Schoolgirl suffers ultimate betrayal when person behind year of online bullying is exposed as person she trusted most
A SCHOOLGIRL who was bullied online for a year found out the anonymous troll behind the hateful messages was actually her mum.
Kendra Gail Licari, 42, was charged after the FBI were called in to help track down the cruel bully who was sending the girl and her then-boyfriend up to a dozen messages a day.
Licari, from Michigan, had used a VPN in a bid to hide her trail of vile messages - and she also filled her posts with slang to try and pretend they were being written by a teenager.
But detectives were eventually able to tie the elaborate catfishing scheme to Licari - who was sending the nasty messages to her own daughter.
She has been charged with two counts of stalking a minor, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and one count of obstruction of justice, reports.
Authorities said the campaign of harassment started in early 2021.
Read more world news
After the schoolgirl went to her mum for help, Licari allegedly reported the bullying to authorities.
Licari even teamed up with the mum of her daughter's then-boyfriend to “help” track down the bully.
They reported the harassment to the children's school, who then passed the investigation to local cops and FBI analysts.
Isabella County prosecutor David Barberi told local radio station WKRC: "When the case first came into our office, it was bizarre and almost hard to believe.
Most read in The Sun
"We’re talking about several hundreds of text messages, over 1,000 pages of discovery in the case."
Barberi said the messages were "mostly just harassing-type text messages, demeaning, demoralising, and just mean texts".
After launching an investigation, FBI computer experts found that the messages were being sent from Licari’s phone.
The mum reportedly admitted the horrific campaign of bullying against her daughter when quizzed by detectives.
Beal City school superintendent William Chilman said Licari was a basketball coach at her daughter’s school at the time of the offences.
He reportedly said she has not been asked to return "due to a coaching change".
Licari was arraigned on December 12 and has been released on a $5,000 bond.
Using a computer to commit a crime is a felony in the US - carrying a potential 10-year jail sentence.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Charges of stalking a minor and obstruction of justice could carry a further five-year sentence.
Licari is scheduled to next appear in court on December 29.