Jury deliberating whether MySpace hoax was crime

[samanthajane13]

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent – Tue Nov 25, 4:21 pm ET



LOS ANGELES – Jurors on Tuesday began deliberating whether a Missouri mother conspired with her daughter and an assistant to harass a 13-year-old girl with Internet messages that allegedly prompted the girl's suicide.

In Monday's closing arguments, prosecutors stressed the emotional component — the suicide of Megan Meier, who was allegedly drawn into an Internet ruse devised by Lori Drew, the mother of Megan's one-time best friend.

She is accused of conspiring with her daughter, Sarah, then 13, and her 18-year-old assistant to cause emotional distress to Megan.

U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien portrayed Drew, 49, as the guiding force in a "mean" plan to humiliate Megan by inventing a make-believe boy who would woo her on the MySpace Web site, then be revealed as nonexistent.

"Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," O'Brien said in his summation. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl and for four weeks she enjoyed it."

The defense said the case is a matter of computer law and accused prosecutors of misleading jurors into thinking it was a murder case.

"If you hadn't heard the indictment read to you, you'd think this was a homicide case," said Dean Steward, a defense attorney. "And it's not a homicide case. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a computer case, and that's what you need to decide."

Steward insisted the only question is whether Drew violated the terms-of-service agreement of MySpace. He said that Drew, her daughter and assistant Ashley Grills never read the seven-page agreement.

"Nobody reads these things, nobody," he said. "How can you violate something when you haven't even read it? End of case. The case is over."

The case is being prosecuted in Los Angeles because MySpace computer servers are based in the area.

Drew has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and accessing computers without authorization. She could be sentenced to as many as 20 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

O'Brien and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause painted a dark saga of computer-based harassment involving two girls who lived four doors apart from each other in a small Missouri town.

Krause told of Drew's alleged plan to invent an imaginary boy called Josh Evans who would communicate online with Megan to find out whether Megan was spreading rumors about her daughter.

The prosecution showed the jury the photo that was used on the fake MySpace profile — a bare-chested boy with tousled brown hair.

Krause said Drew told her daughter and the then-18-year-old Grills what to write, to make the messages "flirty." And he said Megan fell in love with the imaginary boy.

In so doing, he said, Drew violated the MySpace rules.

"The rules are fairly simple," he said. "You don't lie. You don't pretend to be someone else. You don't use the site to harass others. They harassed Megan Meier."

Both prosecutors reminded jurors of testimony that Megan had been under treatment for depression, and Sarah, in testimony before final arguments, said she was aware Megan had been taking medication and seeing a psychiatrist.

"The defendant knew that she was dealing with a troubled little girl who was extremely fragile, and yet she did it anyway," Krause said.

The hoax ended with Megan never finding out that her online boyfriend did not exist. On Oct. 16, 2006, according to testimony, a message was sent from "Josh Evans" to Megan telling her the world would be better off without her. Shortly afterward, the girl went to her room and hanged herself in a closet. She died the next day.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081125/ap_on_re_us/internet_suicide

[sharlock]

I hope they hit her with the lot. She should get serious jailtime for this.

[One2Snoop]

I know she crossed the line and it's disgusting IMO. Whether she serves time or not, I doubt it, at most she may get sentenced to community service if that. Just thinking about all those people who encouraged and watched for hours the young man who commited suicide via his web cam. Shouldn't they also be held responsible for this young mans suicide?

Not saying its right - just questioning where a persons liability actually plays into all of this. Is it any different when a loved one stands by your bedside and encourages you to take all those extra pills to put you out of your misery? Probably not a fair comparison but you have to question why these kids even think this is an OK alternative in the first place.

Messy situation and I have no answers.

[deputydi]

I hope they hit her with the lot. She should get serious jailtime for this.
I agree with you!! This ADULT needs to be taught a lesson in growing up. I believe whole heartedly that what she did was criminal and she should be punished.

The examples One2Snoop gave don't even come close to comparing with what this evil woman did.

