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MySpace strikes (again)
mike470
General CorrespondentMember Posts: 2,396
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A Missouri mom was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in the death of a teen who killed herself over a failed Internet romance that turned out to be a hoax.
Megan Meier, 13, hanged herself in her bedroom after being targeted in a MySpace hoax.
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A federal indictment accuses Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Missouri, of using the social networking Web site MySpace.com to pose as a 16-year-old boy and feign romantic interest in the girl.
The girl, Megan Meier, committed suicide after her online love interest spurned her, according to prosecutors, telling her the world would be a better place without her.
Drew faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.
The indictment, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses Drew and others of registering on MySpace as "Josh Evans" and using the account to lure Meier into an an online romance.
Authorities have previously said that Drew set up the account to find out what Meier, who lived in her neighborhood, was saying about her daughter.
Prosecutors allege that Drew and the others violated MySpace's terms of service by using false information to create the account so they could "harass, abuse or harm" Meier, according to the indictment.
The two corresponded for about four weeks before "Josh" broke off the relationship, authorities said. Within an hour, Meier hanged herself in her room and died the next day.
The indictment does not allege that Drew sent the final message telling Meier the world would be a better place without her. Instead, it blames her unnamed co-conspirators, who authorities have previously said include a teenage girl.
After Drew learned of the teen's suicide, the indictment alleges, she directed one of the teens involved to "keep her mouth shut" and deleted the account.
Meier's mother, Tina Meier, told CNN in November that her daughter had self-esteem issues and had struggled with depression since childhood.
She said when her daughter began receiving messages from "Josh" telling her she was pretty, she was thrilled.
When "Josh" broke off the relationship, Tina Meier said, her daughter was devastated.
"She was looking for me to help calm herself down like I always did and be there for her. And I was upset because I didn't like the language she was using, and I was angry she didn't sign off when I told her to," Tina Meier told CNN.
"She said to me, 'You're supposed to be my mom, you're supposed to be on my side,' and then took off running upstairs," Tina Meier said.
Tina Meier found her daughter hanging by a belt shortly afterward.
"It's as if my daughter killed herself with a gun," Meier's father, Ron, told CNN. "And it's as if they loaded the gun for her."
Drew is scheduled for arraignment in June.
"This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a young teenage girl, with horrendous ramifications," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said in a written statement.
"Any adult who uses the Internet or a social gathering Web site to bully or harass another person, particularly a young teenage girl, needs to realize that their actions can have serious consequences," O'Brien said.
In December, Missouri prosecutors declined to file charges against Drew, saying there was no law under which she could be charged.
"There is no way that anybody could know that talking to someone or saying that you're mean to your friends on the Internet would create a substantial risk," St. Charles County Prosecutor Jack Banas said. "Under the law, we just couldn't show that."
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
Comments
Again? sorry, but that story is really old.
actually, you must have not read it. Or maybe you did, if so then sorry.
The story is old...but the article is new. Before they didn't charge anyone with anything. Just recently they are trying to convict the ones who are guilty.
Anyway, I hope they get charged myself...its sad what happened.
I agree when i thought she was gonna to get off with nothing i was pretty pissed what they did was appaling. Its high school if your daughter loses a friend so what this was way over the top.
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This is ridiculous. Seriously. The primary person who should be blamed is the girl who offed herself. You could also blame the mother for knowingly allowing her kid to access a place she was too young to normally access.
Is the woman who was involved with this a bad person? Yes, I would say so. Did she commit a crime? I don't think so. But, unsurprisingly, the government will try to twist existing laws to get the woman, not out of a sense of justice, but out of a desire to show it is "doing something".
I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should be allowed in chat rooms of any kind .. including myspace. There is simply no way to stop what they are exposed to, there are always ways around every option out there. Is it illegal for someone to tell someone in person to go jump off a cliff? No. Why would that be illegal online? No that woman isn't a good person but I don't think she commited a crime, nor should they make it a crime. Parents need to be parents and stop letting their kids do whatever they want. The internet is not a babysitter and they need to stop expecting it to be.
