The Director of Public Prosecutions will have to decide whether to pursue jury trials in relation to several people accused of naming two child murderers online.
It’s after a district court judge refused to hear the cases due to the seriousness of the alleged offences.
The identity of a child offender is protected by law, even after he/she turns 18.
The law also prohibits the naming of child victims, and that protection also applies to children who are deceased, according to a recent ruling.
These cases relate to the alleged naming of two children, found guilty of murdering another child.
Ten people are accused of breaking the anonymity rule by illegally sharing images or naming the child’s killers online.
One woman is accused of encouraging fellow Facebook users to share a photo purporting to be one of them.
A man from Dublin is alleged to have named them and described them as “sick murdering perverts” on Twitter, while another is accused of posting photos on the same platform with the caption: “they deserve everything they’re going to get”.
The judge felt the allegations were too serious to be tried at district court leve,l so the DPP now has to decide whether to pursue jury trials before a higher court.
