He went to his mother for help, due to the cyber bullying he suffered. However, he never expected his main attachment figure to be involved in the events. The FBI was the one who discovered the source of the hate level.
How many parents suffer next to their children who have been victims of cyberbullying? It is almost impossible to predict. However, the exception to the rule came from a mother who harassed her own daughter online, exposing herself and more than that.
More than a thousand pages in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) put her against a rock and a hard place. Her daughter, overnight, was faced with a terrible reality: the person who was harassing her virtually was in her own home.
The mess goes beyond a break in the relationship with the maximum attachment figure. The woman, who used juvenile vocabulary to allegedly harm her daughter, has spent a long time in prison due to the crime attributed to her, according to media such as Morning Sun and New York Post, among others.
The mother who harassed her own daughter online: denounced innocent people
Kendra Gail Licari listened intently as her daughter desperately revealed that she was being cyberbullied.
The 42-year-old mother put all her ears to the situation, or at least that’s what she said. Her young daughter told her how difficult her life had become since one or more strangers attacked her online.
In Isabella County, Michigan (USA), Licari allegedly teamed up with another person to uncover him or the teen’s virtual attackers. He even went to the local police to report the incident.
However, the months passed and the young woman continued to be the target of hate messages. For almost all of 2022, the situation left her without a year of calm.
The woman even provided the authorities with the names of possible suspects in the cyberattack on her daughter. These had to do with classmates from the course to which the young woman belonged at Beal City High School.
However, the alleged perpetrator never imagined that the local authorities would seek help from a high level of investigation to find the truth.
The case of cyberbullying in the hands of the FBI
The mother of the young woman who was cyberbullied remained active and appeared to be collaborating with the Isabella County police. But the level of harassment was such that the local authorities went to higher levels.
The case was taken over by FBI investigators, who seized thousands of documents containing the cyberbullying against the young student, allegedly carried out by classmates.
According to the details revealed in this case, the mother who allegedly harassed her own daughter online sent at least 10,000 hate messages to the young woman using youth slang and a virtual private network so as not to be discovered by the authorities.
However, when the bureau used its resources to find the IP address of him or the stalkers, it was realized that it belonged to Kendra Gail Licari, mother of the victim.
“When the case first came to our office, it was bizarre and almost hard to believe. We’re talking several hundred text messages, over 1,000 pages of discovery in the case.”said Isabella County District Attorney David Barberi.
The mother who bullied her own daughter online: unmasked and confessed
The woman who harassed her own daughter online, did not imagine that her crime was about to be discovered, through resources that the Isabella County authorities did not have, but the FBI did.
With evidence in hand, they ordered the arrest of Kendra Gail Licari, for the crime of cyber bullying against her own daughter. While at the police station, the woman broke down, assuring that she was the one who sent all the hate messages towards her daughter, but she never said what was the reason for such behavior.
At the end of this note, it was learned that Licari was released after posting a $5,000 bail (4,356,000 Chilean pesos). However, on December 29, she must appear before a Michigan court to answer for the crimes of which she is accused.
In addition to losing her daughter’s trust, and most likely their relationship, the woman who also worked at the Beal City High School as a basketball coach, was fired from her position, Beal City School Superintendent William Chilman confirmed.
At the moment, he faces a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. However, the stay in jail could increase for Licari, since he was added against him for the crime of obstruction of justice and harassment against a minor. In total, she could be sent to prison for a period of 15 years..
The boundaries between pranks and cyberbullying
United Nations, through Unicef, reiterates in its campaigns against cyberbullying tips that a person (especially in adolescence) must take into account to determine if they are being a victim of this crime on social networks.
Among the examples of what is cyberbullying?, are: “Spreading lies or posting embarrassing photos or videos of someone on social media. Sending hurtful, abusive or threatening messages, images or videos through messaging platforms. Impersonate another person and send aggressive messages on behalf of said person or through fake accounts”.
Among the recommendations, with the help of experts, is differentiating the limits between a joke and virtual bullying, as well as establishing communication with parents to find out about the issue, if they are experiencing such a situation.
Unfortunately, for the young woman from Michigan, that last point was the one that worked against her, when she found out that her mother was the person who carried out the harassment against her, for almost a whole year.
What is cyberbullying?
What consequences does it have?
Are you penalized?Here are the 10 things everyone should know about online bullying: https://t.co/YspUnaxCfI #ENDviolence Via @UnicefEnEspanol pic.twitter.com/7Ro9zwvFJ1
– United Nations (@ONU_es) February 15, 2020