'Creepy, Unsettling': Trial Begins For Bucks Co. Cheer Mom In High-Profile Harassment Case

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Trial is underway for a Chalfont mother accused of harassing some of her daughter's teammates on the Victory Vipers cheerleading squad, in a criminal case that garnered national media attention last year.

But some of the more severe cyberbullying charges against Raffaela Spone, 51, have been dropped, after police could not substantiate accusations that Spone altered photographs to make it appear that underage girls on the squad were drinking, vaping, and nude.

Spone's defense attorney, Robert Birch, said Tuesday that the case was “a botched investigation, marred by mistake after mistake,” according to a report from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

But prosecutors are proceeding with three misdemeanor charges of harassment against Spone, whose case captured high-profile attention after the teens in question appeared on the Today Show a year ago.

"While the original assessment that some of the evidence was created by media manipulation may not end up being accurate, a neutral finder of fact will ultimately have the opportunity to determine if the evidence in this case shows Ms. Spone sent photos, videos and texts designed to harass three innocent children," District Attorney Matt Weintraub said after her preliminary hearing in May.

The trouble began when a Hilltown mother whose daughter also cheers for the Victory Vipers told police in July of 2020 that her daughter had received phone calls and text messages from blocked or unknown numbers saying "you should kill yourself."

The Hilltown mom also said that photos were taken from her daughter's social media and edited to showed her daughter drinking and vaping. She said in one photo, her daughter's bathing suit was edited out and covered with skin tone color to make it appear as if she was naked.

Per a criminal complaint, a video was also sent to the Victory Vipers cheer gym showing the woman's daughter vaping.

According to the Inquirer, Birch said the mother of one of the teens had a grudge against Spone and withheld evidence to further the "deep fakes" theory, which law enforcement has been unable to prove.

Hilltown Township police then met with the parents of two other cheerleaders in December, who said they'd received harassing text messages about their daughters in August — including pictures of the girls labeled with offensive captions.

Police then used a series of search warrants to determine information about the phone numbers the messages were sent from, leading them to an IP address that traced back to Spone, authorities said.

"You don’t get to harass kids just because they made mistakes or do something wrong,” Assistant District Attorney Julia K. Wilkins said, according to the Inquirer. She added, “Regardless of your feelings about them, they don’t deserve this. They don’t deserve this defendant, a grown woman, sending anonymous text messages about them.”

Wilkins also called Spone's alleged actions "creepy, unsettling, and criminal" as trial began, the Inquirer reported.

The newspaper also said prosecutors offered to allow Spone to plead guilty to the harassment charges before Tuesday's trial and enter into a program for first-time offenders that would erase her criminal record after six months. They said she could also plead guilty to one count of harassment as a summary offense, a lesser charge than the three misdemeanors she faces.

Spone declined and her trial is now set to last through Thursday, the Inquirer said.

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