From ABC News:
A suburban mother was found guilty today of lesser misdemeanor charges for her role in an online hoax that prosecutors said led to the suicide of her teenage neighbor.
Lori Drew, 49, was convicted on three misdemeanor counts of unauthorized access to computers in a case that drew nationwide attention both for its novel use of a computer hacking law to combat alleged cyberbullying and for its tales of suburban neighborhood rivalries and teenage suicide.
The jury could not reach a verdict on a single felony conspiracy charge. Drew, who lives in a suburb outside St. Louis, was acquitted of several felony counts of unauthorized access to computers in order to inflict emotional distress on 13-year-old Megan Meier.
Drew faces a possible sentence ranging from probation to three years in prison for the misdemeanor charges. She could have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the felony charges.
Meier committed suicide in October 2006 after the end of her online relationship with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. "Josh Evans" was the fictitious creation of Drew, her daughter and her assistant, who created the fake MySpace account to spy on Meier, prosecutors said.
