Drew convicted in MySpace bullying case

Lori Drew has been found guilty on three counts of gaining unauthorised access to MySpace

Lori Drew, the 49-year old housewife on trial for cyber-bullying, has been found guilty on three counts of gaining unauthorised access to MySpace.

Although each charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 (£64,000) fine, Drew is unlikely to receive a custodial sentence. Her defence team has already filed an appeal, citing lack of evidence.

However, crucially Drew was found not guilty of three felonies of violating the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which would have carried a much tougher sentence.

The jury rejected the prosecution's argument that accessing MySpace illegally was the equivalent to computer hacking, a decision that sets important case law for the future.

Drew was accused of setting up a MySpace account under the name 'Josh' to flirt with Megan Meier, a friend of her daughter. She carried on conversing online with Meier before taunting and 'dumping' her. Shortly afterwards Meier committed suicide.

"My client was puzzled by the verdict," H. Dean Stewart, Drew's lawyer, said at a press conference. "She feels deep sadness for the fact that Megan took her own life. She doesn't feel vindicated."

The case was tried in Los Angeles, where MySpace's servers are located, after local state authorities in Missouri declined to bring charges.

That this decision was accepted by the courts raises worrying questions about jurisdiction with companies that have moved their servers offshore.