In 2012, 15-year-old Audrie Pott fell asleep after drinking Gatorade
laced with alcohol at a friend's party. She awoke to a horrifying
reality when she found her pants were missing and lewd comments were
scribbled all over her body.
Her family says she hanged herself days later after learning cellphone
photos were taken of her and leaked all over the community through text
messages and emails. She was harassed every day as a result.
The 15-year-old girl felt humiliated after she discovered that the
cellphone photos showing her naked body covered in dirty pictures and
foul sayings had been shared all over school. She confided in a friend
that her life was over and a few days later she killed herself.
Three of Audrie's teenage classmates were promptly prosecuted. This was
done in private juvenile proceedings, so their identities have been
withheld from the public. Unfortunately they were each only sentenced to
between 30 and 45 days in juvenile hall. This has caused outrage in the
community and online.
Audrie's parents Lawrence and Sheila Pott have since filed a civil
lawsuit against the boys to hold them more accountable for their
actions. An action that has been praised and widely supported by family,
friends and community members.
They have been campaigning strongly for a cyberbullying law that will
show zero tolerance for this sort of abusive behavior, but what the did
next has shocked some. They have surprised all supporters by settling
with one of the teens. They took his words to heart and have forgiven
him.
Her parents said they forgave the third student because "He's accepted
responsibility. He's told us the truth of what happened in that room.
The others have not."
Her family says she hanged herself days later after learning cellphone
photos were taken of her and leaked all over the community through text
messages and emails. She was harassed every day as a result.
The 15-year-old girl felt humiliated after she discovered that the
cellphone photos showing her naked body covered in dirty pictures and
foul sayings had been shared all over school. She confided in a friend
that her life was over and a few days later she killed herself.
Three of Audrie's teenage classmates were promptly prosecuted. This was
done in private juvenile proceedings, so their identities have been
withheld from the public. Unfortunately they were each only sentenced to
between 30 and 45 days in juvenile hall. This has caused outrage in the
community and online.
Audrie's parents Lawrence and Sheila Pott have since filed a civil
lawsuit against the boys to hold them more accountable for their
actions. An action that has been praised and widely supported by family,
friends and community members.
They have been campaigning strongly for a cyberbullying law that will
show zero tolerance for this sort of abusive behavior, but what the did
next has shocked some. They have surprised all supporters by settling
with one of the teens. They took his words to heart and have forgiven
him.
Her parents said they forgave the third student because "He's accepted
responsibility. He's told us the truth of what happened in that room.
The others have not."
