The parents provided the phones & computers used in these crimes, & the phone & Internet contracts are in the parent's names.
Therefore, the parents are civilly responsible for the consequences of this crime; & if they were aware of these crimes & did nothing, then they are criminally liable.
I'm gonna guess that the step-hag here knew of the girls activities; & I'll further guess that these girls & others were doing this to several girls & boys, not just the dead girl.
But, as to whether parents who a genuinely unaware of their child's criminal activities are criminally responsible, that is a tougher question. My inclination is to blame the parents as who else is responsible for a minor's actions?
When I was a kid, I got my first .22 rifle. There were some rules that came along with it. One was: NEVER point it at anyone. My dad checked my rifle often, & warned me of irresponsible use. The threat of it being taken away was real. Seems to me parents are giving their kids electronic guns, but enforcing NO rules.
Shouldn't parents have a responsibility to protect society from their little monsters, just as an owner of a vicious animal must provide extraordinary security to protect society? If the lion escapes his pen & kills someone, is that solely the fault of the lion? Is failure to adequately secure the lion a crime? I believe it is.
Given that humans are clearly the most dangerous & vicious animal, shouldn't parents be required to provide extraordinary supervision over their potentially destructive offspring? Isn't proper parenting extraordinary supervision?
In bygone days, that basically meant keeping an eye on a child to see that they don't hurt themselves or others. I believe parents still have that responsibility.
You raise some very good points. I hadn’t thought about the telecom laws. You’re quite right.
But it looks as though at least one of these little sociopaths was being raised in hideous conditions by a lunatic. Such people are not going to supervise or care about their children’s online activities—they have spent 15 years creating that wicked little creature by some combination of neglect, abuse, and horrendous modeling.