UK stabbed teacher: Twitter troll jailed

Floral tributes and a picture of murdered Spanish teacher Ann Maguire outside Corpus Christi Catholic College. Photo / AFP

A man who sent offensive messages on Twitter regarding the murder of Leeds teacher Ann Maguire has been jailed for eight weeks.

His messages came after 61-year-old Ann Maguire was stabbed to death in her classroom in late April, at the school where she had taught for four decades.

Twitter troll Robert Riley wrote on the social media website, using the handle jongriley001, that he would have killed "all the bastard teachers" at Corpus Christi School in Leeds.

The 42-year-old from Cwmavon, Port Talbot, also posted a series of racist tweets in which he called the Nazi death camp Auschwitz a "health spa", and suggested that Muslim babies should be drowned.

Despite being confronted by a backlash from other Twitter users, Riley initially revelled in his new found notoriety, and boasted that he had the "biggest gob this side of the River Severn".

Riley pled guilty at Swansea magistrates to one charge of sending a grossly offensive message via a public communications network.

Chairwoman of the bench Georgina Scannell voiced said she was left with no choice but to send the defendant straight to jail.

She said: "The offensive messages outraged the public. You had complete disregard for the tragic death of Ann Maguire.

"Besides this, countless other vile messages were made by you.

"The bench finds these were racially and religious aggravated.

"The offences are so serious that only a period of immediate custody can be justified."

- The Independent