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

[YesWeDid]

No parole for Drew once she's convicted. As to her mental state, who cares; it's the victim who deserves our compassion, not the felon.

[janex]

She is also a powerful reminder that there are people who are mean for no reason.

This is a woman in her forties who seems to be forever stuck in the eighth grade, and she is the leader of the mean girls' table. I don't know that the government will be successful in a conviction, but at least, like OJ, everyone will know what a loser she is for the rest of her life.

There is simply no excuse for behavior like this, and Mrs. Drew doesn't even seem to have a sense of shame or any conscience. Mrs. Drew seems upset that people are angry with her and saying nasty things to her. The only bad thing that could come of this is that Mrs. Drew might get a book contract for "her story." I would cringe if she were to profit from this.

[pineapplegal]

Yah, and I get over-the-top angered at the few local parents who actually provide liquor to the neighborhood teens. This so trumps that but the question is, why haven't these people grown up??? Better yet, where is their conscious???

[keepemhonest]

49 year old Lori Drew had taken Megan on family vacations, she knew the girl had been prescribed antidepression medication, Ms. Meier said. She also knew that Megan had a MySpace page.

Shortly before Megan’s death, the Meiers had agreed to store a foosball table the Drews had bought as a Christmas surprise for their children. When the Meiers learned about the MySpace hoax, they attacked the table with a sledgehammer and an ax, Ms. Meier said, and threw the pieces onto the Drews’ driveway.

police learned about the hoax when Ms. Drew filed a complaint about the damage to the foosball table. In the report, Drew stated that she felt the hoax “contributed to Megan’s suicide, but she did not feel ‘as guilty’ because at the funeral she found out Megan had tried to commit suicide before.”

*** I wonder what Lori Drew meant by "as guilty".... guilt is guilt.

[kjstjohn]

Did she know the child had attempted suicide (or made a suicidal gesture) before perpetrating the hoax?

[Biff Stiffley]

And there you have premeditation.

[kjstjohn]

Never mind! I reread your post.

[ChiGuy]

How do the pro-capital punishment people feel about this case?
Their argument in favor of such laws frequently includes something to the effect; "They take a life, so they don't deserve to live."
There's no question that the cruelty this woman brought down upon this child led directly to her death.

Sadly, this woman will probably only do a small amount of prison time, while the girl's family must suffer for the rest of their lives.

[OSA23]

people like lori drew exists to remind us all how the 21st century has truly worked wonders on unhinging many people with the regards to the internet - a very powerful and meaningful tool when not used by flamers to whine and complain about meaningless aspects of culture.... but the 21st century continues to unhinge many people not prepared emotionally and mentally and spiritually to accept the important tools of expression and communication technology will continue to provide us all with.

at our literal fingertips, we have the tools to reshape our own personal thought sphere in order to understand what changes must be made FROM WITHIN, first and foremost before attempting to change and positively influence a global community, let alone american culture. because people like lori drew exists to remind us that she's beyond the cynic and she's beyond the damaged goods but she represents a culture that continues to struggle against the benefits AND necessity for change. beyond the legal parameters - lori drew represents the spiritual bankruptcy of a culture that calls itself a 'christian' nation but does the same type of cruelties that many religious fanatics choose to do in the name of 'god'.....

[LittleBrother]

As Harry Shearer often says: Nice people doing nice things!

[dotmafia]

sorry excuse for a human being.

[echota]

You go get her Ms. Drew! You don't let that child who is...I don't know...about a generation younger than you get the best of ya! It is not immature at all on your part to bully a child.

I hope Ms. Drew feels that her part in this is scheme was worth it. I guess it just goes to show you that age does not always equal maturity.

[roshni]

And she involved her assistant is this scheme too. Was it worth all that trouble to get back at a 13 year old?

[AmericanReflections]

Once upon a time, I had a 13 year old daughter. As I recall, there was a lot of bickering that went on between every 13 year old girl in the neighborhood, including my own. How immature does a 49 year old woman have to be to get involved in that kind of silliness. Kids usually work things out, or not, but whichever way these little spats go, they're seldom life-changing or even very interesting. (Waaah, she called me a snot!" "Waaaah, no I didn't.") Any parent with a brain, and something to do besides get hysterical, ignores this sort of nonsense. Shame on this woman. She deserves to go to prison.

[ellezeebub]

And, don't forget, knowing that she contributed to the suicide of her neighbor's daughter, she asked the family to hide Christmas presents she intended to give her own children. The woman has the moral compass and heart of a stone. She should go to prison for murder.

[Horus45]

Once the new congress is sworn in they will need to finally make internet laws for the 21st century.

[marymarcus]

What a novel notion!

[NeverRepublican]

I do hope she does at least 3-5 years in prison. She deserves it.

[KafkaTamura]

I think Lori Drew was posting on this site recently during the SoCal wildfires.

[rabiddog6708]

We've come a long way since June Cleaver. This mother (I use the term loosely) is a real piece of work. To torment a young firl who she knew had emotional problems....I don't know if she should go to prison, but I know I won't loose any sleep if she does.

[doublels]

3 words--- life in prison.