An East Greenwich High School student has been charged by police after posing as a local teacher and posting false information on a Georgia-based Internet site. The 15-year-old boy registered on the site under the teacher’s name and depicted the teacher as a homosexual who molests children and dogs, the Providence Journal reports.
The student’s Web page was found by an East Greenwich High School biology teacher, who alerted school officials. The Web page was traced to an America Online account.
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Police said the boy initially denied he was responsible but later admitted it. He used his brother’s screen name to access the Web site.
The youth told police he “didn’t think it would hurt the teacher.”
The boy’s parents allowed police to examine the computer used to access the site, called SchoolNotes.com.
The boy’s case will go before the town’s Juvenile Hearing Board. The law under which he was charged with a misdemeanor carries penalties of up to a year in prison, with a possible $500 fine.
Police say SchoolNotes.com has added an extra password protection feature for anyone trying to register as a teacher. Teachers now need individual passwords plus a passcode for their school.
Ron Bocinsky, founder of the site, said that only about 20 percent of school systems had asked for a passcode to help prevent problems.
Bocinsky said the company is willing and able to help police track down people who post false information online.
“We do have the ability to trace (Internet provider) addresses and time stamps,” he said. He added that by providing information to police, “We can help catch people who are doing this.”
He said the site was created without the passcode system because “the Internet was meant to be open, and with every layer of security, it just causes less openness.”
Bocinsky said some school systems asked that passwords not be required.
