| 5/15/2008 5:18:13 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
eightinchbend
Gadsden, AL
age: 43
| From MSN
LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network [blocked site] against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.
Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity [blocked site] account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn't exist.
Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.
Salvador Hernandez, assistant agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, called the case heart-rending.
"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," Hernandez said. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."
She's denied sending messages
Drew was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl.
Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Megan.
U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said this was the first time the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used in a social-networking case. It has been used in the past to address hacking.
"This was a tragedy that did not have to happen," O'Brien said.
Both the girl and [blocked site] are named as victims in the case, he said.
[blocked site] is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp. The indictment noted that [blocked site] computer servers are located in Los Angeles County.
Due to juvenile privacy rules, the U.S. attorney's office said, the indictment refers to the girl as M.T.M.
FBI agents in St. Louis and Los Angeles investigated the case, Hernandez said.
| | 5/15/2008 7:10:52 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
kgearly1021
Valdosta, GA
age: 48
| Woman indicted in Missouri [blocked site] suicide case
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent 16 minutes ago
A Missouri woman was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network [blocked site] against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.
Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis, who allegedly helped create a [blocked site] account in the name of someone who didn't exist to convince Megan Meier she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, was charged with conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone else's computer.
Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off without her.
Salvador Hernandez, assistant agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, called the case heart-rending.
"The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl's weaknesses," Hernandez said. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."
Drew was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on the girl.
Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Megan.
Dean Steward, a lawyer representing Drew in the federal case, said a legal challenge to the charges was being planned. He characterized them as unusual and puzzling.
"We thought when prosecutors in St. Louis looked at the case and all the facts, it was clear no criminal acts occurred," Steward said.
A man who opened the door at the Drew family home in Dardenne Prairie, Mo., on Thursday said the family had no comment.
Megan's mother, Tina Meier, told The Associated Press she believed media reports and public outrage helped move the case forward for prosecution.
"I'm thrilled that this woman is going to face charges that she has needed to face since the day we found out what was going on, and since the day she decided to be a part of this entire ridiculous stunt," she said.
Megan's father, Ron Meier, 38, said he began to cry "tears of joy" when he heard of the indictment. The parents are now separated, which Tina Meier has said stemmed in part from the circumstances of their daughter's death.
Tina Meier has acknowledged Megan was too young to have a [blocked site] account under the Web site's guidelines, but she said she had been able to closely monitor the account. Meier's family has also acknowledged that Megan was also sending mean messages before her death.
Megan was being treated for attention deficit disorder and depression, her family has said. Meier has said Drew knew Megan was on medication.
[blocked site] issued a statement saying it "does not tolerate cyberbullying" and was cooperating fully with the U.S. attorney.
U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said this was the first time the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used in a social-networking case. It has been used in the past to address hacking.
"This was a tragedy that did not have to happen," O'Brien said at a Los Angeles press conference.
Both the girl and [blocked site] are named as victims in the case, he said.
Rebecca Lonergan, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Southern California, said use of the federal cyber crime statute may be open to challenge.
Lonergan, who used the statute in the past to file charges in computer hacking and trademark theft cases, said the crimes covered by the law involve obtaining information from a computer, not sending messages out to harrass someone.
"Here it is the flow of information away from the computer," she said. "It's a very creative, aggressive use of the statute. But they may have a legally tough time meeting the elements."
She said, however, that because "a very bad harm was done," the courts may grant some latitude.
[blocked site] is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp. The indictment noted that [blocked site] computer servers are located in Los Angeles County.
Due to juvenile privacy rules, the U.S. attorney's office said, the indictment refers to the girl as M.T.M.
FBI agents in St. Louis and Los Angeles investigated the case, Hernandez said.
Each of the four counts carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison.
Federal officials said Drew will be arraigned in St. Louis and moved to Los Angeles for trial. Her lawyer, however, said Drew did not have to surrender in Missouri but would be arraigned in early June in Los Angeles.
The indictment says [blocked site] members agree to abide by terms of service that include, among other things, not promoting information they know to be false or misleading; soliciting personal information from anyone under age 18 and not using information gathered from the Web site to "harass, abuse or harm other people."
Drew and others who were not named conspired to violate the service terms from about September 2006 to mid-October that year, according to the indictment. It alleges they registered as a [blocked site] member under a phony name and used the account to obtain information on the girl.
Drew and her coconspirators "used the information obtained over the [blocked site] computer system to torment, harass, humiliate, and embarrass the juvenile [blocked site] member," the indictment charged.