Um, what? The girl was 13. That is an age where a person can be very easily influenced by others, -especially- an older boy claiming to be someone who cares about this person, and who the girl probably looked up to and confided a lot in. Just because she was young doesn't mean she didn't have real feelings and emotions involved in what was going on. While it is her fault to an extent, what the other mother did was extremely manipulative and twisted. She deserves every bit of jail time being considered right now.
It is sad that something likethis even occured.
No, she doesn't. Trying to bend existing laws in order to make an example out of something is not justice.
What about the girl's mother? You know, the one that allowed her daughter to create the account and was supposedly monitoring it? You think someone goes from 0 to suicide in 60 seconds? Where was she? If she was monitoring what was going on, as she claims, then why didn't she step in? Oh, but we'll play "pass the buck" in the blame game so as not to have to live with the guilt that her daughter was HER responsibility: her's and her husband's. No, it's much better to blame someone else and go after them with a righteous fury.
You think that woman was manipulative and bad? Have you COMPLETELY forgotten what middle and high school was like? Have you really forgotten the sorts of things that happened there? Maybe you got off without having to deal with that sort of thing, but few do. Kids are far more cruel to one another than adults.
And I never said she didn't have "real feelings". I'm sure she did. We all do. Most of us don't kill ourselves when things go badly.
Sorry, but IMO, this sort of thing is the result of a bad family environment: a healthy family ought to have seen the girl breaking down and come together to support her, this one obviously did not, despite the mother's claims of "monitoring" an account that she allowed her daughter to create in violation of the ToS. Pointing fingers wont change that.
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
No, she doesn't. Trying to bend existing laws in order to make an example out of something is not justice.
What about the girl's mother? You know, the one that allowed her daughter to create the account and was supposedly monitoring it? You think someone goes from 0 to suicide in 60 seconds? Where was she? If she was monitoring what was going on, as she claims, then why didn't she step in? Oh, but we'll play "pass the buck" in the blame game so as not to have to live with the guilt that her daughter was HER responsibility: her's and her husband's. No, it's much better to blame someone else and go after them with a righteous fury.
You think that woman was manipulative and bad? Have you COMPLETELY forgotten what middle and high school was like? Have you really forgotten the sorts of things that happened there? Maybe you got off without having to deal with that sort of thing, but few do. Kids are far more cruel to one another than adults.
And I never said she didn't have "real feelings". I'm sure she did. We all do. Most of us don't kill ourselves when things go badly.
Sorry, but IMO, this sort of thing is the result of a bad family environment: a healthy family ought to have seen the girl breaking down and come together to support her, this one obviously did not, despite the mother's claims of "monitoring" an account that she allowed her daughter to create in violation of the ToS. Pointing fingers wont change that.
My guess is that you don't have teenage children, Tuor. I have two teenagers (plus younger kids) and even though I try to keep an eye on what they're doing on the internet, I'm not around the computer ALL the time and teens know how to keep many of their conversations private ("gtg - pir"). If the parents were really strict and watched the girl like a hawk, you'd probably bitch because they were too intrusive in the kid's life. How many teenagers sneak online or have a myspace page that their parents aren't aware of? Also, the "warning signs" are not always apparent....teenagers are emotional yo-yos and prone to not expressing their feeling the Mom and Dad.
The bottom line is that an adult, who should be smarter and more mature, deliberately caused this girl to suffer needlessly and drove her to suicide. That adult should be held responsible for her actions.
actually, you must have not read it. Or maybe you did, if so then sorry.
The story is old...but the article is new. Before they didn't charge anyone with anything. Just recently they are trying to convict the ones who are guilty.
Anyway, I hope they get charged myself...its sad what happened.
Its like you said, old story but a new article. I believe this all happened in 2005.
actually, you must have not read it. Or maybe you did, if so then sorry.
The story is old...but the article is new. Before they didn't charge anyone with anything. Just recently they are trying to convict the ones who are guilty.
Anyway, I hope they get charged myself...its sad what happened.
Its like you said, old story but a new article. I believe this all happened in 2005.
I said 'again' because these kind of stories seem to be hapening more often.
__________________________________________________
In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08 - Rest In Peace; you will not be forgotten
No, she doesn't. Trying to bend existing laws in order to make an example out of something is not justice.
