Rebecca Sedwick 'Bullying Death' Leads to Two Arrests in Florida

Two young girls in Florida were arrested Monday and charged with aggravated stalking as a result of allegedly bullying one of their classmates to the point where she killed herself.

The unnamed girls, aged 12 and 14, were taken into custody on Monday night by police in Polk County, Fla. After being booked, they were released back into the custody of their parents, according to a spokesperson for the Polk County sheriff's office.

Headlines & Global News reports that a press conference for Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday to discuss further the details surrounding the felony arrests.

According to various news reports, the girl's victim, Rebecca Sedwick of Lakeland, Fla., had been "terrorized" for nearly a year due to non-stop bullying. On Sept. 9, Sedwick made her way to the top of an abandoned cement plant and jumped, resulting in her death.

Judd told reporters that the bullying began over a "boyfriend issue" and escalated. Sedwick reportedly fell into a depression as a result of the constant bullying.

"We can see from what we've investigated so far that Rebecca wasn't attacking back," Judd said. "She appeared to be beat down. She appeared to have a defeatist attitude. And quite frankly the entire investigation is exceptionally disturbing to the entire investigative team."

USA Today reports that as many as 15 girls terrorized Sedwick with online posts and texts. The girls taunted her with messages like "you should die." "Why are you still alive?" "Why don't you go kill yourself?" "Go jump off a building."

According to WTSP-TV in Florida, Sedwick ran away in November 2012. The following month she was hospitalized for three days after cutting herself. Fights began to occur between her and the bullies at school and although school officials stepped in to try to remedy the situation, Sedwick eventually switched to another school entirely.

Sedwick's mother Tricia Norman told reporters last month that the constant bullying had pushed her daughter to suicide. She accused the school district of not doing enough to protect her child.

However, according to Judd, there were "a lot of" interventions that were staged and carried out throughout the whole ordeal.

"There were multiple interventions by the school, by the hospital, by counselors, by parents, by the sheriff's office," Judd said. "There were interventions that were attempted, but it just didn't work."

According to a CBS News report, Florida has a bullying law that came about as the result of a teenager who killed himself after being bullied by his classmates. The law was amended in July to include cyber-bullying as well. The law leaves schools responsible for punishing bullying behavior; however, law enforcement officials can opt to seek more serious legal charges.