The indictment contends they committed or aided in a dozen "overt acts" that were illegal, including using a photograph of a boy that was posted without his knowledge or permission.
They used "Josh" to flirt with Megan, telling her she was "sexi," the indictment charged.
Around Oct. 7, 2006, Megan was told "Josh" was moving away, prompting the girl to write: "aww sexi josh ur so sweet if u moved back u could see me up close and personal lol."
Several days later, "Josh" urged the girl to call and added: "i love you so much."
But on or about Oct. 16, "Josh" wrote to the girl and told her "in substance, that the world would be a better place without M.T.M. in it," according to the indictment.
The girl hanged herself the same day, and Drew and the others deleted the information in the account, the indictment said.
Last month, an employee of Drew, 19-year-old Ashley Grills, told ABC's "Good Morning America" she created the false [blocked site] profile but Drew wrote some of the messages to Megan.
Grills said Drew suggested talking to Megan via the Internet to find out what Megan was saying about Drew's daughter, who was a former friend.
Grills also said she wrote the message to Megan about the world being a better place without her. The message was supposed to end the online relationship with "Josh" because Grills felt the joke had gone too far.
"I was trying to get her angry so she would leave him alone and I could get rid of the whole [blocked site]," Grills told the morning show.
Megan's death was investigated by Missouri authorities, but no state charges were filed because no laws appeared to apply to the case.
___
| | 5/15/2008 7:27:38 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
libra75
Garfield, AR
age: 32
| That's sad.....
That broad oughtta be takin' out back n' blown away!
| | 5/15/2008 7:29:44 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
kgearly1021
Valdosta, GA
age: 48
| Libra-Something should be done, that is a grown ass woman, fu****g with a 13 year old child, that she knew had emotional problems.
| | 5/15/2008 7:38:51 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
krupa1
Abilene, TX
age: 40
| Did I miss something?...(Yes, I am aware of the article)
Kids have done stupid shit and killed themselves before.
So...to prevent this we should eliminate the internet?......that might work.....but then again....kids killed themselves for idiotic reasons before the internet....
Shakespeare would understand.....Read Romeo and Juliet.....the thought of a lovestruck suicidal kid shouldn't be a shock.
Should we convict everyone that someone has killed themselves over?
This Politically correct thing is just getting f*cking retarded!
| | 5/15/2008 9:48:52 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
eightinchbend
Gadsden, AL
age: 43
| Okay, krupa has a point, but I think this particular situation is different as it involves an adult parent who acted irresponsibily and encouraged her own child to participate in less than honourable behaviour. This within itself, while sad, is nothing new. There are just as many parents who lead their children astray as there are parents who do all they can to live as an example of what defines a good and responsible life.
The bigger picture points to the degree of how unaware or detached parents can become from the activities of their children, not so much away from the home, but within it. Blocking adult content from a home computer to protect children from unsavory elements of our society does not ensure those same children are safe from negative attributes within their own group ranking. The recent incident of a Florida teen who was held and beaten by a group of her schoolmates is an example of how some degrees of youth violence escapes the attention of many parents. That particular method of violence does not happen "overnight". It is always the result of sustained animosity. The M y S p a c e incident, while extreme, was encompassed by similar elements. Megan was singled out as someone who did not meet a particular "standard" to other students and she became a target for their self-serving and destructive purposes. She thought a boy liked her, and as many young girls will do, she kept this a secret from her parents. For this to have been a prank all along in some way is violent when you consider the prank was enacted to place another person at a disadvantage. If her parents had prudence to monitor her Cyberspace activity, they also would have been under the impression that the boy was real, so we cannot say that they would have know Megan was the source of a joke.
Back to the parent charged earlier today: I would like to know what she was thinking, but the damage to her own household has already been done. She justified her child's actions, and her child saw nothing wrong in what was taking place.
| | 5/15/2008 9:51:16 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
lust4love
Atco, NJ
age: 37
|  I post the same story with no replies im hangin myself
| | 5/15/2008 9:56:56 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
kgearly1021
Valdosta, GA
age: 48
| Eight-You are right about the Parents need to be aware of what is happening in their own homes. In my hometown, the 14 year old Daughter of a local prominent attorney, had a profile on m y s p a c e, that she was not supposed to have. How did her Parents find out? When she ran away from home and was found three days later at the home of one of the boys on her friends list. She had been there for three days and his Parents did not even know she was there. Also this girl who was not supposed to have a profile on that site, had 501 friends, so she had obviously had it for quite some time.
Parents you need to know what is going on in your own house.
