In a case straight out of the Netflix series I Am A Stalker, a Warrnambool district woman has been fined $3400 after her social media posts falsely accusing a teacher of theft ended a life-long career.
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Sandra Hadfield, 40, pleaded guilty in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Monday to possessing six grams of methamphetamine, stalking and failing to appear on bail.
The teacher detailed in a victim impact statement she read to the court how her life had been turned upside down by the Facebook posts and resulted in her terminating her career.
She said she had trouble sleeping, was fearful, didn't want to go out in public and the financial impact was huge.
The woman said teaching had been her "safe place" and gave her respect and independence, but that ended due to the social media posts shaming her for something she didn't do.
Magistrate John Lesser said the teacher had far more eloquently explained the impact than he could.
He said Hadfield needed to put herself in the victim's shoes, something she had clearly failed to do.
Police said Hadfield claimed the teacher stole gemstones from her during a garage sale and she reported the matter to police, but failed to have any evidence.
Hadfield became frustrated at the lack of police action and used still images from a security camera in her Facebook posts, one of which was shared 150 times.
That had a devastating impact on the teacher.
Police officers attended at Hadfield's home and requested she took down the posts, which she refused to do.
The teacher then successfully applied for an intervention order and Hadfield was charged with stalking.
Hadfield was also intercepted by police and found with six grams of meth, with a potential street value of more than $4000.
She said she had taken the meth off someone she knew because she was worried about how much ice he was using.
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