A teen faces charges of intimidation and terroristic threats in connection with a social media account that aimed to out "rats" in criminal cases.
A police spokeswoman, Officer Tanya Little, says 17-year-old Nasheen Anderson was taken into custody Tuesday in connection with the now-shuttered anonymous Instagram account "rats215." He will be schedule for a hearing at the Juvenile Justice Services Center this afternoon.
Little said the boy is alleged to have posted material from the Instagram account to his Twitter feed.
"There was a lot of information there...a lot of information that was not for public viewing,” Little said Wednesday about the Instagram account.
Little said the investigation, which started Oct. 24, is ongoing because they want to determine the source of the confidential information.
"You have to think about ... where did it come from?" she said. "That's the question that has to be answered."
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The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is looking to prosecute Anderson as an adult.
"The actions of this teenager could have lasting repercussions on untold cases here in Philadelphia,” said District Attorney Seth Williams.
"Witness intimidation has reached near epidemic levels and we are very serious about not only stopping it, but also prosecuting the criminals who are engaging in these despicable actions to fullest extent of the law. I don’t care how old you are, if you intimidate a witness in this city I’m going to come after you.”
Authorities have called witness intimidation a serious problem in Philadelphia, with people arrested daily in the city's criminal courts building for taking photos of witnesses, victims' families or judges and posting the images online, said Tasha Jamerson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.
Law enforcement officials have said they have long seen the statements of victims posted in public places or sent to the home of witnesses, but such material is now winding up on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
