Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/05/facebook_harrassment_trial/
Prosecutors target first 'Facebook harassment' conviction
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Posted in Law, 5th March 2008 10:56 GMT
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A Birmingham man is set to be the first in the UK to stand trial for harassment using Facebook.
Michael Hurst, 33, of Edgbaston, has pleaded not guilty to harassing ex-girlfriend Sophie Sladden. Appearing before magistrates, he was granted conditional bail to stand trial later in March, The Birmingham Mail reports (http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/tm_method=full&objectid=20554472&siteid=97319-name_page.html).
He is accused of a breach of the Harassment Act 1997 when he used Facebook to contact Sladden on 21 January.
A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "We have prosecuted harassment cases before where people have sent letters, made phone calls, and even text messages in recent years, but to my knowledge this is the first case where a website like Facebook has been involved."
Hurst and Sladden's Facebook accounts have been deleted from the site. ®