Neighbor finally indicted in Internet hoax

[TerryJ2]

I was wondering if anyone would ever come up with-charges against this woman. They finally did.


http://news.aol.com/story/_a/woman-...9990001?icid=1615988631x1202437624x1200305619

 

[Star*]

I saw Megans picture before and it just blows my mind that anyone would be such a poor role model to their own child or have ANYTHING to do with this.

That kid was georgeous! Oddly enough it didn't say if the daughter was being jailed - know anything about that?

 

[meowbunny]

This case is going to get really ugly and destroy many more lives. You have the young girl who committed suicide and her family; the mother and her family; the 19 YO who helped set up the site and typed some of the messages and her family at a minimum (I can't imagine prosecuting the mother and not this girl as well). Sadly, the odds of getting a conviction are probably pretty slim.

 

[Abbey]

All I can say is there are sick, sick people out there.

Abbey

 

[TerryJ2]

Maybe the mom of the teen who killed herself figures that her own life is ruined, so what diff does it make? Unless the charges are being pressed independently, by the police.
But I can only assume the Internet mom is being made an example of. Too many people don't "get" that there are real people at the other end of the line ea time you type in a response.

 

[witzend]

I hope they rot in jail, and then rot in h@ll.

 

[Sara PA]

No police are involved. These are federal charges; investigation was done by the FBI. The case was filed in Los Angeles, the people all live in the St. Louis area. And MySpace is considered to be as much a victim of any crime as the child was, maybe more. From http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-15-2008/0004815047&EDATE= (bolding mine)

"This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a young teenage
girl, with horrendous ramifications," said U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien.
"After a thorough investigation, we have charged Ms. Drew with criminally
accessing MySpace and violating rules established to protect young,
vulnerable people. 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."

To become a member of MySpace, individuals are required to submit
registration information -- including name and date of birth -- and have to
agree to certain terms of service that regulate their use of the Web site.
Among other things, MySpace terms of service require prospective members to
provide truthful and accurate registration information; to refrain from
using any information obtained from MySpace services to harass, abuse or
harm other people; to refrain from soliciting personal information from
anyone under 18; to refrain from promoting information that they know is
false or misleading; and to refrain from posting photographs of other
people without their consent. The indictment alleges that Drew and her
co-conspirators violated all of those provisions.

 

[Hound dog]

I ditto Witz on this one.

 

[meowbunny]

The one I feel bad for is the 19 YO girl who thought it had gone too far and says she tried to end it by telling the young girl that the world was better off without her. She wanted to close the MySpace account. I think this young woman was manipulated by the mother and her world is now ruined by trying to do a favor. Plus, she stupidly told the world she said the words (odds are mommy dearest said it but the girl claims she did so she'll have to be charged as well).

I'm sorry, I can't hate the mother. There's something very pathetic about her. She deserves any prison time she gets, no question there, but what would make an adult go to the level of a teenager like that? It seems to me her life was stunted and her "adult growth" ended in mid-teens. It's the only thing that makes sense.

No matter what, this woman has destroyed three families and very much hurt a town. I hope the world (I doubt it has but I hope) has learned a lesson from this ugliness.

 

[VickiL]

Having this happen in my area, it has been horrible for a lot of people. I do know that they are only charging the mother at this time. It has been hard to watch how this all played out. Nothing will bring Megan back. To know that an adult was basically responsible for her death is heartwrenching. Now the powers that be will drag this out for who knows how long and Ms. Drew will probably never spend one night in jail. MO has now passed a law making Internet harrassment a crime. It's just too bad our society has come to this and for Megan it's too little, too late.

I feel sorry for Megan's family, obviously, but I also feel for Ms. Drew's daughter and her 18 year old employee who might have felt her job was on the line if she didn't cooperate. Her daughter is going to need a lot of mental health help to come out of this unscathed.