Bullied Teen Uses iPad to Record Abuse; Gets Busted for Illegal Wiretapping Instead

[dgstorm]

This news isn't Android related, but it is indirectly related to mobile tech and should be shared with the community. If this isn't a clear case of the victim being further victimized, then the world has gone nuts. At the very least a mockery of justice has prevailed and common sense has been thrown out the window. A Pennsylvania high-school sophomore was being bullied at his school. After complaining to his mom, he decided to obtain proof of the incidents by using his school-provided iPad to record the bullying. After bringing his evidence to his mom, she was outraged (as any good mother would be) and brought it to the principal of the school.

At some point between her house and the school, she must have entered the Twilight Zone, because instead of the principal jumping to the bullied teen's defense, he called the police and the victim was charged with felony illegal wiretapping! This sounds like a cruel April Fool's Joke, but it gets even worse. The teen eventually had his day in court, and his charges were reduced to disorderly conduct, yet District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet still ruled against him!

The bullies got off scot-free and the lawyers of the victim are now appealing the verdict. The principal's reasoning for calling the police was that "the recording was made in a place where the other students expected privacy."

[Editorial Rant: While, the principal's perspective and actions might be technically correct according to the "letter of the law," it shows zero common sense and zero responsibility for the welfare of his students. It is the principal's responsibility to facilitate/create a safe environment for the kids in his school. He had the authority to handle this in any number of ways that were different than this. It isn't really necessary for this incident to have been reported to the police, because the privacy of the students should not over-ride the safety/well-being of the students. You can bet money that if the situation was reversed, (if the school had made the recording), they would have claimed that the "reasonable expectation of privacy" was trumped by their responsibility to keep the children safe.]

Source: Ubergizmo

 

[iJamesH]

That is so messed up it's not even funny. I wish that stupid principal would get fired because we don't need someone with no common sense running schools for our children.

 

[leelai]

I am completely aghast that this has happened to this poor bullied child.

We are seeing quite a lot of bullying happening in schools here and iPhones are being utilised by others to record it....Police are then using these recordings as evidence to catch these bullies.

Bullies themselves are also recording what they do and uploading it on FB, police are then using these postings to bring them to justice. It's not only bulling either which is being pursued by police, they are uncovering all types of crime.

Just can't believe this Principle has gotten it so wrong.....And hasn't looked at the whole picture as to why this child did what he did to try to stop being bullied. Yes, the Principle does need to be sacked, they just haven't done their job of keeping their children safe! Shame on them!!

I do hope this child and his parents do appeal and get justice.

It's a very sad day when this type of thing is allowed to happen.....the Judge should also be reprimanded for not seeking justice for this child.

 

[Ser Aphim]

I don't want to live in this world anymore.

This stupid principal, man. I wished you did not have to post this, I just lost most of my faith in humanity.

 

[Ser Aphim]

How could people even like this post?

 

[leelai]

How could people even like this post?

We like that dgstorm has posted this article for us to see, it's an important issue and the more who see it, then more people will be outraged by it and hopefully bring about a change for justice!

......we certainly don't like what happened to this child.

 

[Husq250]

Sad to see. I have no tolerance for bullying.

 

[KevinJS]

We like that dgstorm has posted this article for us to see, it's an important issue and the more who see it, then more people will be outraged by it and hopefully bring about a change for justice!

......we certainly don't like what happened to this child.

Precisely.

 

[Ser Aphim]

We like that dgstorm has posted this article for us to see, it's an important issue and the more who see it, then more people will be outraged by it and hopefully bring about a change for justice!

......we certainly don't like what happened to this child.

Oh now I see why you liked this.

 

[tlbaker]

I saw this, very sad for this poor young man.

Sent from my Black Verizon 32GB iPhone 4 From NYC!!! using iPF

 

[s2mikey]

The public school system..... Wow. Just wow. I mean, I expect the wrong thing to almost always happen but this just shocks even me. And to think we are forced to pay for this stuff too. Wow. Ugh.

 

[AQ_OC]

The real question each of us needs to ask ourselves is: What are YOU going to do about it? Expressing concerns here does nothing. A targeted email explaining how you feel about this is what each person needs to do. Let folks feel the anger that this action generated.

Oh, I cannot help but mention that "common sense" ain't worth beans. I don't expect a principal to act with "common sense". I expect that person to display "good sense." If the kid is getting bullied in the bathroom, where most expect some degree of privacy, then that is where the bully has to get the data needed to protect himself.

 

[dgstorm]

Yeah... it was tough bringing this story to your attention guys. To be honest with you, the story really depressed me. Sometimes it's tough when I find news stories like this in my daily grind for news.

I want to share that I posted this story on one of our other sites and got a couple of reactions which shocked and revolted me. Some folks actually supported the principal and called the kid a spineless coward! I was so appalled, I deleted the thread from that website.

I didn't feel very well after that for a couple of days. I guess some people only see the world through a "black and white" lens, but those are the people who we need to reach the most. They are the ones who perpetuate a system which would allow victims to be further victimized.

It's great to see we have folks here with real compassion and an accurate sense of real justice. Seeing your posts has made my day and week much better. I felt like sharing this post was important because when people can come together and share their common outrage, then we get closer to creating a world where these types of injustices are diminished or eliminated.

AQ_OC is correct that we need to do more than just express our regret at this happening. If our busy lives make it impossible to get directly involved in the fight to change the culture of violence and bullying in America, then at the very least we must all be vigilant in our lives to stand up when we see similar situations.

We need to be the example, so that people like this "principal" can see a better way of living.