Prosecutors Get New Tools to Fight Cyberbullying

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Officials in a southeast Michigan township this week put more teeth in harassment ordinances to give prosecutors additional tools to combat the growing problem of cyberbullying.

The changes were approved Tuesday by the Canton Township Board of Trustees, according to a report on Hometownlife.com. Prosecutors have struggled in court to make cyberbullying stick in court, even as there’s an uptick in bullying and harassment through social media and on the Internet, Public Safety Director Todd Mutchler said.

Harassment by telephone or in writing was already misdemeanor offenses punishable by up to 93 days in jail or a $500 fine. The action broadens the scope of the law to include harassment on social media or the Internet.

“Now we’ll be able to handle these cases without having one hand tied behind our back,” 35th District Court prosecutor Greg Demopoulos told the newspaper.

In one recent case involving the harassment of an accountant, he wasn’t able to introduce evidence of from Facebook, even though that was where most of the harassment occurred, Demopoulos said. He secured a conviction, but hinged his case mostly on a threatening phone call.

The new rules could become effective as soon as Aug. 20 after a require second vote, expected in early August.

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