A Cheer Mom, Deep fakes, and a Homecoming Queen

The College Admission scandal showed everyone the lengths some parents will go to in order to further their children. While Parents in those cases used to access and money to steal opportunities for their children other parents have found different ways to try to do something similar. Both stories I cover in this episode are pending criminal prosecution as of 3-24-21. First, a Pennsylvania cheer mom used technology to create ‘deep fake’ videos and images of teens on her daughter’s cheer squad in a seeming attempt to discredit those teens by showing that they were engaging in behavior that goes against the teams’ honor code. The Victory Vipers are an elite cheer team in Doylestown Pa. Law enforcement said that the woman used apps on her phone to alter photos and videos of three teens, then masked her cell phone number to send those to coaches on the team and teens themselves. The District Attorney of Bucks County charged the 50-year-old mom with 3 counts of cyber harassment of a child and 3 counts of harassment, both misdemeanors. Second, a Flordia Elementary School Assistant Principal and her teen daughter were arrested for allegedly using the mother’s access to school accounts to change over 100 votes in the Homecoming election. It’s alleged that they accessed the school’s system to changes votes from a singular IP address. They have been charged with one count each of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks, and electronic devices, a third-degree felony; unlawful use of a two-way communications device, a third-degree felony; criminal use of personally identifiable information, a third-degree felony; and conspiracy to commit these offenses, which is a first-degree misdemeanor.