Hermitage (PA) - A high school principal has sued four former students because of fake Myspace profiles they allegedly created, portraying him as a drug and alcohol addict.

The mock profiles lasted less than a week, but Eric Trosch, principal of Hickory High School at the time, says the slanderous remarks harmed his reputation, and he is seeking monetary damages.

Each profile used his name and official school picture.  Two of the alleged postings said Trosch was a brutal womanizer, and a third said he "kept a keg of beer behind his desk at school, was on steroids, and smoked marijuana," according to the civil court filing.

The student accused of creating the third profile is in the middle of his own lawsuit against the school.  After the incident occurred in December 2005, the school suspended him and placed him into an alternative education program.  His parents argue the punishment was excessive and prevented him from receiving the best education possible.

Good luck on that

Apr 10, 2007 11:34     

Hate to tell you dude, but if it was written it wasn't slander it would be libel so if he sued for slander then he's screwed because the suit would be dismissed
gahleon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

wrong title on article

Apr 10, 2007 11:35     

written = libel oral = slander
gahleon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hmmm, this is becoming more and more prevalent. It...

Apr 10, 2007 11:42     

Hmmm, this is becoming more and more prevalent. It seems a good indicator that kids of today are getting dumber instead of smarter. When I was in school, no one cared about the Principal, VP or teachers. Our lives were bigger than that. What a sad statement this is and what hope is there for our future with morons like this running about?
Carl report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

OK

Apr 10, 2007 11:53     

Yes - but electronic media is "speech," not written language, from a legal point of view - therefore slander is correct.
Chris report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

You sure?

Apr 10, 2007 13:47     

http://blogcritics.org/archive...043121.php are you sure about this, might be jurisdictionally based as are many modern interpretations of common law crimes. Out of curiousity, are you in a lawschool or have your JD. The general rule is that written is for libel but it still seems that it should be in a permanent posing such as myspace. Slander in regards to the internet would make much more sense if it was like a chat conversation rather than something that you post for everyone to see on the internet. Plus it would likely be treated as libel even if considered technically slander because the effects of such are very similar to the effects of libel because everyone can view it rather than merely hear it. Just curious if you have superior knowledge on this.

gahleon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Incorrect

Apr 10, 2007 14:51     

Actually, Chris is incorrect. He would have to sue for defamation via libel since technically anything "said" in a Web page counts as a publication. Libel is published defamation. Signed - Copy editor/law student
Tryxie report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

You're incorrect too

Apr 11, 2007 06:51     

Well just so that you know publication is a term of art and they should teach you this in law school to that a publication isn't the same thing as just publishing something. In the legal sense publication means "communicated to a third person." Which is what is happening here. It is libel because it is written. Well I'm not going to dwell on legalities, from one computer nerd to another some hopefully helpful information. signed - another law student :P

gahleon report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

you know what

Apr 17, 2007 11:54     

I dont care! its a cruddy story anyways...sounds to me like some bitching that went too far, and now your just adding to the bitching with your own little technicality bitch fest >>>CUE WITTY REPLY FROM "ooh i bin to law school so F.U!!"
karl report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

LOL

Aug 07, 2007 18:51     

How are kids today dumber? If I can recall correctly, you're supposed to feel safe and sound at school, especially with faculty members. Sure, I didn't like most of my teachers and I never spoke to my principal once, but I cared that their purpose there was to try and help. In this particular scenario, I hope the principal loses. Sure, the kids may have "no life" and made fake accounts under his name, but so what? Being the bigger person, he should just walk away. If not, find other means to get even.

snake report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0