Comments on: No Charges In Deadly MySpace Hoax

Prosecutor Won't Pursue Online Harassment That Parents Say Led To Teen Daughter's Suicide

[ssm9451]

Tonight on the St. Louis news, that the family will be considering filing a claim in civil court. St.Louis news: KSDK-TV.

[nothappyatall]

I''m also sure by now their number has been changed to an unlisted one too.

[nothappyatall]

' 223. Obscene or harassing telephone calls in the District of Columbia or in interstate or foreign communications

(C) makes a telephone call or utilizes a telecommunications device, whether or not conversation or communication ensues, without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person at the called number or who receives the communications;
(D) makes or causes the telephone of another repeatedly or continuously to ring, with intent to harass any person at the called number;

shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
shall be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

CANADA:
Indecent or Harassing Telephone Calls
It is a criminal offence to make an indecent telephone call, or to repeatedly call someone to harass them. This offence carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2000. It is also a criminal offence to tell someone false information with the intent to injure or alarm them, for example, that someone close to you has been injured or killed. The maximum punishment for this offence is two years in jail.

[nothappyatall]

The names - and phone numbers - of the people who did this are on the internet

Its only appropriate they get back what they gave.

Posted by SusanHelit"

So what you are suggesting is called telephone harassment, as well as physical altercations Susan, I have news for you, if you harrass someone by using the phone or other means, leave threatening messages etc YOU are committing a crime and YOU will go to jail not them;

Criminal Harassment
It is a criminal offence for anyone to make you reasonably fear for your safety or the safety of someone you know by
repeatedly; following you or someone you know
visiting, calling or writing you or someone you know
watching your home or workplace threatening you or someone in your family

No actual injury need occur. The offender does not need to have intended to harm you. If their behaviour would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety, it is criminal harassment. Serious cases could result in an offender being sent to jail for up to ten years.

[nothappyatall]

"Lori Drew may not be able to be charged under the law, but she sure can be shunned by her neighbors."

I doubt they really care about their neighbors, after all, MOST people do not live in the same house for 30 years like grandma did, they get relocated, they move to another job/line of work, or to be closer to family in another state. Most people probably don''t live in the same house more than 5-8 years, so what their present neighbors think/feel is of no consequence.

"would not have allowed my 13 year old daughter would be allowed access to the computer without my supervision."

Whats a 13 year old doing on the net unsupervised (mom was gone) talking to a supposed boy named Josh that mom never talked to and knew nothing about? How would mom know "Josh" wasn''t a 60 year old pedo? Since MOM never spoke to "Josh" on the phone to verify anything like his AGE, where he LIVES etc, then she is just as guilty- she FAILED to supervise HER kid and "Josh" could EASILY have been a pedophile pretending to be a boy.

[nothappyatall]

"This is going to follow her the rest of her life, whether or not shes in prision.

Posted by nlm2383"

Wishfull thinking, in 6 months people won''t even remember their names and the whole story will have long before faded away and replaced with the next one.

The whole thing culminated AFTER MOM yelled at and berated the kid after coming home and finding she still had not logged out as directed to do so by mom over the phone earlier.
It was AFTER the argument/falling out with MOM, that the kid hung herself.
Any kid that unstable probably would have been a statistic in the suicide 15-19 group anyway.

[jackie0428]

Sorry, but a normal person does NOT take their own life simply because they are harassed or a cruel joke is played on them. If they did, we''d have ten thousand cases like this EVERY DAY in the news. But we don''t. This person committed suicide because she was horribly depressed and could not see beyond her own misery, she could not see that things will get better if she would just open up, be patient, and work on the problems. People do not "cause" or "make" others commit suicide. Shame on the dead girl''s parents for pointing fingers outward and blaming others for something that was more THEIR fault(genes and upbringing) than anyone else. It is almost certain the girl was going to kill herself even if this trick had never occurred; it was just a matter of time. People out there who understand psychology will know what I''m talking about here.

[nlm2383]

It''s almost better that they weren''t able to bring any charges against the woman. This family will probably end up moving to another state at the rate they''re probably being harassed... This is going to follow her the rest of her life, whether or not she''s in prision.

[shanev137]

WE NEED TO BAN ALL IMPROPER INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION ON THE INTERNET.

PERIOD.

IF YOU CAN''T BE A PROPER PERSON LIKE ME AND TYPE PROPERLY, THEN YOU ARE A CRIMINAL WHO NEEDS TO BE LOCKED UP FOR A FEW YEARS IN PRISON, TO MAKE YOU LEARN AND TEACH YOU A LESSON ABOUT BEING IMPROPER.

ALL IMPROPER PEOPLE SHOULD BE IN JAIL....AND IF THE JAILS AREN''T BIG ENOUGH, WE NEED TO BUILD MORE AND MORE AND MORE AND MORE AND EVEN MORE JAILS, BECAUSE PUTTING ALL YOU BAD, IMPROPER PEOPLE IN JAIL IS THE ANSWER. JUST LOOK AT HOW SMART PEOPLE ARE WHO GET OUT OF PRISON.

