Sentencing For Mother Accused In MySpace Bullying Case Delayed

May 19, 2009 8:53 a.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (AHN) - Sentencing for Lori Drew, a mother convicted last year for misdemeanor charges stemming from allegations that she posed as a boy and caused the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, was delayed on Monday after defense attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case.

Drew was charged in May 2008 on a four-count indictment. She was convicted in November the same year of three counts, which were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors, of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. The jury could not decide on the charge of criminal conspiracy, which carries a maximum of five years in prison.

Virtually ending the most high-profile case of cyber-bullying, the conviction had been a disappointment to a significant number of bloggers and proponents of stronger protections against online harassment.

Federal prosecutors said Drew had opened an account on the social networking site MySpace as under the name "Josh Evans." She proceeded, together with her daughter and a teenage employee, Ashley Grills, to " feign romantic interest" for Megan.

The 50-year-old mother was allegedly seeking information to use to harm Megan in retaliation for the teen's spreading rumors about her daughter.

"After approximately four weeks of flirtatious communications," according to the FBI, Drew spurned Megan and told her the world would be a better place without her via the fake MySpace account. Within an hour after the messages, Megan had hanged herself in her room.

Drew now faces up to three years in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 2.

The case was filed in Los Angeles, where MySpace is headquartered in Beverly Hills. At the of Megan's death, MySpace was the most visited site in the nation as well as the most popular social networking site, gaining its 100 millionth account August that year.