Anonymous muscle in on Canadian teen rape case

Friday, April 12, 2013

On Wednesday, the Internet hacking collective Anonymous vowed to publish the names of the four suspects involved in the alleged rape of Canadian Rehtaeh Parsons, who committed suicide last week.

A message sent to Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) by the hacktivist group called "for immediate legal action" in the case, citing that "If we [Anonymous] were able to locate these boys within 2 hours, it will not be long before someone else finds them."

This latest operation by the group, dubbed "Operation Justice For Rehtaeh", led to expression of concern among the members of the RCMP. In an interview with the National Post, Nova Scotia Justice Minister Ross Landry spoke of the dangers of releasing this crucial information in this ongoing investigation, "We don't want another child taking their life because some vigilante group think it's OK … maybe it's a wrong name — then what would they do to someone?"

The 17-year-old Parsons was taken off life support on Sunday following an attempt to take her own life days before. Her mother erected a Facebook page celebrating the life of her daughter as well as acknowledging the true reasons for her daughters tragic passing, "Rehtaeh is gone today because of the four boys that thought that raping a 15-year-old girl was okay, and to distribute a photo to ruin her spirit and reputation would be fun."

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Sources

Andy Chalk. "Columnist enlists Anonymous to take down rapists" — The Escapist, April 11, 2013
"Anonymous threatens to out Canadian teen's alleged rapists" — Russia Today, April 11, 2013
Associated Press. "Canadian teen Rehtaeh Parsons commits suicide after bullying following alleged rape" — Herald Sun, April 10, 2013
Josh Visser, Allison Cross. "Anonymous threatens to out boys involved in alleged gang rape of N.S. teen unless RCMP charges them" — National Post, April 10, 2013

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