A Pennsylvania cheerleader's mom uses deepfake nudes in an attempt to get her teenage daughter's cheerleading rivals thrown off the squad, the Hilltown Township PD said.
Hilltown Township Police Department reported that a woman sent deepfake photographs and video of her teenage daughter's cheerleading teammates to their coaches. The doctored images that portrayed them drinking, smoking, and even nude were allegedly used in an attempt to have them forced off her daughter's squad, the Victory Vipers.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub's office, the suspect, Raffaela Spone, 50, allegedly sent the fabricated images and video to at least three of her daughter's teammates and coaches. She also sent anonymous texts and made unsolicited phone calls to one of the victims urging them to commit suicide.
The harassment began in July of last year, at which time one of the victim's parents called the police claiming their daughter had received threatening text messages from an unknown number.
The following month, two more families have come forward to say their daughters were being harassed in the same way, receiving similar messages and pictures of themselves in bikinis. Her parents told police that they were afraid the videos would get their daughter kicked off the squad.
The cheerleader's mom reportedly used at least four phone numbers and numerous applications and online resources to manipulate photos and conceal her identity while carrying out her cyberbullying attacks for more than two months.
During the investigation, the videos were discovered to be digitally edited photographs that appeared to be real but were generated from the girls' social media accounts and placed onto other, more explicit, images.
Investigators said they followed the data to an IP address that led them to discover that the activity was inside the Spones' Chalfont house. Detectives checked Spone's phone and discovered information connecting her to the phone numbers used to deliver the harassing texts and photos.
On March 4, Spone was arrested and charged with three counts of cyber abuse of a child and three counts of harassment. Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 30. The details on what exactly motivated the alleged harassments are still murky.
Meanwhile, according to court documents, there's no evidence that her daughter was aware of her behavior or if she participated in the alleged abuse. The three victims and Spone's daughter were not identified in the criminal complaint.
ALSO READ : Concerned About Your Kid's Safety? Google Has Tips for Parents for a Safe Online Experience
The Victor Vipers Speak Out
The Victory Vipers stated that they cooperated with the police investigation. They have a "stringent anti-bullying policy" and that "all athletes involved are no longer a part of our program."
"Victory Vipers has always embraced a family atmosphere, and we apologize to everyone involved. Our program has well-established policies, including a strong anti-bullying policy," said Mark McTague and Kelly Cramer, the coaches and co-owners of the Doylestown-based cheer team.
They added, "When this incident came to our attention last year, we immediately initiated our internal investigation and took the appropriate action at the time. This incident happened outside of our gym."
