Sentencing Remarks of Mr Justice Bryan: R v Gerard Majella Traynor
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 26 July 2019 |
| Court | Crown Court |
| Subject Matter | Sentencing Remarks |
R
-v-
Gerard Majella Traynor
Manchester Crown Court
Sentencing Remarks of Mr Justice Bryan
25 July 2019
1. Following your guilty pleas at Greater Manchester Magistrates’ Court to 16
charges, under section 1(1)(a) of the Malicious Communications Act 1988,
of sending threatening or grossly offensive malicious communications the
purpose of which was to cause distress or anxiety to your victims, Arlene
Foster the MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone and Leader of the
Democratic Unionist Party, and the Rt. Hon. Priti Patel Member of
Parliament for Witham (now Home Secretary), you were committed to
Manchester Crown Court for sentence under section 3 of the Powers of
Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000, and stand to be sentenced by me
today in respect of such offending.
2. A person sentenced under section 3 may be dealt with by the Crown Court in
any way in which the Crown Court could deal with them had they just been
convicted of the offence on the indictment. Accordingly you stand to be
sentenced for up to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years in
respect of each offence that you have committed.
3. Between 15 October 2018 and 13 November 2018 you sent grossly offensive
and threatening messages to the Facebook account of Arlene Foster
concerning Arlene Foster and her family which caused very considerable
distress and anxiety to her, as is all too apparent from the witness statement
provided by Arlene Foster, to which I have had careful regard. She was
understandably fearful given that she did not know who you were, where you
were located or what your intentions were. Taken at face value your
messages expressed sentiments wishing her and others dead, mixed with the
vilest of racial and sexual language, and aspersions upon various political
parties and their members, as well as members of the Royal Family.
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