Friday, February 20, 2009

Police: No charges to be filed over YouTube video

These from H-L:

Doug Trantham of Danville is upset about a homemade video posted on YouTube that depicts several boys making sexually explicit comments about two girls, including Trantham's 14-year-old daughter, Marcie.

The 3½ -minute video was posted over the weekend. It was taken off YouTube on Tuesday morning. In the video, which was viewed by the Herald-Leader before it as pulled from the Web site, one young man raps about the girls' genitals while two boys make gestures, some of which are lewd.

Two other young men appear briefly in the video, which appears to have been recorded in the bedroom of a private home.

"It's character assassination," Trantham said. "It's sexually explicit, as if these boys are trying to put it out to the entire world that these are two girls ... that you can get your hands on. It's derogatory, exceptionally derogatory, and vulgar."

However...

Danville Police Chief Jay Newell said Wednesday that no charges will be filed in the case of a YouTube video depicting several boys making sexually explicit comments about two middle school girls.

"From our officers' review of the YouTube video, there are no threats or any illegal activity that we can see," Newell said. "It's some kids that have said some rude things and put it on YouTube. but there's no law against being rude." ...

Newell said: "If we charged every middle schooler that said something about another middle schooler or that called them a bad name, if you think the justice system is bogged down now ...."

For the boys to be charged with harassment, Newell said, "we would have to have a continuing course of conduct that served to harass, alarm or annoy the victim." ...

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