On August 8, 2013, two eighteen year olds were arrested on child pornography charges for their alleged involvement in making and distributing images of Rehtaeh Parsons’ rape.
The legal breakdown is one man is charged with two counts of distributing child pornography and the other man is charged with one count each of making and distributing child pornography.
The charges stem from larger allegations of gang rape committed against Parsons by four boys from her school when she was 15. Parsons endured but eventually killed herself 17 months later when cyberbullies refused to leave her alone.
The attack was documented by one of the alleged attackers. The fact that the images of Parsons’ gang rape were passed around through social media to schoolmates troubled Rehtaeh and her family.
In reaction, she attempted suicide in early April, 2013. She was taken off life support and died on April 7, 2013.
The two men are due in youth court in Halifax on August 15, 2013. Their identities are shielded from the public because they were minors at the time they committed the alleged offences.
In response to the cyberbullying of Parsons, Nova Scotia Justice Minister, Ross Landry, introduced the Cyber-Safety Act that would empower victims of online bullying to confront their attackers in the courts.
The law would help protect cyberbully victims by giving them the right to sue in court or seek a police protection order if they or their children are being harassed online.
For example, a protection order could be issued that would place restrictions on the harasser or help discover the identity of the cyberbully, often difficult when they use a pseudonym.
If the victim or their family were to launch a lawsuit, the new law would make the parents of cyberbullies– if they are under 18 — liable for damages. This law is the first of its kind in Canada.
Despite the allegations of gang rape, the RCMP has not laid those charges against the four alleged offenders.
The Parsons family has been critical of the police and RCMPs response to their daughter’s accusation of gang rape. It took a social media campaign and support from the online group Anonymous before the case was properly investigated in mid April.
“We do not cultivate facts, we verify them. We must base our investigation on facts and evidence so they can withstand the rigorous court process,” said Halifax police Chief Jean-Michel Blais.
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Nick Seebruch, editor
