9 Massachusetts Teens Accused of Cyberbullying
There is a modern method of bullying that may be responsible for the suicides of many young people, like Massachusetts youth, Phoebe Prince.
The official website of The Attorney General of Massachusetts defines cyberbullying as:
“Bullying, through the use of technology or electronic devices such as cell phones, computers, video gaming systems and the Internet.”
However, even in the case of Phoebe Prince, the accused are getting off with what many consider a light sentence. All charges have been dropped, or continued with out finding; except for two of the accused, who are sentenced to community service for their crimes of harassment.
Like all cyber criminals, cyberbullys can be extremely hard to identify, and the prosecution, of course, has the burden of proof.
In cyberbullying cases, a defendant’s council may call into question exactly what is the responsibility of young ones and their awareness of ethical use of technology. Do they even know that calling a peer a name is wrong if it’s done online? The internet, and texting is making it easy for almost anyone to be called a bully. Perhaps certain kids accused of being bullys and cyberbullys just need more guidence and not a criminal charge on their records.
Cases like the one of Pheobe Prince have prompted legal and educational systems across the country to incorporate cyberbullying policies into their laws. These new regulations permit school officials to intervene if any such calamity occurred outside the learning environment. No such specific policies have been written into Massachusetts law yet, but the crimes are being cited under Massachusetts harassment/stalking laws include:
- St.2010, c.92 Bullying in Schools
- MGL c.12, s.11H: Violation of Constitutional Rights
- MGL c.265 s.43: Stalking
- MGL c.265, s.43A: Criminal Harassment
- MGL c.266, s.37E: Identity Fraud
- MGL c.269, s.17: Hazing
- MGL c.269, s.18: Failure to Report Hazing
- MGL c.269, s.19: Schools to provide copy of hazing law to students
Cyberbullying can often originate from the schoolmates that are actually the accusers friends; and can often be just an innocent childhood prank.
"This doesn't end here."
Even when so-called cyberbullys are confronted by authority figures, the accused can deny the acts and blame it on someone else. It’s hard to prove, because, without legally obtaining that information from Facebook, or wherever the electronic message came from. It can be almost impossible to prove who was really behind it, and that’s why charges of cyberbullying are reduced or dropped in Massachusetts.
Attorney General, Martha Coakley says, “Advise your child that cyberbullying may be a criminal offense. Electronically-communicated threats and willfully and maliciously directing electronic communications at a specific person that seriously alarm that person and would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress are crimes.”
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