Man fined for ‘criminal damage’ to ex-girlfriend’s Facebook account

The former boyfriend admitted to posting a distasteful status update by taking her phone and accessing her account through the device.

The man, from Donegal, Ireland, was acquitted of raping and falsely imprisoning the woman on the same date as the hacking.  

He had gone through the woman’s “text messages which confirmed to him that she was in a new relationship,” the Irish Times reports. “He then logged into her Facebook from her phone and posted a status update in her name stating that she was ‘a whore’ who would take ‘any offers.’”

The man was charged under the Criminal Damage Act of 1991, which carries a maximum penalty of a decade in prison and a €10,000 ($13,680) fine.

A judge struggled to assign a punishment because nothing had been physically broken. He ultimately handed down a fine of €2,000 ($2,736).

“It is the first prosecution for criminal damage to a social media account,” the Irish Times reports. “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.”