Cyberbullies Charged With Harassing Phoebe Prince, Teen Who Killed Herself After Rape

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Nine teens have been charged in the "unrelenting" bullying of a teenage girl from Ireland who killed herself after being raped and enduring months of torment by classmates in person and online, a prosecutor said Monday.

Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said 15-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley was stalked and harassed nearly constantly from September until she killed herself Jan. 14. The freshman had recently moved to western Massachusetts from Ireland.

"The investigation revealed relentless activities directed toward Phoebe to make it impossible for her to stay at school. The bullying for her was intolerable," Scheibel said.

Six teens -- four girls and two boys -- face charges including statutory rape, assault, violation of civil rights resulting in injury, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly and stalking. Three younger girls face delinquency charges.

Scheibel said the harassment began in September. She said school officials knew about the bullying, but none will face criminal charges.

Scheibel refused to discuss the circumstances of the rape charges.

Prince's harassment went beyond school grounds, and the teen reportedly received "taunting text messages and harassing postings on Facebook," the Boston Globe reports.

“The real problem now is the texting stuff and the cyber-bullying,’’ South Hadley School Superintendent Gus A. Sayer told the Boston Globe. “Some kids can be very mean towards one another using that medium.’’ He added, "Apparently the young woman had been subjected to taunting from her classmates, mostly through the Facebook and text messages, but also in person on at least a couple of occasions."

Sayer noted that much of Prince's bullying was "done online or by cellphones," while Scheibel reported that the harassment was "primarily conducted on school grounds during school hours and while school was in session."

Prince's family has moved away from the area and could not immediately be located for comment. Scheibel spoke for them at a news conference to announce the charges.

"The Prince family has asked that the public refrain from vigilantism in favor of allowing the judicial system an opportunity to provide a measure of justice for Phoebe," she said.

Some students accused of participating in the bullying have been disciplined by the school and will not be returning to classes.

Scheibel said the case is still under investigation, and there may be additional charges.

The Massachusetts Legislature cited Prince's death and the apparent suicide of 11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover of Springfield last year when members passed anti-bullying legislation earlier this month.

Comments

[parentto3]

11:15 AM on 04/08/2010

I lived through a similar case with my 15 yo daughter. Luckily, I found a journal where she described how she wanted to end it if the harassment didn't stop because she could not take it. We contacted the school, law enforcement, and sought counseling for our daughter.

Let me say that SCHOOLS DO NOTHING but pay lip service. My daughter was harassed in the halls, the cafeteria, and the classroom. Other students came to her defense when school officials did NOTHING.

Law enforcement was helpful but ignorant about how to handle these cases. I actually had to show them that there was a law in place for cyber bullying.

I had to pay to AT&T Wireless to change our cell plan and I paid to to block phone numbers. They offer no help to block harassers who are blocking their own phone numbers. They gladly profited from the situation.

The harassers were all losers. Four 19 year old boys involved were all unemployed and doing nothing with their lives. The harassing students were trouble makers but the damage that these kids inflicted was tragic. We monitored every part of my daughters life and she became a prisoner of the situation.

Harassing will continue until we hold harassers, schools, and parents accountable. If this happened in a corporate setting and the result was a suicide. The supervisor and business would be held accountable, why should school employees be any different? On one last note, parents, PARENT YOUR KIDS!

[dakotawoman]

01:38 PM on 04/07/2010

Just a note about bullying in general. In another newspaper article elsewhere, the journalist quoted some "expert" about how a different kind of bully is emerging. That the stereotype of the playground lout with low self-esteem bashing nerds was obsolete. That the new bullies were (shock! gasp! unbelievable! unheard of!) now "smart, attractive, athletic".

New?!! What planet that "expert" come from? In my experience as the target of bullying back in the day (40years ago) and as a high school teacher today observing kids today, the "smart, attractive, athletic" have always been the major bullies in high school.

