NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — A 13-year-old Yulee student has been arrested and charged with making violent threats and aggravated stalking after posing as another student on social media.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office claimed Wednesday that the suspect impersonated another student online and warned the community about the impact of cyberbullying crimes.
For weeks, 13-year-old Aaron Wiese was under suspicion for making the threatening social media posts, which came from an account using his photo and name.
“It made me feel unsafe and I felt like I couldn’t even leave my own home,” said Aaron.
Sheriff Bill Leeper said those posts were aimed at a female student and made disturbing statements like “you will feel a great amount of pain” and “when I peel you open it won’t be torture, it will be art.”
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But Leeper explained that after speaking with Aaron and his family, investigators learned he didn’t have access to social media and had reported the account to TikTok.
After the account was removed, another account using Aaron’s image and name appeared and continued making threats.
Deputies were able to identify the suspect, now accused of being behind the imposter account, as a 13-year-old girl Aaron says used to be his friend.
She’s been arrested and charged with making written threats to kill and aggravated stalking.
“She later wrote an apology letter for what she had done and she said she was just making a joke. This is no joke,” said Sheriff Leeper.
This isn’t the only recent case of students posing as others to make school threats.
Just last week, a 14-year-old student in Clay County was charged after allegedly making threats towards a school posing as his older brother.
Aaron and his mother Amy said the ordeal took a serious toll on them.
They told reporters their neighbors stopped talking to them and they even considered moving away, feeling powerless to defend Aaron’s reputation.
Now, they’re speaking out to help students understand how cyber crimes like these impact victims.
“For somebody to sit behind a keyboard and think that this was just funny to use my son’s name and his face, it’s inexcusable and I’m sorry, but actions have consequences,” said Amy.
The Nassau Sheriff’s victim advocate said there are tools parents can use to help monitor their children’s social media activity.
Apps like Safer Kid, Net Nanny, M Spy and Bark were recommended.
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