VEAZIE, Maine — A former Orono High School student is facing felony terrorizing and harassment by electronic communication charges after posting dozens of threatening, anonymous messages on an Internet account of a former classmate she thought was flirting with her boyfriend, according to Veazie police.
Although the Bangor Daily News usually does not identify crime victims, Orono High School sophomore Alexis Henkel, 15, her parents, Norbert and Judy Henkel, and her twin brother, Austin, agreed to talk publicly about what they’ve experienced in the hope of educating others about the impact that cyberbullying has on those who become targets.
The alleged cyberbully — a 16-year-old girl who used to go to Orono High School with the victim but now attends a high school in southern Maine — was charged with the offenses on Nov. 1 by Veazie police Sgt. Keith Emery.
“I’ve handled harassment calls for 24 years and have never seen threats as violent, disgusting and vulgar as these,” Emery said of the anonymous posts, which began appearing on the victim’s Tumblr blog account in late September.
“They started out telling the girl she was ugly, a whore, slut, et cetera. As the messages continued through October, they got threatening,” the sergeant said. “Just very vulgar and horrific threats. There were dozens of these types of messages.”
Following are some of the offensive posts:
— “Ready for tomorrow night? I’d learn to sleep with your eyes open if I were you. I’m dulling my knife right now so when I stab you in the face, gut and legs it’ll be painful as possible.”
— “You know how all these environmental friendly groups say that waste should be properly disposed of? Well, come on Lexi, do the world a favor, and properly dispose of your [expletive deleted] self!”
— “Your face is like a baby seal. Fat, furry and just asking to be clubbed to death.”
Assisting in the investigation were school administrators, school resource officers and Internet technology experts from Orono High, and the high school in southern Maine the suspect now attends.
Emery said last week that the suspect, whose name was withheld because of her age, confessed after she was interviewed at the Veazie police station. The terrorizing charge was elevated to felony status because the threats prompted the victim and her family to evacuate their home on several occasions, he said.
“Hopefully, she’ll be charged with multiple counts from the [district attorney’s] office of harassment by electronic communication device,” Emery said. “The terrorizing comes from the nature of some of the threats. — things like ‘I’m dulling my knife so that when I stab you it hurts worse, I’m on my way, Hey, come see me outside’ — things like that really cause the fear to set in.
“Quite honestly if there was something more I could have charged her with, I would have,” he said.
The suspect was released to her mother with specific conditions through the Maine Department of Probation’s juvenile division, Emery said. Among other things, she is to have no contact with the victim, attend school and obey the rules of her home, he said. She is allowed to use the Internet only for school purposes and must be supervised while doing so.
Emery said this week that he already has reported two violations of the Internet use conditions, and that juvenile probation officials issued warnings to the suspect in response.
In addition, Emery served the suspect with a temporary protection from harassment order that the mother of the victim obtained from court on her daughter’s behalf. Judy Henkel said she obtained a permanent protection order on Thursday. A permanent protection from harassment order lasts for one year, but can be renewed.
Emery said the 16-year-old is scheduled to appear at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor on Dec. 24, though Penobscot County Assistant District Attorney James Aucoin, whose duties include prosecuting juvenile matters, said Wednesday that he has yet to receive the case from juvenile authorities.
Emery said his investigation revealed that the girl wrote the offensive posts “because she thought [the victim] was flirting with her boyfriend.”
Despite what her daughter went through, Judy Henkel said she sympathized with the mother of the alleged cyberbully.
“I couldn’t’ imagine somebody coming to me, handing me [Internet printouts] and saying, ‘Your daughter wrote this.’ It would kill me as a mother, and I do feel sorry for [the suspect’s] mother. You can’t not feel sorry for another mother.”
During an interview at the Veazie police station, the Henkels said that Alexis — also known as Lexi — began receiving disturbing messages on her Tumblr account in late September. The messages were posted anonymously, they said. Many of them were worded in such a way that they appeared to have been written by a male and that the author knew Lexi and was familiar with her school.
“There were death threats against her, [and] they were very disturbing [and of a] sexual nature,” Norbert Henkel said.
Judy Henkel said the messages “spoke of dismembering her body, stalking her the rest of her life, raping her children. … It was horrible.”
As soon as the messages began showing up on her account, Lexi went to her mother, who contacted Veazie police, the Henkels said.
