Bullies and Pranksters

What is the difference between a bully and a prankster? A bully may use or threaten to use physical force to intimidate a victim whereas as a prankster's aim is usually to cause embarrassment or mental anguish to a victim while providing "entertainment" for others. Both are wrong and may lead to unintended consequences. Below are two stories involving one of each.

The Prankster

Dharum RaviTyler Clementi

Tyler Clementi and Dharum Ravi were both 18-year-old freshmen roommates at Rutgers University. One night Tyler asked Dharum if he could use their room until midnight. Dharum agreed and went to visit his friend Molly Wei. But what Tyler did not know was that Dharum had hidden a camera in the room to spy on his roommate.

When Dharum turned on the camera remotely from his friend's room he saw his roommate engaging in sex with another man. He then sent out the following tweet:

‘Roommate asked me for the room till midnight. I went into Molly's room and turned on my web cam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.’

Tyler Clementi had no idea that what he thought was a private encounter was being recorded by his roommate. So two days later Tyler again asked his roommate if he could use the room. Dharum again agreed but this time he alerted his Twitter followers with the message:

hey, it's going to happen again. Tune in.

This time Dharum streamed the live video of the two men having sex. When Tyler found out that he had been videotaped he posted the following entry on his Facebook account:

“Jumping off the GW bridge sorry.”

And that is exactly what he did. On Sept. 22 2010, three days after being videotaped, Tyler Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

Dharum Ravi and his friend Molly Wei have been arrested and face charges related to the death of Tyler Clementi. Dharum is currently free on $25,000 bail. They both face 5 years in prison if convicted.

Dharum and Molly

The Bullies

Tyler Wilson

Next is the story of an 11-year-old boy named Tyler Wilson who attends Glenwood Middle School in Ohio. Tyler was attacked by bullies in his school and suffered a broken arm. Tyler had a dream which some of his classmates teased him about and some took it much further resulting in his injury. Tyler says this attack will not deter him from doing what he wants to do. Tyler wants to be a cheerleader.

Studies show that 1 in 3 Middle and High school students are the victims of bullying. Tyler Wilson put it this way:

"It feels horrible that they can't accept me for who I am.....It's my choice. If I want to be a cheerleader, I'm going to be a cheerleader."

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"Pinky" Gets 18 Months for Manslaughter

The 13-year-old boy known as "Pinky" - accused and convicted of stabbing 17-year-old Levi King Flores to death on the streets of Newburgh, NY - was sentenced by Orange County Family Court Judge Andrew Bivona to 18 months in a state juvenile facility. It was the maximum sentence allowed under the law. "Pinky" could be out by his 15th birthday. 

It was a case that highlighted the gang violence and rivalry in Newburgh. The two gangs, the BBK and La Eme - represented by "Pinky" and Levi King Flores respectively - are sworn enemies and often go out of their way to provoke and antagonize each other. This is apparently what happen on the afternoon of Jan. 13, 2010 when an incident between the two rivals escalated into a confrontation in which Flores was stabbed to death.

Before sentencing, Judge Andrew Bivona took into account a report prepared by Senior Probation Officer Bernadette Bergin. It detailed parts of the truant teen's life: Suspensions from school; Bringing a knife to school; Pictures with him displaying gang signs etc. After conducting interviews with "Pinky", Bernadette Bergin concluded: "He showed no remorse."

"Pinky" will be in the custody of the state Office of Children and Family Services, which could hold him until his 18th birthday or release him earlier.

The parents of Levi King Flores, Carlos and Martha, were disappointed not only with the sentence but also the 13-year-old's lack of remorse. They wanted to see him locked away for a much longer time and they also wanted a personal apology from him. Neither the law nor the perpetrator gave them what they wanted.

Levi's father, Carlos Flores, stood in front of the court and spoke of an emptiness in their family now that his son is dead. "My wife, Martha, is destroyed," he said.

He doesn't care, said Cynthia Herrera, Levi's girlfriend and the mother of his infant daughter. She cried in the parking lot and leaned against Martha Lopez Flores. Carlos said the law sends a message to other young boys that they can kill without consequence. Martha spoke to Cynthia in Spanish.

"We're just waiting for God to punish him," Martha said.

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"Pinky" Found Guilty

"Pinky" the 13-year-old Newburgh boy accused of manslaughter in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Levi King Flores was found guilty by Orange County Family Court Judge Andrew Bivona. He had been charged as a juvenile with:

• 1 Count Second-Degree Manslaughter (felony) 
  
• 3 Counts of Second-Degree Assault (felonies)
  
• 1 Count of Fourth-Degree Misdemeanor Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

At the time of his arrest "Pinky" had been charged as an adult with second-degree murder. Later a grand jury, finding there was insufficient evidence to support that charge, opted instead to charge him as a juvenile with the lesser offense of second-degree manslaughter. 

The trial began on Feb. 3, 2010 in Goshen, NY. The prosecution introduced as evidence - a videotaped interview with the boy, the knife used in the killing and DNA evidence - all of which was deemed inadmissible because the police failed to follow proper procedures.

