A former Belfast councillor has lost her appeal against being fined £750 for breaching an injunction against social media harassment of a drag queen.
Jolene Bunting claimed the financial penalty imposed after she violated an order to immediately remove an online video about Matthew Cavan was disproportionate.
But senior judges ruled on Friday that the sentence was appropriate and necessary to send out a wider message.
Madam Justice McBride said: “The appellant has been guilty of a deliberate and flagrant breach of a court order.”
Ms Bunting has already been barred from any further harassment of the performer for the next five years.
In July last year the ex-independent unionist councillor was involved in protests at an arts centre where Mr Cavan, also known as drag artist Cherrie Ontop, was taking part in a children’s story time event.
A group calling themselves Parents Against Grooming held banners which read “hands off our children” outside the MAC theatre in Belfast.
Following the event a video appeared on YouTube which featured an image of a wolf and a photograph of Mr Cavan.
He told previous courts the posting was a twisted portrayal of his work which left him horrified at being likened to the creature in make-up from the children’s fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.
Mr Cavan said he received threats from paedophile hunters because of the posting on YouTube.
A group in east Belfast sent a message warning that they knew where he lived and were watching him, according to his evidence, while others told him to kill himself.
With the video clip viewed 22,000 times, Mr Cavan said the surrounding attention led to him losing three well-paid gigs.
He was also put on anti-anxiety medication and had to install security cameras and lights at his home.
Ms Bunting denied specifically targeting Mr Cavan and insisted she was only concerned about safeguarding children.
Last August the actor obtained an interim injunction requiring her to take down social media postings from YouTube and Twitter without delay.
Contempt of court proceedings were brought against Ms Bunting for failing to comply with the order until the day of the hearing.
Ultimately, she was fined £750 and given 26 weeks to pay in June this year.
Ms Bunting challenged that sentence at the Court of Appeal, claiming it was wrong in law and failed to take into account that she eventually purged her contempt.
Her barrister argued that instead of facing a punitive financial penalty, a remedial outcome of being bound over to keep the peace would have been proper.
Rejecting those submissions, Madam Justice McBride identified no flaws in the sentence based on the public nature of the case.
“Notwithstanding the requirement to remove the video from her YouTube and Twitter accounts, (she) did not purge her contempt until the first day of the hearing,” the judge pointed out.
“We are satisfied the sentence imposed was not wrong in principle or on the facts, and accordingly dismiss the appeal.”