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Michelle Chapman, 24, has taught us a very important lesson to be learnt from the internet right now. An example of trolling gone very, very wrong!
After falling out with her father and stepmother, Chapman created Facebook accounts in both of their names as well as those of other family members and began sending vile sexual insults to herself from these fake accounts.
These messages continued for a year before she reported the so-called "abuse" to police who promptly arrested the bewildered stepmother and issued warnings to her father and the other family members who seemed to be involved, reports the Daily Mail. None of the family members had any idea of what was being done in their name.
'Very unpleasant sexual nature'
Eventually, computer experts deduced that they accounts had actually been set up at Chapman's home, hundreds of miles from the other family members.
The judge described the comments as being of a "very unpleasant sexual nature" before sentencing her to 20 months in jail. He also confiscated her laptop and banned her from accessing the internet or contacting the family members involved.
The Daily Mail goes on to report that Chapman's husband, Glyn, who is 33 years her senior believes that her actions are a result of mental instability. This was borne out during the trial as Chapman was portrayed as a woman who assaulted herself with a vicious, sexual fixation.
Internet bullying has become much more common in recent years, particularly as social media becomes more ingrained in our daily lives. Several high-profile arrests have been made as laws have been updated for the digital phenomenon. However, this is the first British example of somebody being arrested for trolling themselves.
Read more:
Cyberbullying and bullying are not the same
The negative effects of internet use
Is social media healthy?
After falling out with her father and stepmother, Chapman created Facebook accounts in both of their names as well as those of other family members and began sending vile sexual insults to herself from these fake accounts.
These messages continued for a year before she reported the so-called "abuse" to police who promptly arrested the bewildered stepmother and issued warnings to her father and the other family members who seemed to be involved, reports the Daily Mail. None of the family members had any idea of what was being done in their name.
'Very unpleasant sexual nature'
Eventually, computer experts deduced that they accounts had actually been set up at Chapman's home, hundreds of miles from the other family members.
The judge described the comments as being of a "very unpleasant sexual nature" before sentencing her to 20 months in jail. He also confiscated her laptop and banned her from accessing the internet or contacting the family members involved.
The Daily Mail goes on to report that Chapman's husband, Glyn, who is 33 years her senior believes that her actions are a result of mental instability. This was borne out during the trial as Chapman was portrayed as a woman who assaulted herself with a vicious, sexual fixation.
Internet bullying has become much more common in recent years, particularly as social media becomes more ingrained in our daily lives. Several high-profile arrests have been made as laws have been updated for the digital phenomenon. However, this is the first British example of somebody being arrested for trolling themselves.
Read more:
Cyberbullying and bullying are not the same
The negative effects of internet use
Is social media healthy?
