NJ Judge: Case of Fake Facebook Profile Can Proceed

A case of breaking up in the Internet age is going to move forward in a New Jersey courtroom.

A judge in Morristown declined Wednesday to dismiss the case against a woman accused of creating a fake Facebook profile about her ex-boyfriend.

The Morris County Prosecutor's Office indicted Dana Thornton last year on one count of fourth-degree identity theft, a crime punishable by a maximum of 18 months in jail. Attorney Richard Roberts had argued the law -- as it exists -- doesn't apply to electronic communications.

Prosecutors said the law should apply because the victim's reputation was damaged.

The 41-year-old Belleville resident's former boyfriend is a police detective in Parsippany.

The state Senate is considering an amendment that would include Internet impersonation.