Lori Drew, the woman who laid an elaborate plan to humiliate her 13 year old neighbor named Megan Meier, who later killed herself because of the incident, was tentatively acquitted today on charges of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization.

The Judge said his ruling will become final when he issues it in writing.

“Drew was convicted in a trial in November, but the judge says that if she is to be found guilty of illegally accessing computers, anyone who has ever violated the social networking site’s terms of service would be guilty of a misdemeanor.”

Prosecutors were looking to get the maximum punishment of a three year prison sentence and a $300,000 fine.

A defense motion to dismiss the conviction is currently being reviewed, so the sentencing is being postponed until May.

The case has received a lot of publicity due to the fact that it was our nations first Cyber-Bullying trial.

A quick recap of what happened:

“Prosecutors say Drew sought to humiliate Megan Meier by helping create a fictitious teen boy on the social networking site and sending flirtatious messages to the girl in his name. The fake boy then dumped Megan in a message saying the world would be better without her. She hanged herself a short time later in October 2006 in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, Mo.”

“During the trial, prosecutors argued that Drew violated MySpace service rules by setting up the phony profile for a boy named “Josh Evans” with the help of her then-13-year-old daughter Sarah and business assistant Ashley Grills. They posted a photo of a bare-chested boy with tousled brown hair. “Josh” then told Megan she was “sexi” and assured her, “i love you so much.”

“Prosecutors believe Drew and her daughter, who was friends with Megan, created the profile to find out if Megan was spreading rumors about Sarah. Grills testified she received a message from Megan in mid-2006, calling Drew’s daughter a lesbian.”

Grills, who testified under a promise of immunity, allegedly sent the final, insulting message to Megan before she killed herself. Prosecutors said Megan sent a response saying, “‘You are the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over.”

Somehow the jurors decided that Lori Drew was not responsible for the felonies of intentionally causing emotional harm while accessing computers without authorization, and they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on the felony conspiracy charge.

Click to view the article on the Judge Tentatively Acquitting Lori Drew.

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On Wednesday, October 9th, The First Southern Bank in St. Louis Missouri was robbed of about $22,000 cash by two men who concealed their identity under motorcycle helmets. Upon further investigation, it became “abundantly clear a police officer was involved.”

Well this past  Wednesday, the police officer James D. Gaddis, 26, was arrested without incident and his accomplice, Anthony Mitchell Fike, 35, turned himself in soon after.

Jackson County State’s Attorney Mike Wepsiec said both men are charged with armed robbery, a felony punishable upon conviction by a minimum of six years and a maximum of 30 years. Since there was a firearm used in the crime, Wepsiec said state law mandates an additional 15 years.

Gaddis and Fike are being held in the Jackson County Jail, with Gaddis isolated from other prisoners, Sheriff Bob Burns said.

Fike’s bond was set at $50,000 while bond for Gaddis is $1 million.

Authorities did not reveal any details about how the investigation led to Gaddis and Fike, but Wepsiec said those details will be revealed at trial and that the investigation made it “abundantly clear a police officer was involved.”

Without elaborating, Wepsiec alleged Gaddis “used some of his tools as a police officer to perpetrate the robbery.”

Cole stated that the alleged conduct of this one officer is not indicative of the Carbondale police force as a whole, which he stated has been recognized as being among the best in the country.

“That’s what I asked the judge for,” Wepsiec said of Gaddis’ bond. “I think it’s pretty obvious why.”

Check out the original article here

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This is one of those situations where I dont agree with a Law that is supposed to protect us.

Long story short, this lady in Missouri made a fake Myspace account posing as a 13 year old boy and contacted a girl who apparently did not get along with her daughter. This contact began an online “romance” with the girl.  A few weeks passed and apparently the lady (posing as the girls boyfriend) told the girl, “the world would be a bettter place without you”,  “broke-up” with her, and within the hour the13 year old girl had hung herslf.

A terrible terrible tragedy. It hurts my heart.

“Federal prosecutors accuse Drew and other unidentified co- conspirators of registering on MySpace as a fictitious 16-year- old boy named Josh Evans who, in September 2006, made contact with 13-year-old Megan Meier and flirted with her for four weeks.”

The Defense is looking to the the Suicide Evidence thrown out because the jury hearing about it might make them “too prejuidicial”

“Drew is charged with unauthorized access of computers to obtain information, a violation of the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act that is unrelated to the suicide, Steward said in his request to exclude the evidence. Prosecutors claim the death of the girl is relevant because Drew’s motive for committing computer fraud, they say, was to inflict emotional distress.”

It’s obvious that if this evidence of suicide isn’t presented, it could make for a much lighter punishment, and a tougher case.  With something this malicious and evil, this lady will get what she deserves one day, regardless of  if it is from the state, or God when it is her time to be judged.

The trial starts on November 18th.

Check the original article out here

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