11-year-old prankster who texted false abduction to 911 pleads no contest to misdemeanors
The 11-year-old Port Orange prankster who led police on a lengthy and expensive wild goose chase by texting to 911 that her friend was abducted by an armed kidnapper pled no contest to two misdemeanors in a Daytona Beach courtroom on Monday morning.
She was initially charged with making a false police report concerning using a firearm in a violent manner, which is a felony. Ultimately, she was charged with filing a false report of a crime and misuse of the 911 system and will likely receive probation.
The case became a media sensation and sent law enforcement scrambling on July 26 when the girl reported that her 14-year-old friend had been taken by an armed kidnapper driving a white van traveling south on Interstate 95 in Oak Hill, the sheriff’s office stated.
More: Port Orange girl, 11, arrested for falsely reporting to 911 that her friend was kidnapped
The child told deputies she got the idea to prank 911 through a YouTube challenge and thought it “would be funny."
The 11-year-old girl was accompanied by her parents Amanda and Michael Langone, in the courtroom and asked by Circuit Judge A. Kathleen McNeilly if she understood the charges and the consequences of her plea.
McNeilly said she would order a recommendation from the Department of Juvenile Justice on the girl's punishment. She said probation will likely consist of a requirement that she attend school every day, make her parents aware of her whereabouts at all times, and follow a 7 p.m. curfew.
"I'm fully aware that you've never been in trouble before and that you made a mistake in judgment, a serious mistake in judgment on this day," she said.
In addition to the probation, the family may have to pay for the cost of the investigation.
The incident involved multiple deputies along with police from Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange. A sheriff’s helicopter also joined the search for the non-existent van.
The sheriff's office has stated previously that it will seek restitution for the cost of the resources used in the response to her texts. Spokesman Andrew Gant wrote that the rate for Air One, the helicopter, is $625.29 an hour. The sheriff's office will seek $1,246.29 for all costs, including the helicopter.
The family declined to comment following the hearing.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida 911 prankster, 11, pleads no contest, faces probation
