Nearly every day we see new stories about victims of online bullying and cyberstalking—young children committing suicide in response to social media bullying; high school girls targeted with deep fakes and revenge porn. The threats online seem relentless—and increasingly sophisticated.
Even the First Lady is taking action to show the importance of combating this scourge. At a recent appearance on Capitol Hill for a roundtable discussion about the Take It Down Act, she insisted that we must better protect our children “by equipping them with the support and tools necessary to navigate this hostile digital landscape…”
Parents are no longer ignorant of the threats facing their children online. With monitoring apps, screen time limits, and household rules around social media use, there is no shortage of guidance and resources to keep kids safe, right?
Well, sit down and tuck in, because I’m going to tell you the story of parents who “did everything right”—and still came chillingly close to losing their precious daughter.
Last year, Gillian Holman, a teenage girl growing up in a small Wyoming community, became the target of an extensive and malicious stalking campaign orchestrated by Marcie Smith—a 40-year-old woman who was then considered a family friend.
As of this week, with her stalker’s sentencing, Gillian and her family can finally break their silence about the nightmare they’ve endured.
For nearly a year, Smith engaged in a complex smear campaign that involved a series of emails, fake social media accounts, and text messages crafted to appear as though they were sent by Gillian—delivered to her peers.
When I spoke to Gillian’s mother, Cathy Holman, it was abundantly clear they did everything right—they immediately began working with school administrators and law enforcement, they supported their daughter, and they began gathering evidence (screenshots, photos, details).
Yet Smith’s tactics escalated over time—including emails to Cathy from an account impersonating one of Gillian’s teachers. The deception was convincing, and for many months, no one could figure out where it was coming from. Many in the community even thought Gillian was lying.
What terrifies me most about this story is how close this stalker came to getting away with her crimes: By texting on a burner phone with an app that generated endless numbers, the messages could never be traced—and no amount of blocking helped.
Those reporting features on social media apps? Less than worthless.
Thankfully, Smith slipped up—she used Gmail to send fraudulent emails. Thanks to a local law enforcement officer who was assigned the case, a search warrant was sent to Google to see who created the account. Three months later, they came back with the ICANN details revealing the phone was registered to Samsung/AT&T; so then they had to send a search warrant to the cell phone company and wait another month—revealing the phone had been purchased at their local Walmart (and when).
Finally, law enforcement was able to pull up surveillance footage in Walmart of the transaction.
And there was Smith on video—buying the phone.
You might think someone caught in such a horrific crime, with so much evidence, would face justice—but you’d be wrong. Despite the extensive evidence of Smith’s calculated and truly evil crimes, she was charged only with a misdemeanor. “It carries the same penalty as littering!” Cathy explained.
While this horrific case underscores the urgent need for legislative reform in Wyoming, it should also be a wake-up call for parents across the country about how these tools can be used by bad actors.
Our current laws do not adequately address the complexities and dangers of stalking—especially when it involves digital impersonation and harassment. Gillian has a bright future ahead of her—with a strong faith in God and a tight-knit family standing behind her. While her mother—a popular social media influencer with the blog Prairie Wife In Heels—is ready to help her daughter put this chapter behind her, she is also using her platform to help others who may be suffering in silence without any resources or support.