TikTok prankster Mizzy has been locked up for 18 weeks by a judge who said his pranks were “not funny” and were motivated by his “desire to be famous”.
The 19-year-old, whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, “deliberately flouted” a court order stopping him from sharing videos of people without their permission only hours after it was served. In one of the offending videos, passersby were visible in the background as O’Garro said to the camera: “The UK law is a joke.”
He was found guilty of two counts of breaching the criminal behaviour order after a trial in October and sentenced at Stratford Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He was previously found not guilty on two further counts of the same charge having denied all four charges.
Bacari-Bronze O’Garro claimed that one of his friends, who had access to his login details, posted the Twitter videos— (PA)
Judge Matthew Bone sentenced the father-of-one, of Manor Road, Hackney, to 18 weeks’ detention in a young offender institution and told him “put bluntly your pranks are not funny”. Wearing a black jacket and black trousers, O’Garro did not react as his sentence was read out.
As he sentenced him, Judge Bone said O’Garro’s actions had been motivated by a desire to “receive money and designer clothes from sponsors”.
“Your further offending was motivated by your desire to be famous. Your actions caused innocent members of the public significant harm and distress.
“You claimed on national television the law was weak. Put bluntly, your pranks are not funny.”
Videos posted on O’Garro’s Snapchat account included him grabbing hold of a schoolboy by his uniform and another showing him fight a man with dwarfism.
Mizzy told Piers Morgan the UK’s laws were “a joke”— (TalkTV)
He had claimed that one of his friends, who had access to his login details, posted the Twitter videos without his consent, but this was dismissed by Judge Matthew Bone as “inconceivable”.
Judge Bone said: “This is a man who has stepped over the line of the order in a deliberate way. You need to understand the seriousness of your situation now.
“You need to understand that you deliberately flouted this court order within hours of it being made.”
In mitigation, O’Garro’s lawyer Paul Lennon said he was a “young man” and had shown a “lack of maturity.”
The social media star is completing a creative media production course at a sixth form college, and started a job as a waiter in a restaurant earlier this week, Mr Lennon said.
“He is very academic and is predicted to achieve a distinction,” he added. “He is making attempts to better himself.”
The prankster has been banned from social media - again— (Mizzy/TikTok)
The judge “strengthened” the star’s social media ban, ruling that he could not share any videos, act with others to share videos or contribute to other people’s social media accounts for two years.
He was also ordered not to trespass on private property, or enter the E12 area of London. O’Garro was also ordered to pay a £154 surcharge.
The teenager first gained an audience on social media when he posted a video of himself entering a stranger’s house uninvited in a prank.
His videos have attracted criticism, but the self-described content creator told The Independent the negative reaction to his videos is partly down to him being Black.
Speaking after the hearing, DCI Yasmin Lalani of the Met Police said: “I just think it is appropriate, when you have disregard for the law, I think it is a fitting sentence and I hope that he gets some help.
“I think it is a loud and clear message that nobody is above the law and that you have got to be held accountable.
“I think the right result has come through, more for the public as well, because I think the community were upset with the lack of respect for the law of the country and the distress and harassment he was causing, it was a blatant disregard for the harassment and distress for the community.
“It is really for the age range of the very young to the elderly, members deserve to live, work, play and be safe in their own area.”