“We really didn’t know how to take it at first, how seriously to take it, but as it was going on [and we were] reading those messages, it felt like somebody [who] writes that would be so disturbed you don’t know what else they would do,” Norbert Henkel said.
“We really became worried about her well-being and her safety,” he said of his daughter. “There were days we left home, we went somewhere else, for the simple reason that somebody was threatening to come over to the house and shoot at the house.”
In addition to the death threats, there were “messages that would just [call] me names, or they would like tell me to hang myself,” Lexi said.
In an effort to protect their daughter, Lexi’s parents took over her account so that they could monitor the messages without her having to be exposed to them.
“We kept her Tumblr account open and let them keep sending them because the more we got, the better we thought we would be [in finding out who sent them], and then once we knew we had enough and Sgt. Emery said we were good, then we shut the site down,” Judy Henkel said.
The messages — which since have been removed from Tumblr — continued to come in during a three-week period. Dozens of messages were sent, the Henkels said.
Twenty-seven of them included death threats, the Henkels said. Emery said that by subpoenaing Tumblr and obtaining the Internet Protocol addresses from which the messages were sent, investigators learned that all but a few of the anonymous posts were sent from the suspect’s school in southern Maine. The Bangor Daily News is not naming the school because doing so might identify the suspect.
The harassment then moved to Lexi’s cellphone, but that came to an end when her mother modified her account with Verizon so she could block calls from certain numbers.
Concerned for their daughter’s safety, the Henkels kept Lexi at home until they could find out who was threatening her and until she felt ready to return.
Lexi — who noted that Homecoming was among the activities she missed — said last week that she planned to go back to school on Wednesday, after the long Veterans Day weekend. Judy Henkel said Lexi did indeed return to school on Wednesday.
Orono High Principal James Chasse said that student confidentiality rules prevented him discussing any specifics about the cyberbullying case.
Also prohibited from discussing specifics — including whether any disciplinary action was taken — were the principal and school resource officer of the high school in southern Maine the suspect now attends.
Bullying — both on the Internet and in person — is something that school officials in Maine take seriously, Chasse and the southern Maine principal said this week in separate interviews.
Chasse said that after learning of the case involving the Henkels, Orono school officials immediately began working with law enforcement and contacted Tumblr, which he said is not accessible on the Orono school system’s Internet network.
“We are very happy that none of the bullying messages originated from our school, and that the cooperation between a few towns’ law agencies and schools appears to have been very effective,” he wrote in an email Saturday about the case.
“If it were one of our students, I have little doubt that we would have recommended expulsion of the student(s) to our school board,” he said. “The student being bullied is returning to school and will be afforded all opportunity to be academically on track. We met several times with the family and recently created a plan for a successful return.”
“We continue to teach and promote kindness, respect and responsibility and deal with issues individually as they arise. I hope that the story serves to communicate to families the challenges of digital citizenship facing this generation,” Chasse said, adding, “The student is and has been very brave.”
The southern Maine school resource officer said Wednesday that cyberbullying is difficult for schools to police because it takes place in cyberspace, as opposed to on school property, where teachers can see it or hear it. Oftentimes, bullies find ways to remain anonymous.
And the technology keeps changing, the resource officer said. Facebook, which has been a problem for school officials for the past several years, is being supplanted by new means of communicating, such as SnapChat.
In March of this year, Maine lawmakers gave final passage to a bill to protect students from bullying in schools.
Among other things, An Act to Prohibit Bullying in Schools requires the state’s education commissioner to develop a model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying for use in Maine schools. The model policy is posted on the Maine Department of Education’s website.
In 2010, there were at least 14 suicides resulting from bullying nationally, according to The Associated Press.
“I can honestly say through this all [that] I’m glad my husband and I raised our children the way we did because they knew no matter what, they could come to us,” Judy Henkel said.
“Had it not been for that, I would have buried my daughter,” said Henkel, her voice raspy with emotion.
“She told me she thought about killing herself, so it’s been tough. Had it not been for Sgt. Emery and for her knowing she could come to us and we would take action, she wouldn’t be here today,” she said. “I thank Sgt. Emery from the bottom of my heart for what he did. He saved my daughter’s life in every way, shape and form, and if this saves one kid that’s going through this, then my job is done.”
