Suit: Cyberbullying traumatized teenager

CLAYTON, Mo., Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A lawsuit filed by a concerned father in St. Louis County Circuit Court alleges his teenage daughter was traumatized by Internet harassment.

Joe Jacobson, the lawyer for the unidentified father-daughter duo, alleges that the defendant, whose identity was also not revealed, repeatedly harassed the 16-year-old girl until she was forced to seek psychiatric help, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Wednesday.

The cyberbullying began when the unidentified individual created a Facebook account under the name "Jennifer Litzinger," the suit alleges. The defendant allegedly used the account to serve as a romantic rival to the teenage girl, who was romantically interested in a teenage boy.

"Litzinger" sent messages to the girl claiming to have been in contact with the boy and calling the girl various hateful names, the suit alleges.

Jacobson alleges such statements caused the girl to spend four days in St. John's Mercy Medical Center, the Post-Dispatch reported.

The father wants more than $25,000 in damages for medical expenses and wants a judge to order Facebook to release information about the individual behind "Litzinger."