MySpace Cyberbullying Case Temporarily Dismissed

US District Judge George Wu has tentatively thrown out the conviction of Lori Drew, a mother who was accused of cyberbullying on MySpace and contributing to a 13-year-old girl's suicide. As quoted by Associated Press, Lori Drew agrees with the ruling and argues that she should never have been prosecuted. "In my view, it was proper that this case was dismissed, primarily because I simply did not do what the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles accused me of doing."

The parents of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old, had sued Lori Drew for her role in their daughter's death. According to prosecutors, Lori Drew, her daughter, and a business associate had created a fictitious MySpace account of a boy named "Josh Evans," flirted with Megan, then dumped her, saying that the world would be a better place without her.

Prosecutors believe that Lori Drew and her daughter had set up the MySpace account to find out of Megan had been spreading rumors about the daughter. According to prosecutors, Megan had sent a message to the fictitious Josh Evans saying that "you are the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over."

The jury determined that Lori Drew was not guilty of intentionally causing emotional harm. Judge George Wu argued that if she were to be prosecuted, then anyone guilty of violating the MySpace terms of service would also be guilty of a misdemeanor. "You could pretty much prosecute anyone who violated terms of service."

MySpace Cyberbullying Case Temporarily Dismissed: Other Cases

While social networking sites can be a valuable resource, cyberbullying can have tragic consequences as seen in this recent MySpace case. Last month, 38-year-old Michael Pecora was found stabbed to death in his Forest Hills, Queens apartment. His sister and investigators believe that he had met his killer on the internet and had let him into his apartment.

In April 2009, Phillip Markoff was charged for the murder of New York adult masseuse Julissa Brisman at Boston's Westin Hotel. Police also suspect that he had attacked two other escorts and robbed clients in order to pay for gambling debts. Medical student Phillip Markoff was dubbed as a Craigslist Killer.