Posted on 03/30/2010 1:15:16 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
NORTHAMPTON – Six young people have been indicted on charges ranging from statutory rape to criminal harassment in the death of 15-year-old Phoebe N. Prince, who hanged herself in January after months of intense bullying at South Hadley High School.
(Excerpt) Read more at masslive.com ...
And sadly none will get the death penalty.
This isn’t Bullying. Bullying is kid stuff. This is intimidation od a Statutory Rape victim to shut her up. A very Adult crime.
The things that bother me about this whole case are not the “normal” things that seem to be bothering people. Yes, these kids were wrong and they will pay.
But rather beyond the pinning blame game, these are the things that bother me:
What is going on in these kids heads to make them think this was OK? I can understand one or two kids without a moral compass...but nine?
What was a fifteen year old girl doing having sex with two guys? What was this kid missing in her life? How common is this?
Where were the parents? All of these kids were living these horrible lives and not a single parent of the ten of them knew anything about it? Not one?
I know that there has been talk about the school’s culpability, and I tend to think that it is beyond the scope of things the school should be responsible for it it happens outside of the building.
Were the rest of the kids in school so terrified about this that told no one? Not a parent? Not an older, more responsible brother or sister; aunt or uncle? This type of thing cannot go on for very long before people know about it. And yet, no one DID anything.
All of this happened soon after another young kid was bullied into committing suicide a few months earlier—so all of the warning signs had been plastered around the area.
This whole episode breaks my heart.
I’m beginning to understand why they make guns.
You see, I thought it was the girlfriends of the guys trying to get back at this girl for sleeping with their boys.
I was under the impression that it was the girls putting the heat on her, not the guys.
The whole statutory rape thing, while true (she was under the age of consent) was not forced. From what I understand it was consensual to the degree that girl of 15 understands consent.
Force is not a requirement for statutory rape.
There were adults who knew what was going on. Some tried to stop it, some did nothing.
I didn’t read anything that said she consented to the sex. Did I miss something?
what a pretty girl. Someone was probably jealous of her, and girls can be so friggin’ mean.
Sad tale
Of course, if she had belonged to a protected demographic, then there would be a civil rights case since the school officials permitted the harassment to go on.
Dead at 15, this beautiful young girl lost 70 years of what should have been a life of fun, a family, travel, games, the prom, school, learning, books, getting her drivers license, and unfortunately, occasional loss, tragedy, and heartbreak. I could go on and on; what right did these bullies have to take it from her? They may get only a few years in jail; but the mind is a terrible prison and even if they don’t have much of a conscience, I hope the loss of this young child always bothers them.
What a beautiful 15-yr old young lady! And to have her life snuff out by bullies. And two of three guys charged are charged with raping her. What a terrible life she had to live after that. Is there any justice in this world that can serve these bullies well?
I can’t say. The story doesn’t provide sufficient detail regarding the rape in order to determine whether consent was an issue or not. The fact that the charge is “statutory” suggests the “relationship” was consentual, but that’s all.
My understanding from a separate article on Yahoo yesterday was that several students along with teachers had approached the school administration about the bullying of Phoebe going on inside the school and yet they chose to do nothing. I think the mom also approached the school admin.
Originally they thought a lot of the intimidation was online, but the latest article I read stated almost all of the bullying was done face to face.
Last I heard her father was still in Europe. Hadn’t come to the US yet. It’s a shame because the father would probably have been more forceful and effective than the mom in dealing with the school admin.
1. It is statutory rape, hence consensual.
The boys may be over 18 now....
IMO, a glory seeking DA wanting some easy hits to boost her career.
The giveaway - in a building filled with guidance counselors, administrators up the wazoo, deputy and assistant and vice deputy principals, none of the adults in charge are cited for any incompetence or negligence?
The kids may have engaged in nasty behavior, but at a school where were the adults supposedly watching over all this.
“....none of the adults in charge are cited for any incompetence or negligence?”
It is a modern trend. It happens frequently now accross a wide spectrum of authority. On 9-11-01 there was a hell of a lot of carnage and destruction in America accomplished with civilian air craft and no one could be found who could be charged with having let something get by them.
I couldn’t agree with you more.
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