A man who used the Net to allege that a former teacher was a paedophile was jailed yesterday for two-and-a-half years by a court in Ireland. The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spread the malicious rumours using bulletin boards and email during a six-month period between December 1997 and June 1998.

Although the defendant said he was "deeply sorry" the judge said that the episode made life for the defamed teacher "a nightmare". According to the Irish Times, this was the first case of its kind to be heard before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

A psychiatrist who examined the defendant said he suffered from the socially dysfunctional condition, Asperger's Syndrome. ®

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