I don’t care whether normal school work is easier with internet access or not, cyber bullies such as this should not be allowed internet access at all. It is, after all, the weapon used to commit the alleged crime. Take it completely out of her hands.
right. she ought not to have any access for the rest of her school career; if she is found guilty she will hopefully do jail time and not have technology
This girl’s behavior would have found a way to impact others 30 years ago-well before the internet. At 16 I don’t think society or any of us posting here should decide that she’s beyond help.She needs access to people who can change her way of thinking.36 months ago she became a teenager. There are people posting here that have children drinking, doing drugs, stealing, and yes bullying other kids-THEY DON’T KNOW IT MOST OF THE TIME.
Well that would be illegal, it would be like sealing a persons mouth shut because he was convicted of Liable( Or slander, I can never remember which is spoken)
Disagree. They are not alike. One condition is feasible and practical and the other is not feasible or practical.
Libel is written, slander is spoken. That’s an overly simplified definition, but generally that’s how those two types of defamation are distinguished.
Slander is telling the truth about someone. Defamation is making things up about someone.
Bullying doesn’t end in school, it is worse in the workplace by adults
While I agree with you that it happens frequently in the workplace and effects our job standing and can even get us fired, i believe that emotionally, we adults, are better trained to deal with this, than teenagers and younger children. We are able to reason things out and try and move one, where for these younger people, often the only solution is one of eliminating themselves from society. I realize it also happens in adults, but far less frequently. My heart truly goes out to this young lady and i commend her for the courage she has had to confront those that were bullying her. Far too often, by the time the problem is found, the result ends in suicide and severe lifelong pain for the victim’s family and loved ones. I know we seem to have a lot of Sociaopaths out there these days and it scares me greatly.
Define “sociopath,” please. No? How about “anti-social personality disorder,” or ASPD. No? How about “suicidal or homicidal ideations with a plan?” No, eh? Best not over-use words you don’t fully comprehend, then.
I understand them very very well. My son was diagnosed with many of what I had mentioned. I am not sure what your point is? Why do you want to attack me for what i posted? A sociaopath does things with ZERO feeling or regards for the outcomes, they can easily change thier emotions to fit their needs. Suicidal ideation is obviously someone who had thought of taking their own life, homicidal would be wanting to take someone else’ life. Delusions of Homicide would be those who dream of taking someone else’ life but not follow through with that. Now i surely hope that i answered your lame questions…so lets get back on with the issue, and please, dont try to tell me or anyone else for that matter what WE comprehend.
Just checking to see if you know hat these actually mean. A lot of folks whip these words around from drama and have no clue. If you feel ‘attacked” by that, it’s on you.
Gotta love ASPD. Goes from something fairly descriptive to sounding like, “well, he just doesn’t get along socially with other people.”
Used to call it “a square peg in a round hole,” but that didn’t look so hot on paper. LOL
You apparently need to find a new job. ;)
I’m not talking about me.
If not personal experience, what are you basing your statement on? What workplace has worse bullying than the above example?
Things I’ve seen, friends who have seen or experienced it.
I’d say that such anecdotes are generally pretty worthless, but then, given the popularity of your post, perhaps I am more sheltered than I realize.
Thanks for the follow up.
why should that person half to find another job ? fire the bully
Oi. It’s sarcasm wolly. Though I do want to know where Scintillate is getting that idea from and why it seems to be so popular. 19 people agree that bullying is worse post-high school than during high school. I find the idea ridiculous and am just curious what the inspiration is.
Any adult who stands for bullying is a chump and deserves it.
I think that most of us that post hear are quite aware of who the chump is.
No doubt you’re sure you’re right when you think you’re right.
What would you do hit the person back and get fired? Hit the employer for not doing anything about it and get fired? Are you a bully?
Without a second thought and then grab a lawyer on the way home. Frankly, I’ve wished for years that a boss would go there. Heh, heh, heh… Catz Rule #1, don’t step into my personal space unless welcomed there. #2 Hit me and expect to get hit back, right then or as soon we meet again. I’m not a bully, don’t look for trouble or start any, but I was raised to stand up for myself — win, lose or draw.
Did you study my Rule Manuel?
I think we each get to write some of our own rules — life is a hard teacher, but a good one — it’s likely that we went to different schools together. =)
You are right. Refuse to be a victim, and refuse to stand by and do nothing when you witness bullying.
PS Isn’t Paula Broadwell a cyber bully? I wonder what SHE did to her rivals before she hit it big with the general!
