Close X
Saturday, December 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Western Newfoundland Police Look Into Possible Cyberbullying, 'Ugly Girl' List

The Canadian Press, 31 Dec, 2015 12:29 PM
    PORT AUX BASQUES, N.L. — Police in western Newfoundland are investigating a possible case of cyberbullying at a junior high school, weeks after another student drew attention to a similar anonymous online poll ranking girls based on their looks.
     
    The RCMP in Port aux Basques said Thursday that they're looking into the posting of a list of the "ugliest girls" in Grade 9 at St. James Elementary.
     
    Sgt. Terry Alexander said they received a call about the posting on Dec. 18 and have been interviewing people in hopes of tracing the origin of the post.
     
    "We're still trying to determine who posted it on Facebook," he said. "We have no idea."
     
    They say the poll was posted on Facebook on Dec. 17 and Alexander thought it involved about a half dozen girls.
     
    "Obviously these girls saw it," he said.
     
    Lynelle Cantwell of Holy Trinity High in Torbay, N.L.,  made national headlines earlier this month after a similar list of the "ugliest girls" in the Grade 12 was posted to the social media site ask.fm.
     
    She gained national support after she took to Facebook to denounce the poll and its creators in a post that has been shared thousands of times.
     
     
    "I'm sorry that your life is so miserable that you have to try to bring others down," she said in her response. "To the 12 people that voted for me to bring me to 4th place, I'm sorry for you too. I'm sorry that you don't get to know me as a person."
     
    Police are investigating the case, but legal experts have said a criminal conviction is unlikely.
     
    Dalhousie University law professor Wayne MacKay said current federal cyberbullying laws only cover online sharing of intimate images, sometimes referred to as "revenge porn."
     
    Michael Lacy, a criminal defence lawyer and vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers Association of Ontario, agreed and said the Criminal Code hasn't yet caught up to the technological age.
     
    Both said while this might not fit the criminal definition of cyberbullying, police could consider charges for criminal harassment, though that's a charge that generally requires the victim to fear for their livelihood.
     
    Both experts agreed any sanctions arising from the incident would most likely be decided by the schools.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Rachel Notley Says She Will Continue To Push Forward After Surreal, Tumultuous Year

    Rachel Notley Says She Will Continue To Push Forward After Surreal, Tumultuous Year
    EDMONTON — Rachel Notley is looking ahead to her first full year as Alberta premier following a groundbreaking 2015 that was so tumultuous and surreal that people mistook her for Rachel Notley.

    Rachel Notley Says She Will Continue To Push Forward After Surreal, Tumultuous Year

    Bill Cosby Charged With Sexually Assaulting Toronto Massage Therapist Andrea Constand 12 Years Ago

    Bill Cosby Charged With Sexually Assaulting Toronto Massage Therapist Andrea Constand 12 Years Ago
    The case sets the stage for perhaps the biggest Hollywood celebrity trial of the mobile-all-the-time era and could send the 78-year-old Cosby to prison in the twilight of his life.

    Bill Cosby Charged With Sexually Assaulting Toronto Massage Therapist Andrea Constand 12 Years Ago

    Manitoba Wants More Federal Money To Finance Policing For First Nations

    Manitoba's attorney general says he will be pushing for more federal money to help bolster front-line First Nations policing on remote reserves.

    Manitoba Wants More Federal Money To Finance Policing For First Nations

    Winter Storm Dumps Snow In Maritimes For Second Time In Three Days

    Winter Storm Dumps Snow In Maritimes For Second Time In Three Days
    Parts of the Maritimes are digging out for the second time in three days as a winter storm sweeps through parts of the region.

    Winter Storm Dumps Snow In Maritimes For Second Time In Three Days

    B.C. Government Reaches Settlement With Wrongfully Fired Health Workers

    Rebecca and William Warburton were among the drug-research workers who were fired in September 2012 amid allegations of inappropriate access to medical records that included possible criminal conduct.

    B.C. Government Reaches Settlement With Wrongfully Fired Health Workers

    Punjabi Man, Jaskaran Sidhu, Arrested For Allegedly Biting Air Canada Flight Attendant

    Punjabi Man, Jaskaran Sidhu, Arrested For Allegedly Biting Air Canada Flight Attendant
    47-year-old Jaskaran Sidhu who lives in Alberta, has been charged with assault and causing bodily harm. The flight returned to Toronto's Pearson International Airport after the incident.

    Punjabi Man, Jaskaran Sidhu, Arrested For Allegedly Biting Air Canada Flight Attendant