British backpacker Grace Millane, left, was strangled to death after meeting her killer via Tinder on December 1, 2018 – the day before her 22nd birthday
A businessman who broke the law by publicly naming British backpacker Grace Millane s killer in protest against a suppression order has been fined $15,000.
Leo Molloy, the high-profile owner of HeadQuarters bar in Auckland, named Jesse Kempson, 28, in a social media post hours before a High Court jury found him guilty of murdering Ms Millane, 21, on December 1, 2018.
Molloy s lawyer said his client broke the court order as he was appalled at how Kempson was anonymous while the university graduate was being victim shamed .
Auckland restaurateur Leo Molloy has been sentenced to fines and community work 29 April 2021
The HeadQuarters in the Viaduct owner flouted a High Court suppression order by naming Grace Millane s murderer online.
He is the only person charged after numerous suppression breaches before and after Jesse Kempson s trial in 2019.
Kempson s suppression continued long after his sentence to life in prison for Millane s murder - because he faced two further trials.
Today, Molloy was sentenced to 150 hours community work and a 15 thousand dollar fine.
A number of others were warned by the police for breaching the suppression order, but Molloy was the only person to be charged. On Thursday, Molloy appeared for his sentencing at the Auckland District Court in front of Judge Peter Winter.
Lawrence Smith/Stuff
Jesse Shane Kempson at various court appearances, including after first being charged with murdering Grace Millane. Judge Winter convicted him and sentenced him to 350 hours of community work and a fine of $15,000. David Jones QC applied for a discharge without conviction, saying his client’s motivation behind the posts were that he felt a real sense of injustice because he considered Millane was being “victim shamed”.