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A man who trawled the internet leaving reportedly
obscene messages on tribute sites for dead people is facing jail after
being brought to court under a rarely-used law.
Colm Coss found Facebook memorials to victims of
high-profile tragedies around the world - and added comments said to be
sexual slurs. His targets included a site dedicated to Jade Goody.
He was prosecuted under the Communications Act 2003,
which governs all communications networks including internet,
e-mail, mobile phone calls and text messages.
Coss also posted comments about a car crash
victim in Australia, and a dead baby in the U.S. Coss targeted the
sites purely for his own amusement and to get a reaction, Manchester
magistrates were told.
He was only caught when he sent residents on his
street photos of himself saying he was an internet troll. The
neighbours rang police. When Coss was arrested, he admitted the offence.
Matthew Siddall, prosecuting, said: The defendant
told police that he finds the comments amusing. He said it causes
reaction.
District Judge Khalid Qureshi told Coss: This
crosses the custody threshold.
Coss was granted bail and will be sentenced later this
month.
Update: Troll Jailed
30th October 2010. Based on article
from bbc.co.uk
An internet troll who posted obscene messages
on Facebook sites set up in memory of dead people has been jailed. Colm
Coss posted on a memorial page for Big Brother star Jade Goody and a
tribute site to John Paul Massey, a Liverpool boy mauled to death by a
dog.
He was jailed for 18 weeks for sending malicious
communications.
He was charged under the Communications Act 2003, for
sending malicious communications that were grossly offensive.
Chairwoman of the bench Pauline Salisbury said: You
preyed
on bereaved families who were suffering trauma and anxiety. We
know you gained pleasure and you aren't sorry for what you did.
Offsite Comment: Do not jail the troll
Thanks to pbr
7th November 2010.
Based on article
from guardian.co.uk by Ally Fogg
However vile
Colm Coss's online behaviour may have been, sending him to prison sets
a dangerous precedent.
There was a time, not so long ago, when the prime
objectives of the justice system were to protect physical wellbeing,
integrity and property rights. With very little debate or awareness, we
have slipped into a society where the justice system is equally
concerned with protecting the intangible sensibilities of the
individual. In that sense, this issue overlaps significantly with those
around blasphemy and protection from religious insult. I can see no
rational reason why causing severe, grievous offence to Jade Goody's
admirers should be an imprisonable offence while causing severe,
grievous offence to Christians or Muslims should be considered freedom
of speech. It cannot be the role of the law to dictate which flavours
of offence are reasonable and which are not. I cannot see any reason
why an Islamic organisation, to take just one example, could not use
this precedent to press charges against anyone who participated in the
recent, juvenile Everybody Draw Mohammed Day that circulated
online and grew in support on Facebook. And talking of pressing
charges, is there anything to now stop Facebook UK or any other site
host from dealing with persistent and egregious trolls by calling in
the police and handing over IP addresses?
... Read the full article
