Megan, a teen diagnosed with depression, was targeted by the mother of a neighborhood teen online. Apparently this mother created a fictional boy named Josh Evans and wrote Megan under his name, creating an online romance that was fictitious. Then, cruelly, the mother broke it up. Megan hung herself. This mother, whose name is being withheld, was actually at the funeral.
A year has passed. She now claims she wanted to know what Megan was saying about her daughter. She has allegedly told Megan's mother to "give it a rest". No charges have yet been filed, but the prosecutor is reviewing the situation. However, existing laws may not cover this situation.
The bottom line becomes how do we regulate- and to what extent do we want to regulate - behavior online. Do we want to give people a "cyber pass" and send a message that no matter how irresponsibly they act online, they're immune to consequences because it happened online? We haven't done that with other crimes. We prosecute stealing music and movies, we've criminalized other online behaviors by hackers and those who commit fraud. We prosecute pornography online.
But do we want to criminalize playing with someone's heart? I think one important factor here is that it was an adult, not another teen, who did this. Although it's not sexual in nature, it involves exploitation of a child. What is bothersome about it is tthe fact that Megan was targeted. The woman knew who Megan was, sought her out, set her up and - without regard to consequences- ended the "relationship". It was intentional, it involved planning and this woman pretended to be another minor.
What is difficult about prosecuting it is that this woman may have created a crime - a crime that therefore falls through current laws and may never be prosecuted. That doesn't mean that no wrongdoing occurred.
As internet users, what do you think?
[Update: An expert in the field says that a federal cyberstalking law might apply, noting the unusual facts in this case since an adult "hoaxed" a child. Meanwhile, local officials passed a law addressing this situation.]
5 comments:
This is a tough situation that can't end well for anyone now. Clearly the other woman who was harassing Megan is a scumbag and should be punished, but it's also pretty clear that Megan's response was overly extreme. I'm glad that people are calling attention to the degrading behavior shown here, but I wish that the parents weren't trying to blame the other woman for the suicide (which this fool probably never thought could happen). Of course, the sensationalizing hacks in the mainstream media are more than happy to make this a crazy "the internet killed our daughter" type story, which just makes things worse.
I feel really bad about this whole incident, but I'm having a hard time finding someone I should support here - there's a lot of disturbing behavior on all "sides" of this one, and I doubt that there's really any way for justice to be served.
Dan - thanks for your thoughtful comments. It really is tragic.
An interesting legal concept that could be applied here regarding Megan's reaction since she had depression is that, if a crime is committed, you take your victim as they are. Basically, in the area of criminal law, you can't blame the victim - so the fact that Megan had depression and may have reacted differently than someone else should not matter in the criminal arena. It includes health issues, disability, etc.
See this link for an explanation of that concept if you're interested:
http://medicolegal.tripod.com/tobaccomurder.htm#10
That's a good point. I'm tempted to think of the hoax and the suicide as two separate offenses, though, and they'd have to make a pretty strong case for one being the direct cause of the other to make that concept apply. I suppose that's nothing that a good lawyer couldn't manage, though...
I heard about this and did not know what to think. Clearly the Mom who did this is morally wrong - and I trust a just and merciful God to figure out how to deal with that.
An adult pursued a course of actions designed to harm a child, and she succeeded. She was not in a role that has a professional responsibility to Megan - teacher etc. The sad truth is that adults often say and do things that hurt young people - and they usually get away with it.
For me, the part that crosses the line and makes it worth thinking about the law is the solicitation - other Mom came into Megan's home under false pretenses.
Overall, we really can't legislate against everything that is wrong. This is where emphasizing a well-formed conscience is important.
Sr. Edith- You're right -certain lines do seem to have been crossed with this that make it worth a discussion. I just updated with a new link from a "cyberlaw" expert who's suggesting it might be covered under federal law. It'll be interesting to see what, if any, changes in the law happen as a result of the media attention this incident receives.
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