Bullies Escape Jail After Plea Deals In Phoebe Prince Case

Five Massachusetts teenagers who relentlessly bullied Phoebe Prince, a 15 year old schoolgirl from Ireland, resulting in her suicide admitted their guilt in court last week after accepting plea deals.

Over two days at Hadley court house in Massachusetts, the accused teens were sentenced.

Three of them received probation and community service sentences, while the other two received only probation.

And in emotional and heartbreaking victim impact statements, Phoebe's mother Anne O'Brien remembered her "beautiful, intelligent and gregarious" daughter, and confronted her bullies directly.

Phoebe grew up in Co. Clare and moved with her mother and sister to Massachusetts in 2009.

But she took her own life in January 2010 after being hounded by the five teenagers.

Prosecutors said the bullying stemmed from four girls' anger about Phoebe's relationships, with Sean Mulveyhill, captain of the school football team, and another popular boy.

They say after he dumped her, Mulveyhill who was dating anther girl at the time, encouraged some of the girls to harangue and threaten Prince.

On Wednesday last, Sean Mulveyhill (18) pleaded guilty to criminal harassment.

Charges against him of statutory rape and violating Phoebe's civil rights were dismissed.

Addressing his sentencing hearing, Anne O'Brien said she was lied to about the true nature of her daughter's relationship with the popular football captain.

"Had I known the truth, I would have viewed his interest in my daughter as predatory and she would have been forbidden to see him," she said.

She revealed to the court that one of Phoebe's final text messages, sent to a friend on the day she killed herself had read: "I think Sean condoning this (bullying) is one of the final nails in my coffin. I can't take much more - it would be easier if he or any one of them handed me a noose."

"It is nearly impossible to measure the impact of Phoebe's death upon our lives," Ms O'Brien said. "There is a dead weight that now sits permanently on my chest."

A second defendant, Kayla Narey, an ex-girlfriend of Mulveyhill, also pleaded guilty to criminal harassment.

She spoke in court to apologize to both Phoebe and her family, saying her jealousy had blinded her.

"I was the weak one, and that failure will always be with me. I am sorry, Phoebe," Narey said. "I am immensely ashamed of myself that I allowed my emotions to spiral into acts of unkindness."

She broke into tears when she was sentenced.

Both Narey and Mulveyhill received a year of probation and 100 hours of community service.

On Thursday, three more teenagers admitted taking part in the campaign of bullying.

Sharon Velazquez (17) and Ashley Longe (17) pleaded guilty to criminal harassment, while Flannery Mullins (18) admitted to a civil rights violation and disturbing an assembly.

Once again, Anne O'Brien addressed the court confronting the girls with her daughter's distress at their hands.

"Phoebe soldiered on, struggling to get through the day, hoping the next one to be better. Phoebe tried to be strong, but sometimes all people want to do is break you," she said.

Ms O'Brien singled out one of the accused for special mention and accepted her expressions of remorse.

She met with Ashley Longe on the night before the hearing, and the young girl apologized.

"Ashley was asking to meet me for an awful long time now, and I think that shows a lot of courage," she said, adding that she was "very satisfied" that Longe had offered the "accountability and remorse we have been asking for since January 14, 2010."

"It shows an awful lot of courage," O'Brien said. "To sit across from me, not knowing what my reaction would be. I believe that with the right support system, Ashley can go far. I would ask the court to help Ashley," O'Brien said.

All three girls were put on probation, while Ashley Longe has also been given 100 hours of community service.

All five teenagers were ordered by the judge to stay away from Phoebe's family, perform community service, earn their graduate equivalency diploma and not profit from their cases while they are on probation.

Meanwhile, statutory rape charges have been dropped against a sixth teenager, Austin Renaud at the request of the Prince-O'Brien family.

"I am thrilled for Austin," said Eileen Moore, Phoebe Prince's aunt, noting that unlike the other five defendants, he was never accused of bullying her niece.

"This must have been a very difficult year for him and I wish him nothing but the best as he moves forward with his life."