Mon Valley student charged with cyberbullying classmate
CHARLEROI – An 18-year-old high school student in the Mon Valley and two juveniles have been accused of cyberbullying a classmate with racist and sexual-type postings on social media.
Charleroi Regional police on Tuesday filed misdemeanor charges of cyberharassing a child and conspiracy to cyberharass a child against the adult student at Mon Valley Career & Technology Center, Levi Alan Thorpe, of Fallowfield Township, court records show.
Police said in charging documents that two 17-year-old males face similar charges in juvenile petitions.
Police were contacted Feb. 11 by the school’s principal, Jason Lucia, to report the allegations about a 17-year-old male student who was allegedly being harassed on Instagram.
The students were accused of creating a fraudulent account on that platform in the name of the victim and posting two photos with captions that included a racist comment and lynching.
One post included #donaldtrump with the following statement, “I’m so happy you guys can’t vote anymore,” court records indicate.
Another included a photo of the victim with a surprised expression followed by, “My face when I heard black people can vote,” police noted in the affidavit.
Lucia told police that Thorpe and the others were captured in a hallway in a huddle Jan. 31 at the school in Speers. It was later confirmed that one of the students handed Thorpe his cellphone to log into the Instagram account.
One of the posts also included disparaging comments about members of the LGBTQ community.
Neil F. Henehan, director of the career and technology center, declined to answer questions about the case.
“Administrators at Mon Valley CTC have conducted a thorough review of the situation and have acted swiftly to address those involved in the incident, Henehan stated in a prepared response. “Conduct such as this will not be tolerated, as hate and racial prejudice have no place in our school or our community.”
Thorpe’s home school is Charleroi Area High School.
District Superintendent Edward Zelich said cyberbullying has become a “terrible problem across the nation.”
“It’s our job to educate and train them,” Zelich said. “The parents have a responsibility, too.”