An Ottawa restaurant owner has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for defaming a woman that gave a bad review.
Marisol Simoes, the owner of Mambo in the Byward Market, was found guilty of defamatory libel after posing as Elayna Katz to send sexually explicit e-mails to her bosses.
Justice Diane Lahaie said it was important to deter others from cyber crimes as she announced the sentence, calling them "vindicitive, premeditated, hostile, malicious" and adding they "aimed to humiliate."
"I'm still in a little bit of shock but happy about the outcome," Katz said.
"That's the message we're hearing today, is that (this) can be something that can be punishable by law."
The sentence also includes two years probation and an order for Simoes to apolgize.
Lahaie said the libellous words can still be found online three words later, meaning they'll forever target Katz's reputation.
"Unlike graffiti, this will never fully be washed away," she said, crediting Katz for dealing with it relatively well.
"Cyberbullying does not just affect teenagers, it affects all of us," Katz said.
"I think it's important that everybody talks about it."
The case attracted attention around the world, appearing in the New York Times and Dr. Phil.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem
