Criminal Justice

Meddling Mom Charged with Facebook Harassment after Son Complains to Prosecutors

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An Arkansas mother is facing a criminal charge of harassment after her son told prosecutors she hacked into his Facebook account, changed his password and posted slanderous things about him.

The mother, Denise New of Arkadelphia, told the Associated Press that she accessed her son’s Facebook page after he forgot to log off, but she didn’t hack into the account. She didn’t like what she was reading, she said, so she posted some items and then changed her son’s password so he couldn’t use Facebook again.

“The things he was posting in Facebook would make any decent parent’s eyes pop out,” New told AP. She was particularly troubled by a post in which her son said her drove 95 miles an hour one night because he was angry with a girl.

The boy, who is 16, lives with his grandmother.

A statement released by the prosecutor’s office said New’s alleged comments about her son justified the harassment charge.

News told KATV7 that she would fight the charge. “I’m not gonna let this rest,” she said. “I think this could be a precedent-setting moment for parents.”

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