Judge feared for her safety after mum and daughter launched stalking campaign
A mum and daughter stalked a judge warning "her time will come" and posted a photo of her family online, a court heard.
Julie Southers, 61, and her daughter Lisa, 27, targeted District Judge Natalie Cuddy after they disagreed with a ruling made in a family court and made her fear for her own safety Judge Cuddy felt so threatened by their online harassment campaign she was forced to implement extra security measures at her home.
Manchester Crown Court heard wheelchair user Julie Southers, who took the "leading role" in the stalking, also targeted her daughter’s ex-partner. The man was falsely labelled a “paedophile” in shocking online abuse, which the court heard led him to attempt to take his own life four times.
Judge Nicholas Dean, KC, said the threats against Judge Cuddy caused "significant distress" and had "struck at the administration and integrity of the justice system".
Emmanuel Coniah, prosecuting, said Lisa Southers was the subject of proceedings at the family court, overseen by Judge Cuddy, where she contested an order made by the judge, who then refused her application to revoke it.
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The decision prompted Julie Southers to post a series of "abusive" tweets and a photograph of Judge Cuddy’s parents with her children. She also ranted about family court "corruption", the "destroying" of families, and accused Judge Cuddy of working alongside a local council.
Lisa Southers (Facebook)One tweet read: “Why have you done this to my daughter going against the rule of law". In another she accused Judge Cuddy of “destroying someone else’s life like that for money”, and warned her that her “time will come, it always does with evil people”.
Julie Southers also contacted a member of the judge’s family using a fake Facebook account in the name of Paul Smith. Lisa Southers, the court heard, sent an email to the family court complaining about Judge Cuddy’s conduct, alleging she was “corrupt” and had dealt with proceedings unfairly. The email contained screenshots of Judge Cuddy’s private social media account, including images of her husband and children.
Mr Coniah said the Crown’s case was that Lisa Southers had sourced private information, shared it with her mother and then emailed the victim, with her actions amounting to “harassment” and the judge treating the references to her family as “highly threatening”.
In a victim personal statement, Judge Cuddy said she she recognised that her role in involved making “difficult decisions” but she had never experienced the type of behaviour directed at her and her family in 18 years’ experience in family law. She said she had been “shocked” by the “vitriolic and baseless” allegations made about her online, and it was “horrifying” that in doing her job her family had been placed “at risk of harm”.
She said: “I am in no doubt that the threatening posts made by Lisa and Julie Southers are intended to convey to me that my children and I are unsafe, that we may be hurt and indeed that my children may be taken." She added that she had implemented “extra security measures” at home and the impact of Lisa and Julie Southers’ behaviour had been “far reaching”.
The court heard that Julie Southers had previously pleaded guilty to eight breaches of a restraining order, imposed in August 2022, relating to her daughter’s ex-partner. Mr Coniah said the “vulnerable” victim had been “taunted” and “belittled” online. Julie Southers had wrongly labelled the man a “paedo” and a “devil”, he said, and posted 47 screen shots and photos.
In a victim personal statement, the man said the messages had caused him “great distress” and led to him being threatened. He added that he struggled to get on with his life and the abuse had led to him making four suicide attempts, reported the Liverpool Echo.
David Woods, defending Julie Southers, said her daughter’s case had a "profound impact" on her and she had felt "powerless" to do anything about it. "She believes they have been wronged and wanted to bring this to the attention of everybody, including the judge,” Mr Woods added.
Andrew McInnes, defending Lisa Southers, said she was “vulnerable” and suffered cognitive issues. Judge Dean agreed that she had been “led” by her mother, who had “taken the leading role” in the stalking of Judge Cuddy. Julie Southers, from Walton, Merseyside, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of stalking involving fear of violence between April 2022 and September 2022. Lisa Southers, of the same address, previously pleaded guilty to stalking.
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Jailing Julie Southers for 22 months, the judge told her that her actions had caused Judge Cuddy “significant distress” and fears for her and her family. He said:“Your behaviour was serious, in particular because it struck at the administration and integrity of the justice system."
The judge handed Lisa Southers a two-year community order with a requirement to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. He also granted a restraining order preventing both women from contacting or approaching Judge Cuddy or her children. Julie Southers was made subject of a further restraining order in relation to her daughter’s ex-partner.
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