Student records bullying incident and is charged with disorderly conduct.

[roliepolieoliefan]

SOUTH FAYETTE, Pa. —

The mother of a 15-year-old South Fayette High School student convicted of disorderly conduct wants a judge to reverse the decision and the district to offer better protection.

The student’s mother said school officials forced her son to delete an iPad recording that showed he was bullied in school.

“You didn’t hear, ‘Go to the principal’s office.’ You didn’t hear, ‘Christian, are you OK?’ You didn’t hear, ‘Let’s leave the room for a while.’ It was ‘Sit down.’ That’s how they dealt with it,” said Shea Love.

Love told Channel 11 her son was found guilty of disorderly conduct for making the secret recording, and now she plans to file a lawsuit. She wants the charges dropped and better protection for students who are being bullied.

“I’m sure it would be easy to move forward and let this go. After all, it is a summary citation, but you know, this is my child,” Love said.

Her son said he wants other young people in his position to have a voice and not be afraid.

"It's not a South Fayette thing. It's everywhere," he said.

Channel 11 attended a school board meeting to talk to officials on Tuesday. Reporter Timyka Artist was told "no comment."


" This happened in a suburb south of Pittsburgh. A disabled boy was being bullied. When the boy complained , it fell on deaf ears.
The boy recorded the bullying incident and was in turn charged with disorderly conduct and brought in front of the magistrate. "

 

[Tink888]

Just read a different article about this. At first, it seems completely ridiculous but I think it's another case of the school trying to cover themselves. I haven't seen anything as far as whether any action was taken against the kids who were doing the bullying and I'm wondering if it's because the school didn't address it or if they did and can't comment on disciplinary actions against a student due to privacy laws.

Technically, the boy who was bullied did break the law, it's felony wiretapping to record someone without their consent in PA. If the school had taken action against the kids who were bullying based on the recording, those parents could turn around and sue the school since the the bullies were recorded without their consent.

I'm wondering if the school didn't punish both kids and we just aren't hearing the whole story. And if the other kids weren't punished, there is definitely something wrong.

It's a real shame though that a kid who is bullied gets in trouble for recording it, meanwhile everyone and their mother can record someone doing something and post it on youtube and that seems to be okay. I'm sure a lot of those people don't know they are being recorded.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Just read a different article about this. At first, it seems completely ridiculous but I think it's another case of the school trying to cover themselves. I haven't seen anything as far as whether any action was taken against the kids who were doing the bullying and I'm wondering if it's because the school didn't address it or if they did and can't comment on disciplinary actions against a student due to privacy laws.

Technically, the boy who was bullied did break the law, it's felony wiretapping to record someone without their consent in PA. If the school had taken action against the kids who were bullying based on the recording, those parents could turn around and sue the school since the the bullies were recorded without their consent.

I'm wondering if the school didn't punish both kids and we just aren't hearing the whole story. And if the other kids weren't punished, there is definitely something wrong.

It's a real shame though that a kid who is bullied gets in trouble for recording it, meanwhile everyone and their mother can record someone doing something and post it on youtube and that seems to be okay. I'm sure a lot of those people don't know they are being recorded.

Agreed, though I think it is stupid.

As for Moms and YouTube--as long as they are not doing secret camera, I think they are fine.

If I go to Hershey Park and video my kid-- people are going to see my camera. We are in a public place. They do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

I know Disney posts information that guests may be recorded by Disney and their likeness used and that entering the park is an expression of consent. But I don't believe that they inform that other guests may be recording and posting it on YouTube.

I'm wondering what kind of policy Hershey posts.

Sorry for the tangent.

As for the kid, I hope he has a good attorney. I don't think it is reasonable for his pleas for help to be ignored.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I hope the boy and his mother rip them a new one.

 

[rickybobby]

There is a civil suit to be filed.

 

[rickybobby]

The poor kid was fighting back in what he thought was a way to stop the bullying. Ridiculous to think he knew the state laws. I would have probably done the same thing, thinking it benign. They only fined him $25 though.

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Just read a different article about this. At first, it seems completely ridiculous but I think it's another case of the school trying to cover themselves. I haven't seen anything as far as whether any action was taken against the kids who were doing the bullying and I'm wondering if it's because the school didn't address it or if they did and can't comment on disciplinary actions against a student due to privacy laws.

Technically, the boy who was bullied did break the law, it's felony wiretapping to record someone without their consent in PA. If the school had taken action against the kids who were bullying based on the recording, those parents could turn around and sue the school since the the bullies were recorded without their consent.

I'm wondering if the school didn't punish both kids and we just aren't hearing the whole story. And if the other kids weren't punished, there is definitely something wrong.

It's a real shame though that a kid who is bullied gets in trouble for recording it, meanwhile everyone and their mother can record someone doing something and post it on youtube and that seems to be okay. I'm sure a lot of those people don't know they are being recorded.

Agreed.

