A South Tyneside councillor has been found guilty of harassing a political rival on Facebook.
John Robertson, an Independent Jarrow councillor, made two posts on the social media site where he called Jarrow Labour councillor, Geraldine Kilgour, a "vile witch" and referred to her as notorious killer, Myra Hindley. A court heard that the 55-year-old also accused Councillor Kilgour of helping to bully a 75-year-old woman and encouraged others to upload a video, which he claimed showed her abusing her own elderly mother.
Prosecutors said that Robertson had reported his concerns surrounding Councillor Kilgour to South Tyneside Council but an investigation conducted by the local authority and the police concluded that no action should be taken against her.
However, angry by the response, he took matters into his own hands and became "judge and jury" and made the social media posts because of an "intense, personal dislike" of Councillor Kilgour.
Robertson, of Whitton Road, Hebburn, had previously pleaded not guilty to one count of harassment without violence but was convicted following a two-day trial at Newcastle Magistrates' Court.
District Judge Gary Garland said that Robertson had "every right" to bring to the public's attention that allegations had been made against Councillor Kilgour but he did not have a right to "repeatedly use vile language". He said: "It seems to me that the police took the allegations [against Councillor Kilgour] seriously and investigated them properly and came to a decision, one that Mr Robertson clearly didn't like and he decided he was going to campaign away and continue with his own version of justice and do that by exploiting social media in the worst way possible.
"If he'd conducted himself in a calm and proper manner, without the use of foul language and references to Myra Hindley and a witch, he would not be sitting in court today."
District Judge Garland said nobody was entitled to "enhanced freedom of speech", adding: "Language can be more dangerous than weapons - it starts wars, Ukraine, there's one of them. It's terrible that the political discourse had descended to such a level that it did."
The court heard that, after receiving a letter from South Tyneside Council in December 2020 to say his allegations against Councillor Kilgour had been investigated and no further action was to be taken, he took to Facebook to make the two posts.
In them, Robertson called Councillor Kilgour a "vile sicko", a "vile witch" and a "skitso" and accused her of helping to bully a 75-year-old woman and abusing her mother. One said: "This vile sicko has befriended numerous elderly and vulnerable people in Hedworth, Fellgate and Calf Close. If she can verbally and mentally abuse her own mother on camera, God knows what abuse she is capable of doing to our elderly and vulnerable residents."
Giving evidence earlier in the trial, Coun Kilgour said the video was "family matter" in relation to a disagreement she had with her mum while she was caring for her. The court heard the video was said to have been filmed covertly by her estranged step-family. Councillor Kilgour said she regrets one sentence in the video where she says "I am f****** sick of the way you are treating me."
Brian Payne, prosecuting, said: "Mr Robertson sought to make it known in the widest way about the existence of footage that showed an isolated incident a number of years before, for which Geraldine Kilgour had been fully investigated and exonerated. If that's not a campaign of harassment, driven by personal dislike, it would be difficult to a better example."
Robertson denied harassing Councillor Kilgour and said he made the posts with the intention of protecting the public and making them aware of her "disreputable conduct". He claimed that South Tyneside Council refused to view the video of her and he mother and he felt she was being protected by her Labour counterparts.
Jason Smith, defending, said: "Mr Robertson had exhausted all legal avenues within the council to have issues of safeguarding appropriately dealt with. You may disagree with the language in Mr Robertson's post, you might think the language is strong and the references made by him are inappropriate. So far as he was concerned, the content of his posts were for the safety and security of people in his ward."
Robertson was given an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and must pay £500 costs, £250 compensation and a £128 victim surcharge. He told the court: "A big lesson has been learned."
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