Her Online Bully Was Her Mom

In a shocking case that has rocked a small Michigan community, a mother’s betrayal of her own daughter has come to light, revealing the dark underbelly of cyberbullying. Kendra Gail Licari, 42, was sentenced to 19 months to five years in prison after pleading guilty to stalking her own child online for over a year.

The disturbing saga began in early 2021 when Licari’s teenage daughter started receiving harassing messages through text and social media, sometimes up to 12 times a day. Little did the victim know that the source of her torment was sitting across the dinner table.

Licari went to extraordinary lengths to conceal her identity, using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to mask her location and employing multiple phone numbers and area codes to make it appear as if the messages were coming from her daughter’s peers. She even reported the cyberbullying to authorities herself, playing the role of a concerned parent.

The scale of the deception was staggering. Investigators uncovered hundreds of messages, with over 1,000 pages of evidence. Isabella County prosecutor David Barberi described the content as “demeaning, demoralizing, and just mean”.

The motive behind Licari’s actions remains a mystery. Some experts have likened it to a form of “cyber Munchausen’s syndrome,” suggesting that Licari may have been trying to make her daughter feel vulnerable and in need of her support.

This case serves as a stark reminder of the complex nature of online harassment. While most cyberbullying incidents involve peers, this unusual case demonstrates that threats can come from unexpected sources, even within one’s own home.

As Licari serves her sentence at the Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, with a potential parole date of November 3, 2024, the community is left grappling with the aftermath of this betrayal. The incident has sparked important conversations about online safety, family dynamics, and the hidden faces behind digital harassment.

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