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EARTHDATE: September 20, 2009

Official News page 10


REAL LIFE NEWS: CYBERBULLYING AND THE LAW

by Hazed

Remember Lori Drew, the unpleasant woman who impersonated a teenage boy on MySpace and drove one of her daughters ex-friends to suicide? See this article for one of my previous stories on this case. Now she has been officially acquitted. The Judge who had previously overturned the three counts of misdemeanor tentatively has now given his final ruling which confirms that she should be acquitted.

Read more about this here.

But cyberbullies needn't think they are off the hook, because another woman has been charged with the new crime of felony cyberbullying after she allegedly posted photos and personal information of a teenage girl onto Craigslist.

Prosecutors say that the defendant, Elizabeth A Thrasher, a 40-year-old from Missouri, posted the 17-year-old's picture, cell phone number, email address, and employer to the Craigslist Casual Encounters section, which is where adults who are looking for an anonymous pick-up go. As a result, the girl received emails and calls from men she didn't know, some of whom sent her pornographic pictures.

The incident started when Thrasher got into an extended row with the girl's mother. The girl herself must've got drawn into it and sent Thrasher a message over MySpace. Her response was to post the racy ad on Craigslist, making it seem as if it had been posted by the girl.

Thrasher is the first person to be charged with a new law in Missouri which was passed as a response to the Lori Drew case. She faces a maximum four years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convincted. Lots more details here.

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