September 19, 2007
College Student Banned From Internet
After a college student was found harassing a fellow student via e-mail, a judge ordered him to stay away from her and her friends. But the judge went a step further, telling the student that he is not allowed on the Internet at all, reports the Republican-American, in Waterbury, Conn.
Police say Andrew Reitenbach, a 21-year-old student at the University of Connecticut at Torrington, had sent three e-mail messages to a 19-year-old woman attending the university, messages that frightened her. Police arrested Mr. Reitenbach and charged him with second-degree breach of peace, second-degree harassment, and attempt to commit coercion. He posted $25,000 bond. —Dan Carnevale
Posted on Wednesday September 19, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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That’s going to be interesting if he has any classes that use online materials. He might have to petition the court for limited Internet access under supervision.
— Al Sep 19, 05:57 PM #
Or. . .he may have to withdraw/fail those classes. And use the library for others. Of course it’s hard to say without seeing the content of the emails, but based upon the actions of the authorities (including the judge), my guess is that those emails were pretty bad. I don’t see a problem with taking away the tools this guy used to commit a crime.
— Bill Sep 20, 07:24 AM #
Folks, lets get real. How will they monitor his internet access? You can set in your car on any street corner with a coffee shop and pick up wireless access.
— Dr. Bill Sep 20, 07:53 AM #
The point isn’t monitoring him, the judge was setting the scene to either cite him for contempt or to immediately place him in jail. He is now quite infamous and many of the public will be watching and, if he isn’t very bright, if he contacts the wonan or her friends he is toast – as my child would say.
— Another Bill Sep 20, 08:08 AM #
Well the rights of individuals do not exceed the rights of society in general and never have. So this guy should be restrained..look at what happened at VT.
If there is any evidence that he disobeyed the Judge’s order..off to jail with him. You cannot yell fire in a crowded theatre. Not now or ever. We have given too much leway to the kooks being pushed into colleges because their parents do not know how to handle them.
— russ james Sep 20, 08:52 AM #
The judge’s order seems overbroad and thus will likely be struck down on appeal. Any restriction on a 1st Amendment freedom that is overbroad when there is a narrower remedy is highly suspicious.
— Brian Sep 20, 09:06 AM #
A real “series of tubes” moment here – as Dr. Bill notes, the judge clearly doesn’t understand the technology. A simple restraining order would have been enough here, and saved him some embarrassment.
— eastern_branch Sep 20, 09:10 AM #
Taking away access to email is one thing, taking away access to the Internet is another. There are very few academic libraries in the country where a student could succeed in classes without using the internet. It’s not just the online materials (journal articles, etc.) that the student wouldn’t have access to. The large majority of finding tools (in the old days, indexes and abstracts services, card catalogs, etc.) are now online, and, except for access to your own institution’s catalog, you can’t access them without the Internet.
— Mary Sep 20, 09:18 AM #
It always puzzles me how our judicial system tends to charge this and that (“second-degree breach of peace, second-degree harassment, and attempt to commit coercion”) for a single deed and jail a poor bastard to for eternity. No wonder our prison population (per capita) is twice that of the rest of the world.
— Mark de Goz Sep 20, 09:33 AM #
This guy is another ticking time bomb like Cho Seung Hui. Read this news account:
http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18803498&BRD=1652&PAG=461&dept_id=572363&rfi=6
— Anonymous Sep 20, 10:24 AM #
If Andrew had sent paper notes, would you want the judge to bar him from using pen and paper? If he had verbally harassed her, would you want the judge to bar him from talking? Dr. Bill: It’s “sit.”
— Gordon Sep 20, 10:43 AM #
This judge must not be aware of the first amendment.
— Alan Meisel Sep 20, 10:50 AM #
Good points above. I can see the judge removing his right to use campus Internet facilities and/or removing his ability to participate in online courses, but on a practical basis one can no more prevent Internet use than prevent verbal conversations.
— Al Sep 20, 12:36 PM #