Woman, posing as a boy on MySpace, dumped girl after flirting with her. -ST
LOS ANGELES - A US federal grand jury has indicted a woman accused of using a phony online identity on MySpace to trick and taunt a 13-year-old girl, who committed suicide in response to the 'cyber-bullying'.
Prosecutors, in a highly unusual move, turned to a federal law generally employed in computer fraud cases to indict 49-year-old Lori Drew.
The girl, Megan Meier, hanged herself in her bedroom two years ago shortly after being jilted by an Internet suitor who she thought was a 16-year-old boy.
The case caused a furore when it was alleged that the 'boy' was actually Drew, a neighbour, whose daughter had had a falling-out with Megan.
Drew had created the MySpace profile to see what Megan was saying about her daughter online.
Drew, of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. She is accused of providing bogus information to Beverly Hills-based MySpace when she created an account in the name of the imaginary boy, Josh Evans.
She used the account to obtain information about Megan in violation of MySpace rules, which she used 'to inflict emotional distress' on the girl, prosecutors alleged.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, US Attorney Thomas O'Brien said he believed it was the first case of its kind.
He said Drew, posing as Josh, began flirting with Megan, telling her via e-mail that she was 'sexy'.
The flirting went on for weeks and their correspondence took on an increasingly sexual tone before Josh abruptly cut off the relationship.
Mr O'Brien said Josh told the girl 'the world would be a better place without her'.
'This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a teenage girl with horrendous ramifications,' Mr O'Brien said. 'This was a tragedy that did not have to happen.'
Drew's lawyer, Mr Dean Steward, denied that his client either created the MySpace account or directed anyone else to do so.
'There are a lot of issues we're going to need to raise, including why this case is happening in Los Angeles,' he said. 'All of the witnesses are from Missouri, with one or two exceptions being from MySpace.'
Drew, who faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, is expected to be arraigned in Los Angeles next month.
News of the indictment left Megan's parents in tears. They said they had all but given up hope that any criminal charges would be filed in their daughter's death.
'I just want some justice after all this time,' Mr Ron Meier said.
'For the first time in as long as I can remember, I actually have hope.'
The local and federal authorities in Missouri initially looked into the circumstances surrounding Megan's October 2006 death in Dardenne Prairie, an upper-middle-class town situated 56km northwest of St Louis, but declined to file charges, saying they were unable to find a statute under which to pursue a criminal case.
Prosecutors now argue that the federal statute applied in the case because by providing false information and violating the user agreement of MySpace, Drew was seeking information 'to further a tortuous act, namely, intentional infliction of emotional distress'.
Specifically, Drew is charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorisation to obtain information.
Among those questioned by the grand jury, according to sources, was Ashley Grills. The 19-year-old, a former temporary employee in Drew's advertising coupon business, allegedly was also involved in the hoax.
Earlier this year, she told ABC News' Good Morning America that she, Drew and Drew's teenage daughter had taken turns typing out messages to Megan.
During the interview, Grills said Drew tapped out messages 'when we didn't know what to say'.
She said Drew told her to keep mum after Meier's suicide.
NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES
Source: http://news.asiaone.com/News/The%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20080517-65663.html
