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Rehtaeh
Parsons
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The mother of a Halifax teenager who
killed herself after allegedly being raped and photographed by four boys is
making a public plea for people to leave the boys linked to the allegations
alone.
Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, died on the
weekend after trying to take her life last Thursday. Leah Parsons says her
daughter was raped by four boys when she was 15, and then became the victim of
bullying and harassment after a picture taken on the night of the alleged
attack was circulated.
"I want the justice system to go
after those boys for sending those pictures, she was 15 years old,"
Parsons said. "I don't want people to go after those boys. People are
threatening to do that."
Since Rehtaeh's story became public,
there has been outrage expressed online. On Wednesday, the words 'Nova Scotia'
were trending on Twitter worldwide.
Parsons took to Facebook to tell her
daughter's story and shame the unnamed alleged perpetrators. Wednesday morning,
an online petition calling for an inquiry into the police investigation had
garnered more than 6,000 signatures. By Wednesday night that number jumped to
more than 60,000 signatures.
"I don't want more bullying.
Rehtaeh wouldn't want more bullying. I don't think that's justice,"
Parsons said.
She called the police investigation
into the case horrible, but said she doesn't want vigilantes to go after the
boys, none of whom have been charged.
"I think they need to be
accountable for what that they did," Parsons said. "I don't want them
to be physically harmed."
The RCMP also matched that message,
issuing a warning Wednesday night reminding people not to take matters in their
own hands. They asked anyone with information about the case to contact police
directly.
N.S. considers new
laws
Meanwhile, Nova Scotia's Justice
Minister Ross Landry says he's considering new laws when it comes to
allegations of sexual assault and distribution of child pornography.
Landry initially said his department
can’t second-guess every police investigation, but late on Tuesday he said he
was giving officials in his department approval to review the case, and present
him with options by the end of the week.
Landry met with Parsons on Wednesday.
"I did assure her that I'm going
to discuss with my provincial colleagues and my federal partners the issue of
the technology of the imaging and the laws around that and what we could be
doing different because in this technological age it's ever-changing and we
need to have processes in place and laws in place that address that," he
said.
He deflected criticism of his initial
response to the case.
"If changing your mind is doing the
right thing, then I don't think there's anything wrong with that," Landry
said. "I'm never entrenched in my points of view."
A representative from Nova Scotia's
Crown prosecution service reiterated that there are not sufficient grounds for
charges in the alleged rape case.
Chris Hansen said two prosecutors
reviewed all the files they gave to police last October and concluded there's
not a reasonable chance of conviction on either child pornography or sexual
assault charges.
The province's education minister is
also speaking out. Ramona Jennex is asking the Halifax Regional School Board to
review its response in the case.
"If there are gaps in the
education system that need to be addressed and fixed to ensure more families in
the province don't have to go through the same horrific tragedy as the Parsons
family, we will do whatever we can to close those gaps," said Jennex.
B.C. family offers
support
The mother of B.C. cyberbullying victim
Amanda Todd said she understands what Rehtaeh's family is going through.
Rehtaeh's story has similarities to
Amanda's case. The 15-year-old killed herself last fall after being
cyberstalked for two years.
Carol Todd said she sent a letter to
Rehtaeh's mother.
“I wrote to her that in my deepest of
hearts that I am so sorry for what her and her family are going through, that I
for one truly understand what she is going through and that I give her as much
strength as I have,” said Todd.
One of Rehtaeh's friends also spoke out
Wednesday. Kimber Wesley said she had no idea about the allegations of
Rehtaeh's rape. She said she was shocked to hear her friend was keeping such a
secret, but it explained some of Rehtaeh's behaviour.
Wesley said she's disappointed with the
reaction of many people online. She said those claiming to be friends of
Rehtaeh had turned their backs on the troubled teen.
"If they were there before, this
probably wouldn't have happened," Wesley said. "Now they are there
when she is not here."
Rehtaeh's funeral will be held on
Saturday.
Source: cbc.ca
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