More officials cracking down on Internet harassment
Cities, county, state look at updating laws to account for technology
That case involves Megan Meier, a 13-year-old Dardenne Prairie girl who committed suicide in October 2006 after falling victim to a MySpace hoax apparently perpetrated by an adult neighbor.
The neighbor, 48, the neighbor's teenage daughter and an 18-year-old temporary employee created a MySpace account under the name Josh Evans and used the fake boy to communicate with Megan using the Internet.Megan had grown close to "Josh" and killed herself after he suddenly turned mean.
The FBI and the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department investigated Megan's death, but no charges were filed. The sheriff's department concluded that state criminal law did not specifically address the circumstances involving Megan's death.
St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Banas was reviewing the case last week.
Officials in Dardenne Prairie and Florissant have already passed ordinances to make Internet harassment a crime in those cities, and St. Charles County, O'Fallon and Wentzville are considering similar legislation.
County Councilman Joe Brazil, R-District 2, is sponsoring a bill to make Internet-based harassment a Class 1 misdemeanor, which would be punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The bill is scheduled to be introduced during the council's meeting Monday.
Brazil, whose district includes Dardenne Prairie, said Friday he was frustrated that no charges were filed in connection with Megan's death.
At seven pages, Brazil said, the detailed bill is "not just fluff and puff. It's actually got some teeth to it." But he said he was mindful not to overwrite and propose a law that would be difficult to enforce.
St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann said he and the council would examine the state's harassment law to determine if it needs revision to better protect against harassment in cyberspace.
"When you pass a criminal statute, we're talking about serious business, and we need to study it very carefully," Ehlmann said. "We want to get it right."
Brazil added, in response, "If the existing statute is strong enough, how come no one was convicted?"
O'Fallon City Council members are expected to introduce their own version of the Dardenne Prairie's ordinance during the council's next Dec. 13 meeting.
Councilman Daniel Christoff, Ward 1, said the entire council likely would support the bill.
Ron Meier, Megan's father, has been invited to the O'Fallon council's meeting.
"I think that it's great that everybody's following suit," Ron Meier said.
In another case involving MySpace messages, an 18-year-old O'Fallon woman received 500 to 1,000 messages from a 17-year-boy, which included threats of rape and stalking.
In that case, involving the daughter of Mike Price, the boy terrorizing Price's daughter only received a citation for littering.
"The punishment needs to fit the crime; that's what my wife and I would want," Price said.
Wentzville aldermen spoke of the harassment issue during their meeting Wednesday and suggested discussing a similar ordinance during the board's next workshop session.
"Harassment is bad any way you look at it, especially when kids are involved, but when an adult gets involved, we need to look at a way of controlling that," said Wentzville Alderman Nick Guccione, Ward 3.
State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-2nd District, also is supporting legislation to narrow in on Internet-based harassment. The bill is in its nascent stages.
"What we're trying to do is have a conversation about whether our laws are adequate enough to keep up with current technology," Rupp said Friday.
At this stage, the bill, which Rupp stressed is a work in progress, borrows language from Dardenne Prairie's ordinance, with an increase in penalties for adults harassing children.
St. Louis also has responded to the call for stiffer penalties for such harassment.
On Friday, St. Louis Alderwoman April Ford-Griffin and board President Lewis Reed proposed a bill to make Internet-based harassment a crime in that city.
Roy Roundtree, Reed's assistant, said the bill was in its early stages, but in response to "recent well-publicized events," Reed thought local government needed to react.
Staff writers Kalen Ponche and Jami Cale contributed to this story.
