THE wife of a convicted paedophile added to the pain of his victims by identifying them on Facebook, a court heard.
Anne Jones, of Green Lane, Shotton, had her “life changed” when husband Merfyn Jones, also from Deeside, was jailed for 17 years in January after inflicting sexual abuse on children about 20 years ago.
The wife, 56, wrote public messages on the social networking site on the day he was sentenced.
The first message, the only one read out at Flintshire Magistrates Court yesterday, said: “Yes, my hubby has been sentenced today. It is all lies.”
She went on to name the victims and said they would be sent down and she would “get her man home”.
She also wished one of the victims, a cancer sufferer, “a painful death”.
Jones pleaded guilty to four charges of identifying the victims and was fined £800 with a £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs. She will have to pay one of the victims £200.
The Mold court heard Jones, a cleaner for 23 years, was in “complete shock” following the sentence and said she did not know it was an offence to identify the victims.
She also apologised for making the comment about the victim suffering with cancer, saying she was sorry she had the condition.
Brian Cross, defending, said Jones was “absolutely devastated” at the time.
“The sentence was a life-changing moment. In her distress she didn’t hear the warning by the judge not to identify the victims.”
Mr Cross said at the time Mrs Jones was “frustrated and angry” but she was now trying move on with her life.
The court heard third parties were still taking to Facebook to post messages, which were being kept as a log by police.
One of the victims said Mrs Jones’ actions has made her feel the “pain and anger” again.
“I’ve suffered with anxiety for a long time now since the sentencing and the message on Facebook made it a lot worse,” one victim said in a victim statement.
“I very rarely leave the house anymore and I haven’t taken my daughter to school for about five months.”
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