HALIFAX – A recent Nova Scotia Youth Court verdict that found a youth guilty of posting topless images of a girl is a case of casual cruelty and Internet taunting leading to a suicide attempt and criminal charges.
The names of the young people–and their home towns –is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The court refers to them only by initials.
The boy in the case identified as “Y” was found guilty of inducing a teenage girl to produce intimate photos of herself, possession of child pornography for the purpose of distribution and possession of child pornography.
The case stems from a series of incidents online that began in November 2012. “Y” convinced a young girl who was under the age of 16 at the time, to send topless and partially clothed photos of herself to a phony Facebook account he created.
“Y” and another male friend created two fake Facebook accounts using female identities to communicate with the girl. According to court documents, the girl identified as “A” was initially unaware she was communicating with strangers.
The Facebook conversations eventually drew in another teenage girl, a friend of “A”. But the girls began experiencing petty jealousy with each other as they vied for the attentions of the fake Facebook friends.
“Y” and the other boy decided to “kill off” one of the fake Facebook accounts –identified by the court as BP –and sent messages that BP had killed herself.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the case involves what happened next.
The phony suicide sent the girls into a crisis and they attempted suicide themselves.
Both girls ended up in the hospital.
Later, when the girls began questioning if the fake Facebook accounts were real,they were convinced otherwise by the boys.
As “A” continued to press for the real identity of the Facebook accounts, the boy at the centre of the case demanded intimate pictures from the girl in exchange for information about the true identity of who was behind the Facebook account.
He also upped the ante, demanding more photos be sent to him via the remaining fake Facebook account or the intimate images would be shared with others.
In her decision finding “Y” guilty of all the charges Judge Anne Derrick said the case is about more than criminal offences.
“…it is about lonely, anxious teenagers and the harm caused by the callous exploitation of Internet anonymity,” she writes in her 26 page decision.
Derrick called the accused and the complainant “fragile and vulnerable” young people who became isolated in their homes and deeply invested in online relationships, rather than real world interactions.
“Casual cruelty, shattered trust, attempted suicide and criminal charges are the bitter harvest of the shadowy distorted world these teens inhabited.” Derrick writes.
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