Lori Drew, 49, of O’Fallon, Mo., was convicted Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles on misdemeanor charges of accessing computers without authorization in a landmark cyberbullying trial, though her lawyer said he still hopes a judge will dismiss the charges against her reports the Daily News.
Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages from him to teenage neighbor Megan Meier. The “boy” dumped Megan in 2006, telling her: “The world would be a better place without you.”
Megan hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet.
Megan’s mother, Tina Meier, said in a telephone interview Friday that she’ll ask at sentencing that Drew draw the maximum penalty, three years in prison and a $300,000 fine.
She said she’s grateful that federal prosecutors in California filed charges after Missouri officials did not. MySpace, a social networking service, has computer servers in California.
Meier said Drew’s conviction didn’t bring closure for her daughter’s 2006 death, but she said she takes some comfort in her work to protect children against bullying and will continue speaking publicly around the nation.
She believes the verdict against Drew will lead to more action to prevent, and prosecute, bullying and harassment. “We all have to be able to understand if you do something wrong, you have to face the consequences,” Meier said.
Read more here: Internet verdict pleases mother