Posted on 11/21/2007 9:26:06 AM PST by Between the Lines
An Internet hoax that apparently led to the suicide of a teenage girl has stoked outrage online, divided the suburb where the girl lived and prompted calls to reform online harassment laws.
About a year ago, 13-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself inside her parents' home in Dardenne Prairie, Ill. The apparent cause, her parents have said, was the sudden decline of her online relationship with a 16-year-old boy they thought was named Josh Evans.
But, soon after their daughter's death, Tina and Ron Meier discovered that there was no Josh Evans. They say the boy who pretended to be Megan's friend and then sent her nasty messages was the creation of an adult neighbor.
Though police and prosecutors have investigated, a year later, no criminal charges have been filed against the woman who allegedly created the online profile, and it's unclear whether any will be brought.
But that hasn't stopped an outpouring of hostility against her, both online and in the real world. The story hit the national media late last week, with Megan's parents appearing on "Good Morning America" and the "Today" show. Though the newspapers and networks declined to identify the real-life "Josh Evans," bloggers quickly outed her and posted her family's name, address and phone number online.
Since then, messages threatening the family have been posted online. A brick was thrown through their window. Someone drove a truck over their front lawn, according to police. A paint-ball was shot against the house.
The woman, who also has a young daughter, has received threatening phone calls; people have screamed obscenities as they drive by the house, a neighbor said. Police descended on the house in the middle of the night last week, neighbors said, after an apparent fake 911 call was made.
Police are concerned that the harassment, first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, may escalate.
"We believe that all the publicity about this situation has led to an air of vigilantism," said Lt. Craig McGuire of the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department. "We're concerned people will take things into their own hands."
Megan, who sometimes suffered from low self-esteem and depression, was elated when she got an e-mail on the social networking site MySpace from a cute boy named "Josh Evans," her parents said. Josh claimed to be a 16-year-old boy who lived nearby. He said he was home-schooled and didn't yet have a phone.
The two developed a virtual friendship that lasted more than a month before things inexplicably took a downward turn. "Megan gets an e-mail, or a message from Josh on her MySpace on Oct. 15, 2006, saying, 'I don't know if I want to be friends with you any longer because I hear you're not nice to your friends,'" Tina Meier said on "GMA."
Insulting messages calling Megan "fat" and a "slut" were being posted, according to The Associated Press.
Tina Meier discovered her daughter's body in a bedroom closet the next day. She had hanged herself.
Six weeks after Megan's death, a neighbor told the Meiers that there was no Josh Evans. He was a fictitious creation of woman whose daughter knew Megan and lived down the street.
The Meiers knew the woman who allegedly created the profile. Her family had asked the Meiers whether they could store their foosball table. The woman attended Megan's funeral, according to the AP.
Once they learned of the family's involvement, the Meiers allegedly destroyed the table, placed it in the woman's yard and encouraged the family to move, according to the AP.
The Meiers said they don't think the woman wanted Megan to commit suicide. But they still hold her responsible for their daughter's death.
"I believe they are the ones who took her to the edge of the cliff and forced her to go over," Ron Meier said. "Everything that we found out so far — it was the sole idea of the mother."
No charges have been filed in the case and the local prosecutor has said it appears no laws were broken. McGuire said the sheriff's department and local and federal prosecutors investigated the case and concluded that they could not file criminal charges.
But, it appears that the Josh Evans profile and messages could have violated a federal cyberstalking law, which prevents people from sending abusive or threatening messages, said Perry Aftab, a cyberlaw expert. Aftab, who runs WiredSafety, which helps victims of so-called cyberabuse, said this was one of the few instances she could recall of adults harassing children online.
The involvement of an adult set Megan's story apart from traditional cyberbullying, she said. "This is particularly heinous," she added.
Some neighbors of the family accused of setting up the profile agreed.
"I do think it's criminal, and I think they should be held responsible for it," said Terri Hutchinson.
With the publicity, county prosecutor Jack Banas has said he will re-examine the case. Wednesday, the local town council will propose an ordinance that will criminalize this kind of online harassment, making it a misdemeanor, said Pam Fogarty, the mayor of Dardenne Prairie.
