Rehtaer Parsons
Rehtaer Parsons | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 9, 1995 |
| Died |
April 7, 2013 (aged 17) |
| Occupation | student |
| Known for | her suicide followed a complete failure by Police in investigating her rape, and the transmission of photos of her rape |
Rehtaer Parsons was a 17 year old Canadian from Nova Scotia, whose death by suicide, following intense bullying, stirred controversy.[1][2]
The precipitating incident
[edit | edit source]Parsons attended a party where teens were engaging in illicit underage consumption of alcoholic beverages.[1] She consumed too much alcohol -- enough she was forced to vomit. One of the attendees at the party took photos of two individuals sexually assaulting Parsons, after she stuck her head out a window, to vomit.
Parsons was intensely bullied by teens who had seen the humiliating pictures of her sexual assault.[1] She reported the assault, and the distribution of the photos to Police.[2] A later inquiry would find the Police response was totally inadequate. Crown Prosecutors concluded, first, there was not enough evidence to charge her assailants, and second, they mistakenly concluded that the distribution of the humiliating photos didn't count as child porn, as her age wasn't readily apparent.
The investigation took a year, during which she continued to be the target of bullying. The prosecutor's conclusions left her suicidally depressed.[1]
Law enforcement response
[edit | edit source]The RCMP conducted two grueling interviews of Parsons.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "A chronology of the Rehtaeh Parsons case". Global News. 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2026-08-15.
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