Man fined €2k for ‘damage’ to ex’s Facebook

In the first prosecution for criminal damage to a social media account, a Donegal man has avoided a jail term for criminal damage to his ex-girlfriend’s Facebook page after he admitted posting an offensive status update on it.

The 30-year-old was acquitted by a jury last month of raping and falsely imprisoning the woman in her home on the same date.

The man was charged under the Criminal Damage Act 1991, which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a €10,000 fine.

Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan asked how he was supposed to assess the damage if nothing had physically been broken. Counsel for the DPP said the offence had more in common with harassment than criminal damage and that the harm was reputational rather than monetary.

The judge noted there was no relevant precedence to guide him in sentencing. He called it a reprehensible offence which seriously damaged the woman’s good name, but said that “fortunately” the status was quickly spotted and taken down.

He said a financial penalty was the most appropriate and imposed a €2,000 fine.

The man, who cannot be named because of the rape charge, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to criminal damage on April 6, 2011. He had pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning and raping the woman at her Donegal home in the early hours of April 6, 2011.

The court yesterday heard that the woman had remained friends with the man after their relationship ended in January 2011.

A local garda told Sean Gillane, prosecuting, that in the early hours of April 6, 2011, the accused went to her house to confront her over a perceived infidelity. When the accused left, the woman noticed he had taken her phone.

He went through her texts, which confirmed to him she was in a new relationship. He logged into her Facebook account from her phone and posted a status update in her name, stating she was “a whore” who would take “any offers”.

The man was arrested shortly after. He admitted making the post and said it was because he was angry about the woman’s new partner.

Isobel Kennedy, defending, said “they were the actions of a man scorned” and that he had been drinking beforehand. She said this doesn’t excuse what he did but might help explain it.

Ms Kennedy said his guilty plea was helpful to the gardaí, particularly because nobody from Facebook had given a statement nor was likely to.

Ms Kennedy said her client now has a new partner who was supporting him in court along with his parents. She said he has also secured a new job.

She said the accused was very remorseful.