No Charges In Deadly MySpace Hoax

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

(CBS/AP) 
Gov. Matt Blunt and a few state legislators have recently sought a review of Missouri law for any needed changes. The St. Charles County prosecutor, Jack Banas, has said he is reviewing Megan's case to see if anyone should be charged under Missouri's existing harassment law.

Goodno recommends that states look at their harassment and stalking law, to see if new law is needed.

"When you think of stalking or harassment, you think of the creepy guy behind the bush who follows you," Goodno said. "But with the Internet, there are whole types of behaviors that people wouldn't normally think of as harassment."

She said cyberstalking differs from other harassment in five ways.

Cyberstalkers can harass someone quickly and widely over the Internet. They can be far removed from their victim, creating jurisdictional problems for prosecutors. They can remain nearly anonymous. They can easily impersonate the victim, and they can encourage people not directly involved in the harassment to harass on their behalf.

In California, a man posed online as a woman, posted her identifying information, and sent messages that she fantasized about being raped. At least six men knocked on the woman's door, saying they wanted to rape her.

The unique features of cyberstalking and harassment require new or updated laws beyond those already on the books, she said.

Both types of law should emphasize that a stalker has willfully and repeatedly acted in such a way to cause the victim to fear for safety. However, many current stalking laws require that the suspect has made a "credible threat" of violence against the victim, and is able to carry out that threat.

That standard can make cyberharassment more difficult to prosecute, she said.

The "credible threat" laws don't protect against electronic communications such as a barrage of e-mails that harass but don't actually threaten.

Goodno advocates instead for a "reasonable person standard," such as the one included in the Dardenne Prairie measure. That measure says harassment causes a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, or a parent to fear for the well-being of their underage child, who is the target of the contact.

There's no question that First Amendment issues could come into play. "We can't criminalize constitutionally protected behavior," Goodno said.

In Hitchcock's case, the writer was harassed after a dispute with a literary agency. Cyberstalkers purporting to be her posted phony messages, forged her name on magazine subscriptions and CD club memberships, and clogged her Internet account with unwanted e-mail.

The couple involved in her case settled a civil suit, she said, and pleaded guilty to charges including mail fraud.

She worked to change Maryland law, where she lived at the time, and lawmakers made it a crime to send harassing e-mails there, though the measure couldn't be retroactively applied to her case.

The Maine resident now runs a site called Working to Halt Online Abuse, to assist victims of online harassment. She's still seeking legal changes.

"I'd rather see a broader cyberstalking law federally," she said. "I've been trying to get that passed for years."

[eawalker1970]

Yes it is tragic this this child took her own life. No one is saying it isn''t. But to blame others for Megans parents short comings and now they are trying to sue in civil court??? Lets see, first off the parents of Megan created this profile for her, logged her on for her and even saw these messages yet didn''t confront the issue at hand. And now they want money for the loss. For their lack of parenting skills. What is this country coming to??? There were no threats to Megan whatsoever.

Myspace Eligibility: "Eligibility. Use of and Membership in the MySpace Services is void where prohibited. By using the MySpace Services, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; (c) you are 14 years of age or older; and (d) your use of the MySpace Services does not violate any applicable law or regulation. Your profile may be deleted and your Membership may be terminated without warning, if we believe that you are under 14 years of age."

Megans parents created the myspace account for her! Again, lack of parenting comes into play. Once again yes it is tragic that this child took her life, yet why didn''t Megans mother go after her and have a talk with her right after this incident happened?

Another tragic loss of life by parents unwilling to deal with the issues at hand and trying to put the blame anywhere but on themselves.

[flolake]

Also, in that many seperate online folks added cruel remarks in the final day or so of that murderous charade, it would seem that a charge of conspiricy would be in order in addition to the charges I listed previously.

For the crazed parent to get off Scott free reeks of low mentality & creativity on the part of the local judicial system. That is if you''d still consider such an entity an honest to God judicial system.

God what a travesty.

[flolake]

y the local powers that be cannot make contributing to the delinquency of a minor and false pretenses stick in a court of law; at the bare minimum, is beyond me.

Can''t charge the woman my arse. B.S.!

[pelostilaho]

If the law won''t prosecute Lori Drew, then Megan''s parents are FULLY JUSTIFIED in taking the law into their own hands.

Any law enforcement "spying" this be damned. It is time victims, people and animals had rights, NOT criminal scum. A girl ended her life because of cruelty, and if you don''t want to do anything about it, then da*mnit, stand aside.

[radiob-2009]

And for the sake of calling attention to internet harassment, they should charge them.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Edward1975

This was cruel what was done to this girl, my question is this what were the girls parents doing? I am not trying to shift responsibilty , the parents of Megan should have had their internet set up in order to prevent this, although if it did not occur on the internet would it have occured somewhere else? As far as the neighbors who "harrassed" which they did they should be charged with "harrasement" . This is a sad story and unfortunately a life is lost.

[shanev137]

WHY...WHY WOULD YOU JUST ASSUME THAT YOUR CHILD IS NOT TALKING TO A STRANGER RIGHT NOW ON THE INTERNET?

