Two Students Plead Guilty in Bullying of Teenager

The suicide of the girl, Phoebe Prince, and the circumstances surrounding it attracted wide attention after prosecutors brought unusually severe felony charges and because of the poignant story of Ms. Prince, a newly arrived Irish immigrant who hanged herself after what the prosecutor described as months of bullying. The defendants were accused of relentlessly tormenting Ms. Prince and calling her an “Irish slut” after she briefly dated two boys in the senior class.

The two students who pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Sean Mulveyhill and Kayla Narey, had both faced more serious felony charges, including violation of Ms. Prince’s civil rights and causing bodily injury — in effect, contributing to her death in January 2010 — with a potential sentence of 10 years. Three other former students facing similar charges as youthful offenders are scheduled to appear in juvenile court on Thursday, and it appeared likely that they would receive similar deals.

A sixth former student, Austin Renaud, was charged with statutory rape. A trial is scheduled for July 6.

In court filings, the prosecutors described witness accounts of the defendants harassing or threatening Ms. Prince. But accounts of Ms. Prince’s history of depression and two previous suicide attempts came to light in defense motions that quoted from her mother’s grand jury testimony. Lawyers said such evidence could have undermined the prosecution’s case in the most severe charges.

Ms. Prince’s mother, Anne O’Brien, told reporters on Wednesday that she approved of the settlements because the students admitted to crimes and the family did not have to go through the emotional distress of a trial.

“By admitting that they engaged in criminal harassment toward Phoebe Prince, these two defendants have publicly accepted responsibility for their actions, and have been held accountable,” Steven E. Gagne, the assistant district attorney, said after the proceedings Wednesday in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton, Mass.

Correction: May 6, 2011

An article on Thursday about the disposition of the criminal cases of two former students from South Hadley, Mass., in the bullying of Phoebe Prince, who committed suicide in January 2010, misstated the plea of one student. Kayla Narey “admitted to sufficient facts” for a harassment charge; she did not plead guilty. (If she satisfies the conditions of probation, the charges will be dismissed.)