Internet troll 'sadist' jailed for online posts that desecrated memory of Olivia Burt

A “SICK sadist” who “desecrated” the memory of a Milford student crushed to death in a nightclub queue by posting abuse about her online has been jailed for 14 months.

Internet troll Paul Hind defaced Olivia Burt’s Facebook profile by falsely branding her a “sex worker” after she died, causing her grieving parents Nigel and Paula Burt extra heartache, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The British sailing team member suffered fatal head injuries in a crush outside a club in Durham, where she went to university, in February.

Hind said he engaged in the sick abuse – even drawing four swastikas on a picture of Olivia under the name of ‘Ron Common’ – because he was “bored”. A judge said he had acted with "unbelievable callousness”.

Olivia, a former head girl at Bournemouth School for Girls, became trapped under a metal barrier as she queued to get into the city’s Missoula nightspot.

When Hind appeared before the court for sentencing, Olivia’s father went into the witness box and spoke about the impact of Hind’s actions on he and his wife.

“It has made us both feel physically sick and caused us huge suffering,” Mr Burt said. “Her death is still very recent and causing us tremendous hurt as we struggle to come to terms with the loss.

“The person who carried out this can only be described as a sick sadist who knows they are adding to our anguish. This was a desecration to her memory and character.”

Prosecutor Neil Pallister said 38-year-old Hind posted “grossly offensive or abusive messages” to Facebook accounts relating to people now deceased.

The court heard the defendant defaced her profile – which had been memorialised without her family’s knowledge – weeks after Olivia’s death.

He set up a fake account using a slightly different spelling of Olivia's name and used it to brand her a sex worker, post offensive comments and leave sickening replies to legitimate messages of condolences from her grieving family and friends, the prosecutor continued.

Mr Pallister said Hind even defaced a photograph of Olivia and added: "Her teeth had been blacked out, a moustache had been drawn across her upper lip, silly fake eyebrows were drawn on.

“To the left side of her face were four swastikas. There was a line drawn across her neck on the photo, which said 'cut here'.”

The court heard Hind also targeted murdered backpacker Hannah Witheridge, who died in Thailand, Joe Tilley, who was found dead in South America, and Duncan Sim, whose remains were found on St. Andrews beach in Scotland. The offences occurred between March and May this year.

Hind, of Westacres, Wark, Northumberland, had admitted four charges of sending a letter, communication or article conveying false information at an earlier hearing.

The court heard he took screenshots of some abuse to show a friend so they “both could laugh”. He had admitted he carried out his crimes when he was “bored”, for “attention” and told police “some people may have found them funny or amusing”.

Defending Hind, Jessica Slaughter said her client was apologetic and conceded the offences were “despicable”. She added: “No-one acknowledges that more than Mr Hind himself.”

Miss Slaughter said Hind lived at home with his parents, had recently lost his job and been “going through a depressive episode” when the crimes were carried out. “He was in his own little bubble, clearly unaware of what was happening in the world in terms of other people's feelings,” she added.

Judge Penny Moreland said the offences were of “unbelievable callousness”, adding: “It is hard to understand how anyone could do that. You heard what you did to those people, they have described the devastating effect upon them.”

Acting detective inspector Lindsay Banks-Brown, from Durham Constabulary, said: “We are pleased with today's outcome and hope it sends a clear message that we treat trolling as a serious offence which brings serious consequences.

“The families of Hind's victims have suffered an unimaginable tragedy and his actions have only compounded their suffering.

“I hope today's sentence serves as a warning to others that if they commit such offences, they will be dealt with and they will be brought to justice.

“A joint investigation by Durham Constabulary and Durham County Council into Olivia's death remains ongoing and we are following a number of lines of inquiry. Our thoughts remain with Olivia's family and friends during what has been, and continues to be, an extremely difficult time.”

PC Lesley Newman, the officer in charge of the case, added: “The actions of Paul Hind were truly despicable and have caused untold upset to the families of those he targeted.

“Already struggling to come to terms with the death of a much-loved family member, they have then been subjected to this horrendous ordeal by Hind.”

She added: “I want to take this opportunity to praise the families for the incredible bravery they have displayed throughout this process.”

As reported in the A&T, the incident that led to Olivia’s death is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Olivia was a high achiever in the classroom and a talented sailor. She was in the Royal Yachting Association’s junior and youth squads in both Optimist and Laser, and travelled abroad to compete, representing Britain at the European Laser 4.7 Youth Championships in the Netherlands in 2011, and at the Laser Radial Youth European Championships in Denmark in 2014.

In the past few years she regularly attended national-level Radial events, representing the Royal Lymington Yacht Club and Lymington Town Sailing Club. She had continued to enjoy her passion for the sport while at Durham as a member of the university sailing team.

The master of Durham’s University College, Professor David Held, described her as an “exceptional sportswoman”, while friends called her “beautiful” and “wonderful”.