Yes, bullying is universal and has always been. However, what I'm noticing different now is the lack of remorse displayed by the bullies. In the past, bullies could sometime be shamed enough by extreme consequence similar to poor Phoebe's desperate act, that they'd be moved to ponder their behavior and occasionally, if infrequently, CHANGE.

The bullies in this case, apparently, are not only unashamed, but snide about it.

People are mean. Without a spirit of compassion and the practice of the Golden Rule, most of us would probably act the same way. And it takes a village to foster attitudes, for good or bad . Everyone is to blame: parents, neighbors, leaders, teachers, all set the tone and condoned it by negligence if nothing else. What a nasty, horrid little place that town must be. But then, again, most places I have lived in have been the same. People are mean.

[Sock De Jour]

11:04 AM on 04/05/2010

There needs to be serious consequences for adults who knew about this and did nothing, in order to bring about school programs that address this extremely common occurrence.

Bullying is wrong, cruel and evil. Bullying leads to a desensitized and inhumane society where people don't care about each other, but literally try and screw each other over any chance they get. Oh, wait... That's the US of A.

[cucumber]

09:30 PM on 04/07/2010

Phoebe's parents knew about this too, apparently.

They dropped the ball as much as the parents of the bullies, for not protecting their daughter, pulling her out of school and homeschooling, if they needed to, to keep her safe.

[Ken Leibow]

11:41 AM on 04/02/2010

I am a parent of two teenagers. This is an outrage! Phoebe died a needless death. This could have definitely been prevented. School administrators and some teachers at South Hadley HS should be at least fired! Zero tolerance! The administrators and teachers of this school have permitted a hostile environment to evolve, and they never took corrective action. The highest priority and sense of urgency should be on everyone’s radar when it comes to the safety and welfare of our children. The teachers and school administrators are responsible for educating our children and providing a safe environment to learn. After a thorough investigation, I believe some of these South Hadley school administrators, teachers and parents have accountability and should pay by way of the criminal and civil court system. What disgusts me the most is that these criminal students still bullied Phoebe on her memorial websites. Where is the remorse for the death of Phoebe and her family from the parents of these bullies? Where is the remorse from the South Hadley High School Superintendant and Principal? Where is the remorse from the South Hadley School teachers? Human rights, civil rights and the life of Phoebe Prince has been violated and destroyed. All direct and indirect parties involved including students and adults should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I applaud the district attorney and hope she has the courage to bring justice to this horrific crime. This is tragic. May Phoebe Prince rest in peace...

[The Lorax]

01:40 PM on 04/07/2010

Well said! And according to thie story on ABC (http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/04/painful-complexity-of-the-phoebe-prince-suicide.html) she's not the first child to be bullied by these particular kids. All involvd need to be held accountable. She looked like such a happy young girl, and now she's gone.

[Norge]

04:09 AM on 04/02/2010

Came, To Like This New Place


stripped of dignity
self worth
on the animal farm

and to find a place to hide
from the shame
to escape from tomorrow
naked with no place to run

to see them again
to hear their laughter
see their snears

these cruel Americans
so tough, so fine, so
better than others
these self-appointed

best

this unbearable shame
tomorrow and everyone knows
seen in their faces
their snears, their hidden smiles
one to the other

how could they laugh
while I hurt so much
how could they find
my pain so funny

this new land
this land of the free
the home of the brave

I am leaving
I will not live here any longer

farewell.


Rolf Krogsæther(c)2010

[Dogontired]

06:16 PM on 03/31/2010

The town reacts to the charges filed:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/31/anger_turns_toward_school_staff_in_bullying_case/

[danusgram]

04:42 PM on 03/31/2010

disgusting absolutely disgusting. Why oh why and her poor parents boy let me tell you if it were mine I would be kicking some kdis parents butts...not to mention being at the school everyday I think her parents may not have known it is so sad.

[cucumber]

09:32 PM on 04/07/2010

I read elsewhere that her mother went to the school once about it. So they did know. Shame on them for not intervening and pulling her out of school, if they couldn't get help. It may sound harsh, but the parents of the bullied need to get involved in their children's lives as much as the parents of the bullies. They dropped the ball.

