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Rehtaeh Parsons case: Two men arrested over death Rehtaeh Parsons: Child porn charges in cyber-bully death
(about 20 hours later)
Two men have been arrested in the Canadian city of Halifax in connection with the death of a teenage girl who killed herself after she was allegedly cyber-bullied, police said. Two men have been charged with child pornography crimes in the alleged cyber-bullying of a teenaged Canadian girl who later took her own life.
The men, who have not been named, were taken into custody for questioning about 08:00 local time (12:00 GMT). Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, of Nova Scotia, killed herself in April after being taunted over a photo of her alleged rape by four boys, her mother has said.
Rehtaeh Parsons, 17, died in April days after attempting suicide. Two 18-year-old men were arrested on Thursday in connection with the photograph.
In 2011, she was allegedly raped by four boys. A photo taken of the incident circulated on social media. The men, who have not been named, will be prosecuted in a juvenile court.
Rehtaeh's parents said she was bullied so severely she had to change schools and move out of the Halifax area. "We hope that today's arrests help the community to heal," Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Chief Superintendent Roland Wells of the Halifax district said in a statement on Thursday evening.
She received treatment in hospital for six weeks for depression and anger. "A young girl has died in what was a tragic set of circumstances. We all need to reflect on how we as a community can come together in Rehtaeh's memory and see what we can do to work together to support our youth."
'Relief' One of the men was charged with two counts of distribution of child pornography, the other with one count each of making child pornography and distribution of child pornography.
Police earlier this year said they did not have grounds to arrest the four boys accused of the attack. The investigation was later reopened after police said they received new information. The RCMP said the names of the accused would not be released because they were youths at the time of the alleged offence, and warned Halifax residents who believe they know the identities of the accused not to release them on penalty of prosecution, nor to take vigilante action.
A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said he could not confirm whether either of the men held on Thursday were seen in the pictures of the alleged assault. 'Never left alone'
The arrests came the day after the province of Nova Scotia implemented a new law permitting victims of cyber-bullying to sue bullies or their parents, if the suspects are minors. According to Rehtaeh's mother Leah Parsons, the Nova Scotia teen went to a party in 2011, when she was 15, and became inebriated after drinking vodka.
Leah Paterson, Rehtaeh's mother, said police informed her of the arrests on Thursday morning. The girl told her parents that while she was heavily intoxicated, she was raped by four boys, and someone took a photograph of it.
"I felt a little bit of relief," Ms Paterson told CBC News. The photograph was circulated online, and soon her schoolmates began taunting her over the photograph. The bullying was incessant, her mother said.
"Just to say, finally - like I hope - they keep saying they want to tell their side of the story, but they have never given a statement. "She was never left alone," Ms Parsons told CBC News in April after Rehtaeh's suicide.
"The police have never spoken to them in all this time. So at least, here is your chance. Tell your side of the story." "Her friends turned against her, people harassed her, boys she didn't know started texting her and Facebooking asking her to have sex with them since she had had sex with their friends. It just never stopped."
The case prompted a national conversation about cyber-bullying. Rehtaeh died in April in hospital, several days after attempting suicide.
Police at first said they did not have grounds to make any arrests in connection with the alleged rape or the photograph. The investigation was reopened in April after police said they received new information.