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Prosecutors: Pics Sought To Drive Teen To Suicide

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Prosecutors are seeking jail time for a New Jersey man accused of using a teen's lewd photos to cyberbully him and of joining an "electronic mob" that tried to drive him to suicide.

Twenty-year-old Matthew Bean of Bergenfield had never met his intended victim. Bean learned of him online years after the teen posted sexually graphic images of himself.

Prosecutors say Bean belonged to an online group working to identify the teenager and admits he forwarded the images to the teen's school in eastern Pennsylvania. The teenager did not commit suicide.

Bean has pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge. He is seeking probation at Tuesday's sentencing in Philadelphia.

Prosecutors compare the case to the Rutgers University student who killed himself after his roommate allegedly used a webcam to spy on his sexual encounter.

(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed)

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