Couldn’t even begin to tell ya who’s what in that whole deal, sounds like a story from The Enquirer… LOL
Too many people will not do the right thing because they’ll be targeted by the bully or the employer.
It is not a matter of it being easier, some teachers require the students to use their computers to complete their work. My daughter is working on a project at the moment that requires the use of the internet to complete the project.
Nothing requires the internet. Like the old days..Use encyclopedias and other books.. She can do without a computer and still get her school work done., Seems all she was doing on the internet was bullying!!
Yes, some things do require the internet. One cannot make a slide show presentation using nothing but encyclopedias and some teachers require students to go online to retrieve their homework.
As much as you want to disagree with me you are incorrect that a student these days can do without a computer because the schools are the ones requiring them.
If she can’t use the Internet, and can’t create s slideshow for homework, then she gets an F. She asked for it. She should have considered the consequences before threatening to murder and dismember the victim.
I’m just stating a fact that schools and teachers require their use. I’m not defending her actions.
computer needed Yes, internet needed No
Technically, you can make a slideshow without the internet… Powerpoint and other slide show programs are applications on the computer that do not need the internet… As a teacher, I do agree that most middle school and high school students use the web to retrieve assignments and pass in assignments. Although, there are some students who do not have access to the internet at home and teachers do make other arrangements for those students…
Overall, what this teen did was utterly disgusting and in my opinion parents need to monitor their children’s use of the internet more carefully!!!
Yes you can but it takes a lot of time to do there an you need to search a lot of books were as the internet you have every thing all at once
No, she can’t. Even Encyclopedia Brittanica is no longer published in print form. Any Brittanica she looks in is outdated since the last print edition came out in 2010. Dictionaries? Nope, also going to online only. Library? Nope, they have computers, so she would have to have someone with her watching her.
Most, if not all schoolwork is done on computers. Any child who is not allowed to use a computer is at a disadvantage and cannot compete with others in their class. That does NOT mean that the child has to go online without monitoring. There are programs out there that can control what they can access, with settings that cannot be changed. The PARENT needs to be in control, not the child.
Being a PARENTand sitting down with them and making sure that they do nothing but their homework also works. Don’t forget to take away the smartphone, and no visiting friends either at your house or theirs, because they have computers and smartphones too…Parenting is a hard job, but it’s what you sign on for when you have children.
Nice to see another person gets it.
With all due respect, Kevin, there are still such a thing as libraries. Drivers need their vehicles to get to work, but an OUI takes away that privilege. This unhappy girl threatened another person’s life several times using the internet. She is a minor. Teachers can grade work without regard to the source materials. She should not be allowed internet access. Period. Not until she graduates, not at home, not at school, not with her friends I-phone. She also needs counseling, as she is at least as distressed as her victim in her own way.
Computers and the internet are now part of schools and the need to use both will only continue to grow. Yes, this girl is troubled and needs counseling but she should also be allowed to obtain an education.
And she already violated access rules twice.
Apparently her parents are still dubious to the fact she can lie through her teeth. She is showing that she has no concern, and feels that she will not be prosecuted.
she deserves everything she gets! serves her right. its about time they start cracking down on this stuff
Thank God this young lady has a good enough relationship with her parents that she could go to them. Good for her for coming forward with this and that she is hear to teach others about it.
look at these comments… vicious and I thought Wolfie was bad.
Wow,the perp was a psycho for sure.AND,I think that the name AND photo should be publicized!!!! I want Alexis to know that not everyone is like this.This psycho that did this to her should be removed from society,immediately.Poor Alexis,hope she gets the help and support that she deserves…
Send that girl to reform school an let her try it there an see what happens .
First off i just want to say how beautiful this girl is, and a pat on the back to her parents for bringing up your children to do the right thing and to talk to you about their problems….i too have had to go through my daughter being bullied, thankfully we knew who they bullies were and were able to go to their parents and get it stopped…..im so happy that this bully is being charged, and i hope that the judge makes an example of her, maybe it will stop others from doing the same thing, and will save a few more lives!!
I don’t believe any jokes of any nature (not remotely) are appropriate on an article of this serious nature.
Glad this family got such good support and response from authorities and others.
I do NOT feel sorry for the mother of the perpetrator (alleged perpetrator until her trial) as this mother raised the daughter she has. The Henkels are to be praised for not letting this go on without action. My heart goes out to them. This bullying has to stop.