What about the girl's mother? You know, the one that allowed her daughter to create the account and was supposedly monitoring it? You think someone goes from 0 to suicide in 60 seconds? Where was she? If she was monitoring what was going on, as she claims, then why didn't she step in? Oh, but we'll play "pass the buck" in the blame game so as not to have to live with the guilt that her daughter was HER responsibility: her's and her husband's. No, it's much better to blame someone else and go after them with a righteous fury.
You think that woman was manipulative and bad? Have you COMPLETELY forgotten what middle and high school was like? Have you really forgotten the sorts of things that happened there? Maybe you got off without having to deal with that sort of thing, but few do. Kids are far more cruel to one another than adults.
And I never said she didn't have "real feelings". I'm sure she did. We all do. Most of us don't kill ourselves when things go badly.
Sorry, but IMO, this sort of thing is the result of a bad family environment: a healthy family ought to have seen the girl breaking down and come together to support her, this one obviously did not, despite the mother's claims of "monitoring" an account that she allowed her daughter to create in violation of the ToS. Pointing fingers wont change that.
My guess is that you don't have teenage children, Tuor. I have two teenagers (plus younger kids) and even though I try to keep an eye on what they're doing on the internet, I'm not around the computer ALL the time and teens know how to keep many of their conversations private ("gtg - pir"). If the parents were really strict and watched the girl like a hawk, you'd probably bitch because they were too intrusive in the kid's life. How many teenagers sneak online or have a myspace page that their parents aren't aware of? Also, the "warning signs" are not always apparent....teenagers are emotional yo-yos and prone to not expressing their feeling the Mom and Dad.
The bottom line is that an adult, who should be smarter and more mature, deliberately caused this girl to suffer needlessly and drove her to suicide. That adult should be held responsible for her actions.
Not to really take Tuor's side. But what can they charge her with? While you think about it look at these forums. I bet you that there is probably more crude content and wording on these boards than was subjected to that little girl. He already talked about morality and said she was morally wrong.
What does it matter if Tuor has kids or not?. You think he would be incapable of being able to relate to victoms in this if he does not? Relating to someones situation and then convicting someone of something based on those feelings is not justice.
I don't see a crime committed here at all. If it had been a real boy and he told the girl that he was dumping her for a more attractive girl with a real personality.. no one would have thought twice about it. People are responisble for their own actions and that includes killing themsleves. Boys dumping girls and girls dumping boys has been going on for ever.. The fact that she even dated someone she met online without seeing a cam or meeting them in person shows that she wasn't very bright to begin with. It could have been some dude in prison, it could have been her grandpa .. she didin't know. That is why I say that the parents of the girl are at fault for letting a child that young on the internet in the first place. Yes 13 yr old girls are a chaos of emotion, even more reason they should not have allowed their child to be exposed to internet chat rooms / blogs ect. Parents need to be better involved with their children, and not just let them do what they want. Would a parent let their child go to a party where all of the people they could randomly meet online are? I would think not.. Allowing your child to have access to be able to talk to these people at all is just as bad. Why would a parent ever think that it was okay for their daughter to have an online boyfriend? Why was this girl given access to myspace? Why was the girls depression not taken seriously? These are all questions that should be addressed. A child asking for internet access is not the same as a child asking to go to the movies. Parents need to wake up and realize that no matter what laws are out there , not matter what type of parent controls they put on their computer..the internet is no place for a child, all those things can be bypassed, and there is no way every country in the world will ever pass laws to enforce it everywhere. Parents need to open their eyes and realize when it comes to the internet .. like drugs they need to "just say no."
Criminal Fraud is what she commited. If she had been getting money from the girl, instead of trying to spy on the girl and destroy her socially, this woman would be in jail already. But what she did was commit fraud and prey on a 13 year old girl.
I personally hope they throw the book at the woman and she ends up in jail for awhile.
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The point being is that a 13 year old girl should have never been allowed on myspace in the first place. You cannot blame the girl committing suicide on anyone, the girl very well could have committed suicide if a real boy had said something she didn't like. Why do parents think that it is okay to let the internet babysit their kids? The parents should be taking personal responsibility in this.