[kitty000]

In the newsbroadcast the mother said that Megan was getting mean messages from "Josh" she was arguing with him when her mother wanted her to log off of the computer. Tina said that Megan told her "you''re suppose to be on my side." Tina was mad that Megan wouldn''t just sign off the computer. That''s when Megan ran upstairs & hung herself. The mother didn''t care that Megan was upset at fighting with this "Josh" she was only concerned that Megan wasn''t doing what she wanted her to do. As people have said this family had a TON of problems before this myspace incident.

Parents should ask themselves why their teens are reaching out to strangers on the net for love & attention!??

[kitty000]

I saw the story when it came on the news. The adult was wrong in posing as a child to "see why Megan had problems with their daughter." Megan had tried to commit suicide before. In looking at her parents I was struck by how superficial they came across. I really wondered how deeply they were involved with their daughter? I bet they made *** sure she picked up every piece of clothing she ever threw on the floor but how much attention did they pay to her spiritually? How much time did they spend telling Megan that she is loved by them and by God? Believe me I''m not "religious" I think children need more than just things.

Maybe if Megan''s mother, Tina had spent as much time taking walks with her daughter as she did going to the hair salon bleaching her hair Megan would still be here today. I know because my mother is exactly like Tina. My mother wouldn''t miss a hair appointment but she would never turn up to watch me learn to jump on a horse. Nevermind that she was 5 minutes away from where I was doing it.

Not everything should be legislated. I really wonder how many people are now harassing the mother who posed as "Josh." The feeling I get is that the town backs her and her family! Parents have no idea what it''s like to raise an emotionally healthy child. If your child is trying to commit suicide at age 13 I''d say you have a few family problems that need to be addressed in a pyschologist office.

[smiley676]

The parents can file a civil suit. But very few criminal laws were broken. You can''t charge them with murder, she took her own life.
I know she was a child and this whole thing is terrible. But if you charge this person with murder for mean words, think of all the people who are mean to the person they are divorcing and that person commits suicide. This is NOT murder.
Instead, this is cruelty at its worst. It was a terrible thing that happened to these parents. I hope this makes more parents pay attention to what is being said to their child on the internet.
But, child or not. When I was a child I learned words didn''t hurt. That still holds true.

[allunknowing]

myspace, facebook, friendster, did I forget any?

Recruiting pedophiles daily.

[rohink-2009]

Posted by LawyerTom1

Yeah, lawyers need to make a living too...

[bencas4]

It is sad that people are looking at teenage suicide as "normal" or something that ''happens''. It is by definition abnormal behavior----hence the need for psychological help when anyone attempts this act.

To ignore the harassing behavior of the adults towards the child as if it were not a big deal is also abnormal. Children do not process information in the same manner as adults, let alone one that suffers from diagnosed conditions and has a low self esteem. The adults engaged in the harassment knew this as they were neighbors and prior friends of the girl''s parents. This makes the act even more of a disgrace.

They knew they were upsetting the child and still continued. The initiated the contact in manner that they chose because they knew she hoped to have a boyfriend. They took advantage of her vulnerability.

Oh by the way, Shane, the girl did not approach the adults, they approached her. How sick.

[bencas4]

It is sad that people are looking at teenage suicide as "normal" or something that ''happens''. It is by definition abnormal behavior----hence the need for psychological help when anyone attempts this act.

To ignore the harassing behavior of the adults towards the child as if it were not a big deal is also abnormal. Children do not process information in the same manner as adults, let alone one that suffers from diagnosed conditions and has a low self esteem. The adults engaged in the harassment knew this as they were neighbors and prior friends of the girl''s parents. This makes the act even more of a disgrace.

They knew they were upsetting the child and still continued. The initiated the contact in manner that they chose because they knew she hoped to have a boyfriend. They took advantage of her vulnerability.

Oh by the way, Shane, the girl did not approach the adults, they approached her. How sick.

[shanev137]

Most of your comments make me feel like killing myself.

When I do, I''ll make sure my parents sue all of you and CBS.

[heamye]

That mother who knew about the mypspace page should be run out of town by the people who live there. She doesn''t sound like she has an empathetic brain in her head. And the kids who did it, they are old enough to know better; they need to run with her. How does filth like this survive..oh, they suck from the bottom of the barrel.

[rohink-2009]

Posted by talkingham

Good post. Although the internet wasn''t around when my children were younger. I can promise you I would not have allowed my 13 year old daughter would be allowed access to the computer without my supervision. And, I would not have allowed her to take much less post provacative pictures of herself.

[wheezel3]

Get the DA out of office. Get the AG to handle it, if he doesn''t, sue them in civil court. If no one calls a spade a spade in that state, take care of it themselves. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. No jury in the world would convict the parents for avenging their daughter''s death.