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Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley || Lori Drew, 50, pretended to be a boy on the MySpace website to befriend Megan Meier, who hanged herself after the virtual friendship ended. A California judge postponed sentencing until 2 July to review testimony from two witnesses. Ms Drew's landmark case concerning internet law made worldwide headlines. Megan, a neighbour of Ms Drew's in St Louis, Missouri, and a former friend of her daughter, took her own life in October 2006. The court was told that Megan killed herself after receiving several cruel messages from a fictitious 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. One post said the world would be better off without her. Prosecutors said that Ms Drew and several others created the fake online page on MySpace, the social networking site, to find out what Megan was saying about her daughter after they had fallen out. Ms Drew was charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is normally used against computer hackers. Prosecutors were unable to find any existing laws within the state of Missouri under which she could be tried. They had alleged that Ms Drew had violated MySpace's terms of service by using false information to set up an account so she and others could "harass, abuse or harm" Megan Meier. The case was tried in California where MySpace is headquartered. Last November a jury found Ms Drew guilty of three minor counts of violating MySpace's terms of use, but cleared her of the more serious charges that carried a maximum of 20 years in jail. "There is a saying in the law that hard cases make bad law and that compelling facts lead courts and prosecutors to pursue cases that are ill advised and that's what we have seen right here with this case," said Andrew Grossman, who is a senior legal analyst with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy research institute. "What happened to Megan is truly a tragedy and no one wishes to downplay that. Ms Drew didn't do anything that was against the law. She did some things that were unkind, that were rude and not becoming of an adult but not against the law. "The messages she sent were not criminal had she said them face to face or on the phone. She did not threaten harm or violence. The prosecutors have twisted the law and that should concern everyone who uses the internet," Mr Grossman told BBC News. In the aftermath of the Megan Meier case a number of states and communities drew up cyber bullying laws. This includes Megan's home state of Missouri where it is now a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500 (£300) or 90 days in jail, to harass someone over the internet. Efforts are also underway to pass a federal law. California Congresswoman Linda Sanchez is behind the Megan Meier Cyber bullying Prevention Act which has been referred to a judiciary committee for legal review. This law aims to make it a crime punishable by a fine or up to two years of prison to communicate online with "the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person." "We need to make new laws in response to these new crimes. Sexting and textual harassment are only a couple of new tactics used by bullies who don't think they'll get caught because there are no bystanders in cyberspace," said Ms Sanchez in an email to the BBC. "What they need to know is that cyber bullying is a serious crime, and is no less harmful than in-person threats, stalking, and harassment. "If federal law recognises this new form of bullying, police and prosecutors will be better equipped and educated to deal with this problem. Prosecutors, more importantly, will then have the ability to punish this behaviour in court," said Ms Sanchez. Some legal experts worry about a law that specifically targets online behaviour. "These types of matters are better decided in sober moments where they are not driven by a single set of facts," said Professor John Palfrey of the Berkman Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard University. "One of the big questions we have to grapple with is whether or not bullying done online makes us feel any differently than bullying in the old fashioned way. If it doesn't then its not clear we need a new law in this context. "Generally speaking it's a bad idea to make cyber specific laws. We don't need a cyber law for stealing, we have a law for theft. We don't need a cyber law for fraud, we have basic laws for that. And the question now should be do we want to outlaw bullying and not just cyber bullying?" questioned Professor Palfrey. The US National Crime Prevention Council in a report last year found that 43% of teens are exposed to cyber bullying in one form or another yet only one in 10 kids told their parents. "Cyber bullying can have such a devastating effect on our young people from depression to falling grades and low self esteem. This case shows however that cyber bullying is not something that just young people commit but we as adults can also be at fault," said the council's Michelle Boykin. "The issue of how you deal with cyber bullying from a legislative perspective is a tough one and we are glad people are looking at the issue seriously." Cyber bullying was just one of the topics covered by the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, a group of 29 internet businesses, non-profit organisations, academics and technology companies. The body was set up by the Attorneys General and chaired by Professor Palfrey. He told the BBC he believed this is an "extremely important case" and that "one of the challenges with cyber bullying is that there has been a sharp increase over the years. The big question on the data is whether there is actually an increase of bullying across the board. "The difference with cyber bullying over regular bullying is that its recorded and it's not just someone saying something on the playground." 15 year old Catherine 'Cati' Grant was a victim of cyber bullying from the age of twelve. The cause she said was a misunderstanding with a friend who accused Cati of stealing something. "She sent me mean messages on MySpace and blamed me for things I didn't do. After a while I got really sad and worried about what people thought of me." In the end Cati said the bullying stopped when the other girl went to the school principal. He told her to stay away from Cati or "suffer the consequences." That experience, coupled with the death of Megan Meier, prompted Cati to take action. She set up a website for teens to get help, support and advice and is planning a tour across America to raise awareness about internet safety and join one million teens together against cyber bullying. "Megan's death was one of the reasons I set up my website. It was just so shocking and upsetting and I want to do what I can to prevent cyber bullying in general and help teenagers who feel they have no where to turn to," Ms Grant told BBC News.
 * =Cyber bullying case sentence due= ||
 * || By Maggie Shiels
 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45217000/jpg/_45217885_-20.jpg width="226" height="170" caption="MySpace page (file image)"]]MySpace users create their own profiles online ||
 * Sentencing will take place this week in the first federal cyber bullying case in the US which was brought to trial after a teenage girl took her own life.**
 * "Bad law"**
 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45794000/jpg/_45794373_007347635-1.jpg width="226" height="282" caption="Lori Drew leaves an LA Court 18 May"]]Drew's trial was the first legal case in the US relating to cyber-bullying ||
 * "Serious crime"**
 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41412000/jpg/_41412932_children203.jpg width="203" height="152" caption="children at computers"]]A recent study said over 40% of children have been bullied online ||
 * "Devastating"**
 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45993000/jpg/_45993879_cyberbul-bod-cati.jpg width="226" height="170" caption="Catherine 'cati' Grant"]]Cati said she was a victim of cyber-bullying for nearly three years ||
 * Support website**

 =B.C. girl convicted in school bullying tragedy=

[|CBC News]
A teenager who bullied a classmate into committing suicide has been found guilty of uttering threats and criminal harassment in a case the victim's mother is calling a ruling "for every child." A second accused was found not guilty at the landmark trial in British Columbia on Monday. In November 2000, Dawn-Marie Wesley, 14, of Mission, B.C. hanged herself shortly after three teenage girls called her. Wesley's suicide note said that she had been threatened by bullies and she believed death was her only escape.

> > //Dawn-Marie Wesley// > Two girls from her school were charged with uttering threats. One of them was also accused of criminal harassment. Their identities are protected because they were prosecuted under Canada's Young Offenders Act. The 16-year-old who was found guilty of both charges Monday will undergo four to six weeks of assessments before a judge imposes a sentence. In her ruling, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Jill Rounthwaite said that it was clear that one of the accused had bullied Wesley repeatedly, giving the victim reason to fear for her life.

> > //Ray Corrado// > Although the second accused had taken part in the phone call, the judge said there was no evidence the girl had broken the law. Rounthwaite noted that bystanders added "to the power of the bully" by letting the harassment go on without intervening. "None of those people had the moral strength to tell the bully to stop or go away," the judge said.

> > //Cindy Wesley// > FROM NATIONAL: [|Bullying] During the trial, one of the accused testified that she had beaten up Dawn-Marie Wesley. The other accused teen admitted calling the victim and saying, "You're dead." The defence argued that it was normal schoolyard behaviour, and insisted the teens never planned to kill Dawn-Marie. A breakdown in a group of friends caused one young woman to become a bully and encouraged other teenaged girls to join in the taunting and verbal torture of Dawn-Marie, court was told. Prosecutors conceded that the girls may not have intended to kill. But they said the accused did intend to terrorize, which itself is criminal. The Crown also argued that society can no longer accept this type of behaviour. The trial drew widespread attention to the role of the courts in dealing with school bullying cases across the country. Wake-up call for authorities "Bullying is widespread in Canada, as it is in other countries, and now you're seeing this is the type of behaviour that's going to be monitored potentially by the court system," said criminologist Ray Corrado of Simon Fraser University. Corrado said he hoped the case is a wake-up call for authorities to step up their efforts to stop school bullying.
 * RELATED: [|Campaign against bullying expands to N.S.]

Dawn-Marie's mother, Cindy, cried in court when the verdicts were read. She then hugged the other mothers. Wesley said the ruling could go a long way to stop this kind of bullying in the future. "This wasn't just for Dawn-Marie today. This ruling goes for every child in this country that's been bullied," she told reporters. "I think you need to acknowledge that although our family is the major victim in all of this, our community was a victim, the high school was a victim, the family of these girls are victims of their own children," Cindy Wesley added. The mother said she hopes the case will help bullies understand how their words and actions can harm by their victims. Cindy Wesley said she was pleased with Monday's decision, including the second girl's acquittal. She said it was clear that the second teen was also a victim of the first girl's bullying. "The judge definitely restored my faith in the judicial system," Cindy Wesley said. A third girl who was charged with threatening Dawn-Marie still faces a trial.

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Teen bully convicted


Read the CBS news report, B.C. girl convicted in school bullying tragedy, to learn about the trial of the three teenage girls who continuously harassed and threatened Dawn-Marie, a 14-year old girl from Canada. Dawn-Marie never asked an adult for help and finally committed suicide.