Louise Mensch hopes sentencing of her Twitter troll abuser will deter others
Conservative MP Louise Mensch hopes the sentencing of an 'internet troll' who sent her a threatening email will deter others from posting obscene messages online.
Frank Zimmerman, 60, was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, for sending the Corby MP a highly-offensive email in which he told her she faced "Sophie's choice" and would have to pick which of her three children to save and which would die.
In a piece for today's Telegraph, Mensch wrote about how the threat had left her feeling "helpless and attacked" and described the sentence handed to Zimmerman as "fair".
Mensch said: "As a mother, it was terrifying to me when I received the email threat, referencing the film Sophie’s Choice in which a Jewish mother has to pick which of her children to send to the gas chambers. I have a Jewish surname, being married to a Jew.
"The threat was detailed, using photographs of the book and the logos of the hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec. Of course, the nature of the internet is that you don’t know who is behind the screen. Is it Zimmerman, with his filthy house and his record of targeting women online? Or is it some demented teenager with a gun?"
Although Zimmerman was spared jail, Mensch hopes the fact that he was brought to justice will serve as a warning to others who post threatening messages online.
She said: "My troll, Zimmerman, was a repeat offender targeting women. I hope that he uses the suspended sentence to get some therapy, and that the publicity surrounding the case will deter others.
"Ultimately, the internet is just another form of communication; once that is accepted, including by service providers and social media, trolling will lessen. After all, not so long ago it was acceptable to drink and drive. As victims repeatedly fight back, we can hope to see a culture shift."