WHY WOULD YOU JUST ASSUME THAT THEY ARE SAFE, AND THE STRANGERS THEY ARE TALKING TO ARE GOOD PEOPLE?

WHY?

WHY?

SOMEONE TELL ME. WHY ARE STRANGERS SAFE PEOPLE?

[edward1975-2009]

It''s all ridiculous until it is your daughter or wife having this done to them. It''s easier to joke, make absolutely moronic statements when not happening to you. How this is not harassment in some form is incredible. And for the sake of calling attention to internet harassment, they should charge them.

[zabarc]

Blah, blah, blah, ....... cdfoxtrot
It is true. Any time a republican makes a mistake (I.E. Duke Cunningham) it is front page news because we do claim to have a higher standard. Anytime a Democrat makes a mistake (I.E. William Jefferson) it is overlooked because Dem%u2019s standards are so low that everyone expects to make mistakes. Libs have no respect for life of for accountability and the comments on this board prove it.
You speak of me, but you don%u2019t think the people who caused this girl%u2019s death deserver some sentence?

Posted by cdfoxtrot
Quite right. Anyone who makes a mistake deserves eternal damnation. ''''cept yourself, of course.

[stevenga777]

Somone who lives near Lori Drew should torch her house or at least stone it. If there are any burglers nearby..go ahead and hit her house. If I saw her in the street...I don''t know..I hit my breaks but they just froze!

[barbedoll-2009]

I can''t believe you people are badmouthing this 13 year old girl and her parents. You all should be ashamed of yourselves. This woman, Lori Drew and her employee should NEVER have setup a fake account to get information from Megan. If you wanted to know something, then talk to her and talk to her mother. Don''t set up a fake account...Lori Drew and her crew should be accountable for their actions.

[cdfoxtrot]

Blah, blah, blah, .......
I wonder if the church of liberalism is accountable for anything.

Posted by zabarc

Quite right. Anyone who makes a mistake deserves eternal damnation. ''cept yourself, of course.

[zabarc]

I am glad to see the church of liberalism is alive and well tonight.

If you sleep with someone and get pregnant%u2026..get an abortion and ye shall be saved.

If you buy a house that is more than you can afford%u2026.Henry Pulson will refinance you at the tax payers expense and ye shall be saved.

If you are an adult and harass a young kid who has problems over the internet and she kills herself%u2026County Prosecutor Jack Banas will not prosecute you and ye shall be saved.

I wonder if the church of liberalism is accountable for anything.

[somoney85]

i''m so glad to read all of these comments and hear that nearly everyone agrees with me.

calling someone fat is not harrassment. if your child is troubled enough to kill herself because of this, then you haven''t done your job as a parent. when you find her hanging in her bedroom, it has been too late for a long, long time.

[Skysblue]

Jerry Springer trailer trash meets McMansions in the burbs.

Why do you people defend Lori Drew? She needs to step up, accept responsibility, not blame in on her hired help, apologize and then lets all MOVEON. If she cannot do this, then she should move to another country. Course she still needs to reconcile the damage she''s done to her kids.

[taylpatr]

That woman who started all this, Lisa Drew, should do the honorable thing: Hang herself so she can know how that little girl suffered.Hang her with her own computer power cord.The world would , indeed, be better off without her.Twist in the wind, you pathetic excuse for a human being.

[shanev137]

geezus....exactly what part can''t you morons get?


NOBODY WALKED THROUGH HER FRONT DOOR AND KILLED HER.

SHE KILLED HERSELF.

IT WASN''T H-O-M-I-C-I-D-E.

IT WAS S-U-I-C-I-D-E.


Seriously, can any of you count to 10 on your own?

[republic1776]

Ok, now it''s the Parents fault!
Our Government creates new laws, tighten our freedon, raise taxes...
Their best campain,, "It''s for the children"
What about now?

And Ms. or Mr. jackie0428, why do you have a job?
"people simply do NOT make other people commit suicide"
Duh, murder, abuse, drug addition?
Most people had TRAMA in their past.
27 years huh. Ever been beaten with electric cords, pool sticks by your parents?
Ever been beat up at school to the point that you bleed from a bloody nose or lip almost everyday.
Ever been BF''d by your uncle.

You must be a pink sunglass liberal.
27 years,? you old and stupid.

[shanev137]

A few of you people have figured it out...the rest of you people are friggen idiots.

I think some of you total morons need to go jump off a bridge for being so stupid....and yea, after you do, go ahead and have your family sue me.

Like someone said, if your child is stupid enough to go kill themselves because some whackjob stranger tells them to...then -YOU- are the one who needs to go to jail.

[jackie0428]

Vbnvbnvbn, I have a Masters in psychology and 27 years experience. You, on the other hand, are ignorant and purely emotional on this issue. Nobody supports Drew''s behavior. My opinion stands: people simply do NOT make other people commit suicide. It doesn''t work that way. Give it a rest.

[republic1776]

Oh Well,
This inmature witch, who messed with this young lady should get at least 10 YEARS!
What she did was endangerment the welfare of a child.
This Beach is NO different than a pedophile.
When are people going to stand up to our Government and tell them..."No, this is wrong"
What kind of bums are in our elected office?