Operation Justice for Rehtaeh:

4/11 Statement:

Since yesterday morning several teams of investigators have been working to dissect the events surrounding the rape, harassment and suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons.

What we have learned is certainly appalling, but it wasn't the act of rape that shocked us. It was the behavior of the adults in Rehtaeh's life that we found most disturbing. Let's set aside for a moment the compassion they should have shown as human beings and just focus on the responsibilities they had as professionals. We're talking about the school teachers, administrators, the police and prosecutors, those who should have been role models in the late Rehtaeh's life.

To begin, Ross Landry's reversal of his decision not investigate this case after a media blitz is clearly an indication that his sudden interest is purely an act of public relations damage-control. You should be really ashamed of yourself. In contrast to your statements your actions are not genuine and your patronizing attention is unappreciated. Ross, you have zero class. We encourage you to get it together.

Now, it took us only a few hours to identify the boys that assaulted Rehtaeh. This wasn't some high-tech operation that involved extracting private messages from someone's Facebook account. Dozens of e-mails were sent to us by kids and adults alike, most of whom had personal relationships with the rapists. Many recalled confessions made by these boys blatantly in public where they detailed the rape of an inebriated 15-year-old girl. Recent statements by police and prosecutors that there simply wasn't enough evidence to make a single arrest should be viewed solely as an admission of incompetence on their part. This wasn't “he said, she said.” He said he did it and he said it to everyone while showing them a photo of him doing it. Every officer that signed off on this “no evidence” conclusion should be guarding the entrance to a petting zoo for the remainder of their careers. We're afraid to ask if anyone even bothered to check the EXIF data on the rape/child pornography being openly shared by hundreds of students throughout your community.

The way the story is told, time and time again, these sad little boys had no fear whatsoever about admitting publicly their crimes and even spreading photographic evidence of it. Why were they unafraid? They believed no one was ever going to do anything to stop them and they were right. For this we point our fingers at the Cole Harbour school system. It is truly disturbing that this level of bullying could happen in one of your schools without you noticing. Worse, child porn was apparently viral in your halls and you had no clue. That was the excuse your staff repeated on the news yesterday wasn't it, that you didn't know. Well, it's your job to know. If the administration of that school had any honor they would all resign for failing to meet the terms of their employment.

All of you have created a mess and instead of taking responsibility and cleaning it up, the first thing you did yesterday morning was get on television and defend your jobs. You have taught the young men in your community a terrible lesson: rape is easy.

And just to clear things up once and for all for the young men in Nova Scotia who are unlikely to hear this from any of their role models: vomiting drunk girls are not capable of giving you consent to have sex with them. That kind of sex is called rape. It isn't really sex at all. If that's the only way you can laid, you are pathetic and should stick to quietly sobbing while fondling yourselves in the dark until hopefully the day comes when some woman you probably don't deserve pities you enough to teach you how to act like a real man.

At this time we can honestly say we're confident we know the identities of the people involved in Rehtaeh's rape. It would probably take us a lot longer to come up with a list of the people responsible for her death. We hope you all find some way to sleep at night.

See you Sunday.