At this point in the investigation you should not have any feelings toward the mother or anyone else associated with the girl that is facing charges. You don’t know her or any of the circumstances and neither do I.What if you found out that she lost her mother to an illness? Please wait for the facts before laying blame on anyone. The parents of the Columbine shooters in Colorado were nice people. Really good parents can end up with immature and hateful children. It happens.
Publish the names and pics of the cyberbully (even at 16 years of age) and her parents and siblings…..this type of felony behavior is disgusting and repulsive…..if I was the alleged boyfriend I would run far and fast from this sick minded individual…..
This type of language is commonplace on 4chan and other BBS sites. It’s almost a subculture onto itself. Anyone spends a lot of time online (such as this bully) would be exposed to this and think that this behavior is ok. I have to admit, even I take a lot of this with a grain of salt.. unfortunately a side effect of having everything at your fingertips on the internet.. nothing shocks me anymore, and even the most horrific statements are simply commonplace now.
ANOTHER REASON TEENS SHOULD NOT DATE…..
Really very sad….. I just wonder WHY these bullies are like that??? And the really scary things is these bullies grow up to be adult bullies…..
I think Ted Kozinski had it right. The down fall of society.
If I were going to comment on the downfall of society, I don’t think I’d choose Ted Kaczynski as the person who “got it right.” Good grief!
Read his manifesto just because he is a serial killer dose not mean he was crazy . Who many people do we have killed for the greater good ? He only killer 3 people .
Power to this young lady for letting her parents know who were smart to contact the proper people!
This is unbelievable! What in the world is this place coming to when teenagers talk to others like that? Alexis, if you read this I want to tell you that I think you are beautiful and please don’t ever let anyone make you feel like that again. I teared up when your mother talked about that she could have been burying you. Wow…you are a strong girl for letting your parents know and taking action. I hope others can take your example and stand up to this bulllying whether it be online, at school or through texts.
I have to tell you it isn’t new. Just a new way.
I think kids are definitely more cruel/vulgar now than they were 20 years ago….and when they can do it in such an impersonal way (facebook, email, text, etc), they can be even worse.
Naah, it is just that most adults remember only the good about their childhood. More than 50 years ago my peers discovered that one of our classmates was a bedwetter. For the next five years we made that boy’s life a living hell.
Much later in life I ran into this person while applying for a job in Auburn. He was the hiring supervisor, and he had to approve my application… which he did. I know for a fact that if the tables were turned, and I was the victim of our youthful harrassment I would have denied the application and laughed.
I am thankful I did not grow up in Maine. There was severely little bullying where I was, other kids would not tolerate another being abused. We stood up for each other, didn’t make fun of each other. We joked and teased but it was not bullying or abusive. “Bad” kids who repeatedly broke rules went to school elsewhere until they could behave in regular school. Yes, like mini jail. Harm people, break rules without regard, be separated from one’s peers and get time to think. And I’m glad the man who was the hiring supervisor had the grace to approve your application. I find it sad that you have denied his application and laughed.
Yeah, like I said not all people are nice. Best get used to it early.
Nope, I just teach my kids to stay away from people who behave this way and they know they can tell me what is really going on. Being “not nice” is quite different from being a cruel bully who would still carry that same abusive behavior into adulthood. That sounds more like a sociopath’s behavior, little regard for others.
Years ago a bully would physically attack other kids, now with the internet it’s more mental abuse …which may take longer to heal than a black eye or a fat lip. I do agree that some of these kids are really out there. There are lots of reasons that kids can be so cruel.
There are a lot of reasons that kids can be so cruel. I can’t think of any reasons it should be tolerated.
Oh I know it’s not new. I just still can’t believe some of the messages she got. This girl (the bully) is a sick sick girl to be able to say some of the things she said. And tjones4 is right. With text, IM and facebook people now dare say things they might never say in person. People are a lot more brave behind a screen. Just read some of the comments here on BDN (not this particular story)…I bet there are a lot of people that wouldn’t dare say some of the crap they say on here.
You’re absolutely right. I’d love to see the bully’s parents feel some heat from this, too.
teach your kids to stand up for themselves.
glad to see this “mean girl” is getting a taste of the ultimate bully the criminal justice system!
How many kids have made the news in the last few years because of bullying leading to a suicide? Bullying whether in person or behind a computer screen is still a major problem that needs to be dealt with.
