protectyourchildonline

Federal court cases have tried to leverage the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act since 1984.  Modification of this act occurred in 2001, 1996, and 1994.  The most memorable modification was the PATRIOT Act that brought about stiffer penalties for online crimes.  However, a new turn of events with Lori Drew v. United States addressed cyberbullying.  Unfortunately, all charges were dismissed.  So the next time that your child goes online for any sort of social networking, be aware that you are your child’s last line of defense from evil predators.

Lori Drew was a 50-year-old mother in Missouri who drove a 13-year-old girl, Megan Meier, to the point of suicide.  Drew falsely presented herself as a 16-year-old boy, “Josh Evans”, interested in Megan.  They went through an entire cyber-relationship until he broke up with her and told her the world would be better off without her.  The result: Megan Meier hanged herself in October of 2006.

Missouri courts refused to take the case because there were no laws offering protection against this sort of crime.  Drew found herself in a federal court case battle against the United States on three misdemeanor charges of accessing a protected computer and conspiracy.  All charges were dropped on July 2, 2009.

As of yet, no solution exists for cyberbullying.  The small town of O’Fallon took the matter into its own hands and made online harassment a crime.  However, harassment hardly describes this crime since Megan willingly partook in the conversation and never said to stop.

The sad fact is that Drew is another child predator that should be subject to all the penalties of a child predator.  She manipulated the child and engaged in sexually explicit banter.  She misled the child and used this power to torture her.  The laws are fuzzy concerning cyberbullying; therefore, you must protect your child by any means necessary.