Threats on MySpace probed in Girard

Internet records are being requested to find out who is responsible.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

GIRARD — Police officials want a look at MySpace Web page records to determine who authored a threatening page — the girl whose name is on it, or a group of students she’s at odds with.

Superintendent Joseph Jeswald said no student has been suspended or faced disciplinary action as a result of the Web page.

Theresa Herrick, however, said her 15-year-old daughter, a freshman at Girard High School, has been out of school since Monday with no promise that she will be able to return before the school year ends Thursday. She said her daughter’s ban from classes is due to the confusion over who created the page on the MySpace Web site.

According to Herrick, her daughter had been involved in an ongoing dispute with a group of girls at school. The verbal gibes, she said, allegedly spilled onto the Internet.

Detective John Norman, school diversion officer, said the Internet comments supposedly escalated — leading to Herrick’s daughter’s ban from classes.

The incident

Norman would not say exactly what comments were made on the site, but said school and police officials were made aware of the comments when one of the girl’s parents complained to school officials.

Herrick said she was initially upset with her daughter when she was called in by school officials to address the Web site.

But her attitude, she said, quickly shifted to concern for her daughter.

“[My daughter] said this is not mine. It has my picture on it, but it’s not my page,” she said.

Herrick said she quickly noticed several differences in a Web page created by her daughter and the one containing the questionable comments.

She said the name on the two pages is laid out differently and the city listed for her daughter is different.

Requesting records

Norman said police are determined to find out if the page in question belongs to Herrick’s daughter or someone else. He said police are looking to subpoena Internet records concerning the page.

“From what they have showed me, it looks like there are two different accounts,” he said. “I would have to subpoena those records from MySpace to see and I am, subpoenaing those records right now.”

Norman said he is unsure how long it will take for the records to reach police.

Herrick said she is concerned about the amount of time her daughter is missing in class while school and police officials sort through the situation. She said school officials have now offered her daughter after school tutoring for two hours each night.

Jeswald said school officials can take disciplinary action if an incident happens off school grounds but later spills over onto school time. He said school officials are waiting to see what police determine about the page so that disciplinary action can be taken.

“We are acting in everyone’s best interest,” he said.

jgoodwin@vindy.com