Still has no relevance to this story – if I remember correctly, he is on paid leave for a reason…
Well at least the bully got in trouble and not the victim like we see too many times happen.
All to often it is the victim who gets into trouble . Report it and sometimes you are the trouble maker . Sometimes nothing is done. Defend yourself and you are sometimes in trouble. Thier is no excuse for bullying.To Alexis you handled this the right way . We hope your bully learned something and this never happens again . Society sometimes blames the victim or excuse the one doing the bullying .
Way to go Lexi!! I am proud of you for standing up and talking to your parents, you are a smart, brave girl with great parents!!
They hear some of this stuff at home, some are brought up this way. I am not making excuses but Felony charges are a little much. Their are adults in situations that are charged with far less than this. You can teach all you want, a lot begins at home. Society has become to politically correct. Yes, we have to protect kids, and reassure them that they can talk to parents and teachers or police officers. As stated in some comments, they see it on tv, on the internet, and other places. One show I liked the title of “who watches the watchers”
Hmm. If it were one or two off the cuff remarks maybe I’d agree. Though the repetition and obviously deliberate, calculated attempts to hurt this girl puts it above simply “kids being kids”.
I still don’t believe this rises to the level of felonly charges. Like I say a lot of crimes adults commit do not rise to felony level.
Well, let’s just say for sake of argument, Alexis actually was distraught enough to kill herself. Would it be felony worthy then?
It’s been proven too many times that bullying can lead to suicide, or long term depression and other psychological issues. We need to be proactive about it, not reactive, because by then, the damage is already done.
As a victim of bullying years ago I do not think that the punishment is over the top and maybe some adults should receive the same punishment. I gather from your name you are a male. Let me tell you that Jr high and high school girl’s abuse can be torturous! Girls rely on mental abuse and it can lead to suicide and a lifetime of problems. No, if anything I hope she receives the full punishment.
I know well what bullying does to a person. I just do not think it rises to a felony level. Males can go through just as much or more abuse because they are suppose to be stronger.
This isn’t just kids being kids (an adult cop-out) or a mean girl in middle school. She did the right thing, and I have no problem with the full weight of the legal system being brought to bear.
All I know is that when I was in middle school and high school in the mid to late 90’s, the disturbing garbage that this tween said was UNHEARD OF. Regardless of who or what may or may not be to blame, kids are more violent today in general compared to the recent past.
I sincerely hope they throw the book at this girl who did the cyberbullying. She’s more than old enough to know that what she was doing was wrong, malicious, and hurtful. That type of behavior should not be tolerated, and the consequences should be severe.
Bullying is so prevalent online now. It is horrible what this children say to each other. It is hard to do much when it is Annonomously posted…I for one am happy to see this girl facing charges. I think more of these bullys should be charged, perhaps others would see that their actions will be followed with consequenses.
No computer for 10 years,no cell phone for 10 years, 100 hours community service.Any Questions?
Whether he would have or not, who knows. However, a school principal is going to stop what a child might do online outside of school? Now we educators have to police kids at night?…..great.
IF the kid does this stuff online during the day, the school admin has more power (can track where the threats came from, etc, but when it happens after school hours not on school property, it is not as easy to deal with (even though schools have been given more authority in dealing with that sort of situation).
“We are very happy that none of the bullying messages originated from our school…”
… as this limits our liability.
Sorry, too cynical?
Anyway, the great thing about online anonymity is that – like a car door in a movie gunfight – it’s often a lot flimsier than the people hiding behind it think it is. Makes it all the sweeter when – as, evidently, in this case – they get their comeuppance. I’d rather like to have seen the look on Miss Unspecified Suspect’s face when it dawned on her that she was busted, but then, I have a bit of a mean streak myself sometimes.
I get the sense from the article that the suspect is a product of a wrecked home herself…as these things often turn out to be.
Wah wah wah. Oh dear someone said something mean. Get used to it that is the way the world works. Always been, and despite a bunch of adults telling you differently, that is the way it will always be.
Oh don’t be such a drama queen tux…life isn’t fair to be sure, and people can be cruel, though when was the last time someone threatened to dismember you or rape your children?
No someone didn’t just say something mean, someone threatened her life on more then one occasion.
By your own omission on another post you are a habitual school yard bully.
