NJ cyberbully forwarded lewd photos, gets 45 days

    The AP reports that a New Jersey man who used a teen’s lewd online photos to cyberbully him is going to prison for 45 days.

    Prosecutors say 20-year-old Bergenfield resident Matthew Bean joined an “electronic mob” that tried to drive the victim to suicide.

    U.S. District Judge Anita Brody calls the crime “extremely malicious.” She says she hopes it teaches the victim and other teens “the stupidity of sexting.”

    The teen had posted the sexually explicit photos of himself when he was 12 or 13. The FBI says they surfaced on a website five years later.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Bean admits he forwarded the photos to the teen’s Philadelphia-area school. The victim didn’t commit suicide and is now in college.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal