Police in South Wales, U.K. have started to warn that online trolls clowning a fugitive's receding hairline may face charges. The mugshot of 21-year-old Jermaine Taylor went viral last week after Gwent police posted it online asking for people to come forward with any information regarding his whereabouts. He reportedly breached his license conditions following his December release from prison.
As the original post on Facebook revealed, Taylor received a three-year-sentence in 2017 for selling cocaine. However, he has since been recalled to prison for violating his license conditions. As many users on both Twitter and Facebook noted, his receding hairline quickly became a joke to many.
Gwent police are not happy about the online response and have warned trolls that they could be breaking the law. In a follow-up comment on their Facebook page, the Facebook page wrote, "Please remember that harassing, threatening and abusing people on social media can be against the law." They also warned that people should "be as careful on social media as you would in any other form of communication."
They did warn about the possibility of further investigation against particularly harsh comments, but in a more recent comment, they admitted that "a few of these comments have made us laugh."
They added, "When the line is crossed from being funny to abusive, we do have to make sure we are responsible and remind people to be careful about what they write on social media."
Police continue to look for Jermaine Taylor, who remains on the run.
