Sexual and Peer Abuse in Wisconsin

Over the weekend I was sent a message about recent events in New Berlin, Wisconsin. This latest escapade is a mind blower yet not surprising. Normally this would fall under sexual predator behavior but I consider it a problem of Peer Abuse as well.

A young man, Anthony R. Stancl, who is 18 years old got on the popular site Facebook and pretended to be a girl. As a girl, he got 31 boys, from ages 13 to 19, from his school to send naked pictures to him on the computer. He used this to his advantage by blackmailing these boys into performing sexual acts on him or he would show their pictures all over New Berlin Eisenhower Middle/High School. Some of these assaults occurred on school grounds while others occurred elsewhere. Stancl had over 300 movie clips and pictures on his computer of his victims plus many more of children. If this was not enough, Stancl sent a bomb threat to the school via an email. This prompted an investigation into what was occurring when one of the boys came forward with what had been going on with the sexual acts. If charged, Stancl could face up to 300 years in prison. From what I understand, he has shown no remorse in these events.

Even though Stancl is only 18, he is still an adult. His victims are still underage. However, they are amongst his peer group. This right here makes it an issue of peer abuse and bullying. Also, he used false identification online which is normal in bullies as they enjoy impersonating others online. He blackmailed to get what he wanted and threatened his peers into doing his bidding. If that’s not enough, he made a bomb threat and then showed no remorse for his actions in court. Folks, these adult bullies are predators and these tactics used were not uncommon in bullying behavior. Manipulation, threats and then pictures of children and peers on his computer in suggestive manners? This is the stuff that bullies are made of. My guess is this young man had been manipulating and threatening others for a long time. For him to devise a plan so devious and vicious, he had to have been learning these skills of manipulation for quite some time now. As you see, at 18, he behaved as a sexual predator would. I think its a good thing that he was caught before he brought more damage to others. Even though the police did not find him to be a danger after the bomb threat, I disagree. This young man is dangerous and I hope he is locked up for a long time.

We need to stop “believing these people are not dangerous” and get educated on the makeup of a bully. From reading about this case, its hard not to see someone with abusive tendencies. Not to mention someone who is behaving as a sexual predator. Please, get educated on these folks. At least the police have investigated further on this case and uncovered what they did. Please, help stop bullying and peer abuse when you see it so these children do not grow up to be like Mr. Stancl. It takes a little education one day at a time.
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Elizabeth Bennett is the author of Peer Abuse Know More! Bullying From a Psychological Perspective and resides in Los Angeles, California