Boston - A town is still in shock after a 13-year-old girl committed suicide, hanging herself after being a victim of “cyber-bullying” on the social networking site MySpace.
A campaign against “cyber-bullying” has already kicked into gear as many are pushing for a law to make internet harassment a criminal offense in the United States.
Officials in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri have voted to make internet harassment a misdemeanor offense which can be punishable by a fine of up to $500 and 90 days in jail.
The 13-year-old was Megan Meier. She committed suicide after she was harrassed on MySpace by what she thought was 16-year-old Josh Evans.
The two talked for six weeks online but ended abruptly. He told her that she was cruel. Megan suffered from depression and hanged herself minutes after receiving the last message.
Josh was a character created by the mother of a girl who had a feud with Megan. The mother was trying to find out what Megan was saying about her daughter in private.
The mother has not faced charges as there was no crime to get her on anything she did. The mayor of the town Pam Fogarty stated “It is our hope that by supporting one of our own in Dardenne Prairie, we can do our part to ensure this type of harassing behavior never happens again, anywhere.”