[NA]Online death threats; Twitter[NA]

Update:
FBI identified culprit who then confessed to all (there have been further incidents even a few days ago).
He is not in custody & no charges filed.
(Not sure why)
Thanks for the idea of asking the FBI to get involved. Took forever to get results, but the family is thrilled about the suggestion provided here on POA and now they at least know what direction the threat is from.
(also now they are somewhat scared chitless about possible repercussions).

Edit: looked back, it was murphey who said call the FBI - kudos, thanks.(others disagreed with him, were wrong)
 
Now you know who it is, time for some "traditional justice"...! Also plenty of naming and shaming around the local community, perhaps.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
...
He is not in custody & no charges filed.
(Not sure why)
...
Click to expand...

Any reason a restraining order is not in place? If there is one, and the terms have been violated, any reason LE/judge hasn’t been notified?

Too many times people will have a protective order in place, yet not enforce it each and every time it’s violated. [/QUOTE]
 
murphey said:
I
Forget the local cops, contact the FBI immediately. Because twitter msgs are using the internet, this is cross-state lines and becomes a Federal issue.
Click to expand...

Your advice on identifying the perp was very helpful and yielded results.
The student was identified by the FBI and after 20 minutes, he confessed to the threats.
There was another, even worse one, the day he was questioned, just before the FBI meeting.

However, the family has been told by the FBI that they are not the ones to prosecute.
They say taking it beyond identification of the guilty party is a local law enforcement issue.
(and the city police say because it happened on campus, it is a Campus Police issue).
The Campus Police say they can't come up with what he can be charged with.

So it is easily possible that the perp will get off with only an FBI talking-to. Which disgusts me and is certainly not what the family wants. He was dismissive of the FBI agent 'you can't do anything to me' etc. And of course he is conjuring up stories about her, among their shared friends, to plant a seed of doubt in people's minds about who is truly the 100% guilty party in this.

Any tips on how to 'guide' the police or prosecuting attorneys on what laws have been broken, how to successfully prosecute are welcome. (Sad that we must initiate both the investigation into identifying the perp AND now to light a fire under LE to follow up with charges.)

(If I could share the messages, you too would want to see this guy behind bars.)

Oh, and earlier I mentioned a racial tone to the messages.
All is not as it seems on that account.
Despite the wording I provided earlier and that this wording was accurate, there is something about this which makes it not racially-motivated.
 
Forgot to discuss the restraining order.
They have one in place but because it was put in place by the Campus Police, it is invalid off-campus ie at her home in town.
They were told they could get a Protective Order (I may have the wording wrong on all this) which would cover Texas but it would mean some kind of delay in the possibility of prosecuting him.
(This part seems a bit off to me, but I was not there to hear the explanation and don't have any experience with such things.)
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
(and the city police say because it happened on campus, it is a Campus Police issue).
Click to expand...
So I can commit any crime I want on a University campus and as long as the campus police decide to not charge me then I can get away with anything? Sorry not buying it. Sounds like somebody at the city police knows the parents. The whole Larry Nassar thing happened on MSU campus and he was still charged.

Call one of the news station see if they want to do a story on campus police enabling the harassment and encouraging the harassment of women on campus. In light of the Michigan State situation I'm pretty sure the campus police and the local police will change their minds.
 
Huh.

Nearest TV station is nearly 200 miles away.
 
EdFred said:
Sounds like somebody at the city police knows the parents.
Click to expand...

Apparently I am completely missing the intent of this, Ed. Can you say this in another way? The victim's parent has had zero contact with any police here except for this. The perp's parents live 300 miles away and are not involved.

Sorry not buying it.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that the story as I have related it is inaccurate or missing info (it is absolutely accurate and complete as far as what I have been told) or that the police are underperforming (this I would agree upon).
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Apparently I am completely missing the intent of this, Ed. Can you say this in another way? The victim's parent has had zero contact with any police here except for this. The perp's parents live 300 miles away and are not involved.



Are you saying that the story as I have related it is inaccurate or missing info (it is absolutely accurate and complete as far as what I have been told) or that the police are underperforming (this I would agree upon).
Click to expand...

I'm saying the person who made the threats. That person's parents know somebody at the city police which is why they won't do anything and push it off on campus. I'm not not buying your story I'm saying there's something going on behind the scenes where the city police won't pursue it and are using the excuse of "because it happened on campus."

