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Wolverhampton online stalker convicted of 'relentless barrage' of tweets and emails spared jail

A mother-of-eight convicted of 'a relentless barrage' of tweets and emails as she cyber stalked a child abuse victim and justice champion has been spared jail.

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Instead, Penny Mellor was made the subject of a community order, put under a year's supervision and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

Mellor, 53 from Coven, sent hundreds of tweets and emails to and about Shy Keenan, 52, of Colchester, claiming that Ms Keenan had fabricated parts of her best-selling autobiographical misery memoir, Broken and said she wanted the publisher to withdraw it from sale because it was obscenely graphic.

She described Ms Keenan's 2008 book as 'titillation for paedophiles' and alleged the author was fraudulently making money out of it.

She admitted that she became incensed and frustrated when her tweets and emails were ignored.

Passing sentence, Judge David Turner QC told Mellor that she had 'crossed the line' between free speech, robust disagreement and exposure of untruth and descended into criminal harassment though he said that she was not wicked or anti-social, but an intelligent thoughtful individual who had done useful campaigning work.

He continued: "You have a fearlessness and a determination which properly channelled have served some controversial causes well. But you have, not for the first time allowed your passion, your self-belief, to overshadow your judgment and personal restraint."

The judge said Mellor was not Ms Keenan's only internet stalker but Mellor's actions and personal revelations had added to her victim's genuine anxiety and insecurity.

He referred to the 'war of words' and said some of Mellor's tweets, emails and blogs had been 'downright nasty and personal'.

"You are both campaigners. You had taken a particular view of Ms Keenan, her work, her integrity, her journalism, her influence and principally her autobiographical book Broken which incensed and frustrated you."

Mellor, he said, sent "a fairly relentless barrage of tweets and emails" directed at Ms Keenan or posted them so that she would see or learn about them.

He warned her that any repeat and she would go immediately to prison.

Mellor told the judge: "To be honest I have had enough. I just want an end to it."

Judge Turner replied: "That makes two of us, to be blunt."

He also imposed a restraining order for five years stopping Mellor from contacting Ms Keenan or her family; posting or documenting any personal information on the internet or other media outlets; from commenting about Ms Keenan's autobiography Broken or any other article she publishes; and she is not to send any correspondence about Ms Keenan, her book or any article.

The trial cost £16,800. The judge ordered Mellor to pay 'a paltry' £2,000 towards the bill.

Mellor, of Coven Mill Close, runs Dare to Care which campaigns for parents falsely accused of Munchausen by Proxy, where illness is fabricated to gain attention.

Mellor had denied but was convicted last month of stalking Shy Keenan causing her serious alarm or distress between 1 January and 16 March 2013 in that she attacked her by sending tweets, published statements about her in emails sent to work associates and carried out a course of conducted which had a substantial effect on Ms Keenan's day to day activities.

The new cyber stalking law came into effect on 25 November 2012.

Mellor, who represented herself, appealed to the judge not to jail her because of the effect on her family.

Ms Keenan's victim impact statement was read to the court. In it she said she had suffered real harm, physically and emotionally, by Mellor's relentless conduct.

She now needed expensive round-the-clock care because of Mellor's actions and had had to spend tens of thousands of pounds on security and protection.

"While her conviction affords me some vindication, my good name as a truth telling victim of crime has been immeasurably, forever, tarnished."

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