Teen charged with threats to teachers on app
CLARKSON, Mich. — A teen is facing up to 40 years in prison after police said he threatened "to kill all the teachers" and made other terrorist threats on a social-networking site that experts said encourages anonymous postings by youths.
The youth's posting Monday night on the cellphone software app called After School led to a two-day lockdown of schools in this rural community an hour north of Detroit.
But the youth's attorney said that Jacob Young was merely trying to draw attention to a social-networking site that is aimed at teenagers and widely criticized nationwide because it encourages cyber-bullying and other irresponsible online behavior. Young, 17, was charged Thursday with making a terrorist threat, a 20-year felony; and with using a computer to commit a crime, another 20-year felony.
By order of Judge Kelley Kostin of 52-2 District Court in Clarkston, the teen was confined to his home with an electronic tether and ordered to have no contact with school students, weapons of any kind or electronic devices including phones. In addition, Kostin ordered that Young can't visit any school property and that police may visit his home at any time to search for weapons.
Brandon Community Schools Superintendent Matthew Outlaw said he'd warned parents last week about the After School app, calling it "linked to numerous cases of bullying, harassment, threats and other inappropriate behavior at schools" across Michigan. Outlaw went on to say that he was stunned, "after 40 years in this profession," to find that the district had received Monday's ominous threats on the site, which police traced to Young.
Young's lawyer Deanna Kelley called him "a great kid" who worked hard in school, had an after-school job and lived with his father.
"Unfortunately, he was trying to draw attention to that After School site — he was upset that kids were getting bullied on it. He certainly didn't intend this to happen," Kelley said. "Kids do get (unwarranted) courage behind the keyboard" when their postings seem to be anonymous, she said.
Kelley said her client admitted to police that he'd made the threats.
Launched in October, After School quickly became a hit with young people nationwide and especially in Michigan, according to online technology writers.
"For some reason, the app took off in Michigan where it led to metro Detroit school districts warning parents about the app. . . One Michigan community took to Twitter with the hashtag #clarkstontakesastand to encourage other people to delete the app," wrote Matt Burns in the online TechCrunch magazine.
"Sadly, the app is still functional at the time of writing. The app's publisher has not responded to multiple requests for comment from TechCrunch," Burns posted Dec. 4.
It was unclear Thursday night whether the app was still available from the Apple app store.