Intellectual Property Law

The family of a 15-year-old girl who committed suicide following a sexual relationship with a 27-year-old man she met online is suing MySpace for allegedly facilitating communication between the two.

The lawsuit, filed in the 298th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, Texas, accuses MySpace of negligence in a tragedy that began when then-14-year-old Kristin Helms, of Orange County, California, met the adult Kiley Bowers on the internet and began a sexual relationship over online chats and webcams.

An FBI affidavit filed in the original criminal investigation shows the two communicated through a variety of means. Helms initially contacted Bowers over Yahoo Instant Messenger after seeing his personal Geocities webpage. He later persuaded her to create a MySpace account, but they continued to use Yahoo IM and e-mail to send explicit webcam videos and photos back and forth.

The girl's parents tried to intercede, but in December, 2005, Bowers traveled from his home in  Dallas to where Helms lived in Orange County, California. The girl snuck out of her home after midnight, and Bowers took her to a local motel, where they had sex.

In their final IM chat, Bowers told Helms on June 4, 2006, that he wanted to just be friends.

Helms: If you said to a man you know that is the same age as you that you slept with a 15 year old, they would probably literally beat the crap out of you.

Bowers: Yeah.

Bowers: Well, anyway, I guess (the) best way to prevent it from occurring again is no webcam.

Helms: Do you want me to leave you alone?

Bowers: I don't want you to leave me alone, but I think things would be a lot better if we were able to keep our relationship as just friends

Bowers: Course, my finding you all attractive doesn't make that easy for me.

Bowers: The only reason I would be iffy about dating you if we were local would have nothing to do with you other than the age difference

Helms: Because you came out here and used me.

Helms: I feel like you raped me.

Bowers: I know, and though that was not my intent, nor even what I wanted, it has become a big mistake that I wish I could correct.

On July 17th, 2006, the girl hanged herself. In her suicide note she referenced Bowers, the "man who raped me."

The suit seeks unspecified real and punitive damages, including the cost of psychological counseling paid by the parents of the dead girl.

It's a heartbreaking story, all the more so because the parents, as in the Megan Meier tragedy, went to some lengths to try and protect their daughter. But it's not clear why MySpace should be held responsible. This isn't a case of a predator finding victims on the social networking site.  Helms didn't even have a MySpace profile when she first started chatting with Bowers online.

Courts have rejected similar MySpace suits -- including one filed by the same attorney -- under the Communications Decency Act, which protects internet companies from most types of lawsuits stemming from user-submitted content.

The plaintiffs this time argue that CDA doesn't apply because the lawsuit isn't about content.  "Plaintiffs simply complain of MySpace's failure to do even the bare minimum to reduce the threat of these attacks."

Bowers is also named as a defendant. He's serving a nine-year federal prison term in Texas for traveling across state lines to have sex with a minor and transporting child pornography. On Thursday, Bowers filed a motion (.pdf) asking that the lawsuit be transferred to federal court on jurisdictional grounds.

See Also:

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