[FDInLaw]

Thank you for posting about this! Been wondering. May the jury have wisdom. :rose:

[samanthajane13]

By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer Greg Risling, Associated Press Writer – Thu Nov 27, 7:09 am ET



LOS ANGELES – A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyberbullying case was convicted Wednesday of only three minor offenses for her role in a mean-spirited Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide. The federal jury could not reach a verdict on the main charge against 49-year-old Lori Drew — conspiracy — and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm.

Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have gotten 20 years if convicted of the four original charges.

U.S. District Judge George Wu declared a mistrial on the conspiracy count. There was no immediate word on whether prosecutors would retry her.

"I don't have any satisfaction in the jury's decision," said Drew's lawyer, Dean Steward. "I don't think these charges should have ever been brought."

Tina Meier, the mother of the dead girl, said Drew deserves the maximum of three years behind bars.

"For me it's never been about vengeance," she said. "This is about justice."

Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages from him to teenage neighbor Megan Meier. The "boy" then dumped Megan in 2006, saying, "The world would be a better place without you." Megan promptly hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet.

Prosecutors said Drew wanted to humiliate Megan for saying mean things about Drew's teenage daughter. They said Drew knew Megan suffered from depression and was emotionally fragile.

"Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien, chief federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, told the jury during closing arguments. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl, and for four weeks she enjoyed it."

O'Brien, who pronounced the case the nation's first cyberbullying trial, said the jury's decision sent a worthy message: "If you have children who are on the Internet and you are not watching what they are doing, you better be."

Most members of the six-man, six-woman jury left court without speaking to reporters. One juror, who identified himself by his first name only, Marcilo, indicated jurors were not convinced Drew's actions involved the intent alleged by prosecutors.

"Some of the jurors just felt strongly that it wasn't tortious and everybody needed to stay with their feeling. That was really the balancing point," he said.

The case hinged on an unprecedented — and, some legal experts say, highly questionable — application of computer-fraud law.

Drew was not directly charged with causing Megan's death. Instead, prosecutors indicted her under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which in the past has been used in hacking and trademark theft cases.

Among other things, Drew was charged with conspiring to violate the fine print in MySpace's terms-of-service agreement, which prohibits the use of phony names and harassment of other MySpace members.

"This was a very aggressive, if not misguided, theory," said Matt Levine, a New York-based defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. "Unfortunately, there's not a law that covers every bad thing in the world. It's a bad idea to use laws that have very different purpose."

Drew's lawyer, Steward, contended his client had little to do with the content of the messages and was not at home when the final one was sent. Steward also argued that nobody reads the fine print on service agreements.

Prosecutors said Drew, her then-13-year-old daughter Sarah and Drew's 18-year-old business assistant Ashley Grills set up the phony MySpace profile for a boy named "Josh Evans," posting a photo of a bare-chested boy with tousled brown hair. "Josh" then told Megan she was "sexi" and assured her, "i love you so much."

Grills allegedly sent the final, insulting message to Megan before she killed herself in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, Mo.

Missouri authorities said there was no state law under which Drew could be charged. But federal prosecutors in California claimed jurisdiction because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills.

Sarah Drew testified she never saw her mother use the MySpace account. But Grills, testifying under immunity from prosecution, said she saw Drew type at least one message under the name Josh Evans.

After the suicide, Missouri passed a law against cyber-harassment. Similar federal legislation has been proposed on Capitol Hill.

The trial's outcome was a victory for prosecutors despite the lack of a felony conviction, said Nick Akerman, a New York lawyer who specializes in cases involving the federal computer act.

"What you learned is that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is an extremely important tool in the federal arsenal against computer crime," he said.

MySpace said in a statement that it "respects the jury's decision and will continue to work with industry experts to raise awareness of cyberbullying and the harm it can potentially cause."

___

Associated Press Writer Thomas Watkins contributed to this report.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081127/ap_on_re_us/internet_suicide


This so saddens me...:(

What were the jury members THINKING???

[Redmama]

I hope they hit her with the lot. She should get serious jailtime for this.

I'm completely with you - it is one thing for a child to do that to a child...but an adult? I have to wonder WHAT in the world was she thinking? Even if it was just to hurt her feelings. Why would a Mother even THINK of something like that - she didn't think "what if someone did that to my child?" Just don't get it at all. No matter what the girls state of mind was, why hurt a child?

