West Cumbrian man jailed for sharing racially aggravated social media posts

A fifty-one-year-old Egremont man has become the latest person to be jailed for the sharing of racially aggravated online social media posts linked to national civil unrest.

Lee Joseph Dunn, of Church Street, appeared at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Dunn pleaded guilty to one offence. He admitted sending, by means of a public electronic communications network, a message that was grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.

His crime occurred on 30 and 31 July, and involved the sharing of three offensive Facebook posts which depicted people of an ethnic minority, some brandishing knives.

Police had said that Dunn was charged with posting offensive and racially aggravated content online.

Dunn was said by his lawyer to have apologised for his online actions, and had removed the offensive content be posted.

He was handed an immediate eight-week jail term — discounted by a third from 12 weeks in view of his guilty plea — by district judge John Temperley.

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