A 42-year-old mother in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan was arrested and now faces charges for allegedly cyberstalking and cyberbullying several teenagers, including her own daughter.
Kendra Licari used a fake name and number to send hate filled messages online and via text. The five charges in the criminal complaint filed against Licari include stalking a minor and obstruction of justice.
The investigation of Licari's online activities originated at Beal City Public Schools after Licari's daughter and her daughter's boyfriend reported the harassing messages they received to school officials. After a year, the person behind the cyber crimes was finally exposed.
You can see Good Morning America's coverage here:
Michigan mom accused of cyberstalking daughter l GMAyoutu.be
The alleged harassment began in December 2021 while Licari was working as a basketball coach at her daughter's school.
Superintendent of Beal City Public Schools William Chilman told Good Morning America:
"Even when we realized that it wasn't a kid, we weren't expecting that it would be a parent."
"When they informed us later in the spring that they were suspecting that it possibly was her, it was a shock to all of us, I think everybody involved."
After concluding the messages were sent off school property, Beal City Public Schools turned over their findings to law enforcement for further action.
Licari employed software to mask her location and a variety of phone numbers and area codes to hide her identity. She also allegedly tried to implicate her daughter's friends as the source of the cyberbullying.
Isabella County prosecuting attorney David Barberi told GMA:
"In doing so, it would shield her and kind of cloak her identity or her digital identity."
"But eventually, we were able to see that her IP address was popping in and out right before and right after these messages were going through."
Using the IP address, law enforcement were able to confirm a connection to Licari. When confronted, investigators allege Licari admitted she was behind the cyberbullying and cyberstalking.
Barberi added:
"We had tens of thousands of text messages, whether they were messages that were just for her daughter or some of her daughter's friends."
"And the digital footprint was just insane."
People couldn't understand why a parent would harass children—including their own child.
Licari was released on a $5,000 bond.
She nor her attorneys have issued a public statement as of this writing or responded to requests for an interview.
@lpeterp/Bluesky
@FPWellman/X
@bobsbeatgmail.com5/Threads