The Utah teenager who faced fresh charges after interception of darknet-bought drugs has denied accusations of a drug distribution.
The youth was alleged to have continued receiving drug packages even after facing court regarding a shipment that caused the deaths of two other teenagers.
The 17-year-old teen faced a juvenile court in Park City, sitting calmly through a short hearing as her attorney challenged the court on the factual details of the case.
According to Mary Corporon, her attorney, substantial facts were still at large. This statement came forth with subtle bluntness and without any elaboration.
A Plethora of Serious Accusations
Until the wake of the August 10 th hearing, the girl was facing charges amounting to four counts of drug distribution.
The teen pleaded not guilty to the counts accruing from 2018 events, including a final charge tied to 2016 allegations.
These allegations were definite offshoots of June and July 2018 incidents in which U.S. Customs and U.S. Postal Service officials seized drug shipments that were sent to the defendant.
The charging documents presented by prosecutors were quite damning and described the teenage girl as an agent of significant risk to public safety.
This concern stemmed from the fact that the juvenile progressed with activities that resulted in the entry of controlled substances into the community.
Nevertheless, during the hearing, Elizabeth Knight, the third district Juvenile Judge, applauded the girl for her compliance with case conditions.
She showed profound cooperation in sticking to the prescribed in-home detention program.
To reward her, the judge sanctioned the teen's transfer to a residential supervision program the following day.
In an expected twist, the judge forbade the teenager from online or any social media activity outside the scope of her course work.
She was only allowed internet access within the limits described by the program.
A Lawsuit
In the latest developments, parents of one of the victims implicated in the initial circumstances of this case have launched a lawsuit targeting the companies that allegedly produced, sold and shipped the synthetic opioids from China to Utah.
The parents, James and Deborah Seaver, are also blaming the now-obsolete darknet marketplace AlphaBay and investments of its late founder, Alexandre Cazes.
In the same breath, they have pointed fingers at the Tor Project, which has been instrumental in the daily workings of notorious dark web services.
In the context of distribution, the China Postal Express & Logistics Company is among the entities blamed for the death of 13-year-old Grant Seaver.
This wrongful death lawsuit aims at the achievement of $10 million in damages.
The Circumstances
Grant Seaver succumbed to drug overdose in 2016 after consuming a China-made synthetic substance, U-47700, with the street name "pink."
In the lawsuit, defendants have been faulted for having full knowledge of the dire repercussions of allowing the deadly synthetic drug into the commercial stream.
They were well-aware of the death risks that accompany the consumption of the drug, an aspect that would, expectedly, destroy the lives of Grant Seaver and his peers.
Additionally, as claimed by the lawsuit, AlphaBay was a darknet giant that had been known to support the trading of controlled substances across the economic divide.
This reality was especially true to scenarios surrounding the shipment of illicit drugs from China to the rest of the world.
Moreover, the role played by Tor in providing user anonymity to AlphaBay netizens was captured by the suit - dark web drug lords engaged in business successfully due in large part to this privacy tool.
At this point, the latest law suit filed by the Seavers is on the heels of a past March 2018 event, in which they sued the parents of their son's friends.
The suit targeted actions of the 17-year-old girl and her cohort, which were described as the products of negligent supervision.
Front Line and Blue Line Event: A Community-Wide Anti-Dark Web Campaign
Truth be told - kids of the new generation can easily access the dark web by virtue of being internet-savvy.
While this aspect is true to most major urban settings across the world, Park City has had a fair share of darknet-supported crime and delinquency.
It is for this reason that the Park City community responded to the teenage crime menace by hosting the Front Line and Blue Line: Parents and Police Working Together Event.
Initial Intervention
The May 2018 occasion sought to establish a robust bridge between the role of parents and the police in maintaining the social health of the community.
After all, the basics of community law enforcement cannot be spelled without the basic significance of family units.
It is in this regard that Summit County Sheriff's Office partnered with other stakeholders to address key issues including drugs and the internet.
A key highlight of the event was statements issued by Sgt. Ron Bridge, an official for the Sheriff's Office, which shed sufficient light on the dangers of social media and the internet.
In a nutshell, the event's purpose was to enlighten the public about the intersection between parent or educator supervision and law enforcement in the context of community life.
Certainly, it was agreed that parents have an important mandate in controlling their children's internet activity, with an emphasis on understanding the range of lingo used in the drug business.
The physical appearance of controlled substances, as well as the warning signs for drug use were explained in depth.
A Dark Web-Focused Event
As a follow up, Summit County organized a September 10 Front Line and Blue Line: Parents and Police Working Together event that particularly focused on the dark web.
This, according to reports, was in line with the prudential character of law enforcement in response to the teen girl's continued involvement with dark web-sourced drugs.
Particularly, Margaret Olson, the Summit County Attorney, went out of her way to invite a dark web expert to Park City to enlighten the community on the ramifications of dark web access by the area's young generation and its reflection on law and order.
Clinton Kehr, an esteemed expert with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives, used the platform to teach locals about basics of the dark web.
This ranged from important information about the structure and function of darknet marketplaces and their association with cryptocurrencies.
Those in attendance had the opportune moment to witness a hands-on demonstration on the workings of the hidden web and its safety implications on community life.
Additionally, Kehr illuminated on aspects of comprehending behavioral patterns in children - to look out for signs of their exposure to the dark web.
Furthermore, the event's main speaker underscored the importance of parents and students being fully aware of the workings of the dark web to protect the moral fiber of the neighborhoods.
Agent Kehr concluded his presentation by providing eight tips for parents concerning the monitoring of their children's online activity as an imperative to protect their young ones from the ills of the dark web.
In summary, Kehr's points centered upon the significance of parental awareness on dark web matters, and equivocal monitoring endeavors over teenage internet use.
