A teen from a small community in the southwest has been sentenced for making prank calls to the Kids Help Phone, and reporting fake crimes.

     The teen was charged with public mischief and giving false messages after making 95 prank calls to the Help Line over a two-week period in July 2007.

     Steve Kritzer, Crown Prosecuter, says the charges were extremely serious because the pranks used the time and resources of both the volunteer help line, and the police in three provinces.  He says, in some situations, police were searching several kilometres of grid road for a victim that wasn't there, thereby using up valuable police resources.

     The teen, who was 17 at the time, has been sentenced to one year of probation, and is prohibited from using a cell phone for six months.