A WOMAN who created a fake Facebook account to impersonate another woman and publish sexually explicit and derogatory posts has been sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.
Magistrate Yogesh Prasad sentenced Archaal Devi after she pleaded guilty to one count of causing harm by posting electronic communication under the Online Safety Act 2018.
The court heard Devi created the fake profile between December 31, 2023, and January 2, 2024, and uploaded photographs of the victim with defamatory captions on the Buy & Sell Suva Facebook page.
The posts included sexually explicit remarks and allegations about the victim’s personal relationships.
The court was told the posts caused significant emotional and psychological distress, damaged the victim’s reputation, and disrupted her relationships with her fiancé and family.
Magistrate Prasad emphasised that offenders who use fake accounts to post derogatory remarks often mistakenly believe they will avoid detection, unaware that Fiji Police have developed advanced capabilities to track down such users.
Three months of the sentence were deemed served in custody, while the remaining six months were suspended for two years.
