9 Charged after girl kills herself over bullying
 

Sometimes there are no words:

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news...hool.Bullying/


By STEPHANIE REITZ, AP
Mon Mar 29, 3:38 PM EDT

Insults and threats followed 15-year-old Phoebe Prince almost from her first day at South Hadley High School, targeting the Irish immigrant in the halls, library and in vicious cell phone text messages.

Phoebe, ostracized for having a brief relationship with a popular boy, reached her breaking point and hanged herself after one particularly hellish day in January — a day that, according to officials, included being hounded with slurs and pelted with a beverage container as she walked home from school.

Now, nine teenagers face charges in what a prosecutor called "unrelenting" bullying, including two teen boys charged with statutory rape and a clique of girls charged with stalking, criminal harassment and violating Phoebe's civil rights.

School officials won't be charged, even though authorities say they knew about the bullying and that Phoebe's mother brought her concerns to at least two of them.

Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel, who announced the charges Monday, said the events before Phoebe's death on Jan. 14 were "the culmination of a nearly three-month campaign of verbally assaultive behavior and threats of physical harm" widely known among the student body.

"The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe, designed to humiliate her and to make it impossible for her to remain at school," Scheibel said. "The bullying, for her, became intolerable."

Scheibel said the case is still under investigation and that one other person could be charged. It wasn't immediately known Monday whether the teens who have been charged have attorneys.

Scheibel said the harassment began in September, occurring primarily in school and in person, although some of it surfaced on Facebook and in other electronic forms. At least four students and two faculty members intervened to try to stop it or report it to administrators, she said.

Schiebel refused to discuss the circumstances of the rape charges.

No school officials are being charged because they had "a lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships," and the school's code of conduct was interpreted and enforced in an "inconsistent" way, Scheibel said.

"Nevertheless, the actions — or inactions — of some adults at the school are troublesome," she said.

A message seeking comment was left Monday for South Hadley Schools Superintendent Gus A. Sayer.

This bothers me. The school has a duty to protect children while under their care.

Not really. Or at least if you aren't from the angle that this is a top priority. Schools aren't babysitters.

Even still this story is bothersome.

And the statement of "their lack of understanding of harrassment" is a bit bothersome too.

If it's been brought to their attention either directly or indirectly they have a duty to follow whatever procedures they have in place for dealing with bullies...I don't remember horrible bullying happening when I was in school, but even a little harassment can really effect a teenager. We only had AIM. I can't imagine what it's like to be a target now with everyone on Facebook. It would be a bully's paradise because it's so easy to broadcast negative messages to anyone and everyone in seconds.

EXACTLY. The internet takes bullying to a whole different level and gives all kinds of people a voice; people (bullies and cowards in particular) that otherwise might not say/do anything.

But...if the parent wasn't seeing results from the school she should have probably gone further up the chain of command.

it's amazing the stories I am reading this year of things happening in schools for MONTHS and parents have no clue until it's too late or they have a clue and they aren't IMO more diligent about getting results.

And Alumiyum...regardless of computers or phones or whatever...bullying is bullying.

I can easily tell you what people did in my time before all this happened and you still had the same results such as what you are reading now.

Nothing beats adults who get involved in such a way to head off courses of destructive behavior before they have these kinds of results.

From the Boston Globe: The Untouchable Mean Girls by Kevin Cullen

Like a lot of kids her age, Phoebe Prince was a swan, always beautiful and sometimes awkward.

Last fall, she moved from Ireland into western Massachusetts, a new town, a new high school, a new country, a new culture. She was 15, when all that matters is being liked and wearing the right clothes and just fitting in.

She was a freshman and she had a brief fling with a senior, a football player, and for this she became the target of the Mean Girls, who decided then and there that Phoebe didn’t know her place and that Phoebe would pay.

Kids can be mean, but the Mean Girls took it to another level, according to students and parents. They followed Phoebe around, calling her a slut. When they wanted to be more specific, they called her an Irish slut.

The name-calling, the stalking, the intimidation was relentless.

Ten days ago, Phoebe was walking home from school when one of the Mean Girls drove by in a car. An insult and an energy drink can came flying out the car window in Phoebe’s direction.

