9 Charged in Teen's Suicide

In the wake of Massachusetts teenager Phoebe Prince’s alleged suicide, nine teens accused of bullying her have been charged, with counts including statutory rape, violation of civil rights, criminal harassment, and disturbing a school assembly. The oldest of the charged is 18 years old. Prince, a recent immigrant from Ireland, was subjected to intense abuse the day before she allegedly killed herself, according to the district attorney, and was harassed via text message and over Facebook in the months leading up to her death. She was allegedly targeted by a group of girls who resented her relationship with a football player. Two of the charged, both male, will be indicted on charges of statutory rape. An investigation also found that certain school officials had been made aware of the problem before Prince’s death. Both houses of the state legislature have taken recent steps toward creating new anti-bullying measure, and a committee is meeting this week to clarify details.