Rehtaeh Parsons: Child porn charges in cyber- bully death
Two men have been charged with
child pornography crimes in the
alleged cyber-bullying of a teenaged
Canadian girl who later took her own
life.
Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, of Nova Scotia,
killed herself in April after being taunted
over a photo of her alleged rape by four
boys, her mother has said.
Two 18-year-old men were arrested on
Thursday in connection with the
photograph.
The men, who have not been named, will
be prosecuted in a juvenile court.
"We hope that today's arrests help the
community to heal," Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (RCMP) Chief
Superintendent Roland Wells of the
Halifax district said in a statement on
Thursday evening.
"A young girl has died in what was a
tragic set of circumstances. We all need
to reflect on how we as a community can
come together in Rehtaeh's memory and
see what we can do to work together to
support our youth."
One of the men was charged with two
counts of distribution of child
pornography, the other with one count
each of making child pornography and
distribution of child pornography.
The RCMP said the names of the accused
would not be released because they were
youths at the time of the alleged offence,
and warned Halifax residents who believe
they know the identities of the accused
not to release them on penalty of
prosecution, nor to take vigilante action.
'Never left alone'
According to Rehtaeh's mother Leah
Parsons, the Nova Scotia teen went to a
party in 2011, when she was 15, and
became inebriated after drinking vodka.
The girl told her parents that while she
was heavily intoxicated, she was raped
by four boys, and someone took a
photograph of it.
The photograph was circulated online,
and soon her schoolmates began
taunting her over the photograph. The
bullying was incessant, her mother said.
"She was never left alone," Ms Parsons
told CBC News in April after Rehtaeh's
suicide.
"Her friends turned against her, people
harassed her, boys she didn't know
started texting her and Facebooking
asking her to have sex with them since
she had had sex with their friends. It just
never stopped."
Rehtaeh died in April in hospital, several
days after attempting suicide.
Police at first said they did not have
grounds to make any arrests in
connection with the alleged rape or the
photograph. The investigation was
reopened in April after police said they
received new information.
