Australian man jailed over abusive text messages

It would be good if everybody could just shrug off verbal attacks but many people are clearly quite upset by them.  It seems reasonable to me therefore that -- in extreme cases -- the attackers should be penalized.  This was certainly an extreme case

Dan Shearin "promised the world" to dancer Breeana Robinson. Instead, he sent her 1439 text messages in the weeks leading up to her death including ones calling her a "complete f***ing moron" and a "stupid bitch".

The former cruise ship entertainer and author was jailed on Monday for at least two months over a barrage of abusive text messages he sent to Breeana Robinson, who fell to her death from a Gold Coast apartment balcony on January 29, 2013.

Ten minutes before Ms Robinson, 21, plunged from the balcony she received a text which read: "You're more interested in TV, food and everything else but your partner. That's why everything's ruined. Your priorities are f***ed up".

The pair had known each other for a year, but only lived together for 38 days.

During the court case, police said they couldn't prove Shearin messages directly caused Ms Robinson's death but argued the messages caused her great distress

"She only just turned 21. She had the world at her feet and was just starting to blossom. She was sweet-natured and kind. She'd never argue back to anyone. She was just a sweet soul."

SOURCE