Many remember who Megan Meier was. For those unfamiliar she was a 13 year old girl who, after being rejected by a boy named “Josh” she was friends with on MySpace, hanged herself in her bedroom closet. When her mom found her she was still alive and rushed to the hospital. On October 17th, 2006 she died in the hospital just weeks before her 14th birthday. In the weeks that followed Megan’s parents learn from a neighbor that “Josh” was the creation of another neighbor, Lori Drew, her teenage employee Ashley Grills, and Drew’s teenage daughter, a former friend of Megan. They are told the MySpace profile was created to see what Megan was saying about Drew’s daughter online.

The media storm that followed created outrage nationwide. In December of 2007 after the county prosecutor reviewed laws related to stalking, harassment and child endangerment advised he couldn’t find statutes allowing him to file charges. Then on May 15th, 2008 A Los Angeles federal grand jury indicts Lori Drew for her alleged role in the MySpace hoax, charging her with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization. Los Angeles is the HQ of MySpace.

Salvador Hernandez, assistant agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, called the case heart-rending.

“The Internet is a world unto itself. People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girl’s weaknesses,” Hernandez said. “Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, she’s responsible for her actions.”

Lori Drew is now facing 20 years in federal prison if found guilty on all charges. We should all feel good now that a mean old bully is getting theirs…. or should we? Ms. Drew is being held accountable for the actions of another person. Did she give Megan the noose? Did she tell Megan to hang herself? Did she assist in any way? The answer is no. If she did do everything that is alleged is what she did morally reprehensible? Is it immature? Was it mean? The answer is yes.

As the father of young girl getting ready to enter her teens I wonder how I would feel if I were the Meier’s. I wonder if I would of felt at least a little responsibility too for my daughters actions. I mean here are some other facts of the case.

1) Megan, with her parents consent and full knowledge, had a MySpace account even though it
violated the same TOS that are currently being used to charge Ms. Drew.
2) Megan had been sending mean messages herself to others including Ms. Drew’s daughter before
“Josh” entered the picture. Also in violation of the TOS.
3) Megan’s parents said they “closely monitored” their daughter’s actions online yet they allowed a boy
to call their 13 year old daughter “sexi” and allowed her to call him “sexi.”
4) Megan was being treated for ADD and depression.

So even though Megan, with her parents consent and supervision, had a MySpace account and was sending threatening messages both in violation of the MySpace’s TOS, Ms. Drew is the only adult being prosecuted. Do Megan’s parents share any of the responsibility? Why didn’t the parents step in when they saw the relationship growing closer when they have never even met the boy calling their daughter “sexi?” Why didn’t Megan feel she could go to her parents and talk about her feelings? There is another thing that is also interesting the Meier’s are now separated according to Mrs. Meier’s in part from the circumstances of their daughter’s death.

Here is the truth as cruel as it sounds. Ms. Drew shouldn’t be the only one on trail. The Meier’s should also be on trial. They failed their daughter. They knowingly allowed their 13 year old daughter who was suffering from mental problems to enter the harsh, raw world of the internet, have an ongoing online relationship with a boy they never met and allowed her to send threatening messages to others. No matter how much joy they may feel that Ms. Drew is going to be held responsible for their daughter’s death, sadly it won’t take away the fact that they are just as responsible.

Megan, I’m sure, was a precious little girl, and her death is a real tragedy that was avoidable. Megan’s death needs to be a lesson to parents everywhere. We have a responsibility to keep our children safe. Sadly the federal government, and many others send the message that as parents we can blame others for our lack of parenting skills.