Phoebe kept walking, past the abuse, past the can, past the white picket fence, into her house. Then she walked into a closet and hanged herself. Her 12-year-old sister found her.

You would think this would give the bullies who hounded Phoebe some pause. Instead, they went on Facebook and mocked her in death.

They told State Police detectives they did nothing wrong, had nothing to do with Phoebe killing herself.

And then they went right back to school and started badmouthing Phoebe.

They had a dance, a cotillion, at the Log Cabin in Holyoke two days after Phoebe’s sister found her in the closet, and some who were there say one of the Mean Girls bragged about how she played dumb with the detectives who questioned her.

Last week, one of the Springfield TV stations sent a crew to South Hadley High to talk to the kids.

One girl was interviewed on camera, and she said what was common knowledge: that bullies were stalking the corridors of South Hadley High.

As soon as the TV crew was out of sight, one of the Mean Girls came up and slammed the girl who had been interviewed against a locker and punched her in the head.

The Mean Girls are pretty, and popular, and play sports.

So far, they appear to be untouchable, too.

South Hadley is a nice, comfortable middle-class suburb that hugs the Connecticut River nearby and a certain attitude.

“Things like this aren’t supposed to happen in South Hadley,’’ said Darby O’Brien, a high school parent, wondering why the bullies who tormented Phoebe are still in school. “And so instead of confronting the evil among us, the reality that there are bullies roaming the corridors at South Hadley High, people are blaming the victim, looking for excuses why a 15-year-old girl would do this. People are in denial.’’

School officials say there are three investigations going on. They say these things take time.

That doesn’t explain why the Mean Girls who tortured Phoebe remain in school, defiant, unscathed.

“What kind of message does this send to the good kids?’’ O’Brien asked. “How many kids haven’t come forward to tell what they know because they see the bullies walking around untouched?’’

They were supposed to hold a big meeting on Tuesday to talk about all this, but now that’s off for a couple of weeks.

O’Brien is thinking about going to that meeting and suggesting that they have the kids who bullied Phoebe look at the autopsy photos.

“Let them see what a kid who hung herself looks like,’’ he said.

Last week, Phoebe was supposed to visit Ireland, where she grew up, and she was excited because she was going to see her father for the first time in months.

She did end up going back to Ireland after all, and when her father saw her she was in a casket.

Phoebe’s family decided to bury her in County Clare. They wanted an ocean between her and the people who hounded her to the grave.

These girls and boys are nothing but thugs, using computers and rape instead of brass knuckles and guns. That poor girl had come here, expecting wonderful things to happen. Nobody listened to those who tried to intervene. If even one of the parents of these bullies tries to defend his or her child's actions, I hope they're charged with aiding and abetting the felony charges. To say how much this harms the United States in the world court of opinion doesn't begin to cover the brutality of this. May God forgive them - someday.

Yes, really. While kids are at school, the school is in loco parentis -- in place of the parents, meaning the school takes on some of the functions and responsibilities of a parent while the student is at school. That in no way relieves the actual parents of primary responsibility, including the responsibility to do something if they believe the school is not being responsive to concerns about bullying. But I think the school definitely has the responsibility to provide a safe learning environment, which includes a learning environment as free as possible from bullying.

Wow. This is really horrible. I wonder if the parents ever thought about transferring her to another school/district. Not saying that it's their fault or that it would have stopped completely since some of it was electronic, but maybe she would have gotten a bit of a break from it and would still be alive.

I agree with your point. What I was saying to GW was that it's not the school primary function.

The only problem is IMO until there is a law or a ban put into place to cease bullying schools will still only make token efforts to stop kids who bully.

Or until enough kids commit suicide. *shrugs* Sad.

Most states, including Massachusetts as of a few weeks ago, do have bullying laws. The specifics, including the responsibilities of schools, will vary from state to state, but many encompass cyber-bullying.

There's a Facebook page: "Expel the three girls who caused Phoebe Prince to commit suicide" Over 26,000 people have joined thus far.

That 2nd article is heartbreaking. I've been in her shoes in high school... and I've also been on the other side. Kids are cruel and sometimes it's not the parents. My parents didn't raise me to treat people like that. We hounded a girl in front of her class, in front of a teacher and that teacher did nothing. Now that I look back, it was so horrible.

