Caught in a Neighborhood Web

"Don't [mess] with suburbia, because we will chew you up and spit you out," said Summerfield resident Scottie C. Burdette, 45, a mother of five, including Haskett's girlfriend. "Believe me, I got that e-mail about 20 times, so you can imagine how this exploded."

Then Burdette realized that her daughter's new boyfriend, Haskett, was named in the e-mail.

"I was a junkyard dog, instantly," Burdette said. "I told Ali, 'Eric's got some questions to answer for me.' "

Her gut feeling was that Haskett was not a sex offender. But Burdette said she worried that he might be hanging around with one.

"Those people don't get rehabilitated," Burdette said. "That's part of the reason I handled this the way I did."

She said she feels sorry for Haskett -- but only a little. Vigilance is necessary, she said. She also thinks Haskett should examine the conduct that started the incident.

"Certainly, he could check out a book from the library on dinnertime etiquette," Burdette said. "He's not a pimply-faced teenager. He could have come to the door that night like a grown-up."

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.