Sentencing in MySpace Hoax Case Delayed

May 18, 2009— -- A federal judge has delayed the sentencing of a suburban mother who was convicted for her role in an online hoax that prosecutors say led to the suicide of her teenage neighbor.

U.S. District Judge George Wu this afternoon rescheduled Lori Drew's sentencing for July 2, saying he wants review testimony by prosecution witnesses, The Associated Press reported. Wu did not rule on a defense motion to dismiss Drew's convictions on three misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization.

Drew faces up to three years in prison and a $300,000 fine for what prosecutors described as a "scheme to humiliate" 13-year-old Megan Meier, Drew's neighbor in a St. Louis suburb, by helping to create a MySpace profile for a fictitious teenage boy named "Josh Evans."

Drew, with her own teenage daughter and a business assistant, Ashley Grills, used the fake profile to flirt with, befriend and then abandon Meier, leading Meier to hang herself, prosecutors contend. Drew has denied more than passing knowledge of the fake account and Grills and Drew's daughter were never charged.

Though Meier's suicide was the impetus for the case, Drew was never directly charged with the girl's death.

She was convicted in November of three misdemeanor counts of unauthorized access to computers for violating MySpace's terms of service, but was acquitted of more serious felony charges of intentionally causing emotional harm while accessing computers without authorization. She was charged in Los Angeles because MySpace's computer servers are based there.

Prosecutors have asked for the maximum three-year prison sentence, saying Megan's suicide was the "direct result" of Drew's "vindictive assault." Probation department officials recommended a sentence of a year of probation and a $5,000 fine.

Because the criminal case involved accessing MySpace's computer servers, Drew's lawyers have argued that Megan's parents, Ron and Tina Meier, should not be able to speak at the sentencing. Federal law gives crime victims the right to speak at sentencing.

"Under the law, they're just not victims. If anybody is, it's MySpace. It's that simple," said Drew's attorney, Dean Steward.