John Halligan To Share Son's Tragic Story With Montclair

John Halligan's son, Ryan, committed suicide on Oct. 7, 2003, after being bullied by classmates both at school and via the Internet. He was 13 years old. In interviews and at talks at schools across the country, Halligan has spoken openly about the tragedy, the events leading up to it, and what he found out about his son's online life after his death.

Halligan believes that holding teens accountable for their behavior online is vital to stopping the kind of cyberbullying that his son suffered.

Now Halligan is coming to Montclair, where he will speak on "Bullying, Cyber Bullying and Teen Depression" on Tuesday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in the Glenfield Middle School auditorium.

In light of the recent Rutgers incident and conviction, this is an especially prevalent topic in the news. 

Halligan's son Ryan took his life after being ridiculed and humiliated by peers at school and online. At Glenfield, Halligan will take the audience through lessons learned from his family’s tragedy.

Halligan has told his story to students and parents in over 650 schools since 2005. He has been outspoken about the need for more education and prevention of bullying, cyber bullying, and teen suicide throughout the United States and Canada.

Halligan's son’s story and his accomplishments in response to this tragedy have been reported worldwide. Primetime with Diane Sawyer devoted an entire episode to cyber bullying and Ryan’s story in 2006 called “Cruel Intentions.”

Along with his wife Kelly, he also appeared in the PBS Frontline special called “Growing up Online” and on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009.

Please visit here for more information. This is a parents-only presentation. A suggested donation of $5 can be made at the door, to go toward the cost of the event. If you have any questions, please contact ptapres@glenfield.org.