Teen's Neighbor Charged in Death
Indictment for Alleged Role in MySpace Prank Sets Precedent
Tina Meier with photos of daughter Megan, who killed herself in 2006 at 13.
(Tom Gannam -- Associated Press)
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Friday, May 16, 2008; Page C03
LOS ANGELES, May 15 -- A federal grand jury indicted a Missouri woman Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who then committed suicide.
Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false identity on MySpace, which she used to contact Megan Meier. Meier thought her new MySpace friend was a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. But Josh didn't exist.
Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006 after receiving cruel messages from "Josh," 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. [Drew] exploited a young girl's weaknesses," Hernandez said. "Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she's responsible for her actions."
Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages to Megan.
She 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.
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. Each of the four counts carries a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison. Drew will be arraigned in St. Louis and then moved to Los Angeles for trial.
"This was a tragedy that did not have to happen," O'Brien said.
Both the girl and MySpace are named as victims in the case, he said. Due to juvenile privacy rules, the U.S. attorney's office said, the indictment refers to the girl as M.T.M.
MySpace is a subsidiary of Beverly Hills-based Fox Interactive Media Inc., which is owned by News Corp. The indictment noted that MySpace computer servers are located in Los Angeles County.
The indictment says MySpace 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."
