Update, 7 p.m.: CNN.com reports the following:
A federal indictment accuses Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Missouri, of using a MySpace account to pose as a 16-year-old boy and feign romantic interest in the girl.
The girl, Megan Meier, committed suicide after her online love interest spurned her, according to prosecutors, telling her the world would be a better place without her.
Drew faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.
The indictment, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses Drew and others of registering on MySpace as "Josh Evans" and using the account to start an online romance with Meier.
Previously:
Charges are expected to be filed today in the Megan Meier case, The Smoking Gun is reporting.
Megan MeierFederal prosecutors today are expected to announce criminal charges in the "cyber-bullying" case involving Megan Meier, the 13-year-old Missouri girl who committed suicide following a heartless online hoax engineered by the mother of one of her friends. FBI and Department of Justice officials have scheduled an 11:30 AM press conference in Los Angeles to detail an anticipated indictment in the Meier case.
RFT Staff Writer Keegan Hamilton wrote Broken Lives on Waterford Crystal Drive, our November cover story on the saga.
Good. Burn in Hell, Lori!
Posted at: May 15, 2008 2:03 PM