Oct 8 court date for woman who sent threat via TikTok
Published:Saturday | August 16, 2025 | 12:06 AM
WESTERN BUREAU:
Sabrina Messam, who was charged under the Cybercrimes Act after she allegedly threatened a man on social media, made her first appearance in the St James Parish Court on Wednesday and is slated to reappear in the same court on October 8.
According to the allegation against Messam, who is charged with malicious communication – an offence under the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, she threatened the complainant on a TikTok post, in which she made unsavoury comments about him.
On July 14, Messam reportedly posted the offensive video, in which she allegedly made the threatening and defamatory comments, on social media platform TikTok. She also reportedly identified the complainant by his full name and with a photograph.
After the post was made, several parties reached out to the complainant concerning the video, and he subsequently made a report to the police.
Messam was later arrested, and she reportedly said under caution, a con man (the complainant), rob mi outta mi business and a use lawyer fi try trick mi to sign over my business to him. Mi never know how fi deal wid di situation, that’s why mi go on social media to vent,” said Messam. “Mi go to police and dem say dem can’t help, mi fi go down a court. I never know mi coulda get lock up just for one video.”
During Wednesday’s court hearing, the prosecution revealed that a flash drive containing the video and text messages that had reportedly been sent to the complainant had been submitted to the Crown.
However, it was disclosed that a report from the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Communication Forensic and Cybercrime Division, regarding two cellular phones that were taken from Messam when she was arrested, was still outstanding.
Presiding parish judge Nateisha Fairclough-Hylton subsequently ordered Messam to submit her fingerprints to the police and to return to court on October 8.
Under Section 9 of the Cybercrimes Act, it is an offence to send any data to another person, whether in the form of a message or otherwise, that is obscene or menacing or constitutes a threat, or is intended or reckless in causing annoyance, inconvenience, distress, or anxiety to that person or anyone else. An offence is also committed whether or not the recipient of the message is the person for whom the message was intended.
If convicted, an offender may face a fine not exceeding $4 million or imprisonment of up to four years, or both fine and imprisonment, for a first offence. If damage is caused as a result of the offence, or if there is a second or subsequent offence, the fine can go up to $5 million and the imprisonment can be for up to five years.
One noteworthy case of malicious communication which is currently being prosecuted is the matter of popular TikTok user 119, real name Milton Wray, who is expected to stand trial in the St Catherine Parish Court on November 7. Wray was arrested and charged after he allegedly posted a picture of a woman with defamatory remarks online on March 30 because she reportedly rejected his invitation to come to his home on March 22