The trial did however continue with two witnesses, a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old boy, who were allowed to testify. They told the court of the events leading up to the street fight resulting in the death of 17-year-old Levi King Flores.

The prosecution wrapped up its case against "Pinky" on Wed. Feb. 17. The defense declined to present any witnesses - not even "Pinky" himself - and requested that the charges be dismissed. The judge, Andrew Bivona, did no such thing.

Without so much as taking a break, Judge Andrew Bivona of Orange County Family Court declared the 13-year-old boy guilty.

After the verdict the family of the slain 17-year-old Levi King Flores went into consultation with the prosecutors.

13-year-old "Pinky" faces possible incarceration until he is 18. His family left the court without any comment.

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Horse Lover Sentenced

Erick Rivera, 18, of Goshen, NY known as "The Horse Romancer” was arrested in December 2009. At the time of his arrest he admitted to police that he repeatedly had sex with horses in their stables, located across the street from where he lived. But as he stood before Orange County Court Judge Robert Freehill there was no mention of either horses or sex. Instead, he pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary, a felony, and Freehill granted him youthful offender treatment, which seals the court record. He had originally been charged with a felony burglary count and two misdemeanors – sexual misconduct with an animal and petit larceny.

The case sparked outrage among animal lovers nationwide, who sent cut-and-paste e-mails urging that Freehill impose a harsh sentence. But the stiffest charge allowable in New York for sex with an animal is sexual misconduct, a misdemeanor. Prosecutors insisted he plead to the more serious burglary charge.

Rivera has been held in the county jail since his arrest. Judge Robert Freehill sentenced Rivera to 90 days in the county jail and five years’ probation for burglarizing the Goshen Historic Track last year. His lawyer, Gary Abramson of the Orange County Legal Aid Society, said Rivera will move to New York City to live with his sister when he’s released from jail. His probation will be supervised by New York City authorities.

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The "Pinky" Trial Continues

On trial at Orange County Family Court in Goshen, NY, is the 13-year-old boy known as "Pinky". He has been charged in the stabbing death of 17-year-old Levi King Flores on Jan. 13, 2010 in Newburgh NY. The trial began on Feb. 3 with police statements that the 13-year-old "Pinky" had assisted them in recovering the knife used in the attack. See the details here.

The prosecution suffered a setback when Family Court Judge Andrew Bivona threw out much of the evidence, including the statements made by "Pinky" when he was questioned by the police and the knife used to kill Levi King Flores, which the boy had helped them find - calling them the "fruit of the poisonous tree." Here is why the judge threw out the evidence:

As previously noted both the boy and his mother were read his Miranda rights. The mother was told in Spanish and the boy, who speaks English, in English. The problem was that the police conducted the entire interview with the boy in English, which his mother did not understand.

The boy's attorney, Stuart Greenberg, argued that "the language barrier of the mother prevented her from helping her son understand what police were asking and the consequences of answering." The judge agreed and granted Greenberg's motion to suppress the boy's statements.

Since the police were unable to use the boy's statements, they were also unable to use any evidence obtained from the interview with the boy, including the knife and any DNA evidence recovered from the scene.

Prosecutors were however allowed to use identifications made by two witnesses who claimed to see the stabbing. Each picked the boy out of a photo array as the killer. They were both friends of Levi.

The trial continued with the testimony of two of Levi King Flores' friends, both of them in 7th grade. They described the events leading up to the death of the 17-year-old. Both parents of Levi King Flores were in court, silently watching the proceedings.

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The first to testify was a 13-year-old boy. This is how he described what happened:

Levi and his friends were playing on a frozen pond in Downing Park. They had a small bat and were trying to punch a hole in the ice. A group of girls approached them and started swearing at them. One of the girls was the sister of the 13-year-old defendant, "Pinky". The girls continued to belittle the gang the boys belonged to - La Eme. During the confrontation "Pinky's" sister used her cellphone to call her brother. He came to join them and they all left going in the direction of a nearby store.

Levi and his friends also left, heading in the same direction. The argument continued culminating in a fight between "Pinky" and another 12-year-old boy. At the same time, Levi himself, was arguing with "Pinky's" sister and eventually got caught up in ongoing the fight. No one knew at the time that "Pinky" had a knife - hidden in one of his sleeves - until it was too late.

"After that Levi was limping, and we carried him to St. Luke's," he said.

After relating the story the boy was crying. "Pinky's" lawyer, Stuart Greenberg, gave the boy time to recover before starting the cross-examination. Under cross-examination the boy said that Levi King Flores was indeed a member of the Newburgh street gang known as La Eme. He said that he did not know what had happened to the bat used to break the ice on the pond. He also said that it was not used in the fight.

When the second witness - a 12-year-old boy - took the stand he recounted the same story as the previous boy. When the Assistant District Attorney Allan Drian asked him to lift up his shirt, he revealed the scars left from the three puncture wounds he had received during the knife attack. This provoked an audible gasp from Martha, Levi's mother.

The trial continues.......

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