TMCnet News
Australian Sentenced to Year in Jail for Defacing Children Facebook Page Tributes TMCnet Contributor A self-confessed "troll" has been sentenced to spend a year in an Australian jail after he was found to have crudely defaced tributes to two dead children, according to media reports.
The AFP reports that Bradley Paul Hampson, 29, defaced the pages with inappropriate child images and offensive comments.
The Queensland, Australia, children died in February 2010.
Hampson placed "digitally altered images of the children" on the sites, AFP said and posted in appropriate comments about the children's horrific deaths. Australia's Courier Mail newspaper said Hampson pleaded guilty to distributing child exploitation material and possessing child exploitation material, and using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offense - each a charge in Australia's justice system.
Hampson said he defaced the websites because he had been "harassed online," AFP reports.
Rather than using his own name when he wrote the explicit and graphic comments, Hampson used the name of a Bundaberg, Australia, man who he had gone to school with, according to the Brisbane Times. The other man was distressed that his name had been used in the incidents, the newspaper added.
Because Hampson has been in jail for the past seven months, he is expected to be released in September, according to AllFacebook.com.
All Facebook (News - Alert) explains that trolling is "the intentional act of posting material online to offend, harass, or threaten others."
In other Facebook-related news, TMCnet reports a 34-year old Michigan man was arrested earlier this month on polygamy charges and he was caught thanks to his wedding photos, which he posted on his Facebook profile. Richard Barton Jr., of Grand Rapids showcased pictures of his recent happy nuptials but simply forgot one important detail: his first wife to whom he was still legally married had access to the photos, TMCnet added.
Also, TMCnet reported that when investigating a crime, Facebook and Twitter are often the first places the cops look, according to The New York Times.
For example, when 18-year-old Kayla Henriques stabbed 22-year-old Kamisha Richards in the chest over $20, NYC police just had to turn on their computers to find a motive. There in a message string on Facebook, they found all the evidence they needed, TMCnet said. Ed Silverstein is a TMCnet contributor. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page. Edited by Janice McDuffee |