Two teenagers are facing jail over social media posts
which made abusive comments about a judge and glorified a murderer.
Damien Parker-Stokes, 19, and a 17-year-old who
cannot be identified, were guilty of a serious contempt of court, the Lord
Chief Justice Lord Thomas and Mr Justice Ouseley heard at London’s High Court on
Wednesday.
The committal hearing follows the illegal taking of
photos at the Bristol Crown Court sentencing of their friend, Ryan Sheppard, in
August 2014, and the uploading of the images on Facebook.
Ben Watson, for Solicitor General Robert Buckland, said
the pictures were accompanied by comments which ‘vilified’ the judicial process
and ‘glorified’ Sheppard, who beat 35-year-old engineer Mark Roberts to death
in an ‘unprovoked, sustained and brutal’ attack in Weston-super-Mare in October
2013.
Mr Roberts, who lived with his fiancee and her two
children, had spent the evening with friends at a social club.
Sheppard, who was 17 at the time of the crime and
pleaded guilty, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years and three
months.
Mr Watson said the contempt was serious primarily
because of the nature of the proceedings – but also because it showed the
increasing difficulty faced by the criminal courts relating to the widespread
access to mobile phones with cameras and the ability to upload images speedily
onto the internet.
‘These photos have considerable potential for the
disruption of criminal proceedings by the use of social media.’He said that the Solicitor General was concerned
that a clear message was sent of significant consequences for those who
undertook such activity – including young people who were particularly likely
to commit contempt in this way.
Counsel said that, before the sentencing, the
17-year-old took a photo of a judge in a different court and, during the
hearing, Parker-Stokes took a series of five photographs and a video of
Sheppard in the dock.
Parker-Stokes then posted one image of Sheppard on
Sheppard’s Facebook page with a comment which included the words: ‘Respect g at
least u had the balls to admit it….’.
The 17-year-old uploaded the same image on his own
Facebook page with the words: ‘Ride or die certified south west g’.
Two days later, the 17-year-old uploaded the image
of the judge – who did not sentence Sheppard – with the comment: ‘Fuk (sic) the
judge!’.
Police were alerted and the youths admitted taking
the photos and the postings in the face of overwhelming evidence.
The 17-year-old and Parker-Stokes maintain that
their conduct did not amount to contempt of court, which carries a maximum
penalty of two years imprisonment.When interviewed, both had denied knowing that
photography in court was prohibited.
Mr Watson said that both had extensive criminal
records.
The 17-year-old had nine convictions for 16
offences, including four offences relating to police, courts or prisons, while
Parker-Stokes had 21 convictions for 54 offences, including 27 relating to
police, courts or prisons.
The judges are expected to reserve their decision to
a later date.
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