A Michigan woman has been hit with felony charges after being accused of catfishing and harassing her own daughter online, which she reportedly later tried to pass the blame to others.
Kendra Gail Licari, 42, of Mt. Pleasant was charged last week after Beal City Schools' year-long investigation into cyberbullying claims.
When the complaint was made to the school by Licari's daughter and her daughter's boyfriend in December 2021, she worked there as a girls' basketball coach but was asked not to return the following season due to a coaching change, per the New York Post.
The Morning Sun reported that Licari 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.
After the complaint was made to the school about Licari's daughter being the target of online abuse, the mother of the daughter's boyfriend aided with the investigation, as did Licari herself.
Because the incident didn't take place on school property the investigation was handed over to law enforcement in January 2022, and Licari was named as the online bully after the FBI identified it was her IP address sending the hateful messages.
The online bully would also mask her location by making it look like the messages were coming from wherever the kids had traveled to that day, and she even made her messages sound like they were coming from a teenager by using modern-day slang.
Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi told The Morning Sun that his team had compiled 349 pages of text and social media correspondence that show the extent of the bullying committed by the 42-year-old.
When authorities caught up with Licari, she allegedly made a full confession and was released on a $5,000 bond.
The use of a computer to commit a crime can be a 10-year felony while stalking a minor and obstruction of justice can both carry sentences of five years.
The reasons why Licari decided to cyberbully her own daughter remain unknown, but she is due back in court on December 29 to determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with the trial.