I think it'd be a great idea for the girls to see her autopsy photos.

I feel so much for her little sister. To see the final incident and find her sister like that. I do see it to be somewhat fortunate that she is too young to attend that high school, could you imagine facing those people on a daily basis, knowing what they did?

I bet those girls will be very popular at the women's correctional center, for very different reasons. This is one instance where the punishment might actually fit the crime, to be relentlessly taunted, name called, and harassed.

DAMN!! THAT IS SICK AND FUCKEN DISGUSTING!!!!!!!



GROSS!!!






INHUMANE!~

















I like it! I got a better Idea...let them witness the embalming in person

Where does the rape come in? The senior guy she dated? Unless he was in cahoots with the bitch squad, I don't think he should be charged.

It was probably statutory, which is the same as forceful rape for some if not all states, IIRC. If not feel free to correct me GC legal eagles.

I too am wondering (not blaming however) why the parents did not seek to pull her out of school. CPS could drag me to jail first, but I would not submit my (future) child to that kind of insult. Even my aunt transferred custody of my cousin to my mother to get her out of her local school system which is prone to in school violence and danger.

And if the school system keeps this up, I feel horrible for the sister. Just the other day in my area a young man who also found his brother who hanged himself was taunted about it by a complete stranger and he beat her almost to death. What will the sister's like be like if this is allowed to continue?

They just might not have known (being from Ireland 'n all) that you can do that.

So I guess I should being by saying i'm specifically talking about where I am, obviously the law might be different where this girl is at.

With that said, assuming this guy is no older than 18, it wouldn't be considered statutory rape. For it to be considered statutory, the age difference has to be over 3 years. Their age difference isn't enough to consider it statutory.

So is it not considered rape at all?

If she consented to it, then probably not. It would just be like two people consenting to have sex.


I only know about the age difference thing because a friend of mine had to go through that in HS. She got pregnant with her bf's baby, and the mom tried to have him arrested for statutory. The police wouldn't do anything because there wasn't technically over a 3 year age difference. (she was 16, he was 19)

The names of those charged so far are out there in some of the articles. The photos can be found at myfoxdc.com by googling images, "Phoebe Prince South Hadley".

I'm amazed that we're just hearing about this now. I'm horrified that these hateful people are so callous!

ETA: Yes, the boys are being charged with statutory rape.

I'm thrilled that this teenagers have been charged!

It is high time that people (parents, administrators, teachers, other students) realize that bullying is a problem! I truly hope that the harshest form of punishment that they can get is handed down to them!

My high school was very big on protecting students from bullies and this was back when anti-bullying laws weren't in effect. I remember an instance when I was a sophomore (so like the 94-94 school year). I took the bus home and my bully and her 3 cronies got off the bus with me and started in on me (the reason, I supposedly was "bashing" the orchestra, to which the bully was a part of, lame I know). Thankfully a friend stayed with me while they harassed me and she eventually got them to leave. As soon as I got home I called my mom, who immediately called the principal. I was pulled into his office the next day (and my principal was like this 6'4" tall man who weighed over 200 pounds, big guy). He made me tell him who the girls were. I did and he suspended them all for like 2-3 days. He flat out told me that until the moment I walked through my front door after school that I was the schools responsibility.

I was thrilled that someone FINALLY had done something to my bully because I had been putting up with her since elementary school. God knows my parents tried their damndest to get her in trouble, but back in the era I grew up, I was the one blamed for the bullying. It was like "well your daughter acts this way" "your daughter dresses this way" "your daughter says this stuff", the blame NEVER went on the bully. Mainly because, as like today, the bullies tended to be the popular kids of the school, who teachers adored and they would target the kids that weren't popular and that the teachers really didn't like.

I have mixed feelings about this. It is getting really old to see stories like this. It would be better if school systems would take the initiative to do more about the bullying before it gets to this point. I fail to understand why it is okay to do something about it AFTER the fact, but no one feels it is serious enough to handle it at the time. smh

But I will say that as sad as this situation is, SHE chose to kill herself. I don't understand that thought process. Skip school. Don't go kill yourself because of bullies at school. We need more kids to just "man up." All this teenage fragility and angst is getting to be really old.

