Rep. Linda Sánchez Issues Statement on Lori Drew Sentencing

Cyberbully Mom Will Face Punishment Monday

Washington, DC - Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA), issued the following statement today in anticipation of Lori Drew's sentencing scheduled for Monday, May 18, 2009 in federal court in Los Angeles.

"What Lori Drew did was egregious, and she should be brought to justice," said Rep. Linda Sánchez. "She has been walking free for over three years, while her victim's family has been suffering greatly. Cyberbullies like Lori, and victims like Megan, are the reason that I introduced the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act. Cyberbullying should be treated as a serious crime and prosecutors should be better equipped to deal with serious consequences."

Drew, who lives in Missouri, but was tried in California, was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of illegally accessing a protected computer. The charges stemmed from the death of 13-year-old Megan Meier, who committed suicide as a result of Drew's scheme to adopt a fake MySpace identity to torment and emotionally harass Megan.

Missouri authorities were not able to file any charges against Drew because at the time, there was no applicable state law. The trial was held in Los Angeles because the servers of the MySpace social networking site are in the area. If a cyberbullying law had been in place, it would have been simple to prosecute and convict Drew. Unfortunately, prosecutors in Megan's case and similar others are left with their hands tied. The Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act would give federal prosecutors the ability to punish those individuals who use electronic means to engage in this type of criminal behavior.

To read more about Rep. Sánchez' cyberbullying legislation, piece on the Huffington Post.