NEW YORK — Two high school students will not face criminalcharges of harassment for detailing personal information aboutseveral female classmates on their private Web site.
Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro announcedthe students would not be prosecuted for posting what she called"offensive and abhorrent" material on an off-campusWeb site. The two 18-year-olds, both seniors at Horace GreeleyHigh School, were cited May 30 for misdemeanor harassment by NewCastle Police after school officials reported the site to investigators.
According to police, the site, which was only accessible tothe handful of students who had passwords, contained the girls’names and addresses and rumors of their sexual exploits.
Marianne Walsh, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office,said the information posted did not constitute harassment.
"While the material is offensive, the content does notrise to the level of criminal conduct," Walsh said. "There’snot sufficient enough evidence to support a prosecution."
Police refused to release the accused students’ names, andschool officials declined to comment on any disciplinary actiontaken against the students. The New York Times reportedthat they were suspended from school for five days.
Superintendent Donald Parker said Pirro’s decision will notaffect the school’s handling of the matter.
"The standard for a criminal charge is much differentthan disciplining a board of education policy violation,"Parker said. "The actions of a court may or may not haveany bearing or relationship to action taken by a school district."