Middle School Student Charged with Cyberstalking a Teacher

A 14 year old middle school student from western Washington was charged with cyberstalking a teacher after he tried to solicit her for sex via Facebook.

Taking a teacher crush too far

Over the course of several months, the infatuated young teenager sent his adult female teacher nude pictures and videos of himself in hopes to start a sexual relationship with her. Once the teacher discovered the explicit messages, she contacted police to report the cyberstalking. Police arrested the teen for stalking his teacher online and also for child pornography since he included naked pictures of himself in the messages.

Cyberstalking in Utah

Washington State has a specific law regarding cyberstalking, but in Utah all forms of stalking fall under Utah Code 76-5-106.5. This law states “A person is guilty of stalking who intentionally or knowingly engages in a course of conduct [such as using a computer, the Internet, text messaging or any other electronic means] directed at a specific person and knows or should know that the course of conduct would cause a reasonable person: to fear for the person’s own safety or the safety of a third person; or to suffer other emotional distress.”

Increase in cyberstalking

With the large amount of time many teenagers spend online or on various apps, cyberstalking is unsurprisingly on the rise. Just as bullying people online is against the law, so is stalking others to the point of making them fearful. Laws of the state apply not only to events that happen in real life but also life online. Teens who are facing charges such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying or other computer related crimes should seek the guidance of a juvenile defense attorney.