Psychotic
“However, with a twist of psychotic pleasure, the perpetrators have continued their reign of terror by posting footage of the attack on the internet – an obvious chess move to compound their victim’s mental anguish. If this isn’t cyber bullying, then I’d like to know what is.
“The absence of a tag [label or caption] shouldn’t make a difference. The spirit of the legislation points to any form of bullying which takes place online or through phones and tablets via, say, social networking sites, messaging apps and the like.”
Mr Freeman added: “To deliberately post a stomach-churning video of an attack in which the victim has already been identified is enough to point the finger.
“It is inexcusable and pathetic of Nottinghamshire Police to take refuge in word play and the vocabulary of the social media generation in order to avoid taking further action.”
The video of Libby’s brutal beating was originally uploaded to Snapchat and Facebook, but was removed after the attacker was convicted of assault and another teenager was cautioned for filming it.
Now, five months later, the footage reappeared on Snapchat and was shared on Facebook and YouTube. Facebook chiefs have now removed the content’s original source.
Libby’s parents Kerry, 39, and Darren, 51, of Bilborough, Nottingham, say they are devastated and their daughter began screaming after she realised the video was back online.
Mrs Brierley said: “We phoned the police and they said it could be a case of harassment, but when two officers came round they told us there was nothing they could do.
“The bullies have found a loophole in the law to continue taunting Libby. Every time she sees the video appear it’s like she’s gone through it all over again.
“We just want the law changed to stop this happening to other people.”
Nottinghamshire Police said yesterday: “It is a matter for Facebook. The police do not have the powers to tell Facebook to remove content.
“While we sympathise with the mother and her daughter, there is nothing the police can do.”