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| | | | |  | Woman Indicted In MySpace Suicide Hoax 
06:53
An American mother has been indicted in connection with a MySpace hoax that ended with a 13-year-old girl, Megan Meier, committing suicide after being more...spurned by a fictitious boy.
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Lori Drew, 49, on criminal charges of conspiracy and accessing MySpace computers "without authorization to inflict emotional distress on the girl".
"This adult woman used the internet to target an innocent girl with horrendous consequences," Los Angeles US Attorney Thomas O'Brien said during a press conference announcing the indictment on Thursday.
"Any adult who uses the internet or a social networking website to bully another person, particularly a vulnerable teenage girl, should realize this has serious consequences."
Drew was among several adults who pretended to be a 16-year-old boy named "Josh Evans" on MySpace, according to prosecutors. The girl met "Josh" in the online community after she opened her MySpace account in 2006.
"Within days Josh was telling her she was sexy," O'Brien said. "The flirting continued for three weeks."
Josh broke off the virtual relationship and sent the girl a message saying the world would be better off without her, according to prosecutors. Within an hour of receiving the message the girl hanged herself in her bedroom.
Drew and "co-conspirators" used her home computer to chat with the girl on MySpace and gleaned from online exchanges to "torment, harass, humiliate and embarrass" the girl, according to the indictment.
"MySpace does not tolerate cyberbullying and is cooperating fully with the US Attorney in this matter," MySpace said in a written reply to an AFP inquiry.
Drew deleted the "Josh" profile from MySpace after getting word that the girl, a neighbour, hanged herself, according to prosecutors.
"This adult hid behind cyber walls in cyberspace," Los Angeles FBI assistant director Salvador Hernandez said during the press conference.
"Whether the defendant could see the ramifications of this choice she is accountable for what happened. These actions are cruel and unjustified."
Each of the four criminal counts listed in the indictment carries a maximum prison term of five years.
Category: People & Blogs
Tags: lori drew myspace suicide hoax 13 year old girl commits josh evans online megan meier hanged facebook less
Added: 1 day ago
Channel: SNOWSTAR-BABYANGEL
Views: 34
Category: News |
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