Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Troll attack on father of sick baby probed
PSNI probe ‘vile’ posts over family
THE PSNI is investigating claims a dad of a sick baby has been trolled on Facebook.
Officers met Robbie Emerson in his Co Down home yesterday after he reported “vile” posts on the site.
He has spent the past seven weeks in hospital with daughter Jorja, who was born with a rare chromosome disorder that has triggered stage 4 epilepsy.
With no one known to specialise in her condition in Northern Ireland or the UK, parents Robbie and Carly are hoping she will be treated in the US.
They have set up a crowdfunding page in an attempt to finance the trip to the Brain Centre at Miami’s Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.
But this week Robbie said he has become a victim of trolling with people allegedly claiming the cash drive is intended for personal use following the closure of his business in Holywood.
The 30-year-old, from Bangor, said: “My priority is Jorja and her health and care. I opened the restaurant on July 1 with big plans for a bright future but on July 7 Jorja was rushed into intensive care fighting her life.
“I’ve been unable to work for the seven weeks and sadly I’ve had to close my restaurant until we get Jorja sorted.
“As any family of a chronically sick child knows, the stress levels are high.
“But what has added to our stress levels is a series of vile comments, trolling me, Carly and even Jorja.
“They are very disturbing, accusing us of using our daughter to raise money, accusing us of using Jorja as an excuse for having to close the business.
Solicitor Marie Hans from Kevin Winters Law said: “This is a very serious and distressing matter. The police have been informed and they are due to interview Robbie today.
“The trolls and posts have been reported to Facebook and pre-action correspondence has been issued.
“I also intend to send pre-action letters to the individuals we believe to be involved in the trolling campaign.
“There has been harrasment and defamation and also the threat applied in a post saying Robbie’s home address will be posted online too.”