When Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel announced the criminal charges against 9 teenagers related to the death of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince she also revealed the extent of knowledge that school personnel had regarding the harassment the freshman suffered during school hours.
Scheibel said that most of the South Hadley High School student body knew about the bullying and that Phoebe’s mother spoke with at least two school staff members about the harassment. “Some bystanders, including at least four students and two faculty members intervened while the harassment was occurring or reported it to administrators,” Scheibel said.
“A lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships seems to have been prevalent at South Hadley High School,” said Scheibel. “That, in turn, brought about an inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of the school’s code of conduct when incidents were observed and reported.”
Scheibel said that her office considered whether or not the actions- or lack thereof- by South Hadley staff and administrators amounted to criminal behavior.
“In our opinion, it did not,” said Scheibel. “Nevertheless, the actions or inactions, of some adults at the school are troublesome. This case underscores the need for consistent implementation of disciplinary policies in area schools regarding bullying. In addition, training of faculty, staff and administrators relating to aggressional behavior in teen dating relationships is vital. So too, curriculums should be integrated to include programs aimed at building student’s skills, particularly as bystanders, to address the issues associated with bullying.”
Both points may be addressed by new legislation Massachusetts lawmakers are working on. Measures to address bullying have passed both the House and Senate but must go to committee where a final draft will be reconciled before the measure goes to Governor Deval Patrick for signing.
The nine students and the charges they are facing are as follows:
Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley, charged with statutory rape, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly.
Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield, charged with statutory rape.
Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley, charged with violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly.
Ashley Longe, 16, of South Hadley, charged with violation of civil rights, as a youthful offender.
Flannery Mullins, 16, of South Hadley, charged with violation of civil rights as a youthful offender, stalking as a youthful offender.
Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, of South Hadley, charged with violation of civil rights as a youthful offender, stalking as a youthful offender.
In addition, three juveniles, all females from South Hadley are also facing delinquency complaints. One of the delinquency complaints includes assault with a dangerous weapon, namely a beverage container that was hurled at the victim.
The defendants will be summoned to court for arraignment at a later date.