9 teens arrested in Phoebe Prince cyberbullying case

In a case that sparked a massive outpouring of anger and grief in South Hadley, MA, charges have been brought against nine teenagers believed to have bullied Irish native Phoebe Prince, who committed suicide in January, just prior to her death.

Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel spoke about the charges that followed two months of investigation in a case with some parallels to the recent death of West Islip High School student Alexis Pilkington:

“It appears that Phoebe’s death on Jan. 14 followed a torturous day for her, in which she was subjected to verbal harassment and threatened physical abuse,” said Scheibel.

Prince’s death has drawn significant attention to the panic surrounding cyberbullying, a factor initially thought to have been related to Pilkington’s suicide. A Facebook group calling for the expulsion of “three girls” believed to have pushed Prince to take her life has over 23,000 members.

Although three of those charged have not been named, six of the teens no longer considered juveniles were identified in the Boston Herald, and charges against each individual were published:

Sean Mulveyhill, 17, of South Hadley who is charged with statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting, criminal harassment and disturbance of a school assembly.

Kayla Narey, 17, of South Hadley who is charged with violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting, criminal harassment, disturbance of a school assembly.

Austin Renaud, 18, of Springfield who is charged with statutory rape.

Ashley Longe, 16, of South Hadley charged with violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting as a youthful offender.

Flannery Mullins, 16, of South Hadley violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting and stalking as a youthful offender.

Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, of South Hadley who is charged with violation of civil rights with bodily injury resulting and stalking as a youthful offender.

Prince died on January 14th of this year, and her body was returned to Ireland for burial.