Man jailed for ‘Facebook trolling’ in England

A self-described “internet troll” has been sentenced to 18 weeks in jail in Britain after he used Facebook to post obscene messages to memorial pages including that of cancer-striken reality star Jade Goody.

36-year-old Colm Coss of Manchester was convicted on charges related to sending “malicious communications that are grossly offensive.” In addition to trolling the Facebook memorial for Goody, Coss also posted offensive comments to a page dedicated to a young boy who died in a dog mauling attack. In those two incidents, the unemployed man stated on the social networking service that he had committed sexual acts with the deceased’s corpses.

Coss might have gotten away with it, but he bragged to neighbors on his street that he was an “internet troll,” one of whom forwarded pictures Coss sent to local police. Coss eventually admitted to the harrassment, leading to his arrest. In court, the defendant was chided for lack of remorse:

Chairwoman of the bench Pauline Salisbury said: “You preyed on bereaved families who were suffering trauma and anxiety.

“We know you gained pleasure and you aren’t sorry for what you did.”

The defense presented the idea that Coss engaged in the behavior due to “mental health issues,” but he was not spared jail time.