The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a harassment conviction against a woman involving a Facebook post.
Miranda Simpson was found guilty by a magistrate of third-degree harassment after evidence was presented that she made a Facebook post about an Ankeny massage salon, giving it a one star review. The owner of the salon took a screen shot of the post which said one of the massage therapists could provide a “happy ending” and her “bosses knew” or did not “care.”
An Ankeny police officer testified that he asked Simpson about the Facebook post and “she claimed that she was sticking up for her friend.” The therapist targeted in the review testified she thought the post was made to try and get her fired and said she based that on public postings of photographs showing Simpson with her ex-boyfriend.
Simpson appealed the conviction, saying the prosecution failed to lay an adequate foundation for the
admission of the Facebook posts and the magistrate’s finding of guilt lacked sufficient evidentiary support.
The Appeals Court ruled there was substantial evidence to indicate Simpson made the post, and upheld her conviction.
Here’s the complete ruling: Facebook post ruling PDF