Man who posted racist messages about England’s Jess Carter on TikTok avoids jail

A 60-year-old man has received a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to sending offensive messages about the England international Jess Carter during the European Championship last summer.

Nigel Dewale, of Great Harwood in Lancashire, was sentenced to six weeks, suspended for 12 months, after a hearing at Blackburn magistrates court. He also received a four-year football banning order, and a requirement to engage in a 10-day rehabilitation programme.

Dewale had admitted previously to sending “malicious communications” on TikTok, and was identified as the author of two posts that used both racist and misogynist language.

The deputy director of the UK Football Policing Unit, Mike Ankers, welcomed the verdict and praised the determination of Carter and the rest of the Lionesses to stand up to online abuse.

“I think today’s sentencing is hugely significant,” he said. “I think it sends out a clear message and reflects how seriously now the courts are starting to take online hate speech. It is testament to Jess and the wider squad, and brings closure.

“Equally, I think it gives her some peace that it was the right thing to do and hopefully gives other players confidence as well, that you can stand up and something’s going to be done about it.”

At the hearing, district judge Tony Watkin said he had “come very close indeed” to sending Dewale to jail, but had taken into account the impact it would have on his 20-year-old daughter, who has epilepsy. Watkin also considered the defendant had a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation”. Dewale himself said he had been “in drink” when he posted his messages.

Watkin told Dewale: “You targeted her for no other reason than she was a prominent, female footballer. It caused substantial distress and fear to your victim.

“There is a view held by some that offences of this nature are somehow less serious because they are committed behind a screen. The very opposite is true.”

Ankers said he believed there continued to be substantial underreporting of the online abuse directed at athletes. He said it should be mandatory for social media companies to share the identifying information of account holders who are suspected of hate speech, and argued that the use of virtual private networks to hide a user’s identity should be seen as an “aggravating factor” in any sentencing decision.

“It shouldn’t be up to [social media firms] as to whether or not they provide us with information or whether they decide to take down posts,” he said. “It should be mandatory, which is why we have set up a working group with Ofcom to try and hold social media companies to account. As for VPNs, if people are using them for abuse, it shows the degree of intent. So it should be an aggravating factor in terms of sentences.

“I think that identifying offenders and bringing them to justice quickly is probably, for the victims, the biggest frustration,” Ankers said. “This case has taken 10 months and for that time Jess has had to answer questions not about her footballing career, but about abuse. We need to think about victim care in this as well.”