A 60-year-old man has avoided jail after pleading guilty to sending racist and misogynistic messages about England footballer Jess Carter on TikTok during the European Championship last summer. Nigel Dewale, of Great Harwood, Lancashire, was handed a six-week suspended prison sentence and a four-year football banning order at Blackburn Magistrates' Court.
District Judge Tony Watkin said he had come 'very close indeed' to sending Dewale to prison, but took into account the impact on his 20-year-old daughter, who has epilepsy, and his 'realistic prospect of rehabilitation'. Dewale claimed he had been 'in drink' when he posted the messages.
Mike Ankers, deputy director of the UK Football Policing Unit, welcomed the sentence, saying it sends a clear message that courts are taking online hate speech seriously. He praised Carter and the Lionesses for standing up to abuse, adding: 'It is testament to Jess and the wider squad, and brings closure.'
Ankers called for mandatory sharing of identifying information by social media companies and for the use of VPNs to be considered an aggravating factor in sentencing. He noted that underreporting of online abuse remains a problem and that cases like this take too long, causing ongoing distress to victims.