Make no mistake, this ish makes me furious. This story is horribly heartbreaking and I feel so badly for that girl and her family. IDKW the parents didn't pull her out of school or why the administration didn't do more when so many people reported her situation. These little brats need to be charged with whatever bullying laws will allow and be punished as such. But the fact that people (like the above FB group and others who have spoken on the local news here) are saying these little criminals-in-training "caused" the girl to take her life bothers me. The decision to end Phoebe's life was Phoebe's--this is the one thing in this tragedy that was not up to the bullies. Acknowledge that they influenced it heavily and hold them responsible for their despicable actions, but I don't believe it's right to make someone solely responsible for what another person chose to do.

HOWEVER

:mad: I hope they are all punished severely and making them look at the autopsy photos is really not a bad idea. And for the love of all things holy, PLEASE don't let the little sister go to that same high school. She's been through enough without all that would go along with that. And do a major overhaul on how administration handles these things as well.

Until you're in someone's shoes who has gone through this, you will never understand. That's not putting YOU down personally, just saying that those who do not understand suicide are usually those who've never been in those situations. Sometimes the bullying is so bad that you feel there's really nothing else you can do. Committing suicide is like getting revenge on the girls. Unfortunately in this case, the girls have no remorse.

Suicide, mutilation, etc., is a disease, not a choice.

Many people who study suicide and life threatening behaviors do not see suicide and other self-harming behaviors themselves as the diseases.

The causes and correlates are the potential diseases and disorders. However, not everyone who attempts or commits suicide had what every professional would consider a disease outside of the after-the-fact assumption that anyone who commits suicide had a disease.

So, essentially, you're positing the opposite of what deepimpact said. She says it doesn't make sense/is damn near ridiculous and you say it's absolutely a disease. I posit there's a middle ground that combines personal choice (there is decision making in perceiving suicide as the only way out; and as revenge against the bullies) with social and mental/emotional correlates, but precludes reducing every form of deviant behavior to a "disease."

I live in MA and to my knowledge the name of her former boyfriend hasn't been given, so I'm not sure that either of the young men charged is him. That being said, it wouldn't surprise me if these boys aided the "mean girls" in some sort of set up scheme, say at a party with alcohol or something similar. Chances are however, the statutory rape charges are not going to stick/stand during the prosecution.

It's not necessarily that easy in MA with zoning and districting laws, not to mention how far South Hadley might be from the next town's high school. The most direct way would involve finding a new home, selling your existing one, etc. etc. something most parents I know would do for their children, but its also not an overnight solution. Compounded with them not being from here, I can see how pulling her out of school was not an immediate decision of the family.


I too am concerned about the younger sister, not only for having to deal with her sisters death, but actually being the person to have found her, and then how she will in turn deal with the situation.

I think because she was under 15 and they over 16, in MA that is considered statutory, but don't quote me. I honestly don't think however, those charges will ultimately stick.

While times are new, and harassment and bullying come from all angles with the internet, facebook, etc., I also feel like teen fragility and angst are out of control. Coming from someone who was bullied as a kid (albeit in middle school and pre-internet), manning up was the only option you had. I know some of my teachers knew what was going on, but they definitely never addressed me about it, and to my knowledge they never let school administration or my parents know. Looking back, I should have told my parents and made it explicit to school officials, but the choice was either to "break down" or man up and do what I had to do.

In general, it annoys me that states are legislating bullying. Not everything is common sense, but in most schools it does not take long to determine that bullying is going on, who may be the victim(s) and the perpetrators. I don't think legislation is needed to determine that something needs to be done about stuff like this in schools. In this particular case, this school/their administration were overly negligent and chose not to deal with it because they probably just didn't want to. It boggles my brain that the DA has decided not to file charges against school officials. Personally I'd like to see some type of criminal negligence...paging the GC lawyers, is something like this even feasible?

Just as I was about to hit the submit button, an update came across the local news saying even more students have been pulled from the school in lieu of this situation. No news on who, what their connection is, and if they will be charged however.

