Erik.
SPEVAK: But that was something that she bargained for when she went into the IVF process. And everyone loses sights of that fact. When she bargained for that process at the very beginning, she now has changed her mind. And anybody now can change their mind until the very end.
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, let me ask you, Erik, Let me ask you a question.
SPEVAK: Please.
VAN SUSTEREN: And it sounds like New Jersey high court has sort of given your client what he wants. He doesn't want the embryos destroyed.
SPEVAK: Yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: And what the New Jersey court has done, and correct me if I'm wrong, is that they can remain in a frozen state as long...
SPEVAK: That's correct. VAN SUSTEREN: ...as long as he pays for it. So my question is two-fold. One is, I'm sort of curious, how much does it cost to keep a frozen embryo? That's the first question.
SPEVAK: Well, actually Greta, there are seven. And it's approximately $500 per year to answer your first question.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, my second question then, does that satisfy him since there won't be a destruction if they are kept frozen forever?
SPEVAK: We are very thrilled with that part of the decision, which is a monumental decision in this country. After all, let's take a look at the facts of this case. He is the only father, to the best of my knowledge in this country, and Mr. Katz called him the father of the year, I'll take that, who wants to accept responsibility for what he bargained for.
In this day and age where fathers are being made to pay child support and not be able to see their children, here is an individual who's stepping up to the plate and saying, "I want to accept this responsibility." He's done so. And I think the world has...
VAN SUSTEREN: And of course, and the Supreme Court of New Jersey apparently has given him a victory because he will now pay $500 a year to keep frozen seven embryos.
Jim, back to you. Is your client happy with that decision?
KATZ: My -- the key in this decision -- what this case is about. This case was not about the destruction of these frozen pre-embryos. What this case was about was whether a party can be forced to be a parent against their will.
And what court did is they balanced the interest of one party who has absolutely no fertility problems. In this case, it happens to be the husband. In another one, who is being coerced into parenthood and held that her rights clearly outweigh the husband's. But this is general neutral decision, Greta. This is a decision that depends upon male...
SPEVAK: How can somebody be forced to be a parent against their will when she made that decision when she went through the IVF process? I don't understand that.
KATZ: Well, Mr. Spevak, I...
SPEVAK: She made a conscious decision at that time to do it.
KATZ: The problem is, is that Mr. Spevak would like to reargue the case. He argued before the trial court. He argued it before the appellate division. He argued it before the Supreme Court. And I'm...
SPEVAK: And I'm now arguing over national television. And I think... KATZ: Each of those courts, Mr. Spevak, rejected your position. And the only opinion that matters...
SPEVAK: Mr. Katz, my position has been...
KATZ: ...are the seven justices of the New Jersey Supreme Court. That's the opinion that matters.
VAN SUSTEREN: You know, what's so extraordinary about this case though is it sounds like what the New Jersey Supreme Court has done is satisfy both. Jim, your client doesn't want to be a parent. And the Supreme Court says she can't be a parent against her will. Erik, your client doesn't want the embryos destroyed. And the court says that the embryos won't be destroyed as long as he pays $500 a year to keep them frozen. You both win.
KATZ: And in fact, that was a position we agreed to.
SPEVAK: We view it that way, Greta. We certainly view that that way, but we're also looking at other options, Greta.
Look, this is a case that I think and Jim will agree, that this case will take national prominence because with the stem cell issue coming into fruition right now, technology now advancing to a point where the law has to match where the technology is.
Unless the law goes that way, we are to be a society where people can't predict results. People can't predict their lives. And when people go through the IVF process, they want to know what's going to happen. And our states...
VAN SUSTEREN: Erik, that then raises the big question in my mind, your client technically was the loser, but may have won because the embryos aren't being destroyed. But is your client going to try to go to United States Supreme Court to have this matter resolved?
SPEVAK: We are certainly looking at that as one option, Greta. And we are going to discuss it...
VAN SUSTEREN: Well, that may be your only option at this point. You know, is your client going to do it?
SPEVAK: Well, we're certainly going to talk to him about it, Greta. And you'll be one of the first to know.
KATZ: Greta, there's absolutely no basis for the United States Supreme Court to take review of this case. Anybody who knows about federal jurisprudence will know that.
SPEVAK: But Greta, the final word may be at the U.S. Supreme Court. And this is a state court decision. The New Jersey State Supreme Court is highly regarded, but that may not be last word.
VAN SUSTEREN: And that is the last word though, Erik. You do get the last word.
SPEVAK: Thank you, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: James Katz and Erik Spevak, thank you very much for joining me tonight.
SPEVAK: Thank you for having me.
KATZ: Thank you, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: I'll be right back after a quick break and our "MONEYLINE" update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAN SUSTEREN: If you have a question or comment about the battle over the frozen embryos, or my earlier interviews about the Levys and the Internet or any topic for that matter, I would like to hear from you. I actually read these e-mails. Send an e-mail to askGreta@CNN.com. That's one word, askGreta.
And stay tuned for Larry King's interview with Chandra Levy's parents. Robert and Susan Levy are the guests for entire hour. Then at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on "CNN TONIGHT," Kate Snow will get live reaction from Gary Condit's attorney, Abbe Lowell. I'm Greta Van Susteren in Washington. I'll see you tomorrow.
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