Mom hails conviction in cyberbullying case

By the Associated Press

Published: November 29, 2008

ST. LOUIS — The mother of a girl who committed suicide at age 13 after being subjected to an Internet hoax says a woman’s conviction in the case shows that people who bully others online will face consequences.

Tina Meier, mother of suicide victim Megan Meier, attends a news conference outside federal court Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008, in Los Angeles. A Missouri mother, Lori Drew, on trial in a landmark cyberbullying case was convicted of three minor offenses instead of the main conspiracy charge in a cruel Internet hoax that apparently drove Megan Meier to suicide. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

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Lori Drew, 49, of O’Fallon, Mo., was convicted Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles on misdemeanor charges of accessing computers without authorization in a landmark cyberbullying trial.

Drew’s lawyer said he still hopes the charges will be dismissed.

Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages to teenage neighbor Megan Meier.

The "boy” dumped Megan in 2006, telling her: "The world would be a better place without you.”

Megan hanged herself in her bedroom closet.

Megan’s mother, Tina Meier, said in a phone interview Friday she’ll ask at sentencing that Drew serve the maximum penalty, three years in prison and a $300,000 fine.