Sometimes parents can't know. My parents didn't have a clue what school was like for me when I was in junior high because I sure as hell wasn't going to tell them. There's only so much they can do short of removing the kids from the school, and that's a hard and sometimes impossible decision (it's great if they can afford private school or afford to move, but that's not always possible). It's up to the school to fix a bullying problem taking place on the campus during school hours.

I understand bullying is always bad, but when the internet is involved it's impossible to escape. Gossip is easily spread by mouth but when Facebook, Myspace, IM, etc. are involved it can be absolutely impossible for the victim to escape, and it's all in writing for the entire world to see. It can feel like there's truly no escape.

This is one of those things that varies from state to state.

What if this isn't possible? I had a cousin who was bullied in the first grade and was told that if he didn't bring the bully $.50 he was going to be beaten up. My cousin is smaller than the kids his age and at such a young age how can one "man up". We only knew about it because I noticed a change in his behavior, it only stopped because his mom and her sister took action by going to the principal, the teacher, the bully's mom and finally THE BULLY. I always worry about him because he's so small and I know that it's easy for him to become a target, he's so little. Bullying really bothers me because I've seen how stressed out a child can be because of it.

I agree that this younger generation is kind of soft, but you don't know what another persons breaking point is. Just because you can take being taunted and teased doesn't mean that the next person can. This isn't new, it's just that most of the time we hear about it as a murder suicide. This young lady told her parents, her parents told the school and no one protected her.

So SHE can't turn off HER computer? That part of her world she can control. No, it's not fair that she's not able to use facebook/myspace/whatever space....but she doesn't have to read it. At the very least she could have peace in her own home.

And another:

Parents send their children to school hoping they'll be safe and protected. Sadly, more and more often, that does not appear to be the case. Bullying may have claimed the life of another North Texas youngster. Jon Carmichael took his own life Sunday after what some say was bullying by bigger classmates.

Jon Carmichael was an 8th grader at Loflin Middle School, which just opened two weeks ago. Those closest to the 13-year-old say he had been bullied for years.


http://cbs11tv.com/local/jon.carmich...2.1601157.html

This is not the law in MA. There is no requirement for a three year age difference.

See MGL. c.265, s. 23. [Commonly known as the Statutory Rape Law]. Rape and abuse of child.

Whoever unlawfully has sexual intercourse or unnatural sexual intercourse, and abuses a child under 16 years of age, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years or, except as otherwise provided, for any term in a jail or house of correction. A prosecution commenced under this section shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file. (my emphasis)



Yes, she could turn off her computer, but my understanding is that the bullying was much more pervasive than that (including being followed home from school). Plus, I think it's important to remember that this poor girl was 15--an adult's reaction and ability to cope with internet harassment is likely to be more rational (or maybe not, IIRC, there has been at least one situation here on GC that has gotten out of hand and moved into real life).

Yes, if only those stupid kids would just act and think like adults.

Maybe after we can get all adults to do that we can start expecting it of kids.

Oh no, I understand that it was more pervasive than that and I think it's despicable...I was responding specifically to the "when the internet is involved it's impossible to escape," comment. Actually if you take my response in it's entire context it says that it's not fair to her. I just meant that at the very least she could have peace in her own home by not reading the stuff on the internet. If they CAME to her house, then that's an entirely different story.

Exactly.

Right. I understand your point, my point was that I just don't think it's very realistic to expect that a 15 year old would just ignore things being said about her on the internet for the sake of peace, especially in light of everything else that was happening. My apologies if I wasn't clear.

I agree that there is only some much rationality/"adult" thinking we can expect out of children/teenagers. And I am sure I'm more than slightly biased by the responsibilities (and in some cases lack there of) that I had as a teenager. That being said, we (society) shouldn't be double-dipping. If we can try kids in court as adults, then we should also be able to expect them to take on a certain measure of responsibility in their lives.


Not specifically talking about the South Hadley case, but someone in high school who is being bullied should be have some responsibility in reporting it, to a teacher, school administrator, and/or their parents, and the hope and expectation is that the adults do something about it. Unfortunately for Phoebe, the adults in her school failed miserably in their efforts to deal (not deal with it).