It is unusual but not unheard of for criminal charges to be filed for Internet use. Joshua* was a 17-year-old student in North Carolina. A few days after the Columbine killings in 1999, he posted “The End is Near” on the school’s screensaver. He was charged with communicating a threat and a jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, one and a half years probation and 48 hours of community service. On appeal the court reversed the conviction ruling that there was no evidence of a willful threat to injure anyone or damage property.
*State v. Mortimer, 542 S.E.2d 330 (2001)
I.M.L.** was a 16-year-old student at Milford High School in Utah. On a webpage at home he criticized his teachers, classmates and principal. The police were called and I.M.L. was charged with libel [an unjust statement that exposes someone to public contempt]. The charges were dismissed by the court because the state law defining libel was too broad and ambiguous.
I.M.L. was lucky and hopefully learned something about the legal system. Although not perfect, it can disrupt your life even when no criminal intent exists.
**I.M.L. v. State of Utah, 61 P.3d 1038 (2002).
Take a look at “8 Florida teens face prison for video assault” posted on April 14, 2008 under Talk Back for the story about Victoria Lindsay [age 16] who was beaten on March 30, 2008 by eight kids. The incident was videotaped for posting on YouTube or MySpace. Now all have been charged and will be tried as adults. If convicted, they face years in prison - even the youngest, 14-year-old April.
