28th November 2008, 07:51 PM
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|  1st Cyber Bully Case Guilty Verdict
Internet bully to face jail | Herald Sun Quote:
November 28, 2008 12:00am
A MOTHER has been found guilty in a landmark "cyber-bully" case stemming from the suicide of a teenager who killed herself after being sent taunting emails.
Lori Drew, 49, was convicted on three misdemeanour counts of illegally accessing computers without authorisation, but jurors at a Los Angeles federal court could not reach a verdict on a more serious charge of conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Drew faces up to three years in prison and a $US300,000 fine. No sentencing date has yet been set.
Drew was charged following the death of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide in 2006 at her home in St Louis, Missouri.
Prosecutors said Drew - along with her daughter and a family friend who were not charged - posed as a fictitious 16-year-old youth named "Josh Evans" who befriended Meier via a bogus account on social networking site MySpace.
Meier, who Drew suspected of spreading false rumours about her daughter, hanged herself after receiving a message from "Josh" which said the world would be a better place without her, the trial heard.
The case was the first US criminal prosecution relating to cyber-bullying.
Meier's mother described Wednesday's verdicts as a "victory".
"This is not about vengeance," Tina Meier said.
"This is about justice for Megan - and making sure this does not happen to anyone else. I don't want another family to have to endure this."
Federal attorney Thomas O'Brien said during the trial that Meier was made a target by Drew, even though she knew the teenager was vulnerable.
"The defendant knew Megan Meier was depressed, suicidal and boy-crazy," Mr O'Brien said. Nevertheless, Drew set out "to tease, embarrass, humiliate, make fun of and hurt her," he said.
Mr O'Brien yesterday said the case would serve as a warning to those who regarded the internet as a lawless environment.
"There have to be stronger laws against this (sort of behaviour)," he said. "People think they can do anything they want on the internet -- and they can't.
"If you're not watching what you're doing, you'd better be."
Drew's defence lawyer, Dean Steward, said the case was "deeply tragic".
"There's no satisfaction in any of this," he said.
"This is a deeply tragic case. The feeling was, somebody's gotta pay and a lot of people decided my client should be that person."
Drew faced illegal access charges on the basis she lied on the fake MySpace profile created to taunt Meier, violating the site's terms of service which requires users to provide "truthful and accurate" registration information.
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