Teenager commits suicide over MySpace

As details about Lori Drew's 6 week cyber-voyeur techniques emerged, the more I am convinced that outing this kind of behavior is not only right, but essential. Essential? Why?

It is becoming clearer and clearer that Lori Drew employed many of the same grooming techniques that child predators utilize to charm their way into gaining a child's trust.

The most significant key here is that Lori Drew spent approximately 6 full weeks baiting Megan into this trust by posing as a "cute" boy that Megan would be attracted to. Right there, Drew utilizes the sexual stimulation that exists in male/female pair bonding in order to manipulate the 13 year old girl.

Lori Drew groomed her victim like many child predators do, enticing her with flirtation, mild sexual conversation and playing on Megan's weakness. Lori knew that Megan had a low self esteem and was treated for depression.

Examples of Child Predator techniques can be seen here and here. Read them and you'll see uncanny parallels between the typical Child Predator MOA and those utilized by Lori Drew to control and manipulate Megan in the relationship Lori developed with her.

Outing Child Predators has been public policy in most states and is usually upheld under the premise that the public has a right to reasonably protect itself from criminal behavior where it exists. Families with children have a right to know when those who might prey upon their child, live nearby. Public policy dictates that if a child is exposed to potential harm from predatory activity, then parents should at least have the opportunity to be aware such harm may exist.

Thus far, details in the case have been heavily supported by Lori Drew's own admissions, police records and interviews. The amount of speculation in this case has been minimal, and the majority of public outrage has largely focused on the facts presented.

The Missouri Public Records Act of 1961 were devised partially to inform the public of persons, events, proceedings and reports that may effect the public directly. These records (such as the charges Lori Drew filed against the Meier family), were the principal documents used to tie Lori Drew to her abhorrent acts. By filing this police report, Lori in effect put herself into the spot light. The Blogging community simply connected the dots and reported the results.

The Vice enjoys the sharp irony that Lori Drew's own actions, activities and zeal to hurt eventually lead to her own uncovering. As I see it, public policy laws and Lori Drew's own manipulations of those laws worked to her undoing. The Vice is appreciative for Lori Drew's assistance in these efforts.

Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com

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I hope this sad excuse for a mom believes in karma. What goes around comes around! I believe that parents should be involved in their kid's lives, but not in that way. This woman should have her daughter and any other child taken away from her since she has proven to be unfit as mother. She needs to grow up herself first.

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On Wednesday, October 21st, city officials enacted an ordinance designed to address the public outcry for justice in the Megan Meier tragedy. The six member Board of Aldermen made Internet harassment a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.

Does this new law provide any justice for Megan? Does this law provide equitable relief for a future victim or actually weaken the current law?

I reject the premise of this new law and believe it completely misses the mark. The reasoning behind this opinion is that city officials have consistently treated this case as an Internet harassment case instead of a child welfare/exploitation case.

Classifying this case a harassment issue completely fails to address the most serious aspects of the methods Lori Drew employed to lead this youth to her demise. The Vice disagrees that harassment was even a factor in this case until just a couple of days before Megan's death.

Considering this case a harassment issue is incorrect because during the 5 weeks Lori Drew baited and groomed her victim, the attention was NOT unwanted attention. It was not harassment at all. It was invited attention. Megan participated in the conversations willingly because she was lured, manipulated and exploited without her knowledge.

This law willfully sets a precedent that future child exploiters and predators can use to reclassify their cases to harassment issues. In effect, the law enacted to give Megan justice, may make her even more vulnerable. So long as the child victim doesn't tell the predator to stop, even a harassment charge may not stick with the right circumstances and a good defender.

Every aspect of this case follows the same procedural requirement used to convict a Child Predator. A child was manipulated by an adult. A child was engaged in sexually explicit conversation (as acknowledged by Lori Drew herself). An adult imposed her will on a child by misleading her, using a profile designed to sexually or intimately attract the 13 year old Megan.

Lori then utilized the power she had gained over this child to cause significant distress and endangerment to that child. She even stipulated to many of these activities in the police report she filed shortly after Megan's death.

We can go on and on here, but the parallels between this case and many other child predator cases that are successfully prosecuted bear striking similarities.

Child Predator laws do not require much more than simply proving that an adult has engaged a minor in sexually explicit conversation. Lori Drew has already stipulated that her conversations with Megan were sometimes sexual for a child Megan's age.