This is occuring more often because more people are using the internet than ever. When I was 13 my best friend shot himself. Noone was to blame but him, we were going to a party his parents weren't letting him go .. so he shot himslef. When tragedy happens we are quick to want to find someone to blame. It is a good thing that the constitution was not written by a linch mob. Freedom of speech also includes saying things to others they do not agree with. Alot of 13 year olds are not able to handle that so they should not be allowed into chat rooms or blog sites at all. As I said before, Parents these days need to treat the internet the same as smoking or drinking "Just say no" when it comes to internet. They aren't mature enough to handle it therefore they do not "need " it simply because their friends are doing it.
The point being is that a 13 year old girl should have never been allowed on myspace in the first place. You cannot blame the girl committing suicide on anyone, the girl very well could have committed suicide if a real boy had said something she didn't like. Why do parents think that it is okay to let the internet babysit their kids? The parents should be taking personal responsibility in this.
There is nothing wrong with a 13 year old on myspace.
There is nothing wrong with a 13 year old on myspace.
Yes there is. A 13 year old is a child and should be treated accordingly. A 13 year old is not old enough to be thrown into situatuions they are not ready to handle. They are emotional pubescent teenagers with raging hormones and the last place they need to be is on the internet being overexposed to porn, strong language or predators. At that age they are forming the abilities for social interaction with the real world and relationships and they should be allowed to form those properly in a controlled environment before being exposed to the harsh realities of the cruel world in a whole. The real world is violent, sexual and dangerous and the young 13 year old mind is not prepared for what is instore for it. Let the kids mature and develop healthy relationships and self esteem before throwing them to the lions.
Aren't these online social networks a stairway to heaven for all these paedophiles are other sick and twisted minded people out there. I mean it's great on one side of the internet we can have forums etc and discuss our own opinions etc but then there's the huge flaw of the fact you can be an asshole to anyone and feel fairly safe about it.
We're all Geniuses. Most of us just don't know it.
The point being is that a 13 year old girl should have never been allowed on myspace in the first place. You cannot blame the girl committing suicide on anyone, the girl very well could have committed suicide if a real boy had said something she didn't like. Why do parents think that it is okay to let the internet babysit their kids? The parents should be taking personal responsibility in this.
There is nothing wrong with a 13 year old on myspace.
Theres not depending on the maturity of the child. If I remember the last article posted on here about this. The girls mother was well aware of the girls mental state. The girl was not suppose to be online to begin with. But she was. Why was she online to begin with if she was not suppose to be? How hard is it to take the cables or even the machine if you know its been a source of problems in the past.
So why isn't the mother being dragged into the mud as well? Just asking.
The fact is that the world itself is filled with these people , not just the internet. People need to realize that the sick and twisted exist everywhere not just online, they could be your next door neighbors or your church pastors, In person in fact there is even more camoflauge for these people. There are people who are terrible to others in person and online. This is not limited to online only. There is no way to rid the world of this, no matter how hard you try it has and always will exist, therefore parents need to step up and take responsibility themselves to make sure there children do not have access to these places. You do not leave your child with anyone including the church pastor unless you know them VERY well. You do not leave your children unattended on the internet either. I am tired of people thinking that they can let their children play on the internet like its a childrens toy, it is not a g rated world or internet .. and it never will be.
She should be, she could have done like other parents have when they found out their child was abusing the internet... Other parents remove cables, computers .. even throw the entire computer in the trash if they have to. I disgaree about any 13 year old being mature enough for chat rooms. No matter how mature they are perceived they are still just kids and have to deal with that until they are old enough to make decsions for themselves.
She should be, she could have done like other parents have when they found out their child was abusing the internet... Other parents remove cables, computers .. even throw the entire computer in the trash if they have to. I disgaree about any 13 year old being mature enough for chat rooms. No matter how mature they are perceived they are still just kids and have to deal with that until they are old enough to make decsions for themselves.
There are so many others who do it. She unfortunately used these chat rooms incorrectly.
Alsom look at all the games out there that have kids less than 13 playing on them. You are saying that kids shouldn't be allowed to ply online games too.