The comments included calling certain girls “sluts”, saying his principal was the “town drunk” and accusing a female teacher of being a “man in disguise”. The boy has pleaded not guilty. He is being defended by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The case raises the question of whether state criminal libel law will apply to statements made on the internet. In most US states, there is no law of criminal libel.
It has been pointed out that similar comments about teachers and fellow pupils are made in schools everywhere, but because they were made on the internet, and hence universally accessible, the matter has become criminal.