12-Year-Olds Charged With Facebook Harassment

In the wake of some recent high-profile bullying cases across the country, three Glastonbury students were arrested on Thursday, accused of harassing a classmate on Facebook.

The students, all 12 years old, attend Smith Middle School with the victim.

According to police, the boys set up a phony Facebook account in the victim's name, and posted disparaging photos and comments about him. The alleged harassment took place in August, police said.

The boy's parents saw the messages and contacted police.

The students are charged with second-degree harassment.

Glastonbury's school superintendent said the students will not face disciplinary action because the incident did not happen on school grounds.

There has been growing attention to the problem of bullying and online harassment in the weeks following a case of a student in New Jersey who committed suicide last month.

Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, jumped off the George Washington Bridge to his death after two other students allegedly videotaped Clementi and another man in a sexual encounter and streamed it online.

Those two students have been charged with invasion of privacy charges.

Contact Us