Judge Bans Pottstown Woman From Twitter
By Todd Quinones
NORRISTOWN, Pa., (CBS) -- Banned from Twitter -- that's part of the punishment for a Montgomery County woman who allegedly targeted a judge and social workers.
The prosecution essentially contends the woman weaponized twitter, that she used it as a way to send dozens of harassing messages.
Proving words can indeed hurt you, a Pottstown woman is behind bars for what she tweeted.
Montgomery County District Attorney Matthew Quigg recommended the 34-year-old mother be banned from Twitter for five years as part of her prison sentence.
"I can't imagine this is the first time this has ever happened, but it just felt like it was an appropriate remedy to punish her for what she did," Quigg said.
Quigg says Sadiyyah Young tweeted the home address of a county judge along with social workers with children and youth after her children were placed in foster care and allegedly tweeted:
"Somebody should pay all these people a visit bust out windows and cut tires!"
Court records indicate young also allegedly stole identities to falsify complaints with the judicial board against the judge in her case.
Frank Farley is a psychology professor at Temple University who monitors social media.
He says he's never heard of a judge banning someone from Twitter.
"It's unusual. It strikes me as a 21st century case," Farley said.
Farley questions if the Twitter ban ruling on Wednesday will raise concerns with freedom of speech advocates.
"It does have a lot of first amendment implications. I think that will be widely debated," he said.
Quigg argues young use of Twitter warranted specific action.
"When you use the freedom that you've been given to express your views to threaten people, that's not freedom of speech that is a crime," he said.
Quigg says Young agreed to the deal, and as part of the agreement she will spend 11 and a half to 23 months behind bars and if she is caught using Twitter over the next five years it would be a violation of her probation.
