Despite national attention and support in the wake of her alleged rape, Daisy Coleman, the teen in the middle of the Maryville rape case, attempted to take her own life this weekend after being cyber-bullied.
The Maryville, Mo. teenager was in a Kansas City hospital on Monday night after attempting to overdose on pills Sunday night. She is in stable condition. According to family members, Daisy attended a party with friends on Friday night. When she got home, she discovered the attacks on her Facebook page.
Several high schoolers accused her of being a “hypocrite” and a “fake” for going to the party. Some told her she was a “slut and “wanted it.”
If you recall, two years ago Daisy was sexually assaulted by a member of Maryville High School’s football team. The then 14-year-old was left semi-unconscious in her front yard in the middle of the night. She came forward, but charges against Daisy’s alleged rapist were eventually dropped, and Daisy and her family became the target of abuse and harassment in Maryville. Their house even mysteriously burned down last year.
On Monday, Daisy’s mother, Melinda Coleman, posted a plea to the internet hacking group Anonymous, which helped pressure Maryville officials to take action on the rape case, on her Facebook page.
“Where is anonymous now? My daughter has been terrorized to the point she tried to kill herself last night,” Coleman wrote. “Where are you and your super hacking skills and internet help now…we really need them.”
The group replied, apologizing that they could not help Daisy’s case.
If anyone failed Daisy it wasn’t the whole of Anonymous but this account in particular. We are sorry we couldn’t help her,” the Anonymous Operations account tweeted.
According to Think Progress, this isn’t the first time Daisy has tried to commit suicide.
Despite the fact that rape victims’ identities are typically protected in the media, Daisy hasn’t shied away from telling her story. She published a personal account of her rape in xoJane back in October, recounting the bullying she experienced in the aftermath of the assault as her classmates called her a liar and a skank. Daisy revealed that she attempted to commit suicide twice — but said she wasn’t going to keep quiet. “I’m nothing more than just human, but I also refuse to be a victim of cruelty any longer,” Daisy wrote in xoJane. “This is why I am saying my name. This is why I am not shutting up.”
As for the case, a special prosecutor has been appointed to handle the new investigation. Here’s hoping the newly appointed apprehends those involved in the rape, giving solace to the Coleman family.
SOURCE: Fox, Think Progress | PHOTO CREDIT: Screengrab
