Straight-up Cyberbullying Legal in Texas
This is disturbing on so many levels… the gist is that a 16-year-old girl in Texas will not be charged (read: punished) for cyberbullying a peer. Why? Because the new law on the books only makes it illegal to impersonate someone else online. The teenager in this case made threats against a classmate, but she never tried to hide her identity.
So, in the eyes of Texas… it’s a-okay!
To make matters worse, the bully was arrested in front of classmates, and now of course is not being charged, so her family is sure to sue the police for false arrest, as well as a bevy of other “emotional” damages I’m sure… when in fact SHE should be the one being sued.
Ugh… what a backwards-up-side-down world/state…
But again, bottom line here is that the only people that can stop cyberbullies are the parents. And if you’re not monitoring you child’s internet activity, you are a part of the problem…
October 16th, 2009
Cyber-bullying charges against teen dismissed
Reported by Jaie AvilaThe Bexar County DA’s office told Somerset police it couldn’t prosecute the student under the new law because she hadn’t assumed a different identity when allegedly making the online threats.
SOMERSET, Texas — A 16-year-old girl accused of making threats against another girl on MySpace will not be charged.
Police previously said the teen would be the first person prosecuted under a new cyber-bullying law.
However, the new law makes it illegal for anyone to impersonate someone else online. The teenager in the Somerset case may have made threats against a classmate, but she never tried to hide her identity.
The Somerset High School student was taken into custody at the school after a parent complained the teen had been threatening her daughter online. But the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office told Somerset police it couldn’t prosecute the teen under the new law because she hadn’t assumed a different identity when making the online threats.
News 4 WOAI asked Somerset’s police chief if his investigators realized hiding one’s identity was a necessary factor.
“It wasn’t completely a misunderstanding,” explained Somerset Police Chief Martin Chavez. “It’s a new law, and law enforcement in general need to get familiar with it and completely understand it.”
The law was written to prevent tragedies like the one in Missouri where a woman pretended to be a teenage boy on MySpace in order to pull a prank on a teenage girl. That girl later committed suicide.
In Somerset, some feel the 16-year-old shouldn’t have been arrested in front of her classmates unless police were sure she had broken a law.
When asked if any other charges will be filed against the teen or if the case was closed, Chief Chavez stated, “Pretty much a closed case as far as law enforcement goes.”
Somerset Independent School District officials told News 4 WOAI they won’t take any action because the incidences happened off campus. However, they said the teen accused of making the threats was taken out of school by her parents earlier this week.
