It has recently been recorded that the number of reports of cyberbullying, trolling, online harassment and death threats have more than doubled in a year, some with devastating effects. Griffin Law were instructed to stop and unmask a campaign of online harassment in the form of false claims of rape and other malicious activities towards our client; a truly sad case. While most reported rapes are true, there are a small number of people who take advantage of these serious allegations and falsely report rape and abuse as a means of harassment. Such false reports, like the one explained below, not only do enormous harm to those victimised by false reports, but equally betray those who have been raped.
The Case Study
Our firm have recently announced that Ms Rebecca Shirley Palmer, was found guilty of malicious communications (the offence of sending communication with intent to cause distress and anxiety) and perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced to 5 years. Griffin Law were instructed to stop Ms Palmer’s campaign of online harassment. We successfully obtained an urgent injunction to stop any further harassment. At the time, it seemed that the harassment was not only coming from Ms Palmer, but also from her ‘friends’. We unveiled that Ms Palmer had created fake social media profiles, using such as a means of harassment, and a way of masking herself from being at the forefront of any future consequences. Our firm obtained crucial information such as IP addresses, which assisted in unmasking Ms Palmer as a lone wolf. After the injunction was obtained, Ms Palmer used the Courts as a means of harassment by bringing a money claim against our client. This was a fabricated claim with only one objective; to cause further harassment and distress to our client. Ms Palmer received a County Court Judgment (CCJ)[1] in default against our client, and looked to enforce the costs of such. It is trite law, that a CCJ has a big impact on a person’s life as it will be entered on your credit record and remain there for six years. This record can seriously affect your ability to get a mortgage, a credit card or even a bank account in the future. We successfully unmasked Ms Palmer to have fabricated this claim, and in turn, had the CCJ set aside and removed from our client’s credit record. We obtained Ms Palmer’s original bank statements from her respective bank, which confirmed that her claim was false. Ms Palmer had forged her bank statements to show a transaction which did not exist and filed such as evidence, to invoke more harassment, distress and anxiety on our client. Ms Palmer tried to embark on a malicious campaign of harassment which led to our client being arrested on more than one occasion and held in custody for periods of time. The information we gathered from the civil matter assisted the Crown Prosecution Service, regarding Ms Palmer’s malicious communication and perverting the course of justice criminal charges. False accusations, like those made by Ms Palmer, betray real victims of sexual abuse and not just those that are falsely accused, but those who fear authorities will disbelieve their own claim. When a person makes an accusation of rape or sexual abuse, they should be supported and assisted. Most acts of rape and sexual abuse go unreported, hence those we do hear about are only the tip of the iceberg. Generally, victims of such acts should be believed and assisted and a thorough investigation should be pursued to ensure justice. We urge all victims of rape and sexual abuse to report the crime and we warn those who make false accusations that the full force of the law should apply. Online harassment on individuals and businesses are on the increase. Here at Griffin Law we can take steps to stop the harassment from continuing and unmask the trolls. We provide prompt, astute and cost-effective advice to our clients, if you need advice on these issues please contact us at justice@griffinlaw.co.uk or on 01732 525923.
Griffin Law is a dispute resolution firm comprising innovative, proactive, tenacious and commercially-minded lawyers. We pride ourselves on our close client relationships, which are uniquely enhanced by our transparent fee guarantee and a commitment to share the risks of litigation. If you have any specific questions regarding a dispute, please email justice@griffin.law or call 01732 52 59 23.
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© Griffin Law Limited, 2022. All rights reserved. [1] When you owe money to someone, they can apply to the County Court for a judgment (CCJ) against you to claim the money. The Court will decide whether there really is a debt to pay. If there is, they will issue a CCJ. This will set out how the debt should be repaid.