[SarahSarah]

04:40 PM on 03/31/2010

Let's try to think of things that chilldren could say to bullies to put them in their places. Something different and surprising that makes the bully instantly feel like a loser.

Maybe children could smile and try to look sympathetic and say, "Gee, your parents must have been reallly mean to you."

[cheesecat]

04:49 PM on 03/31/2010

Humor is a surprisingly effective weapon. Especially if you can do it using very long words. Then they wander off, wondering if they were just insulted and how upset they should be about it.....

[SarahSarah]

04:34 PM on 03/31/2010

The best part is that, even if they are not convicted, their shame will follow them through the rest of their lives through Google. Each time a prospective employer/boyfriend/girlfriend types in their names...

[slaxx]

08:57 PM on 03/31/2010

EXACTLY!

[rajb1037]

12:32 AM on 04/02/2010

Sadly, they don't much care. According to many of the news reports, those who did the bullying (a word which doesn't begin to express their actual crimes: assault, battery, stalking, sexual assault and more) left insulting comments on the girl's Facebook memorial group (meaning, *after* her death), and - after watching local news coverage which included student comments on the situation - physically assaulted another girl who stood up for her.

They clearly have little regret, and no shame to speak of.

[cheesecat]

04:24 PM on 03/31/2010

Consider the way that corporations document behavior before firing. First, warn the kid and the kid's guardians, verbally and in writing (copies into a file). Second, warn them again, this time Cc Superintendents. Third, suspend the kid. Fourth, expel the kid and alert the police. Four chances is WAY more than enough. I don't understand why there can't be SOME kind of process versus my experience, which was being told by admins to "grow a thicker skin" when I was getting WRITTEN death threats in my locker (and the elbows thrown in the hall, and the spitting, and the pushing, and all the rest of it).

I thank the stars that cell phones were in their infancy and there was no Facebook when I was in high school. At least I could get away from those people at home. My heart breaks for this poor girl. If only I could have told her that high school isn't even remotely forever and it really does get better. Much better.

[annie0107]

03:28 PM on 03/31/2010

I can't imagine why no one came to the aid of this child. Teachers, School Administrators and/or other students ... especially other students, these children are the future leaders of this country. If they're not stepping up and speaking out against what it wrong, they are all in a lot of trouble.

[yasunari]

11:36 AM on 03/31/2010

...I don't know why my comment dispeared...

This is not a rite of passage. In such rite, you bully a whole group to bind it. The goal is to accelerate the creation of relations within the group by puting everybody in such situations that they have to help each other. It's hard, but it works. At least, it worked for me at school and in the army.
Generally, you end the rite by something you share with your former bullies (a meal, a ceremony or some kind of party).

What the girl had to suffer has nothing to do with that.

[Aquinnah1]

05:41 AM on 03/31/2010

Why didn't more of the adults who knew about the bullying act like adults and intervene? They can't plead ignorance anymore now that we know, from the district attorney, that Phoebe Prince's mother brought the bullying to the attention of school staffers. www.eightfits.blogspot.com

[greenygenie]

12:42 PM on 03/31/2010

Perhaps because a lot of it was being done away from adults...on cell phones. If a lot of the bullying communications are not conducted in front of adults, it's hard to intervene.

I think it's time that Facebook take some responsibility about this type of thing.

[Jack Straw]

03:30 PM on 03/31/2010

Seems like cell phone harassment should be as easy or easier to pin on someone than online harassment. It's not like most kids have the ability to send themselves bogus text messages with the phone number of someone else.

[shivasquest]

03:36 AM on 03/31/2010

That poor girl and her family.School should be a safe place to send your kid.These bullies need to dealt wish harshly in the beginning.Their parents need to be brought in and kick those monsters out if they cant act like human beings.

[BambooHarvester]

01:54 AM on 03/31/2010

I'll just say this speaks volumes about our society politics business edjumaction systems