Cyber bullying leads to criminal charge

On Jan. 31, Manitoulin OPP responded to a complaint of threatening by e-mail. Two students from Manitoulin Secondary School were on the social networking site Facebook, where one student received a life-threatening e-mail and immediately reported it to parents. An investigation was launched and as a result, a 16-year-old was charged with uttering a threat to cause death or bodily harm and will be appearing in Gore Bay Youth Court.

Const. Allan Boyd of the Manitoulin OPP advises cyber bullying is taken very seriously by the OPP. He said, “What young people don't understand is any crime that can be committed face-to-face also applies on a computer. It is still a threat and if the victim perceives it to be real then an offence is committed.”