WebProNews

A Missouri woman who prosecutors say caused a 13-year-old neighbor girl to commit suicide by harassing her through MySpace pleaded not guilty to federal charges.

Lori Drew, who created a phony MySpace profile and posed as a 16-year-old boy to flirt with and then later reject neighbor Megan Meier, entered a not guilty plea to charges of conspiracy of accessing a protected computer to get information.

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Drew in May after law enforcement officials in Missouri, decided not to prosecute her, because there was no law under which she could be charged.

The Los Angeles indictment is the first time that a social networking user has faced federal charges for accessing protected computers for harassment.

Prosecutors said Drew posed as a boy named Josh Evans and pretended to have a romantic interest in Meier before cruelly telling her "the world would be a better place" without her.

"This adult woman allegedly used the Internet to target a young teenage girl, with horrendous ramifications," U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien said while announcing the indictment last month.

"After a thorough investigation, we have charged Ms. Drew with criminally accessing MySpace and violating rules established to protect young, vulnerable people."

If convicted Drew faces up to 20 years in prison.