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Ohio students suspended, arrested for off-campus Web site
Web site allegedly threatened violent action against group of girls labeled "preps"
September 26, 2003

OHIO –– A Mechanicsburg High School junior was suspended from school and later arrested this month on charges that he linked his personal Web page to a friend’s Web site after school administrators and peers deemed the friend’s site a threat to school safety.

Jameson Pack, 16, is charged with six counts of a first degree misdemeanor for aggravated menacing, a fourth degree felony for complicity to menacing by stalking and a first degree misdemeanor for inducing panic. In addition, school administrators suspended him for 10 days and banned him from the school’s computer facilities for two years, said Lisa Pack, Jameson’s mother.

Joshua Allerton, the student who created the Web site, is charged with six counts of menacing by stalking, a fourth degree felony; six counts of aggravated menacing, a first degree misdemeanor; and inducing panic, also a first degree misdemeanor.

According to the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office incident report, on Sept. 9, Sandy Freeze and her daughter reported the existence of a Web site entitled, “Melodies of Life.” The site listed the girl and some of her friends under the category “preps.” The report claims that the Web site endorsed violent action against the group of individuals and encouraged the use of a semi-automatic assault type rifle against them.

In addition to Freeze’s daughter, the report also lists five other girls as being named on the Web site.

Neither the girls nor the prosecutor, Nick Selvaggio, could be reached for comment.

However, according to Lisa Pack, the incident began when Allerton asked her son to provide his MSN buddy picture for the Web site Allerton was building off-campus. Jameson Pack submitted his picture as well as several friends’ pictures. Jameson Pack then linked his personal MSN profile page to Allerton’s site.

Allerton, 16, declined to comment for this story. His attorney, Brad Singer, could not be reached for comment.

When Jameson Pack viewed the Web site, it listed his friends’ names under “prep” or “anti-prep,” according to Lisa Pack. Underneath her son’s picture it stated: “James Mandu.” She said the only thing violent on the page at that time was a picture of a gun linking to "Counter-Strike," an online computer game that allows the participant to play as member of an anti-terrorism unit.

According to Lisa Pack, a few days later Allerton asked her son to show the link to one of the girls when she got online. However, when the girl went to view the page, the site had been changed. The Web site still listed the students as “prep” and “anti-prep” but, now next to the cartoon gun it said: “Put this to your foreheads preps and you’ll think twice.” Underneath Jameson Pack’s picture it said, “Hardcore killer” instead of originally, “James Mandu,” Lisa Pack said.

At school the next day, Superintendent Herbert Swiger questioned Jameson Pack along with other students about the Web site, Lisa Pack said. She said the superintendent showed a print version of the “new” site to Jameson Pack, which he said he had not seen before.

Swiger did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.

School administrators suspended Jameson Pack for 10 days and banned him from the computer facilities because they said they were afraid of another Columbine High School incident, Lisa Pack said.

“[The school administrators] said they needed to set an example of Jameson so that this wouldn’t happen again,” Lisa Pack said.

Later that evening, officers from the Champaign County Sheriff’s Department arrested Jameson Pack at his home, Lisa Pack said.

The pretrial date for Jameson Pack is set for Oct. 1.

Lisa Pack said she was able to locate Allerton’s original Web site to back up her son’s claim. She said she is currently collecting data to file a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union and plans to pursue legal action against the school.

“After all of this, I feel like [Jameson’s] rights have really been violated,” Lisa Pack said.

Although Jameson Pack allegedly only linked to the offensive Web site, nationwide lawsuits involving students who create off-campus Web sites that are deemed offensive have generally protected students from punishment.

A federal court in Seattle ruled in 2000 that a school could not suspend a student who created mock obituaries on a Web site he built on his home computer. In 2002, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled a student could be disciplined for a personal Web site because the student accessed the site at school and disrupted the school community.


© 2003 Student Press Law Center
 
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