I know that hindsight can be 20/20, but this is just tragic event that was fully unavoidable.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — A Missouri mom was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in the death of a teen who killed herself over a failed Internet romance that turned out to be a hoax.

A federal indictment accuses Lori Drew, 49, of O’Fallon, Missouri, of using the social networking Web site MySpace.com to pose as a 16-year-old boy and feign romantic interest in the girl.

The girl, Megan Meier, committed suicide after her online love interest spurned her, according to prosecutors, telling her the world would be a better place without her.

Drew faces up to 20 years in prison on charges of conspiracy and accessing protected computers to obtain information to inflict emotional distress.

The indictment, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, accuses Drew and others of registering on MySpace as “Josh Evans” and using the account to lure Meier into an an online romance.

Authorities have previously said that Drew set up the account to find out what Meier, who lived in her neighborhood, was saying about her daughter.

Prosecutors allege that Drew and the others violated MySpace’s terms of service by using false information to create the account so they could “harass, abuse or harm” Meier, according to the indictment.

The two corresponded for about four weeks before “Josh” broke off the relationship, authorities said. Within an hour, Meier hanged herself in her room and died the next day.

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I get wanting to protect your child, especially in the MySpace and FaceBook age. I applaud setting up accounts to keep a watchful eye over internet social networking. But just how delusional do you have to be pull a stunt like that?

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