Lori Drew indicted in MySpace suicide case

Drew indicted for conspiracy

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted Lori Drew for her role in a MySpace online hoax played on 13-year-old Megan Meier who committed suicide.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles has indicted Lori Drew for her role in a MySpace online hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who committed suicide.

Drew, 49, was named in a four-count indictment charges one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress on Meier, who was referred to in the indictment only as M.T.M.

According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien, the indictment alleges that Drew and others registered as a member of MySpace under the name of Josh Evans, then began corresponding with Meier in what the girl believed was an online romance. After the "romance" ended, Meier hanged herself in her room.

By doing so, the indictment says, Drew and her co-conspirators violated MySpace's "terms of service" that prohibit users from making use of fraudulent registration information, using accounts to obtain personal information about members who are juveniles and using MySpace services to harass, abuse or harm other members.

"This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a young teenage girl, with horrendous ramifications," O'Brien said.

"Any adult who uses the Internet or a social gathering website to bully or harass another person, particularly a young teenage girl, needs to realize that their actions can have serious consequences."

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