Australian charged over not-so-sweet-16 party hoax

[March 16, 2011]  SYDNEY (AP) -- Police say an Australian teenager hijacked a girl's Facebook page and posted an open invitation to her 16th birthday party that drew more than 200,000 positive replies.

The girl's shocked parents had the page removed from the social networking site. Police have not identified the family or the party date in the hoax invitation as ways of discouraging would-be guests. Police Inspector Terry Dalton says, "The only thing that anybody who turns up on that street will be met by will be some police vehicles patrolling the area." A police statement released to The Associated Press on Wednesday said a 17-year-old boy was charged with using a telecommunications carrier to harass or offend someone. He is due in court in April. [Associated Press] Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.