The MSN messages terrorized Jane. The 14-year-old was bullied by girls who called her names and spit on her, but when the attacks moved into cyberspace, she became more withdrawn, anxious and depressed.

She sought help at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, where she told a youth crisis worker she wanted to "kill (the) bullies" and had a "plan" for getting back at the main bully.

The crisis worker asked if Jane really planned to hurt the bully. The teen is said to have replied, "Yes, (the bully) deserves it because of what she did to me."

The worker called police and Jane was charged with uttering a threat. She was jailed, released two weeks later under strict conditions and eventually acquitted.

But Jane (not her real name), now 17, still feels justice was not served. That's why she and her mother launched a $4 million lawsuit against defendants that include the hospital, the youth worker and York Region police.

At the heart of the case is a patient's expectation of receiving help and confidentiality, as well as the responsibility of health workers to report violent threats to police.

A patient's relationship with a professional is protected by confidentiality, but that cannot be used as a "vehicle for plotting a future injury," says Bernard Dickens, a University of Toronto specialist on medical law.

"If one discloses intention to go ahead and do something bad in the future, that's not protected."

In this case, he says, the youth worker may have misjudged the alleged plan by taking it too seriously, "but it would be a mistake not to take it seriously enough."

Lawyer Barry Swadron, who represents the teen with Susan McDermott, says "mental health professionals teamed up with the police authority in an effort to turn the victim into a criminal."

Hospital and police spokespeople declined to comment because the case is before the courts. Statements of defence haven't been filed.

The unusual tale is gleaned from public court documents, such as an amended statement of claim that protects Jane's identity, and transcripts of the criminal trial where crisis worker Stacey Morton testified.

The two met in June 2006. In an interview with the Star, the teen said the plan "was just a fantasy" that "spiralled out of control."

"I wanted somebody to believe that they were really hurting me."

The "plan" involved abducting the main bully, slicing her mouth and sewing it to resemble the rag-doll character in Tim Burton's animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas. Morton testified Jane told her she was hearing voices in her head and Morton worried what would happen if a voice told her to harm or kill someone.

According to the statement of claim, which has not been proved in court, Morton became "fixated" on Jane's comments about "killing bullies" and asked about it so often that "(she) encouraged Jane to develop the plan."

But Morton testified the plan was Jane's idea.

"She said that the plan needed to be better thought out, as she does not want anything to go wrong like (the bully) escaping," said Morton.

The hospital psychiatrist, who treated Jane, told Morton he didn't believe Jane capable of carrying the plan out. Morton spoke with the program's clinical director, who recommended calling police.

According to the claim, police interviewed the bully, who said Jane hadn't threatened her.

They did not interview Jane's mother, Jane, or her attending psychiatrist.

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On Sept. 4, Jane was arrested and jailed. Upon release, she was permitted to leave home only to attend school or in the company of her mother or adult brothers. In the following months, Jane says she suffered nightmares and panic attacks, and withdrew from her few friends.

After a two-day trial in June 2007, she was acquitted.

"I used to have a little bit of self-esteem, like I enjoyed doing speech competitions and stuff," Jane says. "But now ... never again."