Cyberbullying Trial Witness Tells Of Torturing Young Girl On MySpace

LOS ANGELES — The daughter of a woman accused of orchestrating a cruel Internet hoax against a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide took the witness stand Friday to defend her mother.

Sarah Drew, 16, said her mother, Lori Drew, initially thought it was a good idea to create a fictitious boy on a MySpace account to find out if Megan Meier was spreading rumors about Sarah.

But Sarah said her mother told a business assistant to shut down the MySpace account two weeks after it was created _ well before the final message was sent saying the world would be better off if Megan was dead.

Megan, who had been treated for attention deficit disorder and depression, hanged herself in October 2006 after receiving the message.

Lori Drew has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and accessing computers without authorization. If convicted of all counts, Drew faces up to 20 years in prison.

Sarah's testimony capped a week of emotional and sometimes touchy proceedings in what is believed to be the nation's first cyber-bullying trial.

Sarah broke down under cross-examination by U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien as she described how Megan had confided in her about her suicidal thoughts, but Sarah didn't tell anyone.

The trial also took another twist when U.S. District Judge George Wu said he will rule Monday on a defense motion calling for the dismissal of charges against the 49-year-old Drew.

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Prosecutors say Drew, her business assistant Ashley Grills and Sarah created the MySpace alias of a teen boy called "Josh Evans" in September 2006 to befriend Megan.

Sarah told jurors her mother thought inventing "Josh" was a good idea but changed her mind two weeks later and told Grills to shut it down. Sarah also said she tried to stop Grills from sending the final message.

"I was like, Ashley, no, don't send it," Sarah said. "She said she sent it and laughed about it."

Sarah testified she never saw her mother use the MySpace account. Her statement contradicted testimony by Grills that she had seen Drew type at least one message and court documents alleging Drew told authorities she typed, read and monitored the chat between "Josh" and Megan.

Sarah said it was her father, not her mother, who told her and Grills to delete the MySpace account after they learned Megan had hanged herself. Grills testified Thursday it was both Sarah's parents who made the request.

On cross-examination by the prosecution, Sarah said she often forgave Megan, who she considered her best friend, for saying mean things about her. She also denied having a role in her friend's death.

Sarah said Megan confided in her on two occasions that she wanted to kill herself.

"She was like, I don't know if I could live anymore," she said of one instance. "I told her not to do it."

Sarah cried on the witness stand and nodded when O'Brien questioned her about why she didn't tell any adults about the suicide conversations.

Defense attorney Dean Steward stood up and lashed out at the region's top federal prosecutor for badgering the teenage girl.

"Come on, 'yes or no,' not a head nod. Be a professional!" Steward bellowed. Drew shot icy stares at O'Brien but showed no other reaction.

Sarah was visibly shaken as she left the courtroom and wept as she passed Megan's parents Ron and Tina Meier. Outside court, Drew tried to calm her daughter.

Steward said his client would not testify at the trial.

Judge Wu said he intends to review testimony and issue a ruling on the dismissal motion by the defense claiming Drew cannot be held responsible for violating the service rules of the MySpace social networking site because she never read them.

While making the dismissal motion, Steward argued that neither Drew nor Sarah or Grills had read the rules.

"The best view of the government's evidence is ambiguous at best," Steward said.

That prompted Wu to question Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause about the charges in the ongoing trial.

"How would they know if they didn't read the terms of service?" Wu asked.

Krause said Grills had testified that she knew they could get in trouble for the hoax, and that a computer forensics analysis showed a MySpace account had been deleted from Drew's computer after the suicide of Megan.

Steward called his own expert who testified Friday she could not find any evidence that the account had been deleted from Drew's computer.

Jae Sung, a vice president of customer care at MySpace, testified that MySpace requires users to check a box agreeing to the rules prohibiting such things as online harassment.

Sung's testimony addressed a central aspect of the prosecution case alleging that Drew violated MySpace service terms by harassing Megan and setting up a fake account. Sung said "impostor profiles" such as the "Josh" account in this case are not allowed under MySpace guidelines.

"What happens when they are found?" Krause asked.

"We generally delete those profiles," Sung said.

Sung said MySpace now has 400 million profiles for users, which makes it difficult to enforce the service rules.

Comments

[vjthedj]

You know, this is what I suspected. That there are parents out there that teach their own kids to bully, and push around. Jealousy seems to be root cause.

[Montanan4Obama]

It is almost inconceivable that an adult person could behave in this manner. Obviously Drew needs psychiatric intervention because what on Earth could possess a grown woman to torture a child in this manner?

[liseworks]

People who self-loathe need to pass that along to have others feel their pain - they take pleasure in the control ....she def. needs help (behind bars) -

[Xav7]

This woman makes for the argument that all people should have a psychological evaluation before being allowed to procreate.

[whit4brains]

Also shows that just because someone is a mom doesn't mean anything special. It's being a good mother and parent that should be celebrated and respected.

[tcuoohjohn]

In some states she would be facing a manslaughter charge based upon reckless disregard. Her behavior was clearly reckless and intended to create psychological injury. She knew the victim was depressed and suicidal and any reasonable person could foresee a possible suicide. She continued anyway.

[Lorifromky]

This woman is a parent - imagine what lessons she has passed on to her children and imagine your children sitting next to them in school. This is what school systems must deal with on a daily basis.

[ellawensmom]

You are so right! Kids will get in trouble at school for bullying, and the parents will come in and YELL and threaten to tell us that their kids didn't do any such thing. Then you have the parents who deny their kids' involvement in gangs, when their kids are sporting gang tattoos!!! I don't tolerate bullying. It is something that can have HORRENDOUS consequences, and if you are an adult, why would you bully a kid??? Grow the eff up!!!

