St. Charles High School Student Ticketed for Cyber Harassment

A 17-year-old male high school student was cited on Dec. 6 for bullying and harassing a student at St. Charles High School. 

According to Lt. Dave Senter, the suspect posted an obscene photo of another student on Facebook. The student was ticketed under the city's cyber harassment ordinance and will have to appear in municipal court. 

This is the second time a student has been arrested for cyber harassment within the St. Charles School District this fall. In September, a 15-year-old student was called names by an ex-boyfriend on Facebook, while others joined in, according to a story posted on KMOV.com.

In April 2011, police arrested two Hardin Middle School students for posting a YouTube video aimed at another student that included a death threat, according to a story on St. Charles Suburban Journals.

St. Charles School District prohibits bullying of any kind. Consequences for bullying range from 5 to 10 days out of school suspension to a recommendation for 180 days of out of school suspension for high school students. 

However, when an incident happens outside of school, Superintendent Jeff Marion is limited in what action he can take. Often parents will bring an issue to the attention of the school, but schools aren't able to help. 

"It's very tough, we have to have a clear connection to school," Marion said. "It's very tough. Many times we want to help, but we're not able to."

Marion said the district has workshops on bullying and even brought in Megan Meier's mother, Tina Meier, to speak about bullying. Her daughter Megan took her own life after she was bullied. 

The district schools have clubs focused on inclusion, including the "All of Us" club at St. Charles West high school. Marion said all of these actions are in an effort to get kids to think about the consequences of their actions online. 

What else can the schools do?

"That's the $100 million question," he said.