[sharlock]

Not only is this woman totally lacking in morals, it is obvious that she just had her daughter lie under oath for her! Ughh! what a rolemodel. She disgusts me.

[FDInLaw]

Ugh. She new the girl was emotionally fragile. . . . :( I feel more should be done about this sort of crime, and yes, I call it a crime.

[deputydi]

Does anyone know when she will be sentenced?

[samanthajane13]

Sorry-no news on that yet...

[Gaiar]

I don't care what they say in regards to them not reading the whole Terms of Use. The moment you sign up for Facebook, Myspace, anything like that you are held accountable for the Terms of Use. It's like going to court for speeding and saying you didn't see a sign that gave the speed for the area. I hope they hit the mother hard, as well as holding grills accountable.

[samanthajane13]

Gaiar-

Yup!!!

I totally agree with you, Gaiar!!

Ignorance of the laws\rules isn't an excuse for breaking them!!!

[delaineyrae]

I'm amazed at how shes been able to keep her own children. If a grown woman is going to be so malicious and immature to someone else's child, what has she done to her own? I won't be surprised at whatever verdict comes in, I don't think the law has been brought up to speed with social networking sites. Hopefully, this case will change all that.
Has the court done any psychological ordevelopment exams on her? I'm guessing she is as socially mature as a seventh grade girl.

[f0revery0urs]

This is a grown woman, who knew right from wrong. She got too caught up in hurting a child, she stooped down to the level of children and due to her behavior, a young girl killed herself. Lori Drew needs to pay for what she did to Megan. Even though she may not have wanted it to end the way it did, and maybe she just wanted to hurt Megan for hurting her daughter, she took things too far. Adults need to stay out of childesh games.

I'm not sure if one of the above articles mentions this, but I read somewhere that in Drew's defense statement, she mentioned that it isn't her fault Megan commited suicide because she was suicidal before "Josh" .. If she really knew this, why would she push a child so far?

People need to grow up and learn to not take things so far.

[sharlock]

This is a grown woman, who knew right from wrong. She got too caught up in hurting a child, she stooped down to the level of children and due to her behavior, a young girl killed herself. Lori Drew needs to pay for what she did to Megan. Even though she may not have wanted it to end the way it did, and maybe she just wanted to hurt Megan for hurting her daughter, she took things too far. Adults need to stay out of childesh games.

I'm not sure if one of the above articles mentions this, but I read somewhere that in Drew's defense statement, she mentioned that it isn't her fault Megan commited suicide because she was suicidal before "Josh" .. If she really knew this, why would she push a child so far?

People need to grow up and learn to not take things so far.
Absolutely! It is hard for me to believe that a mother could do this to someone elses child.

[f0revery0urs]

Absolutely! It is hard for me to believe that a mother could do this to someone elses child.

Yeah, and if someone was to do something like this to her child she would think it was a crime. She is 100% wrong.

[SaraSidle]

I so totally agree. what was in her mind when she did that? I think she is completely responsible. IMO

[f0revery0urs]

Anyone have any updates about this?

[SaraSidle]

Anyone have any updates about this?

I do not know but i hope it is prison for life. IMO

[Notknowingall]

I do not know but i hope it is prison for life. IMO

IIRC I believe she is looking at a maximum of six years.

[SaraSidle]

IIRC I believe she is looking at a maximum of six years.

not right at all. wish you were wrong

[f0revery0urs]

IIRC I believe she is looking at a maximum of six years.



That's crazy! Max 6 years for what she did?! Wow.

[SaraSidle]

That's crazy! Max 6 years for what she did?! Wow.

thank you New Jersey

[Seashell]

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6043108,00.jpg

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,458964,00.html
Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Mo., was convicted Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles on misdemeanor charges of accessing computers without authorization in a landmark cyberbullying trial, though her lawyer said he still hopes a judge will dismiss the charges against her.

Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages from him to teenage neighbor Megan Meier. The "boy" dumped Megan in 2006, telling her: "The world would be a better place without you."

Megan hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet.