Two girls have been arrested in Florida after bragging on Facebook about their role in a cyber bullying suicide. A 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl have been charged as juveniles with third-degree felony aggravated stalking, in relation to the suicide of 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick. The girls along with as many as 15 other girls repeatedly tormented Rebecca online, intimidated her, called her names, told her “to drink bleach and die”, threatened to beat her up at school. “Yes, I bullied Rebecca and she killed herself but I don’t give a … and you can add the last word yourself,” the sheriff said, quoting a Facebook post the older girl had made.
If convicted, it is not clear how much time, if any at all, the girls would spend in juvenile detention because they did not have any previous criminal history, the sheriff said. The girls are still being investigated and a decision as to whether the parents should be charged is being made. Despite Florida’s law, the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act, named after a teenager who killed himself after being harassed by classmates, which was amended on July 1 to cover cyber bullying, law enforcement could also seek more traditional charges such as stalking and battery.