There's got to be some reason that the city is distancing themselves from it.
 
oh, ok.
All I can figure is the city police feel distanced from it because the messages originated at a time when the perp was on campus so they want to make it a campus police issue. I suspect
a) they don't want to step on their toes
b) are happy to use a) as an excuse to not have to expend effort on this

The perp is not local. His parents are hundreds of miles away and from the demographics involved I know there is no connection between them.
 
Well, I'd still push it with the city, or the county, or the state. Make noise. Press charges. You've got to be in *someone's* jurisdiction.
 
File a written report with the Police and send a copy to the perp’s parents. -Skip
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
oh, ok.
All I can figure is the city police feel distanced from it because the messages originated at a time when the perp was on campus so they want to make it a campus police issue. I suspect
a) they don't want to step on their toes
b) are happy to use a) as an excuse to not have to expend effort on this

The perp is not local. His parents are hundreds of miles away and from the demographics involved I know there is no connection between them.
Click to expand...
1) Do not send copies of the harassment messages to the parents....it can be considered harassment on your part, and you want to remain above the fray.
2) If the perp used campus resources, e.g. the network or a school computer, he is in violation of the school's Terms of Service policies, and can be expelled
3) Get a lawyer knowledgable in personal injury, telecomm, etc. Since the messages originated on campus, and the school received any Federal monies, then the school may be liable for a really big court battle.

Many schools have instituted formal policies for this situation, often known as "Policy on Discrimination and/or Harassment". Go to the school's website and see if you can find such a policy. If so, then both the school & the Campus police in violation, and are required to pursue legal action up to and including expulsion as well as involving the local law enforcement.

PM me and provide the city & school, and I'll do more research. Little cousin (aint so little anymore, but he's younger than me, so it's "little cousin") is an attorney in Ft Worth/DFW area, both his daughters are also attorneys. I have no doubt he can provide me with someone in the area who can help.

 
I just searched the Student Handbook which covers university policies for
threat, bully, harass and the only hits had to do with sexual harassment. Lots of that but nothing about death threats.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
However, the family has been told by the FBI that they are not the ones to prosecute.
They say taking it beyond identification of the guilty party is a local law enforcement issue.
(and the city police say because it happened on campus, it is a Campus Police issue).
The Campus Police say they can't come up with what he can be charged with.
Click to expand...

Does the campus actually have a real police department or is it campus safety? There are many articles (mostly related to rape) about how students should report crimes to the local police department not campus safety/campus PD. If it's a real crime, the real police should be involved and investigating. Schools have been pushing back on this in recent years and try to get students to go to campus PD instead, but at most kids will get expelled when they should really be charged with some sort of crime.

I'm no lawyer, but a quick Google search on Texas laws popped up with this one on harassment including through electronic communication. It sounds like it would cover what this person is going through.
https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/penal-code/penal-sect-42-07.html

And this one that covers "A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to: (2) place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury"
https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/texas/tx-codes/texas_penal_code_22-07
 
skier said:
Does the campus actually have a real police department or is it campus safety? There are many articles (mostly related to rape) about how students should report crimes to the local police department not campus safety/campus PD. If it's a real crime, the real police should be involved and investigating. Schools have been pushing back on this in recent years and try to get students to go to campus PD instead, but at most kids will get expelled when they should really be charged with some sort of crime.

I'm no lawyer, but a quick Google search on Texas laws popped up with this one on harassment including through electronic communication. It sounds like it would cover what this person is going through.
https://codes.findlaw.com/tx/penal-code/penal-sect-42-07.html

And this one that covers "A person commits an offense if he threatens to commit any offense involving violence to any person or property with intent to: (2) place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury"
https://www.lawserver.com/law/state/texas/tx-codes/texas_penal_code_22-07
Click to expand...
According to the school's website, the campus cops are sworn LEOs and I quote from the website:

'Officers with the department are commissioned peace officers and, as such, are vested with all powers, privileges and immunities of peace officers within the county, including all streets and roads, in which the university owns, rents, leases or otherwise controls property. These powers are in accordance with V.T.C.A. Education Code, Section 51.203 as amended by H.B. 391, effective Sept. 1, 1987. Officers conduct traditional police services, as well as security, traffic and parking supervision, weapons control, criminal investigations and crime prevention."
 
Sounds to me like the school needs a little motivation to do the right thing. I'm not sure what that would be though.
 
Campus PD can have interesting jurisdictions.

If it’s a State university (vs private), the State police or atty general or some other State LE agency might be able to prod the Campus cops. Schools are afraid enough of losing federal funds for not investigating or prosecuting campus incidents that a reminder from a higher up might get something going.
 
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