Cumbrian teen prosecuted for sending threatening Facebook messages
Last updated at 11:37, Thursday, 19 May 2011
A Cumbrian teenager has been prosecuted after she sent another girl threatening messages via the social networking site Facebook.
The 15-year-old was given a nine-month youth rehabilitation order after magistrates heard how she used the internet site to send abusive messages.
Prosecutor Pam Ward told the court how the defendant sent the offensive messages because her victim had been a witness in a court case. That had led to a male defendant being convicted and sentenced for an offence.
She called the other girl a liar and “twisted,” and went on to suggest that the teenager would be “punched in by a lot of people” in Cumbria.
She had set up the account so that the comments could be read online by other people, said Mrs Ward.
At an earlier court appearance, the defendant pleaded guilty to using Facebook to issue a threatening electronic communication.
Sitting next to her mother in court, the girl apologised for her actions, telling magistrates: “It’s all true.
“I’m sorry: I didn’t realise it would distress her and make her feel bad.”
The teenager said had wanted to apologise to her victim but was worried that the girl might contact the police again if she got back in touch.
The girl’s mother said her daughter had been through a bad patch and the Facebook incident had been her only recent “outburst”.
As well as the rehabilitation order, magistrates imposed nine months supervision, and said the girl should take a course examining the human impact of her crime.
The case came just a few weeks after police chiefs revealed that the Facebook site has been a “key element” in more than 40 crimes in Cumbria over the last two years, including rapes, harassments, and assaults.
First published at 11:24, Thursday, 19 May 2011
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk
The comment "yes parents should be taking responsibility but many of them don't use social networking sites such as facebook so they don't necessarily know what their kids are saying on them and therefore don't realise that they need to explain about cyber bullying."
The parents SHOULD make an effort to monitor it! No excuses!!!!View all 28 comments on this article
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unfortunately it is not just linked to young people they are more vunerable but all of it is bullying and it is used in the workplace sad such a way of meeting and talking to friends is abused.
Posted by scully on 26 May 2011 at 18:20