Bestwood woman sentenced after revealing name of sexual assault victim

A woman has been sentenced for publishing the name of a sexual assault victim after her brother had been jailed for the offence.
Temma BickleyTemma Bickley
Temma Bickley

Temma Bickley, 28, was found guilty following a trial at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced yesterday (Thursday, October 11).

It was claimed that Bickley, of Belconnen Road, Bestwood, posted malicious messages on Facebook which identified the victim, despite knowing there was legislation in place protecting her anonymity.

Bickley showed a screen shot of the victim’s Snapchat account and wrote a post which included details identifying her.

Temma BickleyTemma Bickley
Temma Bickley

It followed the sentencing of Bickley’s brother, Teon Bickley, 27, in May 2018, for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He admitted four counts of sexual activity with the girl.

Under the Sexual Offences Amendment Act, victims and alleged victims of sexual offences, including rape, are given lifetime anonymity.

This means that nothing should be published by anyone, including members of the public, which could lead to the victim or alleged victim being identified.

This ban includes publishing the victim’s name, address, name of educational establishment they attend, place where they work or any picture of them.

In this case the victim identified by Bickley is also a child so her anonymity is also automatically protected under the Children and Young Persons' Act.

This states that nothing should be published which could likely lead to any juvenile (aged under 18) who is involved in court proceedings being identified.

This ban would again include publishing the victim’s name, address, name of educational establishment they attend, place where they work or any picture of them.

Bickley was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £200 fine.

Detective Chief Inspector, Pete Quinn, from Nottinghamshire Police’s Public Protection Department, said: "Temma Bickley was present throughout the court hearing. She knew there was a court order in place banning the publication of any details which could identify the victim in her brother’s case.

"Despite this she deliberately tried to discredit the victim by publicly identifying her using social media.

"Her actions were malicious and have caused the 13-year-old victim a lot of additional distress and anxiety.

"This case shows that we continue to treat victims with respect, properly investigate crimes and do whatever we can to protect them from further abuse.

"We hope this case makes it clear that we will work tirelessly to secure convictions against those who take the law into their own hands and cause misery to innocent members of the public, both in person and via social media.

"We also hope it reminds members of the public that they should be very careful when posting comments publicly on social media sites, like Facebook.

"Anyone who makes prejudicial comments during an active court case could also be found in contempt of court. The Contempt of Court Act applies to any publication, not just the mainstream media, so alos includes members of the public using social media to comment on a live case.

"We don’t expect people to be media law experts and we do not seek to deprive people from expressing their views but we need to remind people that there can be serious consequences for making inappropriate comments online, especially in relation to any court proceedings."