Court told of cash demand to make child rapist claims stop after online row prompted by Simple Minds album
SIMPLE Minds frontman Jim Kerr’s brother tried to blackmail a superfan of the band for £100,000, a court heard yesterday.
Paul Kerr, 56, repeatedly called John Fagan a child rapist on Facebook during a “relentless” 11-month hate campaign, jurors were told.
The abuse started last year after John replied to a comment on Kerr’s Facebook page in which the accused called his brother’s new album “pure s**t”, Lewes Crown Court in Sussex heard.
Kerr, of Brighton, denies stalking John, who has been to 356 concerts of the Scots band in 35 years, and his wife Julie Fagan between January and November last year.
He claims the couple asked him to hurt his brother after a falling out over the new album. He alleges they created fake Facebook posts to frame him.
Jurors have heard Kerr sent an email to police threatening to murder John as well as making direct threats to cripple him and drag his wife to a police station by the hair.
Yesterday, John told the trial Kerr sent him “two or three” private messages on Facebook. Describing one, he added: “It said, ‘I want £100,000 for me to stop. You’re going to get raped in prison.’”
John admitted responding to Kerr’s abuse on Facebook but denied setting up fake accounts using Kerr’s and his late mother Irene’s names.
Kerr’s barrister Paul Walker read out a Facebook post by John to Kerr’s page. It stated: “Dear Paul Kerr, you have finally BY BERNY TORRE overstepped the mark. Your mother should have aborted you, you are the Antichrist. See you very soon.”
John, of Canterbury, who works in care with his wife, said: “I did definitely send that, there’s no question, but at the time I was upset and angry. My wife was crying, she was scared.
“He called me a rapist and he called my wife a prostitute cum Muslim w***e. We’ve had weeks and weeks of the abuse.
“I’ve always posted stuff in my name, I don’t need to hide like a coward.”
Jurors also heard John wrote to Kerr: “You will not preach to the world that I’m a rapist and a murderer and my wife has been raped by 20 men. See you in court.”
John told the trial: “He threatened to murder us, he threatened to cripple us, threatened us with a bat.
“I’ve never fabricated evidence. It does not make sense, why would I call myself a rapist and my wife all those names?”
Referring to Kerr’s jail stints for arson and aggravated burglary, John added: “It was worrying. My wife found out about his history towards the end of February. We bought a fire extinguisher, a fireproof letter box and we’ve now got CCTV.”
John denied being given Kerr’s Facebook and email passwords by the accused’s ex Elizabeth Vanthof. Kerr claims the Fagans conspired with her to create fake posts.
Kerr also denies stalking his ex from April to November last year after she broke up with him. The trial continues.