The trial of a high-profile lawsuit that is believed the first criminal case involved Internet bullying in the United States started in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles Wednesday as potential jurors heard charges read against the defendant.
Lori Drew, a 49-year-old Missouri woman, is accused of using a faked account on the popular social networking website MySpace to drive her daughter's 13-year-old friend to suicide in 2006. She faces federal charges of conspiracy and illegally accessing computers.
Opening arguments from both sides are expected to begin later in the day after the process of finding a 12-person jury is complete, attorneys said.
The judge will select 12 panelists from as many as 125 people brought into the courtroom from across the Los Angeles area.
The case stems from the 2006 suicide of Megan Meier, who hanged herself at home after a teenage boy she met on Myspace said the world would be a better place without her. Meier was being treated for depression when he committed suicide.
Investigators found that Drew, whose daughter was a teenage rival and onetime friend of Meier's, posed the boy using a faked profile to befriend Meier and seek revenge, because she suspected the girl was gossiping about her daughter online.
The case is believed to be the first instance of alleged Internet bullying to result in a criminal proceeding in the United States.
Although the suicide shocked the country, authorities in Missouri took no action against Drew as she didn't broke any state laws. U.S. federal prosecutors later charged the woman with felony conspiracy and three counts of illegally accessing protected computers without authorization.
The charges were filed in Los Angeles, because MySpace is operated from Beverly Hills.
The trial will take about a week and Drew could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, attorneys said.
Source:Xinhua
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