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Nine Charged in Bullying of Massachusetts Teen Who Killed Herself

If you are found guilty of statutory rape you are placed on sex offender lists and deemed a "rapist". The social consequences are equal to that of someone that violently raped someone.

I looked recently at the sex offender list in my town. Surprising number of people, not one listed as rape. Criminal sexual conduct is the term used.

By the way, a town of 10k people should not have over 100 people on a sex offender list, that is kinda scarey.
 
It means someone older than 18 having consensual sex with someone younger than 18 in most states, including the one we're talking about.

Yes, I know what it means. It is also not the term used by the courts, at least not here.
 
Gonna have to define harrass. Gonna have to tell me *specifically* what they were doing.

If they were hitting her, then yes... it's assault.

If they were just calling her names and posting things online? Then no. It's absolute bull****.

Here's a few for you:

harassment legal definition of harassment. harassment synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary.

harassment (either harris-meant or huh-rass-meant) n. the act of systematic and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands. The purposes may vary, including racial prejudice, personal malice, an attempt to force someone to quit a job or grant sexual favors, apply illegal pressure to collect a bill, or merely gain sadistic pleasure from making someone fearful or anxious.

Harassment-A legal definition
http://www.life123.com/career-money/career-development/harassment/definition-of-harassment.shtml
http://www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/districtcourt/jury-instructions/criminal/pdf/6640-criminal-harassment.pdf
Legal Definition of Criminal Harassment

So, lets see, 9 students, at least, were specifically targeting another student for 4-5 months before she killed herself (from all evidence the harassment would have continued beyond that, considering they were technically still harassing her after she was found dead). Name calling, phone calls, abuse at school, messages on online social pages directed at her, following her in a car to call her names and/or throw stuff at her. This all sounds like harassment to me. From just those few links I gave, if this were adults, and this would have happened at work she could have easily sued, and the employers (school staff in this case I guess) could have been held liable as well.
From the accounts, it also fits the definition of criminal harassment as well, since it is reasonable that their actions could cause emotional distress and she definitely had reason to be concerned about her safety.
 
I don't care about the legal definitions. It's mostly a bunch of hooey anyway. It's far too broad a definition and, IMO, yet another bull**** charge used by people who want the government to handle their personal lives for them when they're unable to do it themselves.

I meant, what did THEY specifically do.

So, lets see, 9 students, at least, were specifically targeting another student for 4-5 months before she killed herself (from all evidence the harassment would have continued beyond that, considering they were technically still harassing her after she was found dead). Name calling, phone calls, abuse at school, messages on online social pages directed at her, following her in a car to call her names and/or throw stuff at her. This all sounds like harassment to me. From just those few links I gave, if this were adults, and this would have happened at work she could have easily sued, and the employers (school staff in this case I guess) could have been held liable as well.
From the accounts, it also fits the definition of criminal harassment as well, since it is reasonable that their actions could cause emotional distress and she definitely had reason to be concerned about her safety.

LOL Then most folks are harassed pretty frequently.
 
Yes, it is. However there is no evidence that the physical assult directly lead to the death. It doesn't fit your example. In your example the physical assult actually directly led to the death, albiet due to the metal plate in the head. In this case, it didn't. You could say it contributed to the emotional state that caused her to hang herself, but ultimately it was her choices based on her emotional state that did it, not the can.

If the can of red bull hit her, she fell back into a noose, and became hung...then sure, your egg shell thing works. if the can of red bull hit her, caused her to bleed, and she had a condition of unclotting blood and died from that, then it'd work. But there's no direct link between the assualt and the death.

I see your point. I wasn't saying that they could be charged with her death based on the facts of this case. I just wanted to point out that just because a victim suffers severe consequences that wouldn't happen in most cases does not mean that the defendant can't be chargedf with causing the severe consequences.
 
I looked recently at the sex offender list in my town. Surprising number of people, not one listed as rape. Criminal sexual conduct is the term used.

By the way, a town of 10k people should not have over 100 people on a sex offender list, that is kinda scarey.

If I flash my tits at someone, I could be put on a sex offender list. Those lists are pretty useless.
 
After reading the article in the OP and the one MCnoSpin posted, I wanted to find out more about the case so I did a search on Google news. I was especially interested in finding out if her parents were aware of the situation. So far the only one I found was in the NY Daily News where they mention that the mother asked the school twice to do something about what her daughter was going through.

