Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Teenager who trolled herself with fake social media accounts then blamed it on ex-boyfriend to get revenge is jailed

Girl told police she received 100 abusive messages in one day - sent by herself

Mark Cardwell
Thursday 12 September 2019 11:49 BST
Clarice Crothers, 18, has been sentenced to eight months in prison for perverting the course of justice
Clarice Crothers, 18, has been sentenced to eight months in prison for perverting the course of justice

A teenage girl who trolled herself on social media and blamed it on her ex-boyfriend in a revenge plot has been jailed.

Clarice Crothers, 18, reported her former partner to police claiming he was harassing her and her family with threatening messages.

On one occasion she claimed she had received 100 abusive messages in a single day.

But investigations revealed she had sent the vile messages to herself from fake accounts in a bid to frame her ex-boyfriend.

On Wednesday she was jailed for eight months after last month she admitted two charges of perverting the course of justice at Warwick Crown Court.

The court heard Crothers, of Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, went to the police to make seven complaints about her ex-partner in July last year.

When it then became clear the person she was blaming was not responsible, Crothers then tried to blame her friend Daniel Hewitt who had helped her set up the bogus accounts.

Hewitt, 19, of Tiddington, Warks, was given a police caution after admitting his involvement.

Judge Peter Cooke described it as “a peculiar case” adding: “This is serious, and I don’t want to put you under any illusions about it.”

The court heard she and Hewitt set up false social media accounts before sending herself abusive messages.

She then made a false complaint to the police that she was being subjected to malicious communications.

After the case, a Warwickshire Police spokesperson said: “In July 2018, she made seven allegations to police that she and her family had been receiving malicious communications from social media accounts set up by an ex-boyfriend.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

“The messages included threats to harm her and her family, and also implied her home was being watched.

“On one day alone, she reported she had received over 100 messages.

“During the investigation, it was found that all of the messages had actually been sent with her knowledge from a fake account, in an attempt to get revenge.”

SWNS

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in