Your proud of the fact that you tormented someone for 5 years over what was most likely a childhood medical issue – ya your the man.
stay classy Tux
No, actually, that isn’t the way the world works. What are you, ten years old? The things that were said were not “mean”, they were a little more than that. Your comment has about as much intelligence contained in it as my poop does.
I know that she is “only 16” – but she obviously knew better. Why else would she go through all the effort to make the threats anonymously other than knowing that she might get in trouble of she did it otherwise? I don’t think that she should be protected and/or her name should not be published. She deserves (at the very least) a good old-fashioned public shaming….
public humiliation. What if it was you or someone you knew? At this point wouldn’t you already hate yourself enough or at least feel really bad? why make it worse. Sharing her name with the WHOLE state is just as hurtful. Justice isn’t an ‘eye for an eye’ kind of thing.
I am trying to share this story and when I post it the story goes away. The link is faulty…
This story disgusts me. The girl responsible for this should be given the maximum punishment allowable to set an example. What a sick, twisted and disturbed person the girl who made these threats must be.
Props to Lexi for speaking up! The world needs more people like her.
The bully needs to be tried and sentenced as an adult and she needs to go to prison for a LONG time. She also needs to have her head examined. And, the victim’s family should sue the bully’s parents. Teach parents to control their thugs by going after their pocketbook.
No, not really. Your views are a little extreme. Define LONG time?
LONG time, as in many, many years. She (allegedly) threatened to murder and dismember somebody. Teach her a hard lesson before she follows through on her violent words someday.
This is disgusting. I have heard of many examples of this in varying degrees. My daughter went through a much milder form but it was still frustrating. It is more frequent then one would imagine. I know Mr. Henkel. He is a wonderful man. Sorry they have to deal with such a sick young women. Guess what Lexi, you won! You did the right thing, the good sometimes do win. Hopefully the boy in the middle will run in the opposite direction of little miss psycho.
I have been victim to things like this too. Not once, did I ever get justice like this. Not once, did I tell people that I was hurting so bad I could kill myself because there were days for sure I wanted to kill myself and believe me. I tried. These people I knew, I was surrounded by them every day. I went to school every day not knowing if i was going to be safe. What makes her case so special compared to everyone else? Because I know I am not the only one who feels this way. and as for the person that did this, No one knows her story. No one should judge her. God said don’t forgive 7 times but 77 times… not in those exact words but he very much meant exactly what I said up there… this frustrates me beyond beliefe how many of you can sit here and judge this so called ‘monster’ maybe there is more to this story. She could have very well been hurting too. She probably still is. Posting things like she is a monster and stuff like that it just cruel and humiliating. How would you like it to go online and hear these nasty things about yourself? I know I wouldn’t.
You should have spoken up. You deserved better.
Even if forgiven by Alexis, this bully still needs to be held responsible for her crime. Forgiveness and justice are different things.
I suspect you’re right in that the other girl has some issues of her own. Though it doesn’t excuse the behavior, does it?
I did speak up right before it got bad and then I couldn’t even talk about it to anyone.
Forgiveness and justice are very much connected though. Just publicly humiliating her like this and having people say that she is a monster is pretty good justice, it is more then a lot of people get for sure.
She will always have to live with the fact that she caused someone pain like this and she will be remembered for it by everyone and people will always be able to find this information on her. Her behavior will never be excused. But people calling her a monster and crazy and practically as bad as a murderer is just as bad as what she did, she probably already has issues with herself and all those people down there calling her names is probably making her issue worse because for all you know people could be reading this to her or going up to her and saying stuff like that too…
This girl is a scumbag that’s doing the bulling
The young lady and her family here seem like very kind people……………..I am glad this family had the courage to speak up about this problem and report it. The young lady who is the victim of bullying is very sweet and quite pretty………….I would say the bullying person is a wee bit jealous of this girl. I hope more victims of bullying come forward and report this type of abuse……no one should have to put up with this treatment.
I feel sorry for kids who are victims of bullying these days. They can’t even escape it when they go home because of the internet. I hope this girl has a support network to help her overcome this trauma so she can move on with her life. As for the bully – I know by reading these comments that a lot of people are outraged, and rightfully so. But……..a lot of children who bully others are victims of some form of bullying themselves. It’s hard for me to believe that a child can’t be redeemed or is evil, even when they do evil things. I hope this bully receieves punishment and is required to get some kind of psychological evaluation and help.
