15-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide After a Bullying “Campaign”

15-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide After a Bullying “Campaign”

Following a bullying “campaign”, on January 14, 2010, Phoebe Prince, 15, hanged herself in her family apartment in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

Prince had recently emigrated to the U.S from Ireland and was a student at South Hadley High School. For several months she was tormented by other students through a very famous social networking site, via text messages, and in person at school. The reason seems to be her brief romantic relationship with a senior high school football player, one of the male suspects that ended weeks prior to her suicide. As a result, the couple and their friends bullied Prince.

The last school day of her life, ended with a final incident in which a girl student threw a soft drink can at her from a passing car as she walked home from school. Only a few days after accepting an invitation to the winter cotillion, the height of the social season at South Hadley High School, Prince hanged herself in the stairwell leading to the second floor of her home, her 12-year-old sister found Prince's body.

According to the Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel, the girl’s suicide was "the culmination of a nearly three-month campaign of verbally assault behavior and threats of physical harm."

Following the “three month campaign” of bullying that resulted in Phoebe Prince’s suicide, nine teenagers have been charged. Three of them are girls, who are now charged with violating Prince's civil rights, criminal harassment and disturbing a school assembly. Two of the indicted male students, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, will also be charged with statutory rape. As a result of their actions, the principal decided they would not be graduating from South Hadley High School.

Bullying seems to be one of the stringent problems that teenagers are confronted with. According to the website StopBullying.gov, there are many effects of bullying continuing on into adulthood as it increases feelings of sadness and loneliness, loss of interest in activities and people who are being bullied may have increased thoughts about suicide.

For information and tips on how to protect your children online, see Travis Morgan’s book titled “Catch Me If You Know How - Internet Edition” or visit the “Catch Me If You Know How” website at http://www.CatchMeIfYouKnowHow.com