[Edited 5/15/2008 9:57:55 PM]
| | 5/15/2008 9:58:33 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
lust4love
Atco, NJ
age: 37
| I don't think she was responsible for this girls suicide.if i tell you to jump off a bridge.
| | 5/15/2008 9:58:46 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
deserted
Arlington, TX
age: 42
| lol@lust4love
ok 
| | 5/15/2008 10:13:10 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
chinaonlyabc
Lancaster, CA
age: 53
| this is an awful story but brings up an ethical debate about parental responsiblities regarding the internet for their children. In this day and age, children have access to the internet on various sites and it is encouraged because teachers insist upon computer researched papers and typed written formatted work. Although I had power on passwords, and time restrictions and parental blocks on my computers, my children were computer savyed; in fact, my son obtained one of his bachelor degrees in computer science. During his time in my home, I had more problems with viruses and hackers because of his snooping abilities! I've had to replace computers more frequently and upgrade more costly hardware and software because of educational purposes, it was.. Mom.. I need more ram, ram, ram.. With parents working sometimes 2 to 3 jobs, and are gone from thier homes.. to keep a roof over the kids head and food in the kids bellies, the kids are instead of bullying on the play yard; they are bullying on web sites as seen here. I believe this was just.. as if.. a bully killed some weakling in a play yard, their parent should also be punished as well. Hopefully, this story will shed light of the dangers of the internet and how parents can also be accountable for their children's actions as well!
| | 5/15/2008 10:15:12 PM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
kgearly1021
Valdosta, GA
age: 48
| I don't think she was responsible for this girls suicide.if i tell you to jump off a bridge.
Lust-The Child was 13, even you would not be so cruel as to taunt a Child to the point of suicide. Never mind any legal ramifications, what about it being morally wrong?
| | 5/16/2008 10:04:03 AM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
twojeeps2
Raymore, MO
age: 40
| This is a tragic story about how cruel people can be. Everybody makes a good point and each stand alone.
Krupa is right that kids have always killed themselves for stupid reasons and just4love is right because like my dad always said just as just4love did "If everybody else jumped off a bridge, would you?" Said but true and we have to all be held accountable for our own actions...probably especially more so with the parent here.
Deserted, you know I love you regardless of what you post because you are just so awesome, and that was a cute, short and sweet jab cause I know you are always straight to the point!!! You rock my jeep buddy!!
Regardless though like Krupa said the internet has caused some problems even though it is a window into technology and we couldn't live without it and wouldn't be here discussing this without it.
My space is another thing too because it can be so misleading....as can all sites. That is why you just have to be careful and screen everything especially your children.
We had a girl here in KC-senior in high school that got killed by using the same site that is being referred to herein because they are blocking it out on me, [blocked site] but [blocked site] also cooperated with the FBI and helped find the girl, but it was too late.
The girl was chatting on [blocked site] with a friend who said he went to her high school. She didn't ever meet him personally because it's a huge high school and just before graduation last year, but they talked a lot and became friends.
The guy said he had just moved and didn't have any friends so they said she just chatted with him because she wanted to be a friend, feeling sorry for him, and hadn't met him yet.
She chatting online on [blocked site] the day she disappeared and had told him she was going to Target to buy some stuff for a graduation party.
He was waiting there when she showed up, came up to her, she recognized him so it was no big deal and he overpowered her into her own car, adbducted her in broad daylight in front of cameras who got a good picture of him, took her out to the lake, raped her, killed her, left her cell phone (which is how they found her from the pinging) and then drove off in her car and ditched it.
Come to find out the guy was 28 or so, married with kids, just totally psycho!!!
So, I guess the moral to the story here is pay attention, watch your back and realize that there are all kinds of crazies out there in this world today!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry it has to be that way and these senseless deaths are just becoming more and more common.
[Edited 5/16/2008 10:08:14 AM]
| | 5/16/2008 10:41:58 AM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | | 
chih
Saint Ann, MO
age: 27
| This is (figuratively) in my back yard. This whole thing is retarded. It's wrong to mess with someone's mind like that, but if you kill yourself over internet stuff, then you're retarded.
[/opinion]
| | 5/16/2008 10:56:06 AM | "M y S p a c e" Suicide | |
libra75
Garfield, AR
age: 32
| No matter what, it was a malicious act......and she should pay for it.
No.....it wasnt the brightest idea in the world for the child to hang
herself over it
In my opinion....there is no good reason for takin' your own life......
.....unless of course you're terminally ill n' in unimaginable amounts of pain.
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