A former leader of Canberra's Sudanese community, who spread rumours a woman was practising witchcraft and caused her to be ostracised from her community, has won his freedom after an appeal in the ACT Supreme Court.
Deng Wac Kuol pleaded guilty to breaching a 12-month personal protection order granted to the woman after he made harassing posts.
Kuol had recorded two long videos of himself in the Dinka language proclaiming insults against the woman, one of which was an hour and half long.
The insults, which included the witchcraft charge and claims she was a prostitute, were posted on Facebook only weeks after the 12-month order was imposed.
The material was posted in 2017, but difficulties with finding a translator and Kuol's move interstate delayed the case.
Magistrate James Stewart eventually sentenced him to five months' jail, to be suspended after three months.
In his sentencing remarks Mr Stewart noted the insults seemed to have arisen from the fact the victim had previously divorced from her first husband and married Kuol's cousin.
The victim told the court her life had been ruined as her community's strict beliefs forbade witchcraft.
"I will never be accepted again by the community until they understand that all this is lies," she said.
"In our culture you cannot be married into a witch family and I now have been regarded as a witch within the community.
"This will now carry on for generations, so I am extremely saddened and ashamed of what has occurred.
"I have lost all of my friends, family and the community as a whole has all left me
" I just don't understand why this has been said about me and why it was said about me."
Offender to face social media restrictions
In sentencing Kuol, Magistrate Stewart said he offended in a way that has caused tremendous damage, causing his victim to be ostracised from her community here and overseas.
Kuol's lawyer Paul Edmunds challenged that finding, saying there was no evidence the ostracism had extended beyond Australia.
He also argued the Magistrate should have taken into account that there had been no offending during the three years it took for the case to run.
Prosecutors argued that despite the errors, the sentence was still appropriate.
But Justice Michael Elkaim said the fact Kuol had effectively rehabilitated over the three years, meant he was entitled to a resentence.
He imposed the same five-month term, but suspended it immediately, placing Kuol on a good behaviour bond for two years.
He will be banned from posting on social media about the victim or any member of her family and has been ordered to leave all his social media accounts on public settings.
Kuol has spent 22 days in custody for the crime.
