WebProNews

A Missouri woman who prosecutors say caused a 13-year-old neighbor girl to commit suicide by harassing her via MySpace was acquitted Wednesday of felony charges of accessing a computer without authorization.

The Los Angles jury did find Lori Drew, 49, guilty of three misdemeanor counts for her role in creating a fake MySpace account used to torment 13-year-old Megan Meier who later committed suicide.

Drew's sentence could be anywhere from probation to three years in prison for the misdemeanor convictions. She could have gone to federal prison for up to 20 years if she had been convicted on the felony charges.

Drew used the phony MySpace profile to pose as a 16-year-old-boy to flirt with and then later reject neighbor Megan Meier. Prosecutors said Drew posed as a boy named Josh Evans and later told Meier the world would be a better place without her.

After receiving the message Meier committed suicide by hanging herself with a belt in her bedroom closet in 2006.

Police in Missouri investigated the case but could not find any statute under which to charge Drew. Thomas P. O'Brien, the U.S. attorney in Los Angles, had jurisdiction over the case because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills.