Mom of teen charged with bullying South Hadley H.S. student Phoebe Prince into suicide blames victim

The mother of one of the "Mean Girls" charged with bullying 15-year-old Phoebe Prince to death defended her daughter Tuesday, saying she never lifted a hand against the tormented girl but just "called her names."

Angeles Chanon admitted that her daughter, Sharon Chanon Velazquez, 16, had once been suspended from school for verbally abusing Phoebe - but blamed the bullied girl for starting it.

"(Sharon) exchanged a couple of words with her," Chanon told the Boston Herald. "Phoebe was calling her names. They're teenagers. They call names."

Chanon insisted her daughter never "physically assaulted" Phoebe, no matter what the District Attorney says.

"I know she knows better than that. I wouldn't accept that," she said.

Sharon was one of nine Massachusetts teenagers charged Monday with tormenting Phoebe "relentlessly" for three months, until the despairing recent immigrant from a small Ireland village hanged herself Jan. 14.

Sharon was charged with stalking and violation of civil rights resulting in bodily injury.

In Massachusetts, public anger was turning from the Mean Girls - so mean they left vicious comments on Phoebe's Facebook memorial page - to the teachers who repeatedly failed to protect Phoebe, but were not charged criminally.

District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said Phoebe's persecution was "common knowledge" at the school, and even witnessed by teachers, who said nothing.

Her mother had twice asked school officials to help put a stop to her daughter's misery, Schiebel said.

The day she killed herself, a teacher saw kids harassing Phoebe in the school library - but said nothing until after the suffering girl's body was found hanging in her home.

The district attorney called the failure of adults at the school to stop the harassment "troublesome," but not criminal.

"We sought the charges that we feel were most appropriate for these activities," Scheibel said.

She said school officials had "a lack of understanding of harassment associated with teen dating relationships."

But parents were shocked that school administrators - who had denied knowing anything about Phoebe's misery - apparently knew quite a lot.

"If what they are saying is true, and the administration knew about it, then they lied. If they lied about knowing about the abuse, then they should not still be here," said Paris Morley, who has a son at South Hadley High.

Former prosecutor Wendy Murphy, who has been vocal about weaknesses in a proposed new Massachusetts anti-bullying law, said she was stunned that the DA "didn't have the guts" to charge the adults at the school.

"I'm just incredulous that this prosecutor would see fit to bring huge charges against the kids - which is good - but do nothing to the teachers. That juxtaposition is shocking," Murphy said.

Referring to the Massachusetts "public duty rule" that bars schools and teachers from being sued for what students do, Murphy said of Scheibel, "because she knows they can't be sued civilly, she had an extra responsibility to charge them criminally."

Massachusetts state Rep. John Scibak, who represents South Hadley, told ABC he was shocked at "what the adults knew and didn't act on."

"This is a very serious allegation and one that really needs to be investigated," Scibak said.

School officials did not return calls.

But assistant school superintendent Christine Sweklo issued a statement saying much of the evidence the DA presented was new to the school administration and would be reviewed.

Then, she said, the school might "possibly take further action against the students still attending South Hadley High School."

A group of parents got together after Phoebe's death and formed the South Hadley Anti-Bullying Task Force.

Their leader, David Leonard, 53, whose daughter dropped out of the school because of harassment, was killed in a motorcycle accident last week.