"It's not much, but at least it's something," Fogarty said of the proposed ordinance. "I think it's absolutely horrible that an adult can do this to a child, much less the mother of a friend and there is nothing to charge her with."
Thanks, much better.
I can’t believe anyone would defend the family that did this to this child, especially given they knew of her depression.
the parents are more negligent for not knowing what their daughter was doing online for hours at a time. they took no interest in their daughter’s life. they suck. it’s their fault.
Absolutely deserve it, and hopefully since there is no criminal prosecution that can be made against them, then civil court case for the clear “intentional infliction of emotional distress” will hopefully wind up with Millions of Dollars of judgements against them and ruin them for life.
Sick, people, they are no more human than the guy here in town who raped, abused and killed a 10 month old girl left in his care.
God may have mercy on their souls, but I have none.
No, it was someone who the girl (and, evidently, her parents) *thought* was a (cute) teenage boy. That’s the problem with MySpace and 13-year-old girls.
Has anyone ever answered the question, why has the "Have a shitty rest of your life" message disappeared? Apparently all the rest of the messages sent between Josh and Megan, and the other kids' pile-on messages have all been retrieved...But not that one. This, even though CEOs of major corporations and politicians have THOUGHT they made online messages unretrievable, only to be proven wrong. So why is the only proof that message was ever sent Megan's father's word?
I may be wrong, but I think the message may never have existed. The father made it up back when everyone thought Josh Evans was a real 16 year old boy. He thought that message may have been enough to get Josh arrested. He was wrong (even if Josh had been real, perhaps) and if this case goes to court, if that message never existed it will be proven to be a nonexistent message. And that may strike a jury the wrong way. Even in a civil case, I don't know as a jury would be inclined to back up even a grieving parent for making up something , in so serious a case.
I could be wrong; maybe the message DID exist and there's some valid reason why it hasn't been retrieved from anywhere, but that whole business strikes me as very strange.
The Drews are despicable people. But even more tragic than Megan's death would be if her case is used to put the internet under the control of the people who really hate how the internet has eroded their power , especially since they no longer control the news. These people are evil, and they will not hesitate to use a dead child and two grieving parents to take back the power they feel is theirs rightfully.
Without parental (or responsible-adult) oversight.
Just a brick and a paintball? They are lucky it’s not shotgun slugs, AP rifle rounds and molotov cocktails.
bump
Maybe I’m wrong, but I remember reading in an earlier article that she told her Mom at least about the boy she met online.
If someone took my little girl like this there would be more then just hell to pay...You can bet on that! If this is as true as has been reported, they should have been rotting in jail by now.
I recently adopted four “special needs” siblings from foster care, and although my children are happy and healthy and considerably well-adjusted despite living a life of hell before coming to me, they are fragile in many ways, and would be very vulnerable to this kind of emotional scam perpetrated by these unbelievable parents of Megan’s former school friend.
We see evil everyday, and yes, must protect our families. It is a difficult task, and having an 11 year old in school, he is sometimes hard to protect because we cannot attend school with them.
Good luck, friend.
My kids are older, but from what I have seen in my family (and extended family), it can be done. Too many parents have stopped parenting, I think, and have tried too hard to be cool and to be “friends” with their children.
Now that my oldest is grown, and my youngest is getting there, we can be friends. But children need protection from the scum among us.
Yes, don’t forget this person/people deliberately set out to cause the girl as much emotional pain as possible.
Calling someone on FR an idiot is not even close.
You’re missing the point. She did not meet a “boy” online. This is the problem with MySpace, and with parents who do not oversee their young children’s activities online.
Wow thanks.
susie
Excellent points. Sometimes it makes me think of that Star Trek episode where the kids were running the planet.
susie
But she did oversee her activities online, and even the Mother thought the boy was ‘ok’.
I understand what you’re saying.
Then the mother wasn’t giving adequate oversight, IMO. There was no “boy.”
It’s the same as if someone called the daughter on the phone sounding like a teenage boy. Would the parents be at fault then because they didn’t have X ray vision or ESP?
The mother was giving adequate oversite in my opinion. The chats were pretty mundane to start with, and in a sense more easy to monitor than a phone call because they were right there in print. There was a lie taking place and the parents as well as the girl were taken in.
The issue isn’t with her parents, but those who faked being the boy.
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