Nov 26, 2008 3:52 pm US/Pacific
Misdemeanor Conviction In MySpace Trial
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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Lori Drew, a Missouri woman who allegedly perpetrated a MySpace hoax that drove her daughter's 13-year-old classmate to suicide, leaves court Thursday Sept. 4, 2008 in Los Angeles. (File)
AP
A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyber bullying case was convicted Wednesday of misdemeanor computer charges instead of felonies in a cruel Internet hoax played on a 13-year-old girl who later committed suicide.
The Los Angeles federal jury could not reach a verdict on a conspiracy allegation against 49-year-old Lori Drew and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm on the girl.
Instead, the panel convicted her of three lesser offenses of just accessing computers without authorization. Each of those counts is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the four original counts.
U.S. District Court Judge George Wu declared a mistrial on the conspiracy count.
Drew did not show any visible emotion when the clerk read the verdicts.
Most members of the jury of six men and six women left court without speaking to reporters. One juror, who would only identify himself by the first name, Marcilo, indicated jurors were not convinced Drew's actions involved the intent alleged by prosecutors.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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