The teen accused of cyber-bullying a 12-year-old girl who committed suicide in September said she did not feel responsible for the death, just one day after third-degree aggravated stalking felony charges against her were dropped.
"No, I do not feel I did anything wrong," 13-year-old Katelyn Roman said during a TODAY interview on Thursday. The teenage girl who was reportedly a part of a group of 15 others who terrorized Rebecca Sedwick appeared in an interview flanked by her parents and attorney, Jose Baez.
Katelyn and another 14-year-old girl who has not been identified because she is a juvenile, were charged last month after questionable Facebook posts that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd claimed were written by one of them, according to NBC. Judd said the girls' harsh bullying ultimately led Sedwick to kill herself on Sept. 10 by jumping off of an abandoned concrete factory after he saw an alleged status online that said, "Yes ik [I know] I bullied Rebecca nd she killed herself byt IDAGF [I don't give a f***]."
The Florida state attorney's office announced on Wednesday that the charges against the girls had been dropped, NBC reported. No reasoning was given for the action, since both the girls were juveniles. Sheriff Judd said that he was "exceptionally pleased with the outcome of the case."
"We see the children are going to get the services they need," Judd stated during a press conference. "That's the best outcome for juveniles. Our goal is that these kids never bully anyone again."
Katelyn's mother Roseanne Gill expressed her relief after the ruling.
"It's been a horrible experience for me and my daughter and my whole family," she told NBC. "This can happen to any child in America, and we have to make sure that we watch our children's Facebooks. This can happen to anyone, not just my daughter. It could've happened to anyone."
When asked if she'd learned anything from the trial, Katelyn replied, "I learned that it's not OK to bully, and when you have a chance, stand up to bullies."
Rebecca Sedwick was allegedly bullied online and in person at school by up to 15 girls, NBC reported. The 12-year-old transferred schools after she was reportedly attacked by bullies, but the harassment continued on social media. During an October 15 news conference, Judd reported that posts directed toward Rebecca said things like "Drink bleach and die...No one likes you."
In late October, Rebecca Sedwick's mother Tricia Norman said she was considering bringing legal action against either the school board or the parents of two of the girls who were reportedly responsible for the cyber bullying.
"I wish it was known before, but I'm grateful for it now, because we might be able to save other kids and other parents from going through this," Norman said at the time, in regards to the bullying that was said to have happened both online and in real life.