Obviously we don't know the full story at this point but the mother is saying she didn't hear "go to the principal", "let's leave the room". I wonder if the teacher ordered the kids to sit down to diffuse the situation first. In schools around here you can't just send a younger kid to the principals office. Someone has to walk the kid there since kids are not allowed to travel the halls unattended and a teacher needs to discuss with the principal what happened. I do sincerely hope that the bullying did not go unpunished. Oh, and when did kids start taking ipads to school? That doesn't happen until high school around here and they are most certainly for curriculum learning only.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

Agreed.

Oh, and when did kids start taking ipads to school? That doesn't happen until high school around here and they are most certainly for curriculum learning only.

It was a school issued ipad

 

[wiigirl]

There is a civil suit to be filed.

 

[Geoff_M]

Here's a good analysis from a legal blogger on the story (the inset quotes are from a news story):

The principal heard the audio recording and required him to delete it, then called in the police.

Principal Scott Milburn called South Fayette Township police Lieutenant Robert Kurta to the school to interrogate her son in the presence of Associate Principal Aaron Skrbin and Dean of Students Joseph Silhanek. The defendant testified before Judge McGraw-Desmet that he was forced to play the audio for the group and then delete it. Love says by the time she arrived at the school, her son was surrounded by school officials and the police officer and was visibly distraught. She says Principal Milburn advised her that her son was “facing felony wiretapping charges” because he made a recording in a place with an expectation of privacy, and that Officer Kurta agreed.

That a principal and police lieutenant demonstrate a dubious grasp of law and use pseudo-legal language to scare a parent and student is nothing unusual. People generally accept as “common sense” that those in official positions of power must know what they’re talking about, because the reality that authority is placed in the hands of clueless buffoons is too hard to accept. So the principal made stuff up, and the cop, who does so professionally, nods his head in agreement.

At that moment, it was certainly within Lt. Kurta’s ability to pull the principal aside and tell him, “hey, you scared the crap out of the kid, which should do the job. You realize that this isn’t a crime of any sort, and so I’m just going to back away slowly, not embarrass you for bringing me here to waste my time, and you can go back to doing whatever it is you do in this big building. Have a nice day.” But he didn’t.

Kurta said, “After I left the school, I wasn’t sure what charge to file so I contacted the district attorney’s office. This would fall under a wiretapping violation, which is a felony.” He later answered as to why he thought the disorderly conduct charge applied to this case by saying, “Because his (the student’s) actions — he engaged in actions which served no legitimate purpose.” He then read the statute as, “Creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by acts which serve no legitimate purpose.”

There appears to be no thought whatsoever given to the notion that he not “charge” the student at all. He was the hammer, so the student had to be a nail. Since the recording had been erased at the direction of Principal Milburn, there was no evidence of wiretapping, and Kurta was constrained to charge only disorderly conduct, as there had to be a charge.

 

[rickybobby]

http://www.storyleak.com/school-suspends-child-biting-pop-tart-gun/

Thank goodness the student didn't escalate the situation by biting a pop tart into the shape of a gun. That would have led to suspension.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Some more information:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...iretapping-charges-after-he-recorded-bullies/

It feels to me like the principal wanted the evidence gone. And I'm shocked the judge wasn't more insightful to the situation.

Pennsylvania is one of 12 states in America that require the consent of all parties when making a recording, but, according to the Inquisitor, Love’s lawyer argued the recording served a legitimate purpose:

“We’ve shown that there’s a legitimate purpose for the recording. And there’s no physically offensive or hazardous condition that was created by this recording. I don’t see how a recording of students that are bullying my client could be physically offensive or dangerous to anyone, other than potentially the people that are bullying my client.”

South Fayette District Judge Maureen McGraw-Desmet was apparently unfazed by the defendants’ story. She convicted the boy of disorderly conduct.

“I wanted some help,” the boy said. “This wasn’t just a one-time thing. This always happens every day in that class.”

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

See. Michigan has things all wrong. Instead of arresting all those people for beating that guy, they should have gone after the real criminal like they do in Pennsylvania and arrested the store owner for putting a camera up and recording the people in the area at the time.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Since when does a kid have an "expectation of privacy" in a school?

 

[RitaE]

Man, sometimes I really hate people.

I see the student is planning to appeal his conviction. Is there a collection being taken up for his legal fees? Because I'd gladly contribute.

 

[Tink888]

Looks like the charges will be dropped later this month.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/1...for-recording-alleged-bullying-to-be-dropped/

Here is a portion of the article.

A disorderly conduct conviction against a Pennsylvania teen who recorded his alleged tormentors in class will be thrown out later this month, FoxNews.com has learned.

Christian Love, 15, made a seven-minute audio recording of the alleged bullying using his iPad in February at South Fayette High School in McDonald, Pa. He was later convicted of disorderly conduct and fined $25 plus court costs. He is scheduled to appear at the Pittsburgh Court of Common Pleas to appeal the conviction on April 29, at which point the charges will be dropped.

“That’s correct,” said Mike Manko, a spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. “We don’t believe his activity arises to a citation.”

The teen told FoxNews.com he was overwhelmed by the development.

“It’s amazing, I don’t know how to describe it,” Christian Love told FoxNews.com. “