Courtroom Weekly: Kids, computers and a warning to parents

October 17, 2013

by: the State Court Staff

Bullying, video-games and pornography

Courtroom Weekly The latest and greatest in court cases around the nation In this issue... Featured case News from Delaware News from Vermont

Featured case Remorseless teen's online post triggers arrest   Court: Polk County, Florida By Jong Son Two female juveniles, ages 12 and 14, were arrested on October 14, 2013 and charged with felony aggravated stalking stemming from the bullying and subsequent death of Rebecca Ann Sedwick. Rebecca, who had been bullied for over a year, jumped from a silo on an abandoned concrete factory on September 10. She was 12-years-old at the time of her death. On Saturday, October 12, the 14-year-old posted this message on her Facebook page: “ "Yes ik [I know] I bullied Rebecca nd (sic) she killed her self but IDGAF [I don't give a (expletive)]." ” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd stated that the post was the "tipping point" and "[s]he forced this arrest." The bullying was initiated by the 14-year-old after she started dating Rebecca’s ex-boyfriend. For over a year, both the 14-year-old and the 12-year-old posted online messages that included threats to beat Rebecca up, calling her "ugly" and telling her: "you should drink bleach and die," "you should go kill yourself," and "nobody likes you." Investigators say that the two "repeatedly and maliciously" harassed Rebecca and that several students from Crystal Lake Middle School in Lakeland, where all three girls attended, corroborated the reports of bullying. By December 2012, the bullying had become so severe that Rebecca began cutting herself. Her mother homeschooled her at first and then enrolled her in a new school, but the bullying continued. The morning of her death, Rebecca sent a message to a friend stating: "I’m jumping and I can’t take it anymore." According to Sheriff Judd, both girls’ parents failed to cooperate with the investigation and did not stop their daughters from using social media. Both girls appeared before a judge for Polk County and were charged with third-degree felonies of aggravated stalking – a felony charge due to Rebecca’s age.The 12-year-old was released back to her parents while the 14-year-old, who failed to show any remorse, was taken into the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice until the next hearing. The girls are unlikely to see any time in juvenile detention due to their lack of criminal history and the charge of a class-three felony, which is only a step up from a misdemeanor. Sheriff Grady Judd expressed his anger and dismay specifically towards the girls’ parents, who had refused to monitor their behavior and allowed them to keep their cellphones and continue posting online. "I'm aggravated that the parents aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing," Sheriff Judd said, then followed with this admonition: “ Watch what your children do online. Pay attention. Quit being their best friend and be their best parent. That’s important. ”

News from Delaware Delaware Supreme Court approves $8.2B video game company purchase   Court: Delaware Supreme Court By Matt Latourelle The Delaware Supreme Court, on October 10, ruled that Activision Blizzard, the makers of Call of Duty, can proceed with their plan to buy back $8.2B worth of shares and stock from French conglomerate Vivendi, which currently owns a majority of the company. Activision, the largest video-game publisher in the U.S., is planning to buy back $5.8 billion in shares of its company from Vivendi. Additionally, a group of investors are putting up $2.34 billion for a 25 percent stake. This will leave Vivendi with 12 percent of the shares. The group of investors will together be the largest shareholders, which sparked concern that they would have undue control over the company. This concern resulted in a lawsuit by one of the shareholders, Michael Hanrahan, to stop the deal. "It’s a huge transaction…$5.83 billion is flowing out of Activision to a controlling stockholder," he said. Hanrahan argued that the purchase amounted to a merger between Activision and Vivendi and therefore required a majority vote of investors to be approved. Delaware Court of Chancery Judge J. Travis Laster ruled in Hanrahan's favor on September 18, requiring an investor vote to approve the purchase. The supreme court, however, did not agree with Judge Laster. Chief Justice Myron Steele wrote: “ The Stock Purchase Agreement here contested is not a merger, business combination or similar transaction. ” He also explained that, “ There is almost universal belief that this is a good deal for the stockholders. ”

News from Vermont Got porn? Court rules public has right to know if police department investigated officers properly   Court: Vermont Supreme Court By Susan Lawrence The Vermont Supreme Court ruled against the city of Rutland for a second time in a case brought by a newspaper that was trying to obtain records regarding an investigation into whether city police officers were looking at porn on the job. In 2012, the high court found the Superior Court, Civil Division in Rutland County, ruled correctly when it ordered the Rutland Police Department to release records pertaining to an internal investigation of police officers caught with pornographic materials, including possible images of child porn, on their work computers. In 2010, the Rutland Herald filed a Public Records Act request with the Rutland Police Department to obtain records regarding the department's internal investigation of officers who were downloading and viewing pornographic images on their computers at work. Former police officer David Schauwecker was forced to resign from the department after criminal charges were filed against him for having porn on his work computer. At the time, the department also noted another officer was the subject of both a criminal and an internal investigation back in 2004 after porn was found on his work computer. However, the city refused to release the name of the officer involved in the incident or any records pertaining to the department's internal investigation into the situation. The newspaper sued the city of Rutland to force the department to turn over any records regarding the police department's investigation. According to the Supreme Court, the trial court correctly found, “ ...the records highly relevant to the public’s interest in determining if the police department followed its own internal investigation procedure, and if it properly decided whether to conduct criminal investigations of its own employees. ” The investigation records, which were finally released a few days ago, show two other Rutland police officers were also caught with porn on their work computers. In 2004, a computer technician was repairing a police department computer used by James Tarbell. The technician discovered, according to the investigation's report: “ ...25,000 graphic images, 94 explicit videos and several images of possible child pornography. ” Criminal charges were not filed against Tarbell because the ages of the subjects in the images suspected of being child pornography were not known. Tarbell claims he located and looked at the porn for research. He was found to have downloaded approximately 26,000 pornographic images over an eight-month period. He received a suspension of ten days without pay. According to the current police chief, James Baker, “ [Tarbell] accepted his punishment, he moved on, and since 2004...[h]e has had a spotless record. ” In 2010, the police department looked into another case involving an animal control officer who was also viewing pornography at work. Craig Petrie was also suspended without pay. He has since retired from the department.

See also

• Courtroom Weekly