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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Judge to acquit MySpace 'bully' | Judge to acquit MySpace 'bully' |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| A US judge has indicated that he will overturn the conviction of a Missouri woman accused of "cyber-bullying" a 13-year-old girl who later killed herself. | A US judge has indicated that he will overturn the conviction of a Missouri woman accused of "cyber-bullying" a 13-year-old girl who later killed herself. |
| Lori Drew was alleged to have posed as a teenage boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages to Megan Meier. | Lori Drew was alleged to have posed as a teenage boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages to Megan Meier. |
| After the fake boy "dumped" Ms Meier online, she committed suicide. | After the fake boy "dumped" Ms Meier online, she committed suicide. |
| Drew, 50, was found guilty of illegally accessing computers last year, but Judge George Wu said he was tentatively acquitting her. | |
| If Drew were convicted for breaking the social networking site's terms of service, "you could prosecute pretty much anyone who violated terms of service," he said. | If Drew were convicted for breaking the social networking site's terms of service, "you could prosecute pretty much anyone who violated terms of service," he said. |
| 'Public symbol' | 'Public symbol' |
| Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Drew had set up the phony MySpace account in order to find out if Megan Meier was spreading rumours about her daughter Sarah. | Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Drew had set up the phony MySpace account in order to find out if Megan Meier was spreading rumours about her daughter Sarah. |
| Posing as "Josh Evans", she started an online relationship with the 13-year-old, before apparently staging a falling-out and sending a message that "the world would be better off without" her. | Posing as "Josh Evans", she started an online relationship with the 13-year-old, before apparently staging a falling-out and sending a message that "the world would be better off without" her. |
| During court proceedings, Drew's lawyer argued that "the government's case is all about making Lori Drew a public symbol of cyberbullying". | During court proceedings, Drew's lawyer argued that "the government's case is all about making Lori Drew a public symbol of cyberbullying". |
| "The government has created a fiction that Lori Drew somehow caused [Megan's] death, and it wants a long prison sentence to make its fiction seem real." | "The government has created a fiction that Lori Drew somehow caused [Megan's] death, and it wants a long prison sentence to make its fiction seem real." |
| But federal prosecutor Tom O'Brien said he stood by his decision to prosecute. | But federal prosecutor Tom O'Brien said he stood by his decision to prosecute. |
| "I'm proud of this case," he said. "This is a case that called out for someone to do something. It was a risk. But this office will always take risks on behalf of children. | "I'm proud of this case," he said. "This is a case that called out for someone to do something. It was a risk. But this office will always take risks on behalf of children. |