Saturday, September 23, 2006
Libel and slander on MySpace -- student sued over faux site
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=3&u=/ap/20060922/ap_on_re_us/myspace_principal
Official sues students over MySpace page Fri Sep 22, 12:27 PM ET
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (AP) - A high school assistant principal is suing two students and their parents, alleging the teens set up a Web page on MySpace.com in her name and posted obscene comments and pictures.
Anna Draker, an assistant principal at Clark High School, is claiming defamation, libel, negligence and negligent supervision over the page on the popular free-access Web site. Draker claims two 16-year-olds, a junior and a sophomore, created the page using her name and picture and wrote it as through Draker herself had posted the information, according to Draker's attorney, Murphy Klasing. Draker found out in April that someone had created a page on MySpace. It had been up about a month before she discovered it.
The site falsely identified Draker as a lesbian. Klasing said Draker, who
is married and has small children, was "devastated." Draker is suing for an unspecified amount for damages for emotional distress, mental anguish, lost wages and court costs.
MySpace.com removed the page when Draker told them it wasn't hers. One of the students also is facing criminal felony charges. Bexar County Assistant District Attorney Jill Mata would not release information about the case, but confirmed that juvenile charges are pending against a local high school student involving retaliation and fraudulent use of identifying information. Both are third-degree felonies.
Information from: San Antonio Express-News, http://www.mysanantonio.com
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