Sarah Payne's mother Sara forced to quit Twitter after ‘years of stalking and harassment' from trolls
It is believed much of the abuse relates to her daughter, Sarah, who was murdered by convicted paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Campaigner Sara Payne, whose daughter Sarah was abducted and murdered in 2000, has been forced to quit Twitter after reportedly enduring years of abuse at the hands of vicious trolls.
Writing on Twitter, friend and fellow campaigner Sky Keenan wrote trolls “have caused so much distress @DrSaraPayne has been forced to close down her twitter account”.
Ms Payne’s eight-year-old daughter Sarah was abducted and murdered by Roy Whiting in 2000 near her grandparent’s home in West Sussex. Convicted paedophile Whiting is serving a life sentence for Sarah’s murder.
Many of the abusive tweets, according to Ms Keenan, related to Sarah.
She claimed to The Independent that Ms Payne, who Ms Keenan worked with "everyday" for 12 years on campaigning group Phoenix, and a number of her associates had suffered “years of stalking and harassment” across various social media platforms.
They are understood to have reported the allegations to police.
Much of the most recent abuse related to the death of Ms Payne’s former husband, Michael, 45, who had struggled with alcohol-related issues since the death of Sarah. He was found dead at his home last month.
Since splitting with her husband, Ms Payne had moved out from the family home in Sussex to Maidstone, Kent.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments