MySpace hoax case is dismissed
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LOS ANGELES - A federal judge tentatively decided yesterday to dismiss the case against a Missouri woman who had been convicted of computer fraud stemming from an Internet hoax that prompted a teenage girl to commit suicide.
Lori Drew of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., was convicted in November of three misdemeanor counts of illegally accessing a protected computer.
The decision by US District Judge George H. Wu will not become final until his written ruling is filed, probably next week.
Wu said he was concerned that if Drew was found guilty of violating the terms of service in using MySpace, anyone who violated the terms could be convicted of a crime.
Drew 50, was to be sentenced in May, but Wu had delayed the sentencing until yesterday, saying he wanted to consider the defense motion to dismiss the case.
A federal jury convicted Drew in November of the three misdemeanor charges but deadlocked on a felony conspiracy charge that would have carried a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The verdict was a blow to prosecutors, who indicted Drew on what some called tenuous legal grounds after authorities in Missouri declined to file criminal charges.
Drew was widely criticized after the 2006 death of eighth-grader Megan Meier, an acquaintance of Drew’s daughter.
