14 DAY TRIAL // An American 49-year-old woman who pretended to be a 16-year-old boy caused, as prosecutors say, the death of a young girl. Now that she's been indicted, her aim is to avoid trial by all means, by having the charges dismissed. Her lawyer, as cited by the Washington Post, is trying to convince the judge that Lori Drew's behavior is common to millions of social network users, and that the fact that the woman was the only one charged is not lawful.
Megan Meier, a 13-year-old under psychiatric medication, engaged in an online love "affair" with what she thought was a nice looking teenage boy. After flirting with the girl for approximately four weeks, "Josh Evans" changed tack, ending the romance by saying that the world would be a better place without Megan. After their last conversation, she committed suicide, in October 2006.
The truth came out when one of Megan's familiars admitted that she, together with one of the girl's friends, had bullied her, at the indication of the friend's mother. After further investigation, it was discovered that Lori Drew, the mother of one of Megan's friends, had decided to play a practical joke on the teenager. The reason behind her actions was to make Megan feel bad, as she and her daughter were not getting along very well anymore.
"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 Drew's indictment, in May 2008. "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."
The provisions Drew violated refer to Internet regulations: first, she gave false identity information, then she used personal information acquired from MySpace to "harass, abuse or harm other people," and she solicited personal details about someone under 18. Also, the woman gave false and misleading data. Each of the four counts she was charged with has a minimum of 5 years imprisonment penalty.