Michigan Mother Arrested For Allegedly Catfishing Her Daughter In Online Scheme
Dec. 16 2022, Published 9:30 p.m. ET
A Michigan woman has been charged in connection to a catfishing scheme that targeted her own daughter. The teenager was allegedly subjected to online harassment from her mother for over a year, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Kendra Gail Licari, 42, of Mt. Pleasant, MI, was arrested on December 12 and charged with two counts of stalking a minor, two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and one count of obstruction of justice.
The alleged catfishing scheme dated back to a complaint filed in December 2021 to Beal City Schools, which claimed that Licari's teenage daughter and her then-boyfriend were being cyberbullied. At the time, the teenagers had reportedly already endured months of online harassment that allegedly began in early 2021.
The Isabella County Prosecutor David Barberi confirmed that in December 2021, Licari was employed by Beal City School as a girls' basketball coach. Barberi stated that Licari, along with the then-boyfriend's mother, was initially cooperative with the investigator's efforts about the student's complaints.
The Beal City Schools' investigation was turned over to local law enforcement in January 2022 due to the alleged cyberbullying taking place off-campus. After law enforcement took over the investigation, a discovery was made about the suspect behind the abuse.
Local law enforcement worked with the FBI to identify the IP address behind the cyber harassment. The analysis of the IP address led investigators to the catfishing culprit, who police believed to be Licari.
Barberi claimed that his office had compiled over 349 pages of texts and social media materials that allegedly connected Licari to the harassment. When law enforcement brought their findings to the teen girl's mother, Licari allegedly made a full confession.
Licari did not elaborate on her motive for allegedly targeting her daughter and her then-boyfriend.
The charge for obstruction of justice brought against Licari is regarding her alleged use of private networks to mask her location during the alleged cyberbullying. The mother has been accused of using private networks as a means to attempt to allegedly frame her daughter's peers as the culprits behind the online harassment.
Licari was placed on a $5,000 bond following her arraignment on Monday. The mother is due back in court on December 29 to determine whether or not there is sufficient information to proceed forward with a case.
The Michigan woman faces a total of 20 years if convicted. Using a computer to commit a crime carries a 10-year sentence in addition to 5 years for stalking a minor and 5 years for obstruction of justice.
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