Woman sentenced for harassing a Cheshire councillor on Instagram
A woman who breached a stalking protection order and continued to upload posts to social media criticising a Cheshire councillor has been sentenced.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said a stalking protection order had been granted in relation to Marta Paszkowska, 45, of Chicago Place in Great Sankey, Warrington, on 19 November 2021.
This followed ongoing Instagram posts from Paszkowska, harassing Wendy Maisey – a councillor for Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft.
Yet on 21 November and 22 November 2021, Paszkowska put further posts on Instagram about Ms Maisey and even mentioned the Protection Order, which had been imposed just days before and that the further posts were clearly in breach of.
The account "me_mp.why_not" has a picture of Marta Paszkowska on the profile and it is clear that she runs this Instagram account.
Ms Maisey had reported these posts to the police and Paszkowska was arrested and charged with two breaches of the stalking protection order.
When questioned she told officers that she didn’t understand what the order was or what the words meant. She admitted being responsible for the posts but insisted she didn’t realise she was breaking the law.
Ms Maisey told officers that the ongoing abuse was affecting her life and that she was anxious and felt nervous in her home. She said she felt that the threat from Paszkowska was escalating and that she feared for her safety.
Paszkowska initially denied the offences but pleaded guilty on 13 October 2022 to a breach of the order. On 3 November 2022 at Liverpool Crown Court she was given an 18-month community order and ordered to do 20 days of a rehabilitation activity.
The Crown Prosecution Service also applied for a restraining order preventing her from contacting Ms Maisey in any way. This was granted by the court and will remain in place for two years.
District Crown Prosecutor Laura Tipping, of CPS Mersey Cheshire, said: “Marta Paszkowska caused real fear and concern in Ms Maisey, who she has targeted with Instagram posts of a harassing and intimidating nature.
“Instead of stopping when the initial stalking protection order was issued, she carried on with the behaviour. Threatening and harassing posts on social media can have a big impact on the victim’s life – as has happened in this case.
“Wendy Maisey is a local councillor who is working on behalf of the people in her ward. Paszkowska has threatened her ability to do that and she is now paying the price.”