- November 15, 2024
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The 11-year-old Virginia boy who was arrested in connection to Flagler County's swatting calls in May pled no contest to 46 felony and misdemeanor charges and has been sentenced to a high-risk juvenile program.
The 11-year-old, of Henrico County, Virginia, pled no contest to the charges for the swatting calls — phone calls about a fake bomb or shooting threat — that occurred between May 14 and 22 on Nov. 4. The charges were: 15 counts of felony false bomb report, 15 counts of felony unlawful use of a two-way communications device, 15 misdemeanor counts of disrupting a school function and one felony count of tampering with evidence.
Flagler County Circuit Court Judge Melissa Distler adjudicated him delinquent and ordered the 11-year-old to be held at a Volusia County detention facility until he can be placed in a high-risk program, a Flagler Sheriff's Office press release said.
The boy is not only responsible for the calls in Flagler County, but for swatting calls made in Volusia, Brevard, Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough counties, too, as well as swatting calls made in seven other states and in Washington, D.C.
All of the calls made in Flagler County during that period are attributed to the 11-year-old, excepting the one made by a 13-year-old, who was arrested in May.
FCSO investigators tracked the suspect to Virginia, where the boy was arrested in July by Virginia police. In interviews with investigators, the 11-year-old admitted to making the phone calls in Flagler County, some made in Volusia County and a swatting call made to the Maryland State House. He also admitted to watching violent videos online: videos of animal torturing, videos of decapitation and murder.
The 11-year-old also told investigators that every news media story about his calls was like “adding a trophy” to his online persona, Sheriff Rick Staly said during a July press conference.
The high-risk, in-custody program is expected to take between 12-18 months, depending on the boy's progress, and includes counseling, mental health treatment, and continued education. When the program is completed, the boy will be allowed to return to Virginia "under conditional supervised release for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time," the press release said.
He will have multiple restrictions placed on him, including the use of electronics and supervised access to the internet. Distler also ordered $46,234.33 in restitution to be paid to Flagler County Sheriff's Office for the cost of the investigation and the responses to the schools from his calls, the press release said.
Staly said he hoped the sentencing and in-custody treatment sets the boy on the right path. In responding to his swatting calls, the FCSO spent 168 patrol hours responding to schools and the Homeland Security and Investigations Section, Cyber Crimes and Criminal Intelligence Unit, and Digital Forensics Unit spent 755 hours investigating the case, the press release said.
“This kid terrorized our schools and the community for days at the end of last school year," Staly said. "Let this case be a warning to anyone who thinks they can hide behind a computer screen — if you break the law in Flagler County, we will find you and arrest you, no matter where you are or how old you are."