Kid stuff. The long-distance girlfriend getting all in a tizzy, and the mean remarks are likely said as much to impress her new playmates at the other school. Seems kids are quick to forget that texting isn’t Dear Diary. LOL Any school I went to where cracks like that were made face-to-face, would’ve had one mean cat fight after last class.
Barely even news. 17 year old girl makes hateful but waaaay too dramatic threats from or a hundred miles away over a boy. Only thing new about this is the internet, same catty nonsense went on in my HS but we had no blogs or email or tweets to spread the word. Wasn’t a bad way to go, actually, a person had to shut-up or get up if he or she wanted to talk trash.
Good, I think a little jail time to reflect upon her bad deeds is just fine.
A Paula Broadwell in the making!
I realize that technology is a big part of today’s world, but I also believe that a lot of problems, like cyberbullying, is because of the non-personal interaction of technology and social networks. In the old days, ether you had face to face or at the very least talked on the phone, today people Text, Tweet, etc. and it is all non-personal.
God bless this family. I feel thier pain, and mom, you’re right. It is in the way we raise our children, and i’d say you’ve done a great job! Thank God they know they can come to you with anything!
wow — I hope the bully’s boyfriend runs like the wind from this cruel, neurotic, and exceedingly insecure girl – she must have totally low self-esteem, to be soooo threatened by a girl “flirting with her boyfriend.” Whatsamatter, girl, you think he might be interested in someone else? I wonder why?
Alexis, you are a courageous young lady. People like you are the future of America. The generation of people who stand up for what is right, and opose hatred and fear. You will do amazing things, and I am proud you are a part of my community! I hope the other girl involved gets help, and learns to love herself and others. Thank you for inspiring other young people to do the right thing…even though its not always easy!
I get good vibes from the Henkel family picture. It appears to this reader that this family has their ducks in a row and have handled the bullying very well. Hats off to you. You stuck together!! Back in the 60’s I had to deal with bullying also. I was in the principal’s office every day explaining why so and so was bleeding with clothes torn, etc. The bullying was brought about by my father’s line of work. Naturally, I took offense and applied the necessary attitude adjustment to anyone who needed it. This beautiful young lady couldn’t because she didn’t know the origin. Bullying hurts. I don’t care how tough you are. God bless the Henkels!!!!!!
Let’s clear something up. This was not just bullying. This was physical threats of violence. I struggle to consider the former a crime, but this was clearly the latt.
Of course bullying is a crime. It’s a form of harassment, and is never a good thing. When would bullying another person have a positive outcome? I’m just curious why you struggle to accept that it’s a crime.
Round of applause for these parents! So many times this goes undetected until it is two late for the victim, these parents did the right thing by stepping up for this beautiful young daughter! Sad this story exists however hopefully this will be an eye opener for parents to monitor their children’s internet use and develop trusting relationships with their children. What a brave young lady to come forward! She and her parents should be proud, it takes a lot to come forward and take action especially with the threats she faced. It breaks my heart but at the same time I am glad something is being done about it. Parents need to realize this could be their children , no one is immune to internet bullying with the wide use of internet in schools, work places and homes.
Before the lynch mob gets too riled, lets keep it in perspective, okay? This ain’t about every kid in the past ten years came to a tragic end because of bullying, or somebody else back in school, it’s just not. One girl made some really ignorant ego-driven, hormone-fueled threats to another girl — by text and safely miles away herself. Didn’t whop her in the head, set the house afire or even bust-up the Halloween pumpkin. But lets stir up the tar and rip open some pillows, right?
Anybody don’t remember at least one self-proclaimed Ego Queen from high school, the one who believed she was always right and treated others like crap — at least until she got knocked up at 18 by a Yoo Hoo Bottler who ran off and left her at his mothers house? LOL
And short of a straight-jacket there’s almost nothing can be done to keep her off-line and not texting. How ya like them apples? This isn’t “Revenge Of The Nerds III” The problem is now known, the threatened girl has good support and family, so put the wagon wheel and rope back in the barn.
There are ways to protect oneself from such cyber bullying. First, stay off of Facebook or any other site where you can be identified. Be sure that any log on you have makes you anonymous! There are literally millions of nuts out there! Why do you want to set yourself up as a target for them? This is especially true of a “blog” where you can be identified and where anyone can access and post a response!