[kbruegg]

I live in st. louis and the area in which this woman is from is a place called st. charles county. The irony of that is st. charles is the craddle of "right-wing", "family and faith based" "ultra-conservative" "moral majority" and what ever other right-wingnut thing you can think of. These people make me sick. And they try to preach to me.

[roshni]

Figures...........

[KingCranky]

Lori Drew is a truly despicable person.

That said, how do the "accessing computers without authorization" charges enter into things here, especially if Drew, as mother, would be considered one of the owners of those computers in her house?

How/why does a person need authorization to use something they already own?

Drew should be serving time, but the laws aren't set up yet to deal with what she did, so don't be shocked if any guilty verdicts are overturned on appeal.

Hopefully, if Drew is found guilty, and ends up serving time, her example will deter anyone else from doing such a stupid, vile, harsh stunt on anyone who's as vulnerable as Megan Meier was.

[Scalawag]

Probably because Drew was using Myspace servers in violation of their terms of usage. You know the little agreements that no one ever reads? I bet that is where the "accessing computers without authorization" charge comes from.

[iBlog4Fun]

the "computers" are in reference to the computer Servers of My Space, not her own.
the reason it is not "authorized" is because of the account she created was fraudulent and violated the terms and conditions of the site.

[TRYKER]

The child was taking medication for depression. The drug companies have successfully fought most cases brought against them for causing suicides...even when the evidence was overwhelming that they were at fault.
In this case, they may have contributed to the suicide and her parents should look into that.
Bullying has gone so far out of control in this country, that we tolerate it as though it is just something kids will do, is insane.
This will be a landmark case for cyber-space...the adult Drew should be held accountable in whatever way there is. A jail sentence would make an impression...she doesn't yet seem to take her actions seriously, a bad sign of her character.

[sloreader]

Conviction or not, the woman's conduct was morally reprehensible and contributed to a kid's death. In a perfect world adults would not live their lives so vicariously because the results can be disastrous. We have seen similar carnage before in everything from hockey matches to cheerleader tryouts and from baseball games to beauty contests. The results are all too often the same, the internet is just another stage for ill-conceived drama.

[kawreader]

Woah, what a bizarre and terribly sad case. What is wrong with these people? Cyberbullying a child? Honestly, that lady should put herself in jail/treatment.

[LollieDotCom]

The thing about suicidal people, most, is that they're not certain about it or they'd have done it already. They teeter, like a refrigerator you're moving and you've got that big heavy thing up on one edge, then with just a fingertip's pressure either way you can tip it over the edge of the porch or back to it's upright and firmly seated four corners. That's why it's important not to be any more hateful than you absolutely have to be in any circumstance, especially over the internet because you never know who's teetering already. When in doubt, be kind.

This is such a tragic story.

[Moshe]

Bullying isn't just some childhood right of passage. It's the vicious use of power to humilate and harm someone just because you can.

It's not normal, and it should never be tolerated, but too often is because most of us won't confront the bully because we are not the target.

As this twisted person so classically demonstrated, bullies are vile, vicious cowards who attack the most vulnerable among us.

We all have a moral duty to stand together and protect those who cannot protect themselves from these sick twisted tormentors. Seeking pleasure by causing others pain is monstrous and should never be tolerated.

[robiform]

Well said--I truly hope that this woman is convicted and given the maximum sentence possible!

[Thad]

Do you really think she should be convicted of fraud, though, for violating MySpace's ToS?

I'm not saying she shouldn't get the book thrown at her. I'm just saying they're prosecuting her for the wrong thing.

[sisterdebmac]

Very well said. I've been bullied on the Internet myself by a couple of people who followed me from message board to message board. One of them stalked me into my private email and then publicly revealed all kinds of personal info about me online. For absolutely no reason other than that he didn't like something I posted on a board. It took a long time to finally get him blocked in all the places he was using to come at me. The Internet truly does bring out the very worst in some people. Or it causes certain kinds of personalities to just snap.

I hope this woman is prosecuted to the full extent of the law. As someone who has suicide in my family, I understand that it doesn't take much to push vulnerable people over the edge. Maybe seeing justice done in this case will wake up a few of these cyber-harrassers who might otherwise really hurt someone.

[LDnearthesea]

Five years ago MySpace, Facebook, and these other web sites where people can get way more than their fifteen minuts of "fame" didn't exist. Even YouTube, which I like because you can see film or vids of musicians, sports figures, etc. has become sort of a MySpace too in that people make up a page about him or herself, and can get responses, friend invites, etc. I really only use Youtube to see things that I otherwise wouldn't see on TV. Personally, I wish these websites would just go away. Why can't people meet each other the old fasioned way: in person, as strangers, and not being strangers after. Cyber friends aren't real friends if you don't meet them, and it's not like pen pals. I've wasted a bit of time myself trying to meet and make friends on the net. Gave it up, it's like a parallel universe. I like my privacy too much, and can find other things to do with my time.

[gwpriester]

Sick. People can be so incredibly nasty.

[WeAreTheBorg]

Just because something is "legal" does not mean that it is a good, correct or wise thing to do. What Lori Drew and Ashley Grills did to Megan Meier was juvenile and stupid. She's supposed to be an adult. Where did she get the idea that doing this to a girl known to be depressed and suicidal was a good idea? And why would Ashley Grills, a 20 year old woman, continue to help her?
If Lori Drew isn't sent to prison (which may not be possible under current law), I hope that Megan Meier's family files a civil suit that sends her to the poorhouse for the rest of her sad, dispicable life.