City officials who continue to ignore this viable, documented admission and continue to address this issue as harassment are intentionally burying their heads in the sand, when the solution is staring them right in the face. Why?

On June 5th, 2006, Governor Matt Blunt signed into law stiff penalties for convicted sex offenders. The Vice believes that officials continually reject a child predator classification of this case in order to keep the penalty of this offense out of this harsher realm.

Opponents of this law are active in defeating this law not by changing it, but by disqualifying cases like Megan's from ever being heard.

There are several other child exploitation laws on the books. To date, none of them have even been considered by City, State and Federal officials in this case. I'm outraged that a motion was never even filed, so that the case could at least be argued before a judge or jury.

Those satisfied with this response out of Missouri officials need to think through the effect this law will truly have. It quite honestly has the potential to directly undermine Jessica's law. It quiet easily gives prosecutors a way out of prosecuting child endangerment and child predator cases in the future.

Beware the wolf in sheep's clothing here.

Danny Vice
http://weeklyvice.blogspot.com

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Sounds like the mom failed to grow up, I can barley call anyone an adult if they encourage their kids to hurt someone like that.

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The police should arrest that fat bitch mother and lock her fat ass in jail!!!!

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I hope Lori's family is financially destroyed by a civil lawsuit, since that seems to be the only recourse at this point.

I also wouldn't feel badly in the least if, in follow up news stories, I were to read she met her own demise by her own hand. It would seem poetic justice.

This world need to be relieved of persons such as her and her unfortunate spawn.

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THIS IS THE SICKEST STORY I HAVE EVER HEARD. THAT MOTHER SHOULD BE SENT AWAY TO EITHER AN INSTITUION OR JAIL FOR LIFE. TALK ABOUT IMMATURITY, HOW CAN A MOTHER TALK LIKE THAT TO ANOTHE THIRTEEN YEAR OLD. FIRST OFF SHE IS SICK, FOR CREATING A FANTASY RELATIONSHIP WITH A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD. SECOND WHY WAS SHE EVEN INVOLVED. IT WAS HER DAUGHTERS BATTLE TO FIGHT. AND WHO CARES IF MEGAN WAS TALKING ABOUT HER, IVE GOT NEWS FOR THE MOTHER THIRTEEN YEAR OLDS DO THAT. GROW UP MOM YOUR NOT ALWAYS GONNA BE ABLE TO FIGHT YOUR DAUGHTERS BATTLES

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THIS IS THE SICKEST STORY I HAVE EVER HEARD. THAT MOTHER SHOULD BE SENT AWAY TO EITHER AN INSTITUION OR JAIL FOR LIFE. TALK ABOUT IMMATURITY, HOW CAN A MOTHER TALK LIKE THAT TO ANOTHE THIRTEEN YEAR OLD. FIRST OFF SHE IS SICK, FOR CREATING A FANTASY RELATIONSHIP WITH A THIRTEEN YEAR OLD. SECOND WHY WAS SHE EVEN INVOLVED. IT WAS HER DAUGHTERS BATTLE TO FIGHT. AND WHO CARES IF MEGAN WAS TALKING ABOUT HER, IVE GOT NEWS FOR THE MOTHER THIRTEEN YEAR OLDS DO THAT. GROW UP MOM YOUR NOT ALWAYS GONNA BE ABLE TO FIGHT YOUR DAUGHTERS BATTLES

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Why was the child on "my space" anyway???I'm horrified for the parents, my heart goes out to them, but you are to be the age of 18 to have a my space account, why did the parents allow her to have an account?? I think the parents are partly to blame.

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omg.. this is awfulll. online bullying is not cool at all. is makes it even worse when an ADULT does it. i was bullied over the internet, and its one of the wost feelings. i wanted to kill myself, and i dont know how someone could live with knowing that they made a 13 year old girl do that. there is NO excuse for this woman to do that. this girl was finally happy, then that "mother" went and ruined it. when ppl say that there was probly more than just that one reason a person kills themself, thats not always the case. it took one person to turn Megan's life around, and the worst possible thing that could happen, happened.

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YOU ALL THINK THAT IS HORRIBLE, AND IT REALLY IS, BUT YOU MUST MUST MUST SEE WHAT THIS MOTHER CAN BE CAPABLE OF DOING ALONG THE SAME LINES BE THE JUDGE http://video4people.blogspot.com TO HEAR THIS TOO IN RELATION TO THIS STORY!

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