Another day, another story about someone posting incriminating content on social media.
A few weeks ago, two Massachusetts teenage girls put an 8 month old baby, whom they were babysitting, in a refrigerator, closed the door, and laughed. The girls recorded their actions and posted the video on Snapchat, a popular social media app that allows users to share images and video instantly with friends and the community where it lives for 24 hours before it disappears automatically. In the video, the baby could be heard screaming from behind the closed refrigerator doors.
The police got wind of the incident, viewed the footage, and subsequently arrested the two minors. The girls are now charged with child endangerment, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. After appearing in juvenile court, they were released back to their parents.
Social media is not a place to post content like this. Not only is it disturbing for others to look at, but it also displays the illegal actions people are taking. It shows other lives being put in danger while incriminating those who are behind the crimes. Disturbing content like this is flagged and taken down by the social media company as soon as they possibly can. However, within a few minutes, something on social media can go viral, especially something as disturbing as this.
The teenage girls are minors and prosecutors decided not to try them as adults in court. So, the girls stood in juvenile court and were then released to their parents’ custody. If it was an adult who was being tried in court, they would not be released back to their parents’ custody after one court hearing.