It's in an article where the mother of one of the girls charged with harrassing Phoebe was trying to defend her daughter's behavior by claiming that Phoebe started it. Which, if true, is interesting in and of itself because she's generally being portrayed as someone who silently endured the abuse.

Here's the article:

In Massachusetts, public anger was turning from the Mean Girls - so mean they left vicious comments on Phoebe's Facebook memorial page - to the teachers who repeatedly failed to protect Phoebe, but were not charged criminally.

District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said Phoebe's persecution was "common knowledge" at the school, and even witnessed by teachers, who said nothing.

Her mother had twice asked school officials to help put a stop to her daughter's misery, Schiebel said.

The day she killed herself, a teacher saw kids harassing Phoebe in the school library - but said nothing until after the suffering girl's body was found hanging in her home.

The district attorney called the failure of adults at the school to stop the harassment "troublesome," but not criminal.


Read more: Mom of teen charged with bullying South Hadley H.S. student Phoebe Prince into suicide blames victim

I am just not getting the impression that the mother did very much to help her daughter.

As for the mother of one of the girls charged, I am just so glad my parents cared enough to teach me about being a decent human being. This girl's mother makes me sick. I hope she is having to spend some serious dough on her child's defense.
 
I don't care about the legal definitions. It's mostly a bunch of hooey anyway. It's far too broad a definition and, IMO, yet another bull**** charge used by people who want the government to handle their personal lives for them when they're unable to do it themselves.

I meant, what did THEY specifically do.



LOL Then most folks are harassed pretty frequently.
i don't think so. teasing is one thing, stalking and harassment are different. i think it's too bad she or her parents didn't go to the police.
 
i don't think so. teasing is one thing, stalking and harassment are different. i think it's too bad she or her parents didn't go to the police.

I know. I do not understand this. But I am a passionate person, and I would have done whatever it took to put a stop to this including escorting my child to and from school and even sitting with her during classes.
 
I don't care about the legal definitions. It's mostly a bunch of hooey anyway. It's far too broad a definition and, IMO, yet another bull**** charge used by people who want the government to handle their personal lives for them when they're unable to do it themselves.

I meant, what did THEY specifically do.



LOL Then most folks are harassed pretty frequently.

Okay, so what should she have done to "fight back" against the bullying she was receiving from at least 9 students, in your opinion? What were her options to deal with this intimidating environment? And I am not even taking into account her committing suicide, because, as I've said before, I believe these charges should have come long before she got to that point.

Also, what would you consider "harassment"?
 
i don't think so. teasing is one thing, stalking and harassment are different. i think it's too bad she or her parents didn't go to the police.

I wonder if they didn't go to the police because they were immigrants.
 
My perspective as someone who has been actually raped is that "Statutory Rape" is a bull**** charge that is insulting to actual rape survivors.

But I admit I could be biased.

See, I can understand that to a point. There's a point I don't. For example, if a 30 year old instructor convinces his 8 year old student that its prefectly okay to let him touch her there and that its natural and she's a big girl, I think statutory rape is a correct type of law. The 8 year old is in no realm of believability able to make such a large decision with an even close to full understanding of the consequences and is being manipulated by someone in a place of authority over them. There is "consent" there but its not really informed if you get my meaning.

I understand fully what you mean if its a 14 year old and a 17 year old. Even though I think such an act is extremely skeevy and rather disgusting, I would even say its wrong for say a 30 year old and a 16 year old. But I do think there are points where the Statutory Rape standard is definitely a worthy law.
 
If I flash my tits at someone, I could be put on a sex offender list. Those lists are pretty useless.

Do you ever read a post for content, or just for something to bitch about?
 
Do you ever read a post for content, or just for something to bitch about?

You said you felt there were too many folks on the sex offender list in your area and I pointed out how ****ing easy it is to get on one, so the fact that there were "a lot" didn't necessarily mean anything.

So what was the "content" I missed?
 
You said you felt there were too many folks on the sex offender list in your area and I pointed out how ****ing easy it is to get on one, so the fact that there were "a lot" didn't necessarily mean anything.

So what was the "content" I missed?

The fact that statutory rape was not a crime charged to any of them, it was criminal sexual conduct. You know, the point of the post. You are hung up on the term "statutory rape", which is not even the proper legal term in most places.
 
Okay, so what should she have done to "fight back" against the bullying she was receiving from at least 9 students, in your opinion? What were her options to deal with this intimidating environment?
Simple. Ignore them. You've said yourself that they're looking for a reaction. If you don't give them one, they get bored and move on.

Second way, be nice to them. Smile, wave, tell them good morning, etc. Again, not the reaction they're looking for.

I've found both of these tactics to be extremely successful in getting bullies to stop bullying.

Also, what would you consider "harassment"?
It's not so much that I don't consider it harassment as I don't consider harassment something worthy of criminal action.

The only way I would go to the cops is if someone was actually preventing me from living my life in a normal manner. Pounding on my door all night long. Following me everywhere I went and physically pushing me, shoving me. Using their vehicle to prevent mine from moving when I tried to go anywhere. Things like that. Things that actually physically prevent me from living my life normally. But calling me names? Posting mean things about me online?
 
Redress I'm not sure what the point of your anecdotal evidence is. Are you seriously trying to claim that those indicted for statutory rape don't have to register as sex offenders? Have you heard of the Romeo and Juliet laws?

Rivrrat said:
Simple. Ignore them. You've said yourself that they're looking for a reaction. If you don't give them one, they get bored and move on.

Second way, be nice to them. Smile, wave, tell them good morning, etc. Again, not the reaction they're looking for.

I've found both of these tactics to be extremely successful in getting bullies to stop bullying.

Or with anyone that you don't like/doesn't like you in general. Positive energy tends to make these types of situations go away.
 
The fact that statutory rape was not a crime charged to any of them, it was criminal sexual conduct. You know, the point of the post. You are hung up on the term "statutory rape", which is not even the proper legal term in most places.

I'm not "hung up" on anything. That's the term the articles use. That's the term most people on here are using. The term itself is insulting. It's implication is insulting.

The fact that they group rape in with flashing someone and call them both "sexual misconduct" is also insulting.
 
I wonder if they didn't go to the police because they were immigrants.
i think they had been here quite some time.....and anyway, i don't think irish immigrants have as hard a time as, say, muslim immigrants. ;-)

it's possible the poor girl thought that would make it worse.
 
Redress I'm not sure what the point of your anecdotal evidence is. Are you seriously trying to claim that those indicted for statutory rape don't have to register as sex offenders? Have you heard of the Romeo and Juliet laws?

Um, no, I am claiming that what is commonly referred to as "statutory rape" is legally called something else, in the case of Michigan, "criminal sexual conduct". We have a surprising number of child predators in my town, but no one is charged with "statutory rape".
 
My perspective as someone who has been actually raped is that "Statutory Rape" is a bull**** charge that is insulting to actual rape survivors.

But I admit I could be biased.
there are other rape survivors here. i absolutely don't consider statutory rape an insult to other survivors or a bull**** charge. sometimes, maybe, but we don't know what circumstances are involved here.

we do know that the kids who harassed her continued to do so even after she was dead. to me, that's a pretty ****ing good indication of their character. no remorse. and the mother of one of the perpetrators speaking to the press and blaming the victim? another great character example.

kids will be kids, but these kids are monsters.
 
I'm not "hung up" on anything. That's the term the articles use. That's the term most people on here are using. The term itself is insulting. It's implication is insulting.

The fact that they group rape in with flashing someone and call them both "sexual misconduct" is also insulting.

That would be true if the word "statutory" was not in front of the word "rape". Context you know.
 
there are other rape survivors here. i absolutely don't consider statutory rape an insult to other survivors or a bull**** charge. sometimes, maybe, but we don't know what circumstances are involved here.
Well, *I* do. Consensual sex isn't rape. And saying that it is, is insulting.

we do know that the kids who harassed her continued to do so even after she was dead. to me, that's a pretty ****ing good indication of their character. no remorse. and the mother of one of the perpetrators speaking to the press and blaming the victim? another great character example.

kids will be kids, but these kids are monsters.
I'm not saying they aren't ****wads. I'm simply saying that being a ****wad is no reason for criminal charges.
 
Yeah... that makes it all better.

Well, if you are rational on the subject. The phrase "statutory rape" means a certain thing, which is entirely different from the solo word "rape". Kinda like the